May 10, 2013 - Now I'm hiding in Honduras….

I'm a desperate man Send lawyers, guns and money The shit has hit the fan…. Four weeks, 3 countries, a couple of sweet little towns, some Mayan Ruins, some really cool wildlife sightings, an island or two, lots of scuba diving, a jungle retreat, and more uncomfortable transportation then I care to think about - vans, boats, ferry's, buses, taxi's, tuk tuks, - man do I miss good old LC! So, I walked across the border into Belize and hitched a ride with my new friend Carlos. He was one of the dudes I met while wasting away time at the Border...

Mar 18, 2013 - Boat trip to the Pigeon Cays

What better way to celebrate my birthday could there possibly be than a boat cruise with friends? We gladly accepted the invitation to join Larry and Karen and a group of our friends aboard their dive boat Islander for a cruise to the Pigeon Cays. Armed with snorkeling supplies and bathing suits, we met at BJs Backyard, just across the channel from where we live. It was an 8 am departure, pretty darn early for the Captain and me. We are up at the crack of dawn each day, but trying to actually be somewhere that early, well that's...

Feb 26, 2013 - Valentines Date #2

My honey is twice as sweet as most guys, so he took me out to celebrate Valentine's day twice. We had planned to head west on Saturday, a few days after Cal's party. However, that Friday, we were invited to a wedding - the very next day! Only in Roatan. So, our down island outing was postponed until the following week. Finally, on Wednesday, the weather cooperated and we set out. First stop - Coxen's Hole, to meet up with a "friend," who had renewed John's slightly overdue passport for him at a fraction of the cost of the pirates at the...

Feb 24, 2013 - One year Anniversary/Valentine's Day party at Cal's

If attendance at Cal's one year anniversary party is any inidcation, there are many islanders that are relieved that one of our favorite east end eateries is anything but temporary. Cal's Facebook page has dropped the temporary from the restaurant's name, a huge relief for those of us who plan our "down-island" shopping trips around Cal's opening hours. He's only open Tuesday through Friday, which for me makes a Monday shopping trip out of the question. We love to stop on the way home to see what delectable dishes Cal has scribbled on his...

Jan 23, 2013 - Roatán, Honduras ... our third Port of Call

Today we docked in Mahogany Bay of the Isle of Roatán, Honduras. We took a fast-paced, white-knuckled trip around the island, witnessing both the poor and the rich areas of this place. We returned to the ship today like we did yesterday with a deep appreciation for the lifestyle we have in the U.S. The poverty of the Central America countries we've witnessed is profound. If you ever hear me complain about my lifestyle, remind me of this trip into Central America. Folks, we are RICH compared to folks we've seen the past few days. We stopped...

Jan 4, 2013 - My new office

We love our new location but the one thing I was really missing was my office. Living with your spouse 24/7 in a small area, like a boat, is something you adapt to and we get along very well in our little cave. However, trying to write or work when you are sitting 3 feet apart and sharing table space isn't quite so much fun. So we explored the options and decided to rent this cute little house from my friend Alana. The rent, like most costs down here, is minimal. The whole house is only $200/month. So we took it for 2 weeks to start, as a...

Dec 31, 2012 - Toronto Boat Show

I have been invited to speak at the Toronto Boat show about our first two adventures on Diamond Lil - the loop trip and our 2 winters in the Bahamas. Now that the show is only a couple of weeks away, it's sinking in that I am really going to do this. I will give 2 presentations about each of my two books and have a chance to sell the books at the show. So, if you are in the Toronto area, come on down! Here is my show bio and the link to the seminar schedule. I talk on January 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th. Melanie Wood “Diamond Lil Does The...

Nov 28, 2012 - Mahagony Bay, Roatan, Honduras

After another overnight cruise we ported in Roatan, Honduras. The weather turned rainy. We had bought a tour to take us snorkeling. So much of our time would be laying on the beach. With the rain we did not think that was going to be fun and a waste of money. So we went back to the ship and got a refund on our snorkeling/beach adventure. While I am on the subject of cost, this trip didn't cost us as much as others because we were able to turn in two vouchers for $100 credit on the ship (total of $200). And our travel agent gave us $50...

Oct 31, 2012 - The Waiting Game

Sept 30th was moving day. I had myself worked up worrying about moving the boat, even though we didn't have far to go. "You worry too much. It's a piece of cake," John reassured me. "You always say that but when we move the boat after a long time tied to shore something always goes wrong," I moaned. "What could go wrong? We are only going a couple of hundred feet. We could drift there if we had to. Relax." As we cast off for our mini-cruise to the rickety little dock we would temporarily med-moor to, I noticed that we weren't moving much....

Sep 27, 2012 - Our next adventure

Well it's been a while since we fired up the Hinos and unplugged and untied this old boat. In two more days, it's time to move her. It will probably take longer to wind up the power cords and put them away than it will to move Diamond Lil to her new home. That's because we're only moving her about 1/4 mile to the west. All good things must come to and end. We arrived here at La Punta in Oak Ridge to spend three months repairing our outboard motor and one something else. It's been so long that I've forgotten what else we needed to repair....

Sep 26, 2012 - Book Review

DIAMOND LIL DOES THE BAHAMAS - BOOK REVIEW The second book in The Captains Log series written by Melanie Wood. The book recounts Mel and Captain John Wood who cruise to the Bahamas in 2006 aboard their 38' Bayliner MY, Diamond Lil. They like it so much they do it a second time the following winter of 2006/2007 after a return trip to Canada. That is a lot of boat miles friends ... and they are still on that boat somewhere to my best knowledge. (Roatan I think where Mel wrote this second book). You will learn a lot by reading this book....

Aug 16, 2012 - Unda da sea!

  We were up early to get the hell out of dodge and at the boat by 7:30am under the direction of our taxi man from the night before who picked us up again, this chap was an absolute character! Small middle aged black man with barely no English save for, "when I see the white faces at the bus stop last night I go yiiippppeeee!". We also got treated to his favourite old American country music with him yipe'ing along and taking a real shine to Niall! This was all well and good but it was a pity we only found out the boat left at 9:30am as he...