Marooned in Paradise

March 15, 2020
by Amy

Coronavirus. Coronavirus. Coronavirus!!! Can anyone think of anything else? We kind of have it made being on our own boat docked at Fantasy Island (Yes, that’s it’s name!) in Roatan, Honduras. The snorkeling and diving are world renowned, the weather is pleasant, and there’s a friendly, international group of boaters at the marina and in the anchorage. But it’s difficult to enjoy any of it when you read the news and know so many are suffering. And it’s hard to decompress when all you can think about is the last surface you touched; always wondering if any cruise ship passengers or infected tourists have recently been in the restroom, restaurant or grocery store you just visited. We struggle to open doors or pick things up without really touching them and ponder the best moments to use the hand sanitizer – right after leaving the grocery store; after getting out of the cab or collectivo; just before entering the boat; all of the above? What about all the surfaces of the goods from the grocery store? Do I have to wipe them off before putting them away?!! And mind you, we’re in a place without one confirmed case of COVID-19! What is the 19 about, anyway? Never heard of the first 18.

The other night I awoke in the middle of the night, convinced I had the virus. My head kind of hurt, my stomach was a bit queasy, and I sensed a fever was coming on. Little sleep followed. In the morning my saner self prevailed and I wrote it off to too many cocktails, the wrong kind of food, and night sweats. Rationing our news intake seems to promote better sleep.

Today all the tourists left the Fantasy Island resort. Tomorrow it will be closed. The electricity will be turned off and water will only be available intermittently. It’s just us sailors left. Thank God we all have water tanks and solar panels. We can survive without these luxuries. We have rules now too. The dock master has put an end to domino games, yoga, and Saturday potlucks in the marina palapa/bar. (I trust they will still serve drinks)! This afternoon there is a meeting for resort employees and those of us staying at the marina. Maybe we’ll learn about our fate concerning electricity and water. But aren’t we supposed to avoid large gatherings?

The government is also enacting restrictions. Schools are closed and children are forbidden to play in public spaces. The airport and ports close today. We could leave in our own boat, but where would we go? All the ports of entry in nearby countries are closed to Americans. At the moment it doesn’t even matter that we haven’t touched US soil since November 29, 2019. There is talk that this rule will change and the content of one’s passport will trump its origin.

We just heard a rumor from a fellow sailor, who heard it from another sailor that yesterday a cruise ship full of 1800 Italians disembarked in Roatan yesterday. What??? They each paid five dollars to get off the boat. In whose pocket did the money go? The poor Italians and Chinese. All considered pariahs at the moment.

So even though we are in paradise, we are still effected by the pandemic. We made our last shopping foray the other day in relative calm. Today the supermarket is completely overwhelmed. Our only regret is not buying a case of beer, body wash, sardines and chips, but somehow I think we’ll survive without those luxuries.

I’m having trouble getting into a productive flow these days. The pandemic has engendered inertia and a kind of emotional malaise. Our rhythm has been thrown off and the creative juices stymied. Kenny was going to write a blog recounting our last days in Rio Dulce cruising on Lago Izabal and our adventures in Belize, but now it seems like a distant memory. I still haven’t finished editing the little movie I made with my 7-year-old friend on Hideaway Caye in Belize. Maybe I’ll dive into it today, while the current is still flowing…but it seems so meaningless in the face of this all-consuming THING.

ENOUGH! I’m not going to let this pandemic rule my moods, my energy, my creativity. If there is one thing I can control it is my own mind. And that goes for everyone of you too. The more challenging the situation, the greater the opportunity for spiritual growth. So whatever your beliefs or non-beliefs, let us use this time to learn to be more patient, more kind, more wise, more compassionate. May all those who have been affected by the virus quickly heal and may all of us who are healthy help those in need. May a vaccine soon be discovered and may all beings be at peace.

And don’t worry about us. We have provisioned the larder and water supply sufficiently for three weeks or more and the grocery store has declared it will remain open. We consider ourselves to be very lucky and do have quite a bit of freedom. We will swim, snorkel, create and laugh. And wash our hands like there’s no tomorrow.

ADDENDUM:
It’s a couple of days since I wrote this. We did manage to get back to the grocery store with a young couple at the marina who live here and are dive masters. We loaned them our generator to charge their boat batteries and they gave us a ride in their car. Like everywhere things are changing rapidly here. We are no longer free to move our boat to other ports around the Bay Islands of Honduras until March 30. And then we’ll see…No gatherings of more than four people are allowed. Folks here are self-isolating like everywhere else, but all the sailors take walks and we stop and chat with each other, keeping the requisite distance. We do have water, but there will be no electricity. I ran into the resort owner’s father on the beach the other day and inquired if we might be getting electricity from time to time. “No that’s impossible.” “Oh really? Why is that.” “No diesel.” I countered that there happened to be a diesel truck over at the marina as we were speaking, filling up boater’s tanks. “Well that will be the last one!” he declared and stormed off. We still have our beach and if we run out of food and water, there are plenty of coconuts!

Most of the photos above were taken before things started getting so restricted.