Thursday, April 27, 2006

Huatulco

April 12th, Huatulco, Mexico.... We thought that we'd only have a forty hour passage to get down to Puerto Angel but one look into that little surf torn surging cove convinced us to press on. Being tired from a two night passage we looked into a few more coves on the way down to Huatulco for a calm enough anchorage to get a good nights sleep. None seemed the answer so we radioed the marina and picked our way around a large breaking reef and then up a narrow passage between a cliff and a short jettie to a dredged out lagoon . Here we were welcomed by at least fifteen people out on the docks ready to take our lines. Some we already knew and some were soon to become new friends.
Huatulco is an cute little town that was an attempt by the Mexican Government to master plan a community. There is a small marina which is where we are currently tied to a double wide slip and a more commercial port around the corner where they can berth a cruise ship. In Huatulco, you can take a tour boat of any size or variety out to any one of the numerous gorgeous coves to go snokeling of diving or just swiming. The city itself is unique because of the wide open streets with side walks and grassy medians inviting to pedestrians and especially bicyclistas .. This is our last stop in Mexico and it is here that we'll get our international Zarpe and clear out of the country. Before we leave Mexico, we will take this opportunity to travel inland to yet another one of Unescos World Heritage sites, the town of Oaxaca. Famous for its arts, indigenous people and chocolate, we should have no problem filling a few days with galleries, museums and hopefully, at an elevation of 6000 feet, some cool mountain evenings.
April 26th..... After two weeks fun-filled weeks in Huatulco and a fabulous trip to Oaxaca we are going to tear ourselves away from this easy marina life and head on down the coast. On Friday evening we will leave Huatulco to make a 500 mile passage to El Salvador. It should take us around 100 hours. We have a good weather window for the Gulf of Tehuantepec (250 miles of Mexican coast south of here) which is known for it's gale force winds. If we are lucky it will be a pond and by Monday morning we should be crossing the border into Guatemala. After that we will have approximately 250 more miles until we arrive at Barillas Marina in El Salvador. From there we hope to travel inland to El Salvador and Guatemala before continuing on.

Until we meet again Mexico....Liz & Mark

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mark and Liz, I recieved your message and plan. Have a great voyage to El Salvador and please contact us upon your safe arrival. Love John, Shawna, Margaret Anne and General