Adventures of a Tribe

A ship named Jan

Posted on December 22, 2015

We are still in Roatan. Danny checked his tracking number on an important package yesterday morning and realized it had finally arrived in Honduras and would be delivered today. He figured it’d be worth waiting here another day just in case by some miracle it does in fact arrive.

He and I took a taxi in to Coxen Hole yesterday morning to check out, and while en route my sister sent me photos of Daddy and Jan’s graves.  The family had met out at the cemetery to place miniature Harley’s where they lie. Snow covers the ground adding a miserable aching cold to the scene. Jan’s headstone is still being worked on, and will most likely be set in place after the snow melts in the Spring.

I began my usual free flowing of tears as I thought about them. That overwhelming aching that time cannot heal. I tried to collect myself as we arrived at the immigration office, and as I made my way across the  concrete, I looked out over the ocean, and anchored in the bay was a huge orange ship, named Jan.

Though Jan has always liked the color combination of red, black and white, orange has been his favorite for some time. (It is the Harley color, of course.) I was filled with overflowing emotion, and somehow among the sadness, found peace in the scene as well.

Late afternoon, I talked Danny into walking down to the beach with me, where we pulled loungers out into the water and relaxed for a while. The monkeys were causing havoc with the tourists, as they stole sunscreen and cameras, and after some time when the bugs arrived in larger swarms, we made our way through the palms back to the boat. On the way, we met a woman named Alison Wright. She walked with us to Tanda Malaika as she told us that she was a writer and photographer, and was here on Fantasy Island photographing it. She has published several books and has been featured in galleries and magazines like National Geographic. She sat with us in our home for quite some time, sharing her adventures, and when Danny told her he has a drone, they decided to meet this morning so that she can fly it and photograph with him.  Danny has been chomping at the bit since 6:30am, excitedly waiting for her, which has been quite something to witness…it takes a pretty special person to get him up at that hour.

So, today is the day (once again), that we leave Fantasy Island. This time it will be for sure, because in order to be docked in Isla Mujeres by Christmas, we can leave no later than today. As I have been writing, Cheeky has been sitting on my shoulder – completely mesmerized by my computer while playing with my hair. I’m going to miss his sweet little face.