We spent 6 weeks in California from late Feb to April 1 trying to restock the sailing kitty and all anyone asked about our trip was “What Happened to the Boat? Did it sink? Can you sail again?” Seems like I painted a pretty bleak picture of the damage and then forgot to let everyone know that we had finally repaired EVERYTHING. The boat was in great shape minus a few light fixtures that we would purchase in CA and that would be replaced when we returned in April. Better than great shape because all of the down time while we were having hatches sealed and fiberglass fiberglassed and teak polished had also allowed me to find plenty of time for those small repairs that keep getting put off when either the sun is shining OR the rain is falling. We managed to leave the river in mid-January, and we got four beautiful weeks sailing in Belize before we headed home for tax season. The boat was flawless, everything working properly, everything ship shape. I guess I should have mentioned that. So the first Mea Culpa is to apologize for not getting everyone up to date with a timely e-mail/blog post way back in January.
The second Mea Culpa is because I did it again… the “left Belize and forgot to write an e-mail” part. We returned to Belize on April 1 (see note about the “flight” below), spent another sun filled three weeks enjoying Placencia, Yoli’s, Tutti Frutti, the many island cays along the off shore reef, and finally our favorite stop in Belize, Cay Caulker. Most of those stops are noted in the previous blogs from Belize. We just decided that the pace and the place wanted us to visit all of them again. I am writing this note in Mexico on the Isla Mujeres near Cancun where we just finished a three day passage north from Belize.
Our early April flight from the US was to Cancun, Mexico because (a) it was cheap and (b) it would give us a chance to check out Isla Mujeres by land before we sailed there on the way to Florida. Good stop. Isla is a tourist island that is a little less overwhelming than the rows of hotels in Cancun. Only a few streets, small hotels, good restaurants and bars and several welcoming marinas where we can leave the boat while we explore inland. During our first short visit we enjoyed good Mexican food, mariachis, margaritas, etc. Just like home. If you get a chance to vacation in Mexico I will highly recommend Isla Mujeres as a destination.
We had planned to save a buck as well as add to the adventure by taking the overnight bus from Cancun to Belize City and then flying on to Placencia where we had left the boat for five weeks. The question was raised (over cocktails) whether we really wanted to spend all night on a Mexican bus (albeit a nice Mexican bus) that would leave Cancun at 10 PM and arrive Belize City at 6 AM. All things considered we quickly answered “no”. But we were in luck. Tropic Air (a Belize airline) had recently instituted a new flight service from Cancun to Belize City. One flight a day, small plane, a lot faster. The next morning we tried to make a reservation for the afternoon flight but for some reason no reservations could be made less than 24 hours in advance. Persistence, I said. We’ll simply go to the airport and “hope” we can get on the flight which would leave in about two hours. We checked out of the hotel, caught the ferry from Mujeres to Cancun, cab to the bus station, bus to the airport, and arrived with about a half hour to spare. Yes, we could fly, the plane is landing now, better hurry is what we heard. Of course “no credit cards can be accepted. Do you have cash?” Hmm. What have we gotten into?
Now the good part. The service was spectacular. The Tropic Air agent, who we had to track down while he was on his break (one flight a day and he gets a break?) sold us a ticket, hand carried our passports to immigration, loaded our bags in the screener, carried the bags to the plane, and then directed the plane to the runway with frantic hand signals. He was a one-man ground crew so no wonder he needed a break. Also… we were the only passengers on the flight. Pilot, co-pilot, Tom, Andrea. No one else. Strictly first class even though we had to sit on separate sides of the plane to balance the load. I said it was a small plane. Good luck, good flight, good experience.
The boat had weathered the shorter storage period much better than the last misadventure, and we were off the dock and sailing in less than 24 hours. Friends were located via radio and another sailing season was underway for Mañana. We were reluctant to leave Belize, but moving north this spring was our goal, so we meandered our way through Belize from Placencia to Cay Caulker. Then we sailed out of Cay Caulker one morning at 6 Am to catch a good weather window for the 240 mile sail to Isla Mujeres. If 240 miles doesn’t seem like a lot remember that we “try” to average 5 miles per hour sailing. That’s about the speed of a slow bike trip. Despite our watching all of the weather reports available to us we still got hit with some pretty heavy weather early in the trip with 6 foot seas, 20 knot winds, and breaking waves on bow. Also, our previously perfect boat had a minor malfunction when the autopilot just up and died meaning we would hand steer the entire trip and get much less rest during the night. But when the winds settled down so did the seas and we had a pleasant night and a gorgeous second day before reaching a small anchorage near Cozumel, Mexico. We stopped, rested and the next day we sailed the final 7 hours in strong winds tacking our way to Isla Mujeres. It is still our first day here, but the anchorage is both lively and well protected. There are many sail boats anchored here waiting to depart for ports both north and south. There is also the tremendous hustle and bustle of Easter week vacationers on the sightseeing and snorkeling tour boats going back and forth through the harbor. It is a big week in Mexico and we are happy to be here. We will stop here for at least two weeks to explore the area and rest for the much longer sail to Florida. Now if we can only find a new autopilot for that trip we’ll be really happy.
Tom and Andrea
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