The Conch and the Gecko

By Heidi Ho

In March of 2005, Harry and I were privileged to sail with our friends Mel and Jackie down the coast of Mexico to Belize aboard their 53 foot sailboat, “Fiesty”. During that trip, I was reading Jimmy Buffett’s latest novel, “A Salty Piece of Land”. This book told of the adventures of Tully Mars, a character that came alive in Jimmy Buffett’s previous book “Tales from Margaritaville”. In A Salty Piece of Land, Tully Mars left his ranch in Wyoming and traveled the Mexican Coast to Belize. The book came alive for me as we sailed to the same places Tully Mars visited.

In A Salty Piece of Land, Tully Mars carried with him a conch shell given to him as a child by an indian named Johnny Red Dust, who told him to listen to the conch shell. Later on in the story, as Johnny Red Dust lay dying, he explained to Tully the meaning of the conch shell – it was to always remind him of where we was going. He then gave Tully a wooden gecko to wear around his neck as his traveling companion.

I read that portion of the book while we were tucked in behind the Mayan Reef near Puerto Morales. Mel, Jackie, Harry and I went to dinner at a restaurant in Puerto Morales that was nestled in a sort of square in town. Around the square the Mexicans had tiny little shops where they sold their hand made crafts, jewelry and baked goods. I needed to take a look around and try to find something for Harry’s birthday, which was just around the corner, and I already had in mind what I wanted to get. Jackie convinced Mel to distract Harry so we could “shop”. Harry knows I’m not a shopper so it actually took a little work to get him to buy into this. Anyway, there was a small booth, I’d say no bigger than 8 x 8, just off the square where a young Mexican man was making silver jewelry. It was fate that I found exactly what I was looking for. There in that tiny little shop was a silver conch shell and a silver gecko, just waiting for me in a place I just read about.

On Harry’s birthday, I presented him with his gift. I wrapped both the conch and gecko together with a note that explained the conch was for him to wear to always remind him of where he is going, and the gecko was for me to wear as his traveling companion.

To this day the conch and gecko are around our necks and we are once again about to embark on a Tully Mars like adventure – only this time, it’s on our own sailboat.

The Conch and Gecko have become our logo, as you can see on this website.  The logo was placed next to the name of our boat, and Harry even climbed the mast to place a Conch and Gecko made of reflective material at the top.  So if you pass by an anchorage filled with sailboats one night, shine a light on the masts.  You may find us there!