Goodbye Beautiful Mexico and Crossing the Bar

San Cristobal

Agua Azul

Freezing in San Cristobal with Kara from Taking Flight

San Cristobal woman

I thought I would be sadder leaving Mexico behind us. Living here since June 2008 has made my heart grow fonder of this exquisite country and its beautiful people. But after four hours of checking out of the country Friday and four hours waiting for the Navy to do their final inspection Monday (scheduled for 6am but commencing at 10am),  I was just ready to get a move on. But the officials were nice and once we completed the paper trail of tears, we cast off for Bahia del Sol, El Salvador to join other cruisers at the El Salavdor Rally, a 2-night passage. And, we were desperate to use the watermaker since our tanks were almost empty.

A piece of amber in San Cristobal

Misol-Ha Waterfall

Behind Misol-Ha

We sailed most of the afternoon in light southwest wind until it fizzled out around 4pm, then turned on the motor. The fishing line zinged out at rapid speed and we pulled up a 45lb. Jack Crevalle – fun to catch but only worth eating if you’re starving - and even then… so our Jack got a second chance at life. I was so hoping for a tuna. The watermaker worked for exactly 3 hours before it quit making water – no pressure. Goodie. By the light of a ¾ full moon on the first night, we steered between fishing pangas as we passed through Guatemala – some well lit, some not.  We didn't see even 1 knot of wind after 4pm that afternoon.

Agua Azul

Palenque

By 4am the second day, however, things looked bright as we had 11 knots off the land all morning and by afternoon, it switched to 18 knots from the SE - so we made great time sailing on a beam reach. But as the wind died at sunset, the main became stuck and we had to pull Jim up the mast at dusk. The sea state was ‘confused’ and keeping the bow in the waves to calm the boat was easier said than done. Jim got bruised and bumped around up top, but he found that the problem was our short wave antenna had wrapped itself around the mainsail head. He took wire cutters and proceeded to chop the cable in pieces to free the main, so now we are again without a working SSB/HAM radio. 

San Cristobal

San Cristobal 

We arrived at the mouth of Bahia del Sol around 4am – much faster than anticipated with the great sailing wind we had! We opted to pull the jib out hankie size, set the timer for every 10 minutes and sleep in the cockpit until slack tide at 6:30am.

Palenque

 There were 4 boats waiting at the entrance this morning – we were scheduled to be 2^nd in line to cross the crashing waves and over the bar. It was shocking to see the power of the breaking waves and daunting to know that we would be going over and through them. The first boat was instructed by the jet-ski pilot to throttle hard… he did and made it over three waves very easily. For him, it was a non-event.

Not for us - and certainly not for the boat in front of us. It was total drama. Stay tuned tomorrow!

How Many Gringos Does It Take to Check Out of Mexico??

We took steps to check out of Chiapas, Mexico just this past Friday. Enrique was not here to hold our hand, so 4 boats opted to try and do it alone because the Harbor Master's office closes at 2pm on Friday, is also closed over the weekend, and we hoped to head south Monday morning. We thought we would have enough time - until we learned that the credit card machine is broken in the Harbor Master's office - which means a trip all the way into Tapachula to the bank and payment in cash. Here is our story.

Three boat captains and I negotiated a cab – in the end, it cost us 500 pesos and it took 4 hours. Maybe it was too much, maybe not. We were happy to split the cost 4 ways.

STEP #1:
Our cabbie drove us from Marina Chiapas to Puerto Madero to visit the Harbor Master. We filled out specific crew lists forms (AVISO DE SALIDA YATE VELERO) and gave him copies of our boat documents, a copy of our check in/out from the last port of call, and copies of our passports. We were given one paper to take to the Banamex bank in Tapachula and we were given 4 copies of our new official crew lists.

STEP #2 (which can be skipped if you use a credit card AND the machine isn’t broken)
From the Harbor Master's office, we took our cab to the Banamex bank in Tapachula - to pay 227 pesos. We were given a receipt for payment.

STEP #3:
We stopped at the airport between Tapachula and Puerto Madero to visit the Immigration office. He wanted to see our Tourist Visas, our passports, the copy of the official crew list from the Harbor Master and he asked many questions in Spanish. One boat had his Tourist Visas, but he didn't have the bank receipts showing he paid the bank for his Tourist Visa and so he had to pay again - in full - 588 pesos for both he and his wife. Remember to bring the bank receipt with your Tourist Visa! Folks with FM3's need not have a receipt. The immigration officer stamped all four copies of the crew list and kept one for himself, as well as the Tourist Visas and copies of our passports.

STEP #4:
Our cab then flew (and I mean flew!) to the API office. We showed him copies of our officially stamped crew list and told him how many days we had been in the marina. Each boat was given a bill for 10 days - 765 pesos. That is to be paid in cash. We were then given an official paid, stamped receipt. We asked the API guy if he would make some copies for us: our Banamex bank receipts and the stamped official copy of the API doc, all which go to the Harbor Master. We offered to pay. He made copies of the documents we would give back to the Harbor Master for free. That saved us one trip to a copy shop.

STEP #5:
From there, our cab driver zoomed back to the Harbor Master. Since the office closed at 2pm on Friday, we had been given instructions to give our documents to the guard. We brought a large envelope with us, organized the documents for the 4 boats and stuffed them in the envelope with the date and time of our planned departure written on the front of the envelope... because the Navy has to officially check you out of the country on the day that you are to leave.

Yesterday, an official from the Harbor Master's office visited each of the four boats and presented each with a beautiful certificate permitting us exit privileges: SECRETARIA DE COMMUNICACIONES Y TRANSPORTES. We were told that the Navy will be here in the morning to do their final inspection with us.

This process was long, but it was a piece of cake. It was fun to do it with the other boats and the officials, though very official, were gracious and accommodating. I’m especially thankful to the Harbor Master for being flexible.

CROSSING THE TEHUANTEPEC

Thermally enhanced Tehuantepec winds…
Steep waves…
Wind funnel blowing hard for hundreds of miles offshore…
No refuge…


Anxiety about crossing the “T-Pecker” haunted me several months ago and I tried not to think about it. Heather and Shawn’s glorious Pacific Mexico cruising book is sketchy south of Zihuatanejo and completely useless south of Huatulco. We have used their cruising guide religiously for a couple years now on the Baja and the Mainland. Venturing out in uncharted Heather and Shawn territory meant finding another security blanket.


And to tweak the anx… Weather Guru, Don Anderson, took a 2-month sabbatical from forecasting the weather on the Amigo and Southbound SSB Nets (yes, right during the time we planned to cross the T-Pecker!). I breathed heavily in a brown paper bag.


But, power cruising down from Guaymas to Huatulco in 20 days changed everything I felt about the T-Pec. I was completely confident in our decision making.


With Buoy Weather, Passage Weather, Santiago Solemate Stan’s Weather…
With Eric and Sheryl’s s/v Sarana Explore Central America Guides…
With the Rains Mexican Boating Guide and Charlie’s Charts…
We were armed with knowledge and ready!


We were paid up in Marina Chaue in Huatulco until Wednesday, February 29. The forecast looked good for crossing and Saturday looked nasty.  So, we had a 3-day weather window and it would only be a 2-night crossing. We anchored out in a rolly bay just long enough to check the prop and to take a nice warm dip. Then, off we went!


Some people we know prefer to rhumb line down. Some people stay one foot on the beach. In hindsight, we should have taken the rhumb line. However, we stayed 10-12 miles off shore until we reached Salina Cruz. We saw gusts up to 20 knots from the north, but nothing to worry about. The first night was a piece of cake and we managed to sail some.


The second night, however, we had no wind and it was flat calm… which brought every panga fisherman out. I personally know one smart sailing family who hit a panga fisherman close to Guaymas. I say smart because they really are intelligent and sea savvy. The panga fisherman had no light and was sleeping in his boat! I didn’t want to experience the same thing, but what can you do…
pitch black, little boat doesn’t show up on radar, sleeping fisherman with death wish has no light?


Jim and I did night watches together for the most part the second night. We hailed the two boats behind us to warn them when we saw sight of pangas, some with bright propane lanterns. We’re thinking since this is also a problem south of here (friends of ours hit a panga fisherman in Guatemala, panga sunk, fisherman suffered broken his leg), that we will occasionally sound our fog horn. Perhaps we will wake a sleeper and save his boat and his life.


We made it to Marina Chiapas where manager and developer, Enrique, welcomed us with open arms. At this writing, the marina is free. However, there are API fees to pay. For 10 days in Chiapas, the API cost was 765 pesos… or $61US.


In between, we made a 5 day trip up to San Cristobal, Palenque, Misol-Ha waterfall and Agua Azul waterfall. WOW! More on that later with pics.


San Cristobal was not as exciting for us as Oaxaca. Perhaps it is because it was cold – 50* F at night and mid-60’s during the day. It would have been one thing if we had nice wool sweaters and heavy jackets – but we didn’t. Luckily, we were warned by some Canadians to take fleecy sweaters, so we had at least some insulation.


The native peoples (Tzotzil and Tzeltal indians) are more aggressive selling their wares in San Cristobal than in Oaxaca. They are also less gracious about having their photos taken, believing that you are stealing their souls. However, the Amber Museum was fascinating to me. And a delicious restaurant called Madre Tierra was very reasonable price-wise and had delicious entrees: lasgana, lentil soup, crepes filled with mushrooms, pizza… something other than traditional Mexican food was a welcome feast. The streets are heavy with people traffic at night and loads of folk art is available for buying. My biggest score was an amber necklace on a leather throng for 50 pesos – and yes, it is real, not acrylic. I had him put it under a black light to test if it glowed or not. It glowed a bright blue! There isn’t an insect in it (those cost bunches more), but I am happy enough ot take a little piece of Mother Mexican Earth with me.


Most interesting is that we went with 3 other boats: Serendipity, Swift Current & Taking Flight. Eleven of us managed to explore together and we are still talking to one another!

February 2012 Cruising Costs

Since we are officially "cruising" again, I thought I would offer up our monthly expenses for anyone who wants to know what it costs for a family of four to travel via sailboat. Actually, we have been mostly motorboat since leaving Zihuatanejo, and you can tell by our fuel costs. But, we also traveled a lot of ground - a lot. Splashing from the boat yard in Guaymas, Mexico on February 1 all the way to Chiapas by March 1st.

I broke out the trip to Oaxaca, which includes transportation, lodging, food and entertainment for four people. I listed the marina separately, but we pulled in so that we could travel inland. Boat parts include a new radar reflector, compass cables and a new fan blade - most bought for coconuts from other cruisers.

FUEL: $717
TRIP TO OAXACA: $462
GROCERIES: $372
DINING OUT: $260
MARINA FEE: $110
BOAT PARTS: $77
INTERNET: $40
GIFTS: $31
TRANSPORTATION: $25
CLOTHING: $22
LAUNDRY: $18
EXTRA TIPS: $15
TOTAL: $2,149

Oaxaca - The End (Part III)

I love this photo Jim took of a man reading a Mexican newspaper and drinking a coke.

Dancing boy with red balloon

I didn't get any woven rugs like I wanted. The store I stopped in was way too expensive. I found out later that we should have taken a tour to Mitla and seen the weavers. One cruiser I heard bought a beautiful Tree of Life tapestry for a mere 200 pesos! However, you just can't do it all. You  just can't.

Woman in Oaxacan dress

Two university students pose for Jim

Meri posing with fired pottery collection by Alejandro Santiago.
TITLE: The Route of 2501 Migrants
These really cool pottery people stood outside and around the Santa Domingo cathedral;
A ceramic crowd

Man in wrestling mask leans on cool car and ogles the walking ladies

I also didn't get to take a cooking class. Bummer, since Oaxaca is known for it's exquisite food. But, I got to try different mole sauces and chocolates. I also was introduced to the 'chupilines'... crunchy grasshoppers. They are sold on the streets and in the markets. Carolyne and I were very brave. The boys were babies. We didn't get to try the chocolate covered ones, but that is probably best - I really don't want to develop an addiction to these.

Street vendor offers up her crunchy, munchy insects

A pile of chili and garlic flavored grasshoppers

I look like I might puke after trying one, but I didn't.

Tourist from Monterrey tried his first

I could go one and on... post more photos of interesting art, people pics, musicians, ladies with baskets on their heads, beautiful architecture -

but really, you should go see it for yourself! And as I remove one item from my bucket list I have also added another...

A return trip with a girlfriend to take a cooking class and buy a hand dyed/woven rug!

Oaxaca's Monte Albán Ruins (PART II)

Building G: part of the temple complex

A view from above

Ball Court

The Monte Albán ruins are the largest we have seen so far. Located in Oaxaca just minutes from the city of Oaxaca, this ancient city was inhabited by different groups for over 1200 years. The Zapotecs became the dominant culture. We were lucky enough to ride transportation back to Huatulco with some modern day Zapotecs and hear the language spoken. The two women both spoke Spanish so we were able to communicate, but the language they spoke to each other had tones and inflections I had never heard.

If you're 13 years or older, 57 pesos entrance fee into the ruin site allows local working class families
to afford and enjoy the site, too.

Danzantes Wall:  this is one of the many tablets that was believed to be dancers. Recent
studies, however, show that these may actually be disemboweled and castrated POWs.

Gold jewelry at the Cultural Museum located next door to the Cathedral.

There is a museum at the entrance of the ruins that contains many artifacts (pottery, jewelry, religious relics, bones, etc...) However, our family really liked visiting the Regional Museum which is located in the Ex-Convent of Santa Domingo Cathedral in Oaxaca City. I have never seen so many well preserved artifacts from one area, particularly from Tomb 7. My photos don't do it justice. we recommend visiting this museum first before going to the Monte Albán ruins.

There are lots of 'feet' pottery. I like these feet pots.

I think it is truly amazing to stand on ground where ancient civilizations worked, played, made families, planned war, lived and died. Monte Albán is one of the oldest known 'urban' cities in MesoAmerica... they had agriculture, trade, two calendars (a 20 day and a 365 day), a Zapotec writing system and government.

This display is in the ground and shows a number of skulls with
holes in the craniums. Sacrificial.

Turquoise skull found in Tomb 7

Vendors selling jewelry, replicas of some of the artifacts, food, masks, flutes, hats, etc... are all pushing their wares at very cheap prices at the Monte Albán entrance. We were happy to find the wide brimmed hats and the vendor was very busy selling to the tourists.

Jim's hat was 20 pesos and Carolyne's hat was 30 pesos. I didn't know that teenage boys don't wear hats, but I do know that if they don't then they get sunburned. Tim refused to wear a hat and as his mother, I hope he does not get skin cancer and have to have half his face removed. There. I said it. It's documented.

Now, if some cute girl would just please write and tell our son how good looking he is... if he would just wear a hat!

I heard somewhere that this was the furthest north that the Aztecs got and that Monte Albán was eventually conquered by the Aztecs. However, I can't find my source. I do know that the Mixtec people also occupied this area for a time. Basically, one group is in charge until another comes and takes over... until another group takes over... and so on.

Mound III: a temple pyramid

A jade croc (that looks very similar to the hippo I thought I saw on Laura's throat in Zihua!)

Building IV: a stepped pyramid and the largest of the IV structures

The structures are awesome - inspiring - thought provoking - chilling - and even a bit sick when you think about all the bloodshed committed in the name of the gods. But, Monte Albán is the heart of the region and its history has been well preserved in this climate. Even our kids were impressed.