Some Cabo Wildlife

Chiapas, Mexico to Bahia del Sol, El Salvador

Refreshing - Captain goes swimming under sail - this is not always a good sign!!

Cassidy doing international travel!

This was a nice crossing, saw some thunderstorms along the way.  We even changed course once to try to avoid the brunt of a storm.  Very spectacular to see thunderstorms out on the ocean. 

Valiant refreshing in pool.

Cassidy in hammock ready to catch Intrepid.

Cassidy and Loyal refreshing

Again, we used our little cockpit pool to cool down.  We were under sail, so couldn’t stop easily, so Courage came up with a great plan.  He rigged some ropes off the back of the boat and we proceeded to jump off the bow tube, then grab onto the rope as the boat passed by, then pull ourselves onto the back swim step.  Even Intrepid, now an old hat at it, was going in.  First with an escort to make sure he made the rope grab, then on his own with a watchful eye.  

They also lowered the hammock to water level across the back, so you could come in and grab the hammock and kick back in the shade for awhile before coming back up.  Uncle Loyal rigged up a rope rescue to lower Vitality in and out of the hammock to visit Courage.  We were at 2.3 knots in the morning for the swim and had some short, but successful attempts to keep up with the boat.  In the afternoon swim, we were going 3.2 knots.  This was harder to manage.  Grabbing the rope wasn’t too hard, but pulling up the back swim step was a challenge and keeping up with the boat a near impossibility.  Good exercise, fun and refreshing, so overall, great idea.

Cassidy dragging on the hammock.

Cassidy is all in.

Hanging on the bridle under the boat.

As we arrived at Bahia del Sol in El Salvador, we got ahold of the hotel “Bahia del Sol” by radio.  They guide you in over the surf on the sand bar outside the estuary.  They used to guide by jet ski, but today was a ponga.  There was another boat waiting, Dolce Vita.  They told him it was big surf and asked if he was up for it.  The ponga wasn’t going to come out of the surf since it was relatively big, so they said to just aim on the ponga as you came through.  We watched Dulce Vita take a few big waves and roll on in.  He later told us he got a big sideways while he was putting on his tether.  It was great to get to watch him go first.  And we are up!!  

The kids and I buckled in for the surf.

I sat with the kids on the roof so that if a wave came over we would be as high up as possible.  We strapped a rope over our laps and cuddled in.  It was a great spot!!  We headed into the waves.  We could see a wave coming and off we went surfing it in.  It was a great acceleration.  After a nice surf apparently we were overdue to turn to miss hitting the beach, so we took what felt like a 90 degree turn across the waves.  A little concerning, but that was the way to go.  Apparently our guides over the radio were indicating to “turn,” “turn,” “turn hard,” so we went.  We only surfed one wave, I thought for sure we were going to take a few as we went through, but it worked out perfectly and I’m looking forward to the exit over the waves!!  We are spending some time here waiting until the sandbar to open after a storm passes.  Looking like it may be passable Tuesday and Wednesday.

Welcome to El Salvador - flying the flag.

As we are entering a new country, we have to go through customs and immigration process.  The immigration officer was out for the day for a personal emergency, but may be back by 7:30 pm.  The port captain took our passports and did his paperwork.  Amazing how many times they can all fill out similar forms.  Much redundancy in the systems, no different than the US, just the way governments seem to function.  Loyal went and waited at the office for 1.5 hours that evening, but the immigrations officer did not arrive.  The hotel kindly offered that we could walk throughout their grounds, but requested we not leave the grounds until finishing our customs and immigration process.

Coastal village as you enter

The next morning they came and found us in the pool.  They brought a nurse and had to do a health exam.  I was starting to wonder what they may think since the children all had heat rashes and mosquito bites, so they were all spotted.  Turns out they only had to do it on the adults.  She took our blood pressures and temperatures and wrote them down.  She didn’t even take my temperature since I was in the pool, so she said I’d be cold.  So what do they do with this information?  What if our blood pressure was elevated?  I sort of understand the temperature so we don’t bring in some sort of infectious disease, but really?  And so we passed and got to stay, they were very friendly all of them.

More of the coast of the bay.

Next, they headed out with Courage to the boat.  Apparently they had to make sure we didn’t have any expired fruits and vegetables.  We had just been given some cans that were expired, but still good from our friends who were commuter cruisers on Blue Jacket and didn’t want to store it until next year.  Fortunately, we’d eaten what we could of it, but we had to open the cans in front of the officer and empty them.  Why on earth do we need them to tell us what and when it’s safe to eat these things?  I understand the fresh fruits/veggies because those can carry insects and pests, but really, canned goods??  Good thing we’ve got big brother looking out for us and helping us make decisions. 

Integrity has the best seat in the house.

Huatulco to Chiapas – Crossing the notorious Tehuantepec

 Huatulco to Chiapas –

Crossing the notorious Tehuantepec

Valiant refreshing in his new pool with fresh water!

          We waited out a “storm” before making our crossing.  We’ve heard of two home built catamarans who have been abandoned over the last 30 years due to a failed attempt at this crossing, so it can be a serious one.  The main season usually ends in March or April, so a May crossing isn’t so bad.  The storm winds were predicted at 45 for this storm, they have blown at 100 mph and more.  So all in all, we’re not too concerned, but taking it seriously.  There were 3 boats making the crossing from Huatulco at the same time, we left first on the evening of the 16^th.  We had a beautiful evening and sailed much of the way with the main and genoa. 

Intrepid "Big Guy" jumping in!

                On the 17^th we woke to a gorgeous day, started our breakfast, but couldn’t finish due the spinning of the fishing reel.  It was a much coveted Dorado.  We were in luck for lunch and maybe dinner.  Then again it went, and again, a gorgeous green Dorado.  And again, almost immediately.  It was beginning to feel like one of those silly cartoons where they just keep pulling them in and piling them up!!  We caught 4 Dorado in a row, then noticed a fin following one of our squid lures.  We watched for awhile, he was definitely following and watching the lure.  It was a swordfish!!  We tried making the lure appear to be swimming, jumping from the water and swimming by jet propulsion bursts as it would naturally.  No luck, he didn’t bite.  We went and read about how to hook a swordfish. 

Cassidy and Intrepid surfing while under way!

You could see schools of Dorado jumping out of the water.  We hooked another Dorado!!  That’s 5 in one morning if you’re not so good at math.  And again, a swordfish checking us out.  We fiddled and hooked him!!!  Unfortunately he left with our lure.  Apparently the knot that was tied by the guy at the bait shop (on our $30 lure) gave way, the metal clip was still in place.  That swordfish definitely thought he was hooked and put up a mean fight – I got a great video of him jumping totally out of the water to break free and you can even see our red lure hanging down.  He was a mighty one!  Interesting to say the least.


     

Cassidy jumping!!

 Dorado #6 came in to make us all feel better.  We
then hooked a bonita (tuna family) and threw him back, just not appealing enough after our morning’s luck!!  Fortunately we had lots of sun and therefore power and were able to run the freezer to spread out the fish over some time.  We are going to be eating good!!

Captain Courage overboard!!

              

     It was a warm, calm day, so we stopped for a refreshing swim.  We jumped off the bow tube again, even Intrepid since he’s now an old hat at it.  It’s really great what a difference it can make in a warm and humid day to get into some cool/warm water.  The water now is 82-84
degrees, definitely not cold.  It actually feels good as you swim around to find some colder pockets.                

Cassidy abandoned at sea by the boat . . .

       





    This time Cassidy and I went out from the boat for a bit more of an adventure swim and exercise.  Suddenly, there was a sea turtle, right there with us!! How neat was that.  We swam around him and got a good look.  He seemed as interested as we were.  Then he lifted his head, took a few big breaths, and headed under.  What a cool looking creature!

Our coolest sea turtle friend.

                  We made it in to Chiapas just in time for the inauguration of the new marina.  It had been there for 6 months, dug out of a prior mangrove estuary.  We arrived at noon and at 1 pm there was a big party with the governor of Chiapas cutting the ribbon.  There was a tennis tournament, sailfish fishing derby, tents set up with vendors and a big buffet dinner.  We enjoyed seeing the sailfish – the winner was 34 kg.  Top prize was $15,000.  It was interesting to see how efficiently and quickly the guy filleted them.  They give the meat to orphans.  It was a nice party.

                     

Security was tight for the governor coming.

The governor of Chiapas coming for the ribbon cutting ceremony

Innocence checking out the sailfish winners.

 They had sprayed for mosquitos for the preparation for the party, but there were many mosquitos in the area, likely due to the fact that it was previously a mangrove.  At this point we worked vigorously to get our new netting installed, but we needed Velcro (or something) to attach it over the hatches that were flush and the doorway.  We sustained many bites in the process.  It was also hot and humid!!  The bay was muddy and not inviting for a swim and there wasn’t a pool, so we refreshed in our little inflatable pool and used our room fans, but it was a hot one!

Sailfish competition -
everyone LOVES having pictures taken with the blonde kids!

       

  Innocence and I ventured out on a collective (a group bus/van that picks up everyone it can heading toward town).  The town of Tapachula was 20 miles away and had the bigger stores.  Innocence fell asleep on her neighbor on the way in.  You detour to drop people off along the way.  There is a joke, “How many people can fit on a collectivo?”  “One more.”  We went to Walmart and Home Depot (for the mosquito Velcro and some polyurethane for our cabinets), then jumped on a bus with a cart full of groceries and went a couple stops down to Sams Club.  There we met our neighbor boat friends and shared a taxi ride home with our goods.  A taxi is 10 times what a collective costs, but it’s a great way to get home once you’ve been shopping for groceries for a crew of 10.

The family checking out the fish.

Integrity LOVES fish!

On Monday we headed out to immigration to get our ZARPE.  We need this to be able to leave the country, basically saying that we left in good standing.  First our entire group had to go to the airport to show our passports, pay a fee, and show our boat documentation.  Then we had to go to the Port Captain’s office.  Fortunately Meno from the marina office drove us around in his truck to these stops.  A collectivo for 10 people with multiple stops in a foreign language would have been a disaster.



The kids rode in the bed of the truck and were loving it!!  The final step is an inspection by the federales of the boat with a trained drug dog who sniffs your bilges, etc.  They were very friendly and allowed the kids to pet and play with the dog, which is not allowed for US working dogs because they may get distracted.  The kids loved it!

           
   Because it’s a new marina, Chiapas was offering boats $200/month for dock space, no matter their size.  We paid half that for 3 nights, but got what we needed.  Many of the commuter cruisers were taking advantage of this great deal and disembarking here for the season.  They don’t cruise during rainy season.  We said goodbye to some nice new friends, hopefully until we meet again, and we were off for El Salvador.

The children checking out a turtle habitat in Chiapas.

The kids climbing a tree - very standard.

Huatulco

We arrived after a downwind sail from Acapulco.  Our friend on Blue Jacket made it in 36 hours motoring.  We made it in 3 days (May 6-9) sailing with our spinnaker the whole way, other than a 4 hour motor for our final approach.  Quite nice overall.  We saw a fair number of sea turtles, many of them casual and staying above surface as we came by, some diving as we approached.  Often you can spot a sea turtle in the distance because they each seem to have a token bird riding on their back.  Funny combo.  The water was glassy and made for great turtle viewing. 

When we hit a very calm time (and warm time of day), we pulled the sails down, lowered the front ladder and jumped in from the bow tube for a much needed refreshing!  Even Intrepid jumped in from the bow tube (and got a whole pack of cookies for the bravery).  Innocence was going to, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.  She did come swimming though off the back swim step.  I tried to swim with a turtle, there was one not too far in the distance, but as you swim toward it in the open ocean, it is more of a distance than you realize.  While I would have made it, he would have been gone and we were under way, so didn’t have that kind of time.  It’s surprising also how much the boat moves (or you move, there is no fixed reference point) out there.  I would float, then suddenly be way in front of the boat, or off to the side, requiring a swim back.  It made all the difference in my day, I was getting a bit muggy hot, but after about a 30 minute swim I was refreshed and good to go.

Huatulco is a large area with many national preserves.  There are almost 30 bays over a 10 mile stretch.  Lots of great places to tuck in and explore.  We first arrived in Sacrifico Bay.  A cute little bay with many rock outcroppings in it and palm tree palapas lining the shore.  The reef was protected by a buoy line. We went snorkeling on the west side, with both Intrepid and Innocence also, but neither had gear with them.  I bought all the kids junior snorkeling gear, but in the plastic packages you can’t try them on.  They are too big for the kids faces and don’t make a seal.  The reef was beautiful, but the water sometimes murky.  We came across some large schools of yellow tailed fish, gorgeous little bright blue fish, some needle nose fish, parrot fish, etc.  I tried out my new underwater camera too and got some great pictures I’ll try to include. 

The next morning Intrepid earned his 10^th sticker on the “Helper Chart” for doing things to help the big people out.  He got to have his pick of a pair of new goggles and we went to dive on the other side of the reef.  There was a pufferfish that was stuck with an air bubble in it’s tail section.  It was floating at the surface upside down and couldn’t get down or right itself.  The boys helped him even out his air pocket and he was able to swim off.  What a nice experience for Intrepid!!

We went to town, which was tiny, and found two small markets.  At the first we got some fresh baked bread rolls.

      That evening we went down to explore the next few bays.  Our friends on Blue Jacket were tucked into a cute little private bay.  We joined them to explore the shore which was filled with hermit crabs, then made a campfire and roasted some marshmellows.  Very nice evening, then we headed back at dusk to check in for the net of southbound cruisers, which occurs every evening at 7:30.

             The net is a nice little network of people who have met along the way and they check in on the ham radio.  We have check-ins from as far south as Costa Rica  and we are the north most.  The net is run by Blue Jacket and is relatively small.  It’s also hard to hear often times.  But it’s interesting when and what you can hear.  We seem to have been named “Little Wanderers” on the net.  Integrity also refers to Blue Jacket as “Blue Life Jacket.”

The following day Blue Jacket left it’s cute little cove Jicaral and we headed in. It was very protected, had a nice big reef for diving on, and a private beach.  That is, a private beach in the off hours.  At about 11 am a couple of pongas arrived and went to the beach to set up 5 umbrellas and chairs under them and one different umbrella where they had a table and drinks.  We couldn’t figure out why they needed so much shade until the double decker catamaran arrived full of tourists to dive the reef and play on shore.  We then realized it was the grown up version of a lemonade stand.  They stayed for a few hours during the heat of the day when we didn’t want to be out anyway, then left.  Before they left, they had a little ?show/competition of the guests jumping off of a high dive from the second story of the cat that the boys enjoyed watching.  They left the beach impressively clean and nice and were overall minimal impact and made for good entertainment.  Then once again we had our cute little private cove. 

Vitality had her third birthday in Jicaral.  We brought her up a baby puffer fish to play with in a bucket.  She thought that was a great birthday present.  We swam in the morning, but by noon there was a huge bloom of jellyfish.  They were so thick you couldn’t see through water.  There was just no way to get a picture of it, not for lack of trying!  It was so amazing how many there were all of a sudden and apparently out of nowhere!  Unfortunately it kept us out of the water, but it was so great to watch and a neat experience.  We also brought up a clear pitcher full of water and watched the jelly’s swim.  Another great birthday present for Vitality. 

Because of all the jelly’s and the fact that we’ve explored this cove, we headed out the next morning to Mangillo, a really cute, tucked in bay with a beach and a dive area.  On our arrival we went to the beach.  Very nice, had a great time, but it was getting warm, so we went for a snorkel.  It appeared that they were in the beginning of a jelly bloom so we headed out fast.  As we began to snorkel the reef, the water became more and more murky.  I began looking closer and sure enough, it was baby jelly’s as far deep as you could see.  You couldn’t even see the reef sometimes because they were so thick.  Maybe I imagined it, but I began feeling tingling on my back and in my face.  The visibility wasn’t great with all the jelly’s, so we headed back in. 

We left and rounded the cove to a huge and beautiful beach, again all to ourselves, in Chachacual.  We could see turtle tracks on the beach and went to check it out.  On landing at the beach, there were hundreds of huge hermit crabs.   It was a long walk around the cove to the turtle tracks and we could see where two turtles had gone up and holes they had dug which appeared to be empty.  We also saw what appeared to be raccoon tracks leading to dug out holes of crabs.  Great beach to explore.  Again, the same tourist boats would come to snorkel here, but leave it clean and nice within a few hours.  We seemed to be free of jelly’s here and the reef was gorgeous with crystal clear waters.  This time we were able to get Integrity in snorkeling also after watching our home videos of all the fish we’ve seen out there the day before.  He loves fish and fishing, but isn’t such a fan of eating the fish.  I’m thinking he’s more of a SCUBA/snorkeling kind of guy once he gets the feel for it. 

            After a few excellent days here, we headed to the Chahue marina in Huatulco.  It was just over an hour of motoring down the coast, we saw tons of dolphins.  While watching the dolphins, there was a funny white mark in the water, not swimming like a dolphin.  As we came closer, we saw a HUGE manta ray!!!  Coolest thing EVER!!  Wing span was maybe 10 feet.  Again I am reminded that every time I’m thinking we’ve seen a vast variety of sea creatures, another amazing encounter occurs.  That was the only one we saw and not everyone on board was lucky enough to be out to see it, but it was awesome!  We saw a feeding frenzy so turned into it and brought in a nice bonita for lunch.

          The boys did and passed a challenge also.  If they could swim around the boat without a life jacket, they wouldn't have to wear their life jackets while in the harbor and would get all the ice cream they could eat in one sitting.  If they did it twice without stopping, they also got a free week of games on Uncle Loyal's iPad.  Needless to say, they did it twice!!  Very well done, wasn't totally flat, they were getting splashed in the face, etc.

       

 Coming into the marina was interesting, this marina is tucked way in behind a rocky entrance.  We could not have passed another boat our size coming out for sure and it would have been bumper to bumper with a monohull.  There was no room to turn around, I was glad to have Courage as our helmsman as I wouldn’t have even made the entrance into the marina, let alone trying to negotiate inside the marina and dock.  Fortunately our friends from Blue Jacket were out there and had “reserved” a spot for us, so the dock attendants were waving us in and down the pier so we didn’t have to do any crazy maneuvers.

         

   Chris, a Canadian on Misty Michael, has been here for 5 years and has a car on shore.  He 

took us to refill propane, which was really great to get done!! then a tour of the town.  So nice to have a local's tour!  He showed us where to get some mosquito netting for over our hatches, where to get a good meal, where to get fresh fruits/veggies, nice surfing bays, where the archaeological ruins park is, etc.  After our tour we set out to get the netting, some 12V fans to counter the humidity, some fresh rolls from the bakery, and a date lunch.  We then hit a Super Che grocery store for a few items and I got a little 3 ring pool to put on the back swim step to clean and cool the kids.  Very productive and fun/useful day.  In the evening we met with a few groups of cruisers in the marina for snacks and socializing.  There was another couple that came also who have lived here for a year on land.  People seem to really like this community, say it's very safe.  Any criminals are chased off fairly swiftly and it's not tolerated.  Chris said the jail was pure concrete floor, no beds, no facilities, a dirty cardboard box to lay on if you're lucky.  That's a deterrent.

With all the baby puffers and all the baby jelly’s and all of our birthdays, Huatulco has now been named the “Bay of the Birthdays.”  Fitting place to celebrate Mother’s day also. 

We are now awaiting fair sailing weather across the Teuhanepec Bay.  Time it right, it's a nice 2 day passage, time it wrong, it can be a boat eater.  This time of year it's not such big stuff, but the advisory told us to wait until at least today.  There is the makings of a hurricane in the Pacific, but too high to affect us.