Family Updates from Guatemala

The joys of sailing.

2009-02-22T09:47:00.000-08:00

Moon or no moon, the sea has a way of being lit up at night, which makes sailing in the heaving darkness as graceful as a dolphins dancing. The foam fleeting, spirit white against the oil black of leeward swells. The boat takes on a spirit of her own, pitching and rolling under the viscous nature of life. Things become a lucid dream when watching from the helm. Images pass by eyelids of Orion, Scorpio and the Southern Cross swinging in the sky, and of phosphorescent sparks jumping off the bow. All others try to sleep amongst the noises of gnomes in the galley and jackhammers on deck. In all this movement and noise a pervading peace settles. The ship becomes the driver and the helmsman just a strengthening spoke in the wheel. Day breaks and only remnants of the lucid dream from the night before remain.

When full light and daily patterns push us on, we find the toothpaste is on the other end of the cabinet, the dental floss hidden under the sunscreen. Plates have been rearranged to sit on top of the bowls. What playful children, or mischievous fairies rummaged at night through the cabinets and drawers turning everything upside down? Wearily but enlivened we greet the day, fatigued from late night and early morning shifts, from the physical challenge of living on a heaving boat with no respite until shore.

So it was for another 24 hours as we traveled from Roatan, Honduras to Livingston, Guatemala. This direction of travel we were with the wind and with the swells of the sea, so the travel was easier and faster. We arrived around 8 am to a developing storm and were temporarily relieved to put the anchor down. Due to shallow water conditions we would have to wait until the high tide at 5 pm to cross into the Rio Dulce. Mid-morning, government officials from Guatemalan immigration and customs visited our boat and began to check us in to the country. Some of us went ashore with the officials to complete the necessary paperwork and the rest of us stayed on the boat to keep watch in the developing storm. By late morning the anchor was dragging and seas were swollen and ragged. Those on the boat began motoring around in large circles to maintain the boat’s relative position.

Brian, June and Steve took to the seas as the wind and waves picked up and the the anchor drug up a tree trunk. After freeing the anchor from the tree, we motored towards the lee side of a spit about 25 miles away. High tide was supposed to be around 5:25 pm and we were anxious that the winds would not abate before we had to cross the bar. We draw 6 feet – normal tide is 4.5 to 5 feet at the bar. High tide is 1.3 feet extra. Sooooo, we did not have much room for error.
We saw a sailboat with what we thought was a deep bottom heading to cross the bar at about 3:30. A little early – I (Brian) thought – but the effect of camaraderie drew us to follow the boat across the bar. The swell was still quite large and was battling the current coming out of the river. I happily handed the wheel to Steve as we rushed toward the bar following our “leader” boat. June called out the depth from our instruments as the bottom quickly rose to our hull. As we were surfing the swell across the bar in the 39’ sailboat I felt the grasp of the mud take our keel and gently slow us down to about a knot. We were cruising at 6.5 knots previous to our grounding. The swell dropped out from under us and a wave quickly lifted our stern up and off of the mud and we surfed on past the shallowest spot – safely into Livingston Harbor.
We caught up to the sailboat that we were following and asked how much water they drew – 4.5 feet. We were wrong about the draft of their boat – by a bit – remember, we draw 6 feet!

It was a beautiful, “peaceful” and calm welcome into the Rio Dulce. The raging ocean was behind us and the quiet flow of the river in front. The entrance to the Rio Dulce is spectacular at any time, with 300 foot cliffs covered with vines and flowers, birds of many varieties going about life, and the slow descent of a large river to the ocean. This time the contrast for us was astounding and very welcome. Within an hour and a half we were up to friends and familiar faces at Texan Bay Marina, where we anchored in a quite bay for the night. What a relief for all of us to have a quiet and motionless night on the boat.

Arrival and Departure

2009-02-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

A town with a little more then that sleep feel of life going by as fast as the seasons. We arrived at the West End of Roatan. Know for it’s prolific diving, long white beaches, and vacationers. A compacted sand road runs along the waterfront. Restaurants, bars, and dive shops have the laughter and noise of people and pleasure spilling out on to the sand main drag. Shoes and shirt not require, money even if only a little, required for the homemade helado, beer, and gift shops. The coastline is one crescent shape after the next, accounting for the numerous locations named “Half Moon Bay”. It is quite a change from our location 5 hours East where we shared a vacant bay with one other boat. Where no music from the bars tried to lure us a shore until the wee hours of the morning.

At our last two anchorings we ran into people we knew from Rio Dulce. We didn’t know anyone when we arrived but were warmth welcomed by our neighboring boat, a stones throw away. The dive shops want $10 a tank instead of the $7 we paid and at Old French Harbor, and most of their tanks are in use, making difficult to find any. There is a place that does Yoga a few times a week, volleyball nets and many more young active people.

We have all decided it is very different from the less stimulating quiet life we have been living. A day here then back on the ocean wide, to catch the easterlies back to Guatemala. The wind should be at our backs, and sea pushing us along. The ride is expected to be much easier then the beat to weather we had to get here. Until our next landing.

Love Kwiana

Scuba Diving

2009-02-16T10:02:00.000-08:00

Brian took me scuba diving yesterday. When I close my eyes I can feel water surrounding me, pushing me with the swaying surf, it cannot be resisted. The underwater world is a dream, in which one can only exist for so long. It is calm and relaxed. It is graceful and alive, foreign and unique. Dr. Seuss meets God.

The first dive we did was around a shipwreck. Once some thing is lost in the ocean it becomes part of the viscous blue world and only resembles the life it once had. Where cranes and ridging once lived colorful coral have made their home. On the decks where humans shouted commands and toiled for progress, fish haphazardly float around. It is eerie and alive.

The second dive we did was along a coral shelf. Cliffs of coral that dive into the darkness. Canyons that are more inhabited with life then their above water counter parts. Fish dancing and feeding on one another. Movements in water are more like a bird through the air or trees waving in the wind. Only you are forced to either flap like a bird or wave tike a tree.

We have all been snorkeling and enjoying our time here. But somewhere more secluded calls us before we shall have to return.

We are taking off from here today; we will head east for a day, looking for a remote harbor with out the lights of man. Then we will begin our journey west, back to Guatemala. And stop a few places along the way.
May life be as fluid as the ocean. Daniel and Family

Relaxing

2009-02-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

well there is much less to write about when you are not preparing for a trip or sailing the sea to get there. Today we spent swimming around the island reef where our boat was anchored. The island had a zoo on it where we could look at a few different kinds of monkeys and wild cats.

Then around noon we sailed east for about an hour and a half to a new anchorage called Old French Harbor. While were we anchoring our boat we noticed that some friends from Guatemala were anchored in the same lagoon. They left Rio Dulce in the beginning of December for Panama and have been in this area for the last couple months waiting for the right weather window to continue on to Panama.

Brian picked up some scuba dive tanks today and will be diving tomorrow. So we will be around here for another day or so......

Tilt-a-world

2009-02-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

One of those classic carnival rides, Tilt-a-worlds can bring us back in time to fond memories of childhood, or just give us a good ride. Ever ridden one for 36 hours straight? Well that’s how long it took us to sail from the mouth of Rio Dulce, Guatemala to the island of Roatan, Honduras. The ride? Let just say it was a ride!

We left our anchorage at 7 am on the February 10th, and motored down river through a glorious gorge. Here is an excerpt from John Lloyd Stephens as he headed upstream on the Rio Dulce for the first time in 1841. “In a few moments we entered the Rio Dulce. On each side, rising perpendicularly from three to four hundred feet, was a wall of living green. Trees grew from the water’s edge, with dense unbroken foliage, to the top; not a spot of barrenness was to be seen; and on both sides, from the tops of the highest trees, long tendrils descended to the water, as if to drink and carry life to the trunks that bore them. It was, as it’s name imports, a Rio Dulce, a fairy scene of Titan land, combining exquisite beauty with colossal grandeur.”

We squeaked across the mile wide sand bar at high tide, giving us the extra few inches we needed to keep from auguring our keel into the bottom and running aground.
As we left the protection of the bay and rounded Cabo Tres Puntas (the point) the wind and waves began to pick up and our tilt-a-world ride began. And our crew began to get sick. Jessica was the first to feel it and was by far the most extremely affected. She did not have the luxury of being able to take medication, as the anti-nausea medications are not recommended for pregnant women. Others did take medication to lessen the effects, while Steve and Brian seemed to be little affected by the less-than-steady “ground”.

As for sailing on the open ocean, we did the most enlivening sailing under the light of a mostly-full moon. The sails filled with soft tones of warm skin, like the bosom of your loved one. The night air kissed our lips and wrapped us in a cashmere blanket of warmth. And the boat whistled along, heaving and rolling.
I (Daniel) did have to hurl over the edge a few times. I was amazed by the energy and force that ones heaving guts can create. My meals were projected from my mouth like water gushing from a fire hydrant .

We have officially left Guatemala, and after sailing and motoring for 36 hours continuously we are now in Honduras! Upon arrival in Coxen Hole, Roatan, Honduras, Jessica was able to crawl out of her bunk and rejoin the group (after 24 hours of being bed-ridden). Exploring the coast of the island of Roatan is where we will be for the next week, before we return to Rio Dulce, Guatemala.

We hear that the diving is good down here and Brian is looking forward to blowing some bubbles. Jessica, being ‘prego’, will have to forgo the incredible diving due to the unknown (and un-researched) effects of nitrogen gasses on unborn babies. Too bad. No one else is certified to dive – perhaps some of us will take a basic open water diving course while we are here in Roatan. Or, perhaps the rest will be content with a mask and snorkel. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Cheers

Out of there

2009-02-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

We finally made it out of Rio Dulce yesterday, in the rain. We are near the mouth of the river and today we officially checked out of Guatemala.... tomorrow morning we will sail out of the river and head into the wide open 'ocean' toward Roatan. Today we also FINALLY had some sunshine! I was getting accustomed to wearing my rainpants, jacket and rain hat everyday, but today I could briefly get by with just my bikini on! Yeahy!

Today we went to Livingston, Guatemala, on the coast. Livingston is known in this area for good live music on the weekends and for its garafona culture (descendants of black africans who escaped slavery by shipwreck or other means and settled the coast of central america). We checked out from that port and wandered the lively, clean, and colorful streets and then ate a delicious meal of seafood chowder, Caribbean style.... a whole small fish, a whole small crab, lots of clams, small squids, pieces of octopus, pieces of conch, plantain, cilantro and coconut milk!!! It was amazing!

Tomorrow we will try to be crossing the shallow water at the mouth of the Rio Dulce at the high tide, at 9 am. Then we will be in salt water and off toward Roatan. We may have to do an overnight sail to get to Roatan, but we'll see what the weather is like.

Many hugs! We'll write again from our next port!

Waiting for Good Weather

2009-02-08T04:35:00.000-08:00

We are still in town at Rio Dulce. We have been waiting for good weather to venture out to the sea. Waiting and waiting. Since we have had to wait the entire last week we now have less than two weeks to sail in the ocean, before Steve and June fly back home on February 22. The weather on the ocean has been high wind, big waves, and rain..... not very inviting or comfortable for sailing. The weather hasn't been great here, inland, either. There have been a handful of cloudy/rainy days and many mostly cloudy days. Our tans are pretty limited, but at least we are not burning and it's not too hot.

Our waiting time has been put to good use, fixing small things on the boat, which will make sailing life easier (whenever we finally get sailing). Also, our excursion to Finca Paraiso was an excellent learning and practice opportunity for our novice sailing, plus we enjoyed our hours in the hot waterfall!

The last few days have been spent doing more small boat projects, shopping for fresh fruits and veggies, and we even got in some reading (of course some of the reading was about boat mechanics, sailing safety techniques, and route planning for Roatan, Honduras).

June has been very, very helpful with boat living (cooking, cleaning, shopping, organizing and storing things, boat projects, etc.). Steve has been guiding many of the boat repair projects that Brian and Daniel have been doing and he has been getting lots of advise from other sailors about where to go sailing and what waypoints to use. Also, Steve gave us two excellent days of sailing lessons this past week, when we sailed to Finca Paraiso (the hot waterfall). Daniel and Brian have been busy doing boat projects; fixing or installing this or that. Mom and I have been helping June with the boat living activities, plus getting all of the boat papers in line for our Guatemala check out.

While we were on anchor at Finca Paraiso last week, we had our boat renaming ceremony. Mom and dad wanted to rename the boat when they bought her, however it took several months to decide on their favorite name. The name “Kwiana” (which means ‘thank you’ in the Yupik language of northwest Alaska and is usually spelled ‘quyana’) was chosen by my parents in the summer of 2008, however the U.S. Coast Guard had to approve the name before the letters could be changed on her hull. On Wednesday night mom led the renaming ceremony, which involves champagne (or the closest thing to champagne you can buy) and a speech about the safety and gratitude the boat provided with its old name, and will provide with its new name. Then everyone drinks to the history of the boat and the future of the boat. Mom did a great job leading the ceremony and the new letters look great on her stern:

Kwiana
Sutton, AK

We may head out of town today, and head down river to a marina near the mouth of the river. Then Monday or Tuesday (depending on the ocean conditions) we will check out of Guatemala at Livingston and sail toward Roatan, Honduras. I think it may require an overnight sail to get to Roatan, which may be a challenging adventure for us novice sailors. We intend to sail around Roatan for as much time as possible and then sail back to Livingston, Guatemala and leave the boat in Rio Dulce again. There just isn’t enough time left for sailing to consider going to Panama on this trip.

We’ll let you know how the travels go, when we get an internet connection again.

A Dance

2009-02-05T17:53:00.000-08:00

The wind can fill your sails in many ways. It can dance and play tricks with you. An expert dancer, the wind is in the lead and she always gives you some indication of how she will change step and time. But you must keep your wits about you or you will end up on the floor, tangled up and confused about where and how her movements came.

So we spent the last 2 days sailing. And we were privileged to have a wide range of wind speeds and wind directions in which to learn to trim our sails. We sailed to Finca Paraiso (Paradise Ranch) on Lake Isabal and spent the night on anchor 100 meters off shore, and then sailed back to Rio Dulce.

The first day was rather rainy and we were all quite cool in the wind and rain. We were able to sail all the way to Finca Paraiso, after motoring out of Rio Dulce and into the lake a bit. Steve was in instruction mode and we learned a lot about the basics of sailing.

Today we started the day with a short hike (about 1.5 miles) to a hot waterfall that cascades into a cool river. We spent about 3 hours soaking in the waters before returning to the boat for lunch and departure. When we started sailing the wind was very light, so we flew the main sail and the genniker sail- a beautiful large billowy sail that can catch a very light wind. With 5 knots true wind we were able to move the boat 4 knots/hour, which we thought was pretty good. After maybe 1.5 hours of light wind sailing we saw some storm clouds forming in front of us and some white caps a ways off. We changed head sails (put the genniker away and flew the jib). Soon the wind was 15 knots and we were moving at 6 knots crashing over the building swells! Quite a change in sailing conditions in just a few minutes.

With time the wind increased to 27 knots (apparent wind) and we had to reef the main sail once, and then twice, and we changed from the jib sail to the stay sail (a smaller sail). All of this adjusting was excellent practice for us novice sailors and we had a fun time working together and learning “the ropes.”

Jessica found that if she was at the helm (i.e. the steering wheel) she didn’t get seasick, despite the strong wind and heaving boat. However, as soon as she relinquished the helm (like 30 seconds later) she got very nauseous. After clearing her stomach contents she felt much better; only then did she try out a new electric wristband intended to prevent nausea, which seemed to help.

As the daylight hours were fading we opted to start the motor and head directly into the wind to get to the marina more quickly, since sailing directly into the wind is not an option. We arrived back at El Relleno marina in Rio Dulce at 7:15 pm (well after dark) and easily motored into our slip at the dock. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable and educational outing.

Now we will hope (and wait) for good weather in the ocean, so we can head out of the freshwater and into the salty! Maybe our weather window will be on Sunday or Monday.

Hot, Sunny, Lobster, Sailing.

2009-02-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hot, Sunny, Lobster, Sailing.
Need we say more? Well the lobster was really Brian. Brian, Steve and I spent the day doing more little odds and ends around the boat. Checking out our sails, fixing a broken crew over board locator pole, and you get the point. The ladies made up a list of meals and rations and went shopping. The rain has managed to keep things cool but today not a chance. So by the time the ladies returned with armloads of provisions we had plenty of sun and Brian looked like he’d protected Steve and I by soaking up most of it. After a late lunch we decide it was about time to test Kwiana out. So we took her out for the last 3 hours of daylight. She glides along so smoothly especially under the setting sun. Work continues. Things are good.

Daniel's account/arrival

2009-02-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

As you have all flown I will by pass an in-depth account of crowded planes and airports, streams of people flowing as if each one was some how mysteriously connected to the next. That banter of escalators, feet tapping in time, choreographed movement to the left, the right and then a pirouette. Who’s directing this thing anyhow? Well I arrived at my Hostel in Guatemala City as smoothly and comfortably as possible.
The next day lined up with classic travel style. I was walking out the door to meet our family friend June at the airport and then take a cab to the bus station for the 6-hour bus trip to Rio Dulce. The phone at the hostel rang and it was for me. A friend from Rio Dulce was staying in a hotel less then a block away. He was headed back to Rio Dulce and would be happy to give June and I a ride. We picked June up and started through the city.
Today was an annual motorcycle rally. 4 to 5000 motorcyclists ride through the mountains to a town with a statue of a black Christ. People come from all over Central America for this ride. We were backed up in traffic at an on ramp weighting for our window. After a half hour the on ramp began to move we were in the middle of hundreds of motorcyclists caravanning down the windy interstate. The car we were in had lights and sirens, so of coarse they had to be blaring noise and flashing lights for most of our 2-hour caravan. Nonetheless it was a joy and we made it safely to Rio Dulce and warm hugs from the family.

3-2-1 launch

2009-02-01T05:53:00.000-08:00

The sailboat was launched yesterday into the Rio Dulce, after more than a week of intensive hull work: sanding, painting, and preparing. She floated just fine and we were all ecstatic to be back on the water again! Steve (our family friend and captain for this trip) motored her smoothly up to the dock and we quickly moved our belongings onto her. Then came the challenge of finding good storage for all of our things! This project took a bit longer, but it was pretty much complete by the evening.

Brian fell asleep early but the rest of us went to dinner at a local "Guatemalan truck stop" across the street from our marina. Mom and I had freshwater perch fried lightly with spices and Steve had ocean shrimp fried lightly with spices. Each meal was delicious and served with salad (thoroughly cleaned and disinfected), beans, rice, garlic bread, and pickled/ spicy veggies. Then we happily went to sleep on the boat with the very gentle motion of calm water.

This morning mom and I began the day by going for a nice walk in the rain and mist. It was quite comfortable without a rain jacket since it was so warm. Then we did some shopping in the big Saturday Market in town, getting mostly breakfast and lunch supplies for a few days. Saturday the town is bustling even more than other days in town. People come from up and down the river as well as by land to buy and sell food, clothes, house wares, and other things. The Guatemalans dress in what appears to be their best clothes for market day, since they are not only conducting business, but they are also socializing and promenading. It’s like going to the fair, on a weekly basis! It is very colorful and entertaining to walk the streets on market day, even if it is raining!

Mid-day today Daniel and June (Steve’s wife) arrived in Rio Dulce. Now our crew for the trip is complete! We were all very happy to see them and show them our recent boat projects. We have several more critical things to do to prepare the boat for sail then we have to buy lots of groceries as well as practice sailing with the boat in the Rio Dulce Lake a few times before we head out to the ocean! Maybe we can head for the ocean mid-week.

As I write another wave of rain came in with a strong wind. For about 5 minutes it poured, and then it stopped completely and was calm again! Ahhh the tropics!

May you all be warm and dry!
Love, Us

Rio Dulce 'the town'

2009-01-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today was another productive day at the boat yard. For the last week we have been at the boat yard at 7 or 8 am and working until about 5 or 6 pm. Today was no different. In late morning the second coat of bottom paint was applied by the boatyard crew. It looks great! This evening Brian applied the final touches of the bottom paint to the high wear areas. The boat will be launched into the water tomorrow or the next day, and then we can move onto her!

It was a very hot day, much hotter than any day in the last 8 days. In mid-afternoon we took a break from our boat yard work to find some much needed shade, at the hotel.

Rio Dulce is known for its boating community and for its very large and steeply arching bridge that spans the "Rio Dulce" (sweet river). The town of Rio Dulce (also known as Fronteras) is a bustling place from 7 am to 8 pm with a lot of vehicle traffic, as well as people walking and shopping from neighboring towns. By 9 pm, however, it is very quite, aside from the semi-trucks that use their very loud air brakes coming down the bridge (at all hours of the night). It is a lively place to experience, though not at all peaceful, until you get out of town a bit.

For us, getting the boat ready to sail, the bustling town is great! We can find many of the boat things we need in town and we can find most food items we will need and want for a 3 week trip!

Now it's time for dinner and bed!

Hugs to All.

Good Bread!

2009-01-26T18:59:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying bread from our favorite bakery/rest. down here in Fronteras - Dan would approve. Lunch of sliced bread, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, avocado, salt and olive oil/vinegar have kept us going strong as we deal with getting the boat ready for voyage. We have torn the boat apart from the inside out looking at all of the electrics and pluming, motor and sails. We have found enough spare parts on the boat to open a store. Some people just can't let go! We have found many of the intricacies of the boat and have repaired things that often need repairing when you own a boat.

The hull is in the process of being stripped and painted. We hired 6 locals to strip all of the old paint off - 2 of the crew belonged to the marina where out boat is located - the other 4 were brothers that a good friend found for us to use at 20 bucks a day, each.

If you ever get the pleasure of owning a boat - the romanticism will be broken quickly. When you realize the amount of maintenance that goes into them - you either have to be a full-time cruiser, rich with money to burn, crazy out of your mind or prepared to see your boat devalue overnight. It has all been a good learning experience. And with experience --- if you can sand the glaze off of your eyes --- you'll get better and quicker --- con mas tiempo para sol y divertido!

Steve has kept the crew in line and we put on our first layer of base paint today (the crew and Steve did, anyway). If you ever get the chance to look at the ingredients to base paint for a boat, you'll begin to wonder if there is some serious point-source pollution going on in marinas. We hope to put on a layer of bottom paint tomorrow. Oh, if you ever get to paint the bottom of a boat - or at least pay for the job - be prepared to pay around $300 a GALLON for good paint. Our boat needs three gallons.

We are feeling good down here. There are definitely sad emotions, but it feels good to carry on. I can't wait until we have the sails up and are cutting through the blue on our way to the next destination.

Cheers

Love Us.

Back in the Saddle???

2009-01-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Family, Friends and Neighbors,

We are back in Guatemala. We'll be working on the boat to fix it up for a sail outside of Rio Dulce. We are unsure of our ultimate destination, but we will focus on having fun along the way. Steve and June Jones, longtime friends of Dan and Nancy, will be teaching us how to sail the beautiful sailboat (let-alone fix 'er up). Steve is with us right now and we are going through the boat - taking stock of all that makes this boat unique - and making lists of things to do before we put her back in the water. Nancy, Jessica, Steve and myself (B) are coordinating painting the bottom of the boat with a crew from the local boatyard. The hull needs a bit of work to make it top-stuff again. We've been finding all the nuances of the electrical systems and will try and work them out so that they will work simply w/out surprises. Dan spent the last day of his life down in the engine room working on the alternator that kept them from leaving a day earlier - I should probably toss that damn alternator in the river!!!

Daniel and June will be meeting us shortly and we'll cast off for the open water. Perhaps we'll go towards Roatan - perhaps not. The weather and our whims will guide us. So far we have spent the last couple of days with our heads buried in boat chores.

Rosy and Bill Fogarhty from Sutton (now Lago Atitlan) met us at the Guat. airport and drove us all the way to Rio Dulce! We enjoyed the ride in Bill's new truck and found ourselves in Dulce in record time. Cops do not have radar down here. Tee-Hee!

We're feeling a bit tired now and introspection does not come easy. Hopefully we'll have some time to slow down and process. The sun, chores and spanish language are draining my brain - and probably the beer, too.

We love you all and hope to write soon.

Love us.

Home

2008-09-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sundays trip to Guatemala City was challenging. The police escort carried the luggage that couldn't fit into the assistur car that was transporting us. We were emptying the boat of Nancy and Dan 's personal gear. It was a slow trip back to Alaska with many tears - flying over the ground that the white van had traveled over with two passengers eager to explore new territory and cultures. Unfulfilled dreams were scattering like clouds - swirling and breaking up to allow new vistas to shine through. Dan and Nancy shared many months traveling these spaces - like honeymooners - alert to the new life and happy to be committed partners to each other and the projects ahead.

Dan, who objected to the intrusion of security checks at airports, had one final moment when the carry-on luggage with his ashes inside was stopped for inspection by the scanning machines. The box reflected an unusual substance and "security" wanted to see the contents. We could hear Dan's laugh as we attempted to explain. Cremation is atypical in Guatemala.

We are now secure in our Alaskan homes and are saturating ourselves in the love felt when we greet friends and read messages sent to the home address. The common theme that replays is how fortunate we are that our lives have intertwined with so many forward thinking, appreciative and healthy people. The loving support showered on us makes us glow and find energy to put things in balance.

A memorial service is planned for October 5th at The Red Beet, a restaurant/bakery in Palmer. It will be from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a pot-luck following a reflective ceremony.

Love Nancy (and family)

Incident details have been updated with Nancy's account of the night of the attack. Nancy was told that she could write down these details so that she could read them at her testimony to the Guatemalan Court System. During the hearing they did not let her read her notes.

Quirigua and Thank You

2008-09-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we went to Quirigua, a very interesting site of an ancient Mayan city. It was in it's peak economical age around 760-784 A.D. For years before this date (maybe centuries) the city had been an outpost of Copan and was a major tax benefit to Copan. Quirigua was situated on the banks of an important river that transported goods for the Mayans and every boat that went up or down the river was required to pay taxes. For a very long time the taxes went to Copan, until a smart leader of Quirigua severed his city's ties to Copan by killing the king of Copan (in a sneaky ambush). After this bold move, the leader of Quirigua became a "king" and was able to keep the taxes all for his own city.

Now the Mayan site is known for its large rock stelae (tall, monolithic carvings), they may be the largest that are known from any Mayan city. The steale were carved with very intricate hieroglyphs recounting stories of the time (between 730 and 810 A.D.). In addition to busts of the kings, the carvings had beautiful feathers to represent the quetzal (sacred bird of the Mayans), elements of frogs, jaguars, snakes, as well as mythological figures. Our tour of the stelae and the crumbling buildings of the city was very much enhanced by our excellent guide, Carolina, who has a strong personal interest in the culture and history of Mayans. I hope that we can visit other Mayan sites with Carolina, in any future visits to this region.

On Friday night, after our exhausting day going through the judicial system, the marina where we have been staying had a potluck going-away-party for us! It was really nice to relax with the friends we have made down here and know that all of our work (mostly Mom's work dealing with the judicial system) is complete.

Thank you to ALL for your strong and continuous support while we have been here in Guatemala. The many emails, web site posts of stories and photos of Dad, and the continual prayers for us has been A TREMENDOUS help. Though there have been many judicial delays, our emotional and physical strength (most importantly Mom's) has been strong and unwavering. I am sure that your support from afar has greatly contributed to this well-being.

Thanks from our Hearts,
Jessica, Nancy, and Brian

Finally Done with the Legal Process!

2008-09-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a very nice day visiting a Mayan ruins called Quirigua. We went with two other sailers, our Asistur friend Omar, and a guide named Carolina (who speaks good English and excellent Spanish and who will translate for Mom during the judicial events). The Mayan site was very interesting and I'll share more about that tomorrow.

Today was a long day, starting with a 6:30 am departure from the house, of legal sessions before a judge, the defense and prosecution. Mom got to see the arrested brothers mixed in with four other people (decoys). There were no real "ah ha" moments for Mom, as the suspects looked different than 5 weeks ago (more facial hair, and differing head hair length). After long deliberation, two people of the lineup were picked out by Mom, as possible suspects. These were the two incarcerated men (the real suspects) and therefore the prosecutor was confident he had a strong case. Mom is hopeful that there will ultimately be fingerprint results to support or negate the suspects' involvement.

After a brief pause (just long enough to run down the street to buy some fresh roasted peanuts as a snack for Mom), the declaration began. Mom had typed up the event chronology in the last few days so she could remember all of the details while talking to the judge, however as it turned out she was not allowed to read her statement. So, from memory she recounted the event, with translation into Spanish by Carolina, the guide. Once Mom was done and subsequent questions from the prosecution and the defense were answered, we spent about 2 hours editing the typed declaration. All of these events were accomplished in the very hot and stuffy judge's office in Puerto Barrios (no government money is *wasted* on air-conditioning at this place). It was really sweltering and our bodies became very sticky. Finally at about 4 pm we were done and given the "go ahead" to go home! Yeahy!

As irony would have it, hurricane Ike is due to be in/ near Houston, TX tomorrow, so our airplane flight home has been postponed until Monday….. our delays continue, but it is a big relief for Mom to be done with her declaration.

I'll write more tomorrow. Now I'm off to bed.

Love, Jessica, Nancy and Brian

A Morning Walk in the Sun

2008-09-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

We went for a long walk this morning out to the Castillo de San Felipe and back to town. We didn't go into the Castillo but it is a nice 2-2.5 hour walk from the marina where we are staying. We left at 6:30 am to beat the heat, but didn't get back until well after the morning heat began. On our walk we spoke with a nice couple from Canada (Dave and Arlene), who now live in a house they own near the Castillo. They previously sailed to Rio Duice and liked it so much they bought a house. We were talking with them about our desire to learn to sail and they suggested an at-home course that teaches you how to navigate, read charts, and a lot of other sailing safety lessons. So, maybe we will study up this fall and winter, before coming back to the boat to try some more sailing. Dave and Arlene said that they bought a sailboat and *then* learned how to sail. They were very encouraging of us to study this course, but mostly to get out there and DO IT.

The day time temperature here feels like it is heating up, in general. There are fewer and fewer rain clouds and thunderstorms (as the rainy season is ending), and so the days are mostly very hot and sunny. Even the sun at 5:30 pm feels hot!

In a few minutes we will head to the boat to put some polishing wax on the top sides of the boat (i.e. the outsides of the boat), which will help protect the boat for the next few months. Today we will finish our "boat chores" and tomorrow we will do a quick trip to Quirigua (Mayan ruins nearby) with Omar (of Asistur) and some other folks. On Friday we will meet with the judge and the Public Ministry for hopefully the last time.

I can fully understand why my parents enjoyed living here and preparing their boat for some years of sailing. The general routine here is relatively relaxed (due to the high temperatures) and it is pleasant to practice Spanish and slowly accomplish projects. Despite this, however, we are ready to return to AK and our many projects there to prepare for winter. Also, we are ready to be with our many friends and family at home and to continue the grieving process in our home environment, where we shared so many wonderful years with my Dad. I am ready to be cradled by the mountains and nurtured by the harvests of the summer gardens.

Love, Jessica, Nancy and Brian

Getting the Job Done

2008-09-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend we worked on the final touches of preparing the boat for dry storage and overall it is looking better and better. One very unfortunate development we found was that during the time we were in Tikal, someone or something cracked the glass on the boat's solar panel. Since a 120 watt panel is about $600 new (in the U.S.), we hope it is possible to just replace the glass, instead of having to purchase and ship a completely new panel. This damage to the boat really put a damper on our day. Nancy and I were quite agitated with things and Jessica was trying to maintain a positive outlook. I let the seeds of anger get planted but when I later read this blog and all of the wonderful things you all have written I was able to dig up the seeds and throw them away. Thank-you. This is great therapy.

Yesterday we finished putting the tarps on the boat with help from fellow boaters Jay and Barbara. They then took us back to their boat and fed us too! That is not the way it usually works. I thought we were supposed to feed them! There are some really awesome people down here and we are getting a lot of support from the boating community.

We are cooking breakfast and lunch in the house that the Marina Bob has allowed us to stay in. We go out for dinner about 50% of the time. We shower often to cool off and temporarily remove the sticky sweat from our bodies. We get one news channel down here in ingles: Fox News. It can be quite hilarious, especially since at this point we feel so removed from the "ordinary" goings on of our home country.

We will be waxing the topsides of the boat tomorrow. We were told that if you put a heavy wax on the fiberglass and do not buff it off, it will weather better while we are away. News to me. I always found that the longer you waited to buff wax the harder it was to remove the film. Hmmm....

Well, we are planning to fly to Alaska on Saturday, but if you go to NOAA's hurricane site you will see that IKE is heading towards Texas and will be centered over Houston at 2 pm on Saturday. We are scheduled to arrive in Houston at 2 pm on Saturday. Volcanoes stalled our trip south to Guatemala, and now hurricanes may stall our trip north on the way back. I guess God thinks we need to work on our patience a bit more.

Well, I'm not feeling especially inspired with creativity to write at the moment. Marina Bob took us swimming in the river today on his Bayliner and my brain got a bit soggy I guess. Hopefully we'll have good "judicial" news for you by Friday.

Love Us.

As long as it takes

2008-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

We are back in Rio Dulce after spending Thursday night and Friday in Tikal. It felt good to "get away from it all" in the jungle in Tikal. We are patiently waiting for the judicial system to allow Nancy to make a declaration for the case to get under way. It seems like the defense is trying to stall long enough for us to get frustrated and go home. Sorry hombre, we're in it for the long haul.

So now the time frame is pushed to the end of this coming week. We'll see what else they have up their sleeves to delay us some more. Maybe we could delay things for two months, go home, and come back to continue with the "case." We'll see what options we have.

Back to positive things, Tikal was wonderful. The preservation/restoration of the ruins has been done very well (in my opinion). They have built wooden stairs/ladders to climb to the top of the structures (we're not allowed to climb the steep stairs anymore because of other tourists falling to their death while ascending/descending the steep stone paths.) Some of the "pyramids" have been excavated from under the 1500 or so years of detritus that collected in the jungle. Other "pyramids" have been left covered to show how the "discovery" looked 150 or so years ago (and the fact that excavation takes a really long time and lots of money).

We were serenaded by howler monkeys and other creatures of the jungle. Spider monkeys swung from branch to branch munching on fruits of their labor. Leaps of faith were witnessed frequently and I must say that spider monkeys must have a lot of religion. Speaking of spiders, there are many down here, and they are BIG! There is one that I have not identified yet, but imagine a 6-8" leg sprawl (spindly legs) with the body of a scorpion (minus the stinger) and small claws similar to a scorpion. It moves with lightning speed and we only found it within dark caves in tight spaces. I really had to work on my nerves crawling past these buggers on my hands and knees while they crept silently only inches from my head. Nancy and I explored an excavated cave (hands and knees) and Jessica "guarded" the entrance. About 20m in we rounded a corner (past the many creepy crawlies) to come upon a nice family of bats. Their sleep was interrupted by my headlamp and they came over to greet us in the 4' diameter tunnel. Well, I'm not a fan of bats banging into my face so I turned around and "suggested" Nancy and I move back out. Nancy witnessed the bats hovering over my head as I ushered her quickly out of the cave. I guess I still need to work on my social skills while in a bat's home. How rude of me to leave without saying "Hello."

We drove back to Rio Dulce to finish our duties here. We will be putting tarps (ordered from Guat City) on the boat today and we should be done with boat storage requirements after that. We will have another week on our hands and we still have not decided how we will spend it.

Case Note: The two brothers arrested in association with the assault had a third brother that has been "missing" since the day after the attack. Curious. I'll let your mind stew on that one.

To leave on a positive note, we love you all and are looking forward to coming home. Right now there is a *tentative* date of Oct 4th or 5th for a memorial service in Alaska (another memorial is anticipated in NY at a much later date). We'll keep you updated on that progression. Hopefully we'll be home by then!

Peace and Love

Brian, Nancy, and Jessica

The Tango

2008-09-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

When Nancy put her foot down last week, it was actually the beginning of a dance with the Guatemalan Gov’t. It seems like the judicial system that Nancy is dancing with does not have much experience leading, and being that Nancy has zero experience with this dance, a few toes may get stepped on.

Ours have been stepped on and now we have to stay down here for, yet again, “one more week.” So by the end of next week we will be hopefully on a plane back to AK. It seems that the suspect’s family has hired a good/sharp lawyer to stall the judicial system as much as possible, hoping that we will leave and the case will be dropped. Even though Nancy has given a testimony to the Public Ministry and the police, it counts for nothing and she has to give a declaration to a Judge and the defense lawyer can supposedly grill Nancy during the declaration. “What the heck?” Allowed to be grilled while giving a declaration of what happened? Sounds like an interrogation to me. I’m really trying to hold in my expletives right now. If Nancy leaves without giving a declaration, supposedly the case will be dropped even though the police may have fingerprints and other evidence. Nancy has not been allowed to see the suspects yet. On the two occasions the Gov’t has given her photos of the suspects, they have been the ones published in the newspaper and the suspects have covered their faces. Really high-class police work down here!

On behalf of the suspects or anyone suspected of anything down here, the Gov’t can hold you in jail for three months without any evidence or “real” reason. Not a very good system. We feel bad that if the suspects being held now are not the robbers/killers, their lawyer may be delaying their release by his stall tactics. Also, we have heard that the penalty for killing down here may be a mere 15 years. Hardly a sentence. I am beginning to despise this “system,” if you can even call it a system. The Lonely Planet has an interesting excerpt in their Guatemalan Guide Book: “Here’s a sticky one for you: take it as given that the Guatemalan justice system is broken, perhaps beyond repair. Lawyers get shot in broad daylight on downtown streets and nobody saw anything.”

Not very promising.

Yesterday we went for an inner-tube float down one of the local rivers. Quite serene except for the very short sections of class 3 mini-falls that end in sharp rocks. We all had a very good time until I led the way into the “toughest” section with scouting only being done by our “guide” and the only advice being to “stay left.” Well, I stayed “left”, but, my tube ripped on a sharp rock before I even entered the main drop. So, my floatation ceased and I (without helmet or lifejacket) used my skin to protect my innards from sharp rocks. It worked. In hindsight, I should have obeyed rule one and scouted on my own to “see” the rapids and sharp rocks for myself. I should have obeyed rule 2 and not run the rapids considering our guide didn’t even run them. Hmmm.

Besides the one incident, the float was perfect. Jessica did get pinned in her tube on a rock and became stranded in the middle of the river, but we were able to get her tube back to her and she was able to drop the last of the technical falls. Side Note: I would never have taken my pack raft down this river. The rocks were sharp (volcanic) and would have been perfect for rock-climbing, but we were trying to slide over them not stick to them. Oh, I had to sew a hole in my trunks after the trip.

Today we head for Tikal. A jungle Mayan pyramid exploration is in order. We’ll be staying with friends in Tikal and then back to Rio Dulce. We are all wanting to come home but feel that a statement is necessary to keep the case open. We know that nothing can be done for us, but maybe we can help others by stopping this kind of thing from happening again. With only 2% of all homicides being solved down here, it is kind of a Hail-Mary. Some of you may be under the impression that the killers were taken care of with “Village Justice,” as reported in some of the newspapers. We have no proof that the one’s killed down here were the attackers. We (the police too) do not even have photos of those “cleansed” by the locals. It’s a crazy “justice” system down here. I sure have a different and grateful view of our “ official judicial system” back home. At least it isn’t completely broken (except O.J.). But, there is always hope.

Love Us. (Brian, Nancy and Jessica)

The finca

2008-09-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we started the day with more boat chores and grant writing. We set up the dehumidifier and back-up battery charger on the boat. We were told to set the humidity level to 70% in the boat, which we all thought sounded quite high, but we followed the recommendation (otherwise, we were told, it would be quite expensive to have the dehumidifier on all the time). We ordered two tarps to cover the boat when we leave it, mostly to protect it from the scorching sun. By late afternoon we were done and ready to head out of town for a few days.

We drove north in the setting sun, watching out the window of our van as the locals walked, biked and socialized along the roadside. The roadside was bustling with activity. It was a beautiful scene- very peaceful and welcoming. Our police security (that have been following us since our (the kids) first day in Guatemala) followed behind us as we zigged and zagged into the hills. We arrived at our destination just as complete darkness set in. Our destination was a rural finca (ranch) with many sleeping accommodations, excellent food, and fun options for activities. The finca is between Rio Dulce and Tikal, two hours from both. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, looked at a beautiful night sky filled with bright stars, and then quickly fell asleep.

Today Brian and I worked diligently on our grant proposal. By mid-afternoon we were done and ready to relax (thanks to a lot of help from Diana in Alaska- Chickaloon Village’s accounting guru)! Just then a torrential tropical rainstorm happened complete with crashing thunder, lightening and buckets and buckets of rain. As soon as the rain stopped (about 30 minutes later) we took a walk around the finca. We decided to try the ‘pyramid’ hike, up a pyramid-shaped hill. It was a nearly vertical climb and very slippery with mud forcing us to use our hands to grab vines, roots, and rocks for handholds. The hill was covered with thick jungle-like vegetation and it was saturated from the heavy rain. I was very proud of Mom who negotiated the treacherous slopes and rocks and vines very well. We were all a little muddy by the time we went up and down the hill. Fortunately the finca had a pond for swimming where we could wash ourselves off and enjoy a skinny dip in the evening dusk with bats flying overhead, planets glowing in the sky and a sliver of a moon setting. It is much cooler here and we are actually enjoying wearing pants and long-sleeved shirts. All in all it was a good day, now we are off to bed with the sounds of a tropical night and the fireflies to light our way.

2008-09-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

A Day Off

2008-09-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a much needed day off from police and government work. Mom and I started our day off with a long walk with a group of women (men are invited too, but they just don't get up early enough). The walk started at 7 am to beat the heat of the day, but by 7:15 it was probably in the mid 80's. The walk is organized every Sunday by a very nice French woman that is a sailor. She is 'landed' at the moment because her sailboat (a catamaran) was struck by lightening at the beginning of August and it has more than 80 holes in the hull that need to be repaired! She and her husband were aboard the boat when the lightening hit and they fortunately received no injuries.

Our walk took us out of town through rolling hills to a small village nearby where we met a lovely couple who knew Mom and Dad. They invited the entire women's walking group into their home and showed us their beautiful garden of fruit trees (banana, platano, starfruit, lime, avocado, coconut, and more). They offered us a pile of avocados to make guacamole!

Then our walk continued to a hidden marina/restaurant/hotel (Tortugal). The owner of the marina was one of the women walkers and she treated us to ice water and a delicious smoothy (orange juice, yogurt, strawberry, banana, and ice). Then she gave us a tour of her comfortable and peaceful establishment.

When we returned to the house we are staying in, an afternoon party was being organized. A boat owner in our marina and his friend went ocean fishing three days ago, and they wanted to share their 'catch.' So by mid-afternoon we were eating delicious fish and hush-puppies (my favorite) as well as assorted salads and food that other people brought. Many of the party goers were musicians, so we enjoyed hours of fantastic guitar music and singing. By the end of the evening Brian was also playing and singing, Jimmy Buffett of course! It was an enjoyable event.

Today, we are back to boat business: tarps ordered to cover the boat to protect it from sun and rain damage, setting up the dehumidifier and battery charger, and putting cleaned laundry aboard. The police/public ministry work also needs to be nudged. If we can, we will head north for a few days to stay at a jungle farm and visit Tikal, while the government does the necessary work to set up final meetings for Mom. We will probably be back in Rio Dulce by Wednesday night. Daniel and Renee's absence is strongly felt. It seems to take a team of family and friends to keep our positive energy flowing. We appreciate all the emails we are receiving and we read and reread them throughout the day. We also enjoy repeatedly looking at the wonderful photos of Dad that are on this blog.

With love, Jessica, Nancy and Brian

Sending Energy Home

2008-08-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

This morning Daniel and Renee left for the airport in Guat City at 5a.m.. We were all supposed to leave today, but case circumstances have required Nancy to stay another week. Actually, they want her to stay for at least two more weeks, but she had to drop her foot and cut that in half. If you think the judicial system is slow in the states, try coming to Guatemala. We walked into a "Police Office" during the beginning of our trip for some paper work only to see that their filing system consisted of stacks of papers tied together in bundles stacked on top of one another and then stacked on top of full filing cabinets. They do have computers down here, but it seems like their hard drives may be too small.

We hated to split up the group. We worked well together as a team. Daniel and Renee's energy will be missed, but we should be back together in about six days. We look forward to coming home soon. As beautiful as it is down here, it isn't Alaska. I see Hobo Jim is playing at the Fair on Monday night with a good band. Can someone please go and enjoy the music for me. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the Fair and it's good times.

We are not planning on staying in Rio Dulce for the next week. We'll be off on some adventure checking out the countryside looking for that wonderful Guatemalan shade. Jess and I have to work on a grant that is due Tuesday that is the main funding source for our jobs. Angie Wade (our friend, neighbor, and boss) is emailing all of our previous grant notes down to us. We'll have to shape up a large grant in two days. This is not a vacation down here.

We apologize for not writing back to everyone that has sent us encouraging emails. We hope to respond to each email when we return to AK. There has been so much support from everyone that we did not have enough time to respond back. I hope you do not feel left out. Trust me, we needed and enjoyed each and every note. Thank You!

Jess and Nancy are out on a walk right now. There is a group of women that walk every Sunday morning about 5 km. I am curious to see how Nancy feels when she gets back. She has recovered so well that I bet she is encouraging the women to walk five more K. All of her stitches are out and the wounds have healed and are healing well. You can barely see the wound on her chest due to her dark tan. You may not recognize nancy when she gets back to AK. She may blend into the shadows. She's as tan as you can get without turning into a Guatemalan.

Peace and Love
N,J, and B

lightning bolts and beaurocracy

2008-08-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

For Jess and Nancy the day began at 5:45. They were meeting Omar (Guatemalan Tourist Assistant) to drive an hour to Puerto Barrios. There, they would consult Hugo at the court house. They had the expectation of identifying possible suspects and bringing closure to necessary legal paperwork. However, after hours of waiting, delays, shopping for boat things between delays, waiting, waiting and waiting, Nancy was asked to stay another week, No, wait, Two weeks, so the defense could be "prepared" to LISTEN to Nancy's testimony. And two weeks was just a good guess on how long it might be.

Jess and Nancy did get to look at photos of Dan that the police had taken at the crime scene. The officials were hesitant about sharing the photos to be sensitive towards Nancy. However, curious as ever and wanting some sense of what actually happened and how Dan died, Nancy requested, again to view the images after being denied previously. The details of death were clarified somewhat within the pictures. What Nancy and Jessica discovered was actually quite remarkable. It wasn't some sort of gory massacre scene, as rumor and the press have painted it to be. On the other hand, it wasn't easy, glorifying or idealistic to look at death this way. But something the photos did reveal was that Dan's eyes were beautifully clear and open...bright blue. His head was tilted back, his face was looked calm and apparently painless. It wasn't a picture of suffering any longer, rather it was one of surrender to something bigger than us... His arms were opened to his sides and he looked as if he was taking flight from the physical. He looked beautiful and this was a relief.

A side note:
I remember racing to reed lakes with Daniel and Dan one summer...part way on bike, part way on foot. The two Dan's left me in the dust, laughing and encouraging one another the whole way. I was shocked that I was being toasted by a sixty year old man. He rallied as fast and smooth as he could over all terrain. I think we had Dragged Dan from the office on that particular occasion. He needed to get out of there. On the way back down the valley Dan asked to hang behind us... he'd catch up. Dan was feeling the Chi, so to speak. A while later I looked back and caught him running to a nice place to kneel and meditate. His intensity and focus was incredible. He'd drop everything to feel the pulse of source in his heart. After some time he was standing, doing what appeared to be some Tai Chi moves. His arms were outstretched and his silver hair was blowing around in the wind, smiling, exuberant. He was sporting his red and white striped short shorts. Like daisy dukes. It was purely awesome. Daniel and I laughed, loved him even more and realized how cool Dan Dryden the Senior was. How could you not love someone who loved the essence of this life with such persistence. So today when I heard Jess and Nancy talking about the pictures I had a realization in knowing that this death is painful, was painful...but for only moments. I think Dan knew how to open his arms and allow spirit to step in and take over at the right time. He was always prepared for flight. Always prepared to make graceful entrances and exits. Assured that he wouldn't miss a thing on either end.

Back to business:
While the Dryden ladies were experiencing the glacially slow politics and nuances of Guatemalan police and lawyers, Daniel, Brian and I finished boat chores, did a little packing, made lunch, took a nap, walked to town, ate ice cream, liquados, and experienced an incredible lightning storm which caused some sparking of electrical appliances in this very un-weather proof marina house which has been made available to us. The thunder sounded like a whip snapping down from heaven all around. The energy of the day was less focused than others and a pervading low crept in. Reality. The understanding that Dan's not coming back. He's not just around the corner waiting for a hug...this was apparent and unsatisfying. No amount of ice cream or beer could fill the void. We even tried cigarettes, but we just coughed and smelled bad. So much for pacifying ourselves with exterior comforts. So we sat in a hammock until the darkness became night, and held a tear-muffled silence to understand the unanswerable questions we all have about life, death, love and all. No cooing, tenderness, tucking in of sheets, cookies and milk, rocking in a hammock, baking cakes, or singing lullabies can make it all change....but the beauty of unconditional love is all encompassing. It jolts us alive with the energy and awareness that's been dispersed between all of us. And THAT'S what the illumination of Awe is derived from.

Over and Out
R and D

Up,Up, and Away!

2008-08-28T17:22:00.001-07:00

The boat that is. We had the boat hoisted this morning from Rio Dulce. Ram Marina offerred to pull Nancy's boat from the water and store it in the boat yard, gratis! We graciously accepted their offer and had the boat yanked from the River's grasp. She is pretty much "put up" and ready for a short hiatus out of the water. We are all trying to figure out how we are going to keep Dan and Nancy's dream alive and sail her out of here! It is hard without a "captain" to find out what direction we are going in. We all have some deep contemplation to do about our lives and where we need/want to go. One thing is for sure, we are not going to let fear stop us from doing anything.

A fuel dock blew up down here today. Lots of sirens and black clouds. We didn't know about it until it was well over due to our heads being buried in the boat. There is always something going on down here. You don't need a T.V. here.

We are wrapping things up and preparing for our return to AK. It is definitly hard for Nancy to leave this place, this dream. I can understand. It is way more fun sailing then dealing with all of the hastles of putting a boat away and dealing with the gov't . We have often thought of just sailing down the river, right on out of here. That would be a way of keeping the dream alive. But the dream is still alive. It is stronger in us than it ever has been. Regresamos.

Love Us.

Work-Work

2008-08-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

We did get a lot of cleaning done on the boat yesterday. We did not make it out sailing. There is much to be done to prep the boat to be taken out of the water. We were hoping to take down the sails today, but an all night thunderstorm dampened our idea. We may have to wait for some dryer weather to wick away the moisture now found on our sails before we fold them and put them away for storage.

There was a potluck here at the marina last night for Lou and Cookie who are dock mates leaving for the states and for all of us to enjoy each others company. Daniel and Renee cooked up a feast to share with those in the harbor. Speaking of harbors, some of you know that I (B) really enjoy Jimmy Buffett tunes. Here are some lyrics to a song I have sung often down here:

"One Particular Harbor"

Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei

I know I don't get there often enough
But God knows I surely try
It's a magic kind of medicine
That no doctor could prescribe

I used to rule my world from a pay phone
Ships out on the sea
But now times are rough
Oh I got too much stuff
I can't explain the likes of me

Chorus:
But there's this one particular harbor
So far but yet so near
Where I see the days as they fade away
Finally disappear

But now I think about the good times
Down in the Caribbean sunshine
In my younger days I was so bad
Laughin' about all the fun we've had

I seen enough to feel the world spin
Mixin' different oceans meetin' cousins
Listen to the drummers and the night sounds
Listen to the singers make the world go 'round

Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei

Lakes below the mountain
Flow into the sea
Like oils applied to canvas
Oh how they permeate through me

But there's this one particular harbor
Sheltered from the wind
Where the children play on the shore each day
And all are safe within

A most mysterious calling harbor
So far but yet so near
Where I can see the day when my hair's full gray
And I finally disappear

Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei

Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei

Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei

Find the tune on the net to enjoy some steel drums and island music.

Again, we cannot re-iterate enough how much this website has been helping us down here. We look forward to seeing Alaskan friends soon. We'll be (all of us) back in AK in the next week and working on an Alaskan memorial service. An East coast service memorial will be planned at a later date.

We have much to do before we leave the boat and van down here. Putting a boat away for six or so months is quite challenging in this hot and muggy climate. Much care must be taken to prevent sun damage and mold damage to the boat and her rigging.

It is difficult for Nancy to leave this "project" knowing how much Dan was invested in it. She really enjoys being down here. This is an amazing place.

Love, us.

Sailing, Hotsprings and Stories of Dad

2008-08-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we geared up for a two-day sail on Lake Isabal. With Jon-Claude (a sailing friend who was the broker for this boat - French of course) as our captain we planned to sail to Finca Paraiso (Paradise Ranch) to practice sailing and to enjoy being out, away from Rio Dulce, together on the boat.

Preparations included food purchase and prep and other errands. Also, after nearly 2 weeks together (and countless hours of translating for Mom and the police, leading us in prayers, etc.), our cousin Alejandro left by bus to Guatemala City to fly home to Mexico.

Jon-Claude and his family arrived at the planned time, but 'as usual' the Dryden's weren't quite ready…. When we left our marina the cool breeze of sailing felt terrific, since the noon heat was in the mid-90's. We learned how to use the boat's auto-pilot, experimented with various sail configurations, and practiced sailing the boat as a team. It was an exciting and rewarding feeling to be sailing the big blue lake, just as Dad would have done with us!

We sailed for about 4 hours and arrived at Finca Paraiso. After learning how to anchor the boat we went swimming from the boat in the incredibly WARM water; practicing our dives and jumps from the boat.

Jon-Claude and his family (his mother and daughter visiting from France) slept in the bungalows of Finca Paraiso, while we (Drydens) slept on the boat. Well after dark we went swimming again, enjoying the glorious stars, the warm water and the cooler air temperatures (in the upper 60's).

In the morning we hiked through pastures and farm land and then into old growth rainforest for about 40 minutes to a hot springs waterfall, that falls into a cool mountain stream! We relished the sight and the sensations of swimming in cool water and standing in the falling hot water to get a body massage. My Mom and Dad visited this place several months ago on their first overnight sail and loved it! My parents have always sought out hot springs (no matter how hot the air temperature) and this location is particularly idyllic. Daniel quickly found hidden passages underneath the waterfall to explore and led us through tight passageways. After overcoming our fears of being swept away, it was exhilarating. Then Daniel and Brian found various ledges of the waterfall to jump off, landing in the cool pool below. We knew Dad would have loved doing it all with us, and we recognized that we were doing much of it because of my Dad's continuous encouragement to be brave.

On our way back to the boat we asked a local farmer if we could buy some fresh corn from his field. He eagerly sent one of his workers off to get us 15 ears and when it was time to pay he wouldn't accept any money. It was a wonderful reminder of the generosity and thoughtfulness of most Guatemalans.

During the sail back to town we ate the fresh steamed corn and other delicious foods on the boat. Then we sailed; trying to get to town before darkness set in. We stayed longer than intended at the waterfall (of course) and were consequently running quite late for our sailing departure. Daniel took the helm as the wind picked up and the boat heeled over and touched her rail in the water, creating excitement and adrenaline rushes! (7 knots reached!)

Darkness came while we were still sailing toward town. Thankfully Jon-Claude knew the area very well and was comfortable motoring into town, despite the darkness. After docking we (family) spent the evening enjoying a bottle of wine that Dad had purchased especially for Mom and Dad to enjoy together and Mom told stories of their early days together. It was a lovely way to end a good voyage together.

We plan to maybe go sailing again today, 8-26, with our previous sailing mentors Bryan and Jay. We will be pulling the boat out of the water on Thursday and we have much to do to get her ready for storage. Busy, Busy.

Love Us

sailing like old pro's

2008-08-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

The boat left it's slip yesterday and we set sail around lake Izabal. Brian (not Jess's brian) and Jay were our captains who graciously gave us expert guidance through the fine details of sailing. The jargon was overhwelming, but we managed to whirl around the lake with the wind, without capsizing or intentionally losing anyone overboard. we all scuttled around pulling on lines, watching the sails, feeling the air and learning a little about physics. Nancy's heart was pleased to see her children enjoying the sailing so much. There were tears and smiles, beers and hugs. It was a scene that Dan would have very much admired as well. We had a small taste of Dan and Nancy's dream to include the children as part of the projects, the learning and life on the sail boat. In some moments we were missing the guidance from Dan that we knew would be direct, gentle and precise. He was such an incredible teacher. I imagined him ecxtatic, exuding enthusiasm and support... watching his children as capable adults supporting and actualizing this dream. Im sure in some way he was there with all his enthusiasm, pulling the boat along through the lake with the gentle, supportive hand of the wind.

In honor of fun, we dove off the boat as it was moving through the water (very slowly, so it seemed, untill we were in the water beside the boat as it whooshed by). We would swim as fast as we could to catch the ladder on the stern and climb back onto the boat. It was refreshing to grab the dingy's tow rope and get dragged through the luke-warm lake water after a boiling hot day (lobster burns still abound...).

Today we'll set sail again for an overnight adventure with a freind, Jon-claude (yes...from France). We'll excercise our sailing skills and explore our relationship with this sticky, beautiful river a little more. Untill further updates....

Love,
The Crew

What is lost?

2008-08-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

Each night we sit in a circle with the warm air of the tropics whirling around our little group. We read the letters and stories your have written in the cabin or salon of the boat. It is good to feel your spirit. To be with family lovingly hearing what others remember. To me it is sort of like a disappearing act. It is love that brings me sadness. Knowing his hand will no longer touch mine, or that his eye's will no longer twinkle with excitement as we run through the woods, over mountain ridges, down dirt roads in foreign countries, or contemplate the essence of life. I think he helped a lot of us do more than we had dreamed. His kind compassionate enthusiastic support will be miss. Over flowing with energy.
Is it strength, is it illusion or reality? I look around knowing my dad is still here, living in my heart and actions, living in others and their dreams. I see what life I believed he had left to live, as potential. Now that potential energy has been given to us as a gift. A gift to re-evaluate how we spend our time, who we want to be, what we want to value, and the potential energy to make the changes we desire. To make these changes is not a finite moment of change, but a continuous evolution refining our broad ideals into reality. To do an adequate job takes strength, perseverance, and awareness. These were all attributes that Dan embodied. What ever he directed his focus on became his passion.
How often do we see some one for their true beauty? How often do we over look our biases, our own emotional baggage to see the radiance of the person before us? In the letters you write we can feel each of you doing this, letting your heart love to it's potential. With love and gratitude Nancy, Jess, Brian, Daniel, Renee, and Ale

Police and water skiing

2008-08-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Dawn rose at 6:00 am and with it the first of our crew. All six of us found fans and places on the boat to sleep last night. Each day brings with it, different memories of Dan, and a new continuim of emotions to digest his unexpected death. Apart from the emotions are the tanglible chores and pleasures of the day. Today we scrubbed mold off canvas awnings to prepare the boat for storage. Necessary for any work or respite, is shade, Our white alaskan bodies begin to quickly turn lobster red in the direct sun. After chores, Nancy and Ale proceeded to the head of the public ministry where they met with a lawer who returned "most" of Nancy's possesions which were pilfered by the police upon investigation. Law enforcement here has been dissapointing in it's inability to clarify details, put together a tangible case, etc... The police didn't even let Nancy know which items they removed from the boat until she picked them up. While items were being sorted out, and information gathered at the public minstry office, Jessica, Brian, Daniel and Renee were contemplating chores...but more accurately, preparing to go water skiing (we have to have a little fun....). We slathered ourselves in sun-screen (White bodies still reflecting a blinding shield of light) and prepared to rock it old school. There was a few botched attempts at getting started, but over all the Alaskans had no problem putting their ski skills to the test. There was even one spectacular wobble-save-teeter-totter-save-it-oh-shit maneuver from Daniel. Captain Bob (the water ski enabler) is due some major kudos for dragging us off the boat to put a brighter spin on this place of contrasting intentions.

Nancy and Ale returned with some important posessions taken from the boat. We all had a good check in around the table at the cockpit, discussing options about what to do in the future and how we feel about being here. The stages of reflection and awareness are unravelling day by day. One moment it's laughter, the next it's grief or anger. Each of us is holding space for this grand unfolding of a new way of life....

Out of what seemed like no where, huge black clouds arose and expanded where a show of lightning and thunder ignited the sky. we walked to the top of a bridge and watched the beautiful darkness traveling over the landscape. When we'd filled ourselves with enough electricity, we returned to the boat where Nancy, Jess and Brian combined their culinary skills for an awesome meal. Now that our ties with Police and government officials is less pressing (at least for a few days) we are thinking of taking the boat out for a short sail, then winding things up here in preparation for departure. It's important to leave this place with the flavor of family, love and the kindness that exists beneath the harsh brutality and ignorance which surfaces in this place where drugs, corruption and poverty closely intermingle. More updates later...untill then;

Loves all around...

Nancy, Jess, Brian, Daniel, Renee and Ale

Boiled Water

2008-08-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

We are all here sitting in the salon of S/V Sunday's Child, Nancy and Dan's floating abode. Warm and cozy, like a cabin in the middle of winter. Well, maybe not cozy, but close, intiment, sticky. Sunday's Child - renamed Kwiana by Dan and Nancy - a phoenetic version of Quy'ana meaning "Thank-you" in Yu'pik, is a beautiful 42' Southern Cross cutter sailboat built in Rhode Island in '83.

Renee cooked breakfast for us on the boat at around noon - after several errands. It is funny how your hunger dissappears down here. No need to burn calories when your sweating your life away. Scrambled eggs, beans, tortillas, tomatoes, potatoes with sauteed oniions and carrots, tasty bread with montequilla, iced coffee con leche, and then -- proper balanced bowel movements.

We went to a marina today that offerred to put the boat on the hard - balanced on concrete out of the water - for free. What an offer. There have been many local people of local businesses down here that have offerred help -gratis- to Nancy. It seems that many Guatemalans are ashamed of what has happened. They often convey that not all Guatemalans are like those that attacked Dan and Nancy.

Bob, the owner of the marina where Kwiana is docked, offerred to take us out on his newly purchased 26' Bayliner to see the area. We went down to Monkey Bay where the attack occurred and were surprised that it was 150 yards from a near-by marina. Not a place that one would be afraid to moor overnight in. We talked of howler monkeys and their migration paths and feeding habits around the bay. We cruised on across the river to look at other marinas and talk about all of the swashbuckling deals of foreign men and local women getting married, building marinas, offing one another for profit, and other mayhem that occurrs down here. We were actually in a boat that belonged to a guy that was run-off by the locals because he was involved in something shady. Bob purchased the boat from the guy for a song of a deal. This is not rare down here. The local town is called Fronteras.

We motored on up the river past the 500 year old fortress that "protected" Lake Izabel from "pirates." We stopped at a hotel/restaurant to swim in the lake and check out the mini-zoo of monkies and cuayate like creatures. We enjoyed the stories Bob had to say and learned alot about how things work down here. We cruised on over the lake and entered into a sub-division infested mangrove. People purchase "swamp" land down here and either bring in fill (sound familiar) or build stilted homes above the wetness. The homes were incredible and each had the appropriately associated 60' SeaRay moored alongside the house. We cruised on back to our starting point and debated dinner.

We learned that the police would not be returning Nancy's confiscated belongings to her today. "Tomorrow" is their favorite word down here. They now are requiring us to drive about an hour away to meet with the police to get her things back. Frustrating.

Ale and I ate dinner at a local bar. Nancy, Daniel, Jessica and Renee went back to cook dinner on the boat. We are now situated in the salon writing to you. Interspersed with ideas to write down are talkings about how we are all going to fit on the boat tonight. We'll let you know how that goes. I hope I don't short-circuit this computer with the sweat that is pouring off of my body. The sweat starts at 7am and hasn't stopped yet - almost 11pm. It is a great weight loss plan.

I read aloud some of the email messages posted on "Dan's Life" section of the blog. We enjoyed the "bed-time" stories of Dan and Nancy's adventures of the past. Thanks for the memories and laughs, affections and teachings.
All our love,
Nancy, Jessica, Daniel, Renee, Ale, and B.

Back in Rio Dulce

2008-08-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

We're back! For those of you that were wondering where we were last weekend, we were in Panajachel on Lago Atitlan. Bill and Rosy from AK have a place there and they put us up for the weekend. We had a wonderful time and all got a little bit toasted from the intense sun. Their hotel is amazing and it provided a great place for rejuvination.

On Monday we headed back to Guate City so Nancy could meet with the Gov't rep. now in charge of the investigations. She recounted her story which was recorded in detail (translated by Ale). And then she dealt with death certificate nuances at the US embassy. We are all a bit dissatisfied with the police investigative work down here.

Today, Tuesday, we boarded the boat after waiting all morning for the "police chief" to show up and "release" the boat to us. We got tired of waiting. We boarded and begain the process of cleaning the boat back to her functional order. It was not as bad as it could have been. A bit of blood on the floor. The cabbage salad Dan and Nancy were making the night of the incident had turned to liquid and there were a few maggots crawling around, but not too bad. We noticed damage to one of the walls behind a map from the machete fight. "Police Investigation" tape put on the boat by the police melted into everything it touched and had to be scraped off by a knife and scrubbed off with mineral spirits. The tape on the hatch covers was the worst clean-up we had to do, so it was not that bad.

We had lunch on the boat - fried fish picked up by Ale on the street, fresh rolls bought from a lady rowing by in her dingy, fresh tortillas, cucumber, fresh bread, avacadoes, tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, and beer Dan had bought before he and Nancy sailed out on the 9th. Friends stopped by to chat and offer condolances. We enjoyed the shade of the awning tied out above the cockpit. The sun is unbelievable down here. I couldn't walk barefoot anywhere due to the hot surfaces created by the sun. The fiberglass deck was the only thing do-able. I could have made breakfast on the metal rigging plates on the surface of the boat.

We went for a walk in the late afternoon in town. Nancy met with more friends and we found ourselves talking the night away. We never stayed with any one party too long, but there were many to talk to along our way. We made it back to the boat at around 11pm and Nancy, Jessica and I are sleeping aboard. Daniel, Renee and Ale are in a hotel room nearby with all of our stuff that would fill the boat to capacity if we all crammed on board.

We hope to meet with the "Police chief" tomorrow to get Nancy's personal belongings back. You have to worry about the police stealing just as much as you would worry about a local thief. It is pretty lawless down here. It is wild and beautiful and I understand why Dan liked it. It also makes me appreciate the "order" we have back in the states. All in moderation I guess.

Sorry I was unable to write yesterday. We did not get down here until late. Eight hours on the road - praying the whole way. Mario Andretty (sp) or Dale Earnhardt would fit in well down here.

We still can't believe our captain is gone. We are managing, but it is tough. We hope to take the boat out to stretch her sails. Then we will probably pull her from the water and prep her for a bit of storage. We have not talked about the future. We are still dealing with the past. We are managing with the present and hope to continue to heal. Nancy reiterates how much she appreciates everyone's prayers and words of encouragement. We miss you all.

Love
B

Full Moon

2008-08-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

Mom stayed up until 2 am reading emails from friends and family last night. She is enjoying them immensely, as are the rest of us. We have been focused on healing and restorative activities this weekend with many special moments thinking of my dad, enjoying activities that my dad enjoyed, singing and praying, and reflecting on our gratefulness. I am grateful beyond words to have been born into this family with parents that have been so devoted, compassionate, encouraging, and loving. I am grateful to have shared 31 years with my loving father with innumerable memories of exciting adventures, pleasurable and rewarding teamwork activities, quiet times shared, and enjoyable daily living activities together. I am grateful that I always shared my true feelings with my father and verbally shared with him and expressed my love towards him and my respect of him. I am grateful to have no regrets about my interactions with my father and my relationship with my father- I loved him and he loved me. I continue to feel my father's love. I am grateful to have a loving and supportive family, including my mother, brother, husband, extended family and friends. I am grateful to have friends like family caring for our home in Alaska while we are here. Thank you for your love. I am sending you mine.
Jessica

One Week

2008-08-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

At around 8:30 p.m Guatemala time today (16th August) was one week since Dan dropped his body. Ale led us in another beautiful cermemony of light. We talked about toasting with Tequila in his honor (we passed due to some uneasy stomachs). We sat in silence, we prayed, we sang. We encouraged Dan along on his journey. We conversed with one another about life and love, happiness and forgiveness.

Nancy is always recalling Dan-isms of the recent past. She is doing well. Today she talked about how her lungs have healed quickly. The doctor's were impressed. She knows (and stated) that all of the love from her family and friends and their attention towards helping her heal, helped her heal so rapidly. She hasn't even taken a pain pill in over a day!

I can't go into alot of detail until Monday (about this weekend), but we are all doing better. It will take a long time for us all to adjust.

Daniel's thoughts on the plane ride down:
"Comprised in the body is spirit; That which has a name, and that which does not. What we humans call death is really a return to source. The body returns to the earth. The spirit which has no name returns to the infinite (GOD); And the spirit which has a name returns to those of us who have named it."

I thought that was an amazing bit of thought. Daniel, Jessica, Renee and Ale have been writing down thoughts as the days have gone by. I will see if I can incorporate them into future writings.

We (as a family) have debated incorporating the recent events and investigations into this memorial site. We have decided that we will not lead anyone to anything that is negative or that may water the seed of anger. This site is for Dan. It is for us, and you as well. This is a site that will begin to help us heal the aches in our hearts and a site that will help Dan on His way. IT IS WORKING.

Love
B

Our Lady of Ascension

2008-08-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Because today is a holiday, we cannot continue talking with the Guatemalan Gov't in an effort to get Nancy's home/boat back to her. We did wake up to the sounds of festivities in the street and found that today is a fitting celebration to honor the Lady/Virgin of Ascension. We watched the parade with the many bands and a large float of the Virgin Mary. We treated it as one very large funeral procession.

Since we cannot deal with the Gov't until Monday, we decided to try and recuperate for a few days. I will be able to give you the details later after we have dealt with the Gov't on Monday.

The Gov't has captured two people that they think were involved in the attack. There were a total of four or more attackers. Rumor on the street is that the locals in Rio Dulce know who did it, but are afraid to come forward for possibility of being killed. The organization of police down here is quite confusing and they need to re-vamp the system a bit so that locals are not afraid to help solve crimes.

We picked up Dan's ashes today. He is now in a small plastic bag inside a leather pouch inside a small wooden box. Amazing how such a big man can fit into such a small box.

We are enjoying the new photos that friends back home (Jason and Adam?) are putting on the web of Dan. And again, we cannot reiterate how helpful all the messages have been from friends and family back home. YOU are making this process way better for us. Thank you for your Love.

B

Cremation Day

2008-08-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Nancy checked out of the hospital today. The doctors are amazed at her quick recovery from the incident. She is still on pain pills and anti-biotics, but is doing great and is able to travel with little difficulty.

We raced to Guat City today for Dan's cremation. What should be a 4 hour trip took our driver 3 hours and we knew Dan was saying Yee Haw!! the entire way. The rest of us had white knuckles. We arrived at one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen. There was a special building set aside for cremation that has been recently built. Ale and Renee joined us for thoughts, songs and prayers. Bill and Rosy Fogarty and their son Sebastian were also able to make it for the ceremony. Nancy, once again led us in song. Ale preformed a beautiful circle of light ceremony where we all joined in a circle and focused our energy 'light' to lift Dan's spirit up and once again I swear I heard a Yee Haw!!

The body was lowered through the floor using a fancy hydraulic system that Dan would have been proud of. Nancy greeted Dan before placing his body in the furnace and placed a freshly picked flower from Ale onto his chest. Daniel brought sage from home to also accompany Dan's spirit on his way. It takes 5 hours for the body to turn to dust.

We continued into the city with Bill and Rosy and we will lose ourself in the country until Monday when the beuracricy will continue and we can hopefully get the boat back in Nancy's name. The Gov't still has not released her home back to her. She still does not have her own clothes to live in. And we still have to deal with cleaning the boat.

However, the tourist arm of Guatemala's Gov't 'Asistur' has been so wonderful in helping us negotiate 'the process.' They will be with us until we either leave the country or say goodbye.
Nancy was able to look at the website today and was blown away. Thank you to all that have been involved in making this site, especially to Jason Overby for putting it all together. It has been so wonderful for us to connect with all of you and reading your support has been so helpful for us down here. You are amazing.

The letters to the gmail account are also touching off a tear on us all. The support is immense and you could not believe how much it has helped get us through these events.

Thank you all and we love you so much,
B

Wednesday August 13th

2008-08-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Nancy had the tube removed from her chest and she is feeling quite well. She loves being free of the 'umbillical cord' and fluid collection box. She is on antibiotics and pain pills and is able to move around well.

We visited Dan's body today at the Funeral home. It was difficult to 'see' Dan without his beard (as mentioned earlier it was shaved off for the autopsy). It was obvious that he had moved on and taken his spirit and vibrance with him. We were met by friends that Dan and Nancy made while living in Rio Dulce at the Marinas and boarding rooms. They were very supportive and enjoyed the photos we brought of Dan from Alaska. Nancy led us in songs and prayers. Her memory of lyrics and tunes is quite extensive and I found myself enjoying the tenderness and love in her voice. Daniel, Jessica and Nancy recited songs from growing up as a family and from time spent in India with Meher Baba and his Love.
There were many touching songs but the simplest song sticks in my mind. 'Row,Row,Row your Boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.' I have never laugh-cried before and that song got me.

Nancy clipped some hair from Dan's head (they hadn't shaved all his hair). We prayed and cried and enjoyed the company that was there to give us support. We all felt good that Dan had indeed moved on. We were quite sure of it.

Nancy brought us to the boat that had been brought back to the Marina by friends. We were not allowed to go on the boat because the police are still investigating it as a crime scene. We were greeted by all of their 'neighbors' in the harbor and we were told how this incident has affected everyone around. They were all very happy to see Nancy out of the hospital.

We are going to Guatemala City tomorrow for Dan's cremation and 'ceremony.' We will be met by Ale and Renee who just flew in from Mexico and Alaska, respectively. We hope to be back in Rio Dulce soon and to be allowed on the boat.

I now understand why Rio Dulce captured Dan and Nancy's hearts. This place is amazing. It is one of the most idyllic fresh water sailing ports in Central America. Guatemala is wonderful as well. I did not expect to find the beauty of this place so attracting. We do not feel anger towards Guatemala or it's people. We understand that everywhere you go you will find bad people. I hope people do not judge all Guatemalans by this one horrible deed. The people down here are some of the friendliest I have met in my travels.

The prayers and love from friends and family is showing down here. Nancy is recovering well and her strength is coming back. The posted blogs from friends on this site are a joy for us all to read. We really love all of you and we appreciate your support more than you would believe!

Love
B

Nancy's Strength

2008-08-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

Nancy is amazing! Her spirit is so strong. Her energy is coming back and she will hopefully be able to leave the hospital on Thursday to go with Dan to Guatemala City for his cremation. She met with the American Embassy today (in her hospital room) and blew me away with her ability to forgo her grief to give them an astute piece of advice. She recollected how her and Dan were sailing on the lake and visited a orphanage that housed both boys and girls (in separate rooms of course). They both made the realization that the boy's big dorm room was set up the exact same way as the girl's dorm, a bed and a locker for personal belongings, except the boy's lockers had locks on them and the girl's lockers did not. They found that the boys down here were more apt to steal and so locks were needed. Girls simply borrowed from among themselves and gave back when through. Nancy thought that this might be a good place to start change. By teaching the young boys about personal property and respect for each other would hopefully alleviate the current negative mindset.

I was amazed how she could pull this together in this time of grief. She was so matter of fact. People that have talked to her and visited her have said the same thing. They can't believe how strong Nancy is. We love you nancy!
B

We are with Nancy

2008-08-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

Jessica, Daniel and I made it to Nancy's side today (Tuesday) at noon. It was an amazing experience to be with her again and for us all to share love with one another and love for Dan. Nancy is doing remarkebly well considering she has a drain tube stuck into her chest cavity draining foreign fluids from her lung area. The doctor pinched off the tube tonight at 8 p.m. to assess if the tube can be removed. If her lungs do well, she may have the tube removed from her side.

Dan Sr. has been embalmed and we will visit his body tomorrow with Nancy. Friends Rosie Fogarty and her sister Lisa, both from Guatemala, visited Dan today and brough back news that they had to shave Dan's beard for the autopsy. We all were a bit shocked and then had a good laugh because he has had his beard since Jessica was 4 years old. We were also told that he didn't quite fit into the coffin. It seems like Guatemalen coffins are a bit short. We were able to laugh about this as well. We thought Dan would be laughing too. He was always one to find humor in things.

We will bring his body to Guatemala City on Thursday to be cremated. Family cousin Ale Negrete and Daniel's partner Renee Howard will hopefully be arriving before the cremation.

The American Embassy has been really helpful for us in getting to Nancy's side. The local Guatemalan Gov't Tourist Agency Asistur has been exemplary in helping the family deal with this situation and by providing services for us. The people here are incredibly helpful and kind.

We are incredibly greatful to all of our family and friends that have sent out prayers, loving words and support. We can really feel your love down here. You are all amazing! We love all of you!

Love Us (Jessica, Daniel, Brian and Nancy!)

2008-08-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

jessica said at one point " any other day Dan would have been having a drink with the bamditos trying to talk about similarities. he was so open and nonjudgmental "