Yesterday we finally made our escape from Puerto Madero. PM is a port with little charm, used mostly by fishing boats and local tourism from neighboring Tapachula. However, the people are fascinating. Mostly Mayan stock, they look like history dressed in modern garb. They seem very loyal to their state, Chiapas, a state often seen in our newspapers as a source of political discontent.
We stayed a week after our successful crossing of the Tehuantapec because our genset decided to leak out all it's coolant and then have fuel problems. We had a bad mechanic, me, who finally got it sorted out (mostly). Then, when we tried to check out, we had to deal with an immigration office who decided that they would charge yachts as if they were cruise ships - it cost us $262 to get out of town. We are going to appeal that to a lady set up by ex-president Fox to ensure that yachts are fairly treated. It may be useless, but I'm gonna try.
Now we are passing by Guatemala without stopping. Their port fees are ridiculous. They want to charge $1.50 per foot per night, just to anchor. I don't think so! Our next port is still a day away - Barrillas Marina in El Salvador, reportedly has excellent services for a reasonable price. It is up a river among the mangroves. That means it will probably be buggy. No-see-ums are the worst biting bug I've ever been eaten by. Their bites itch insanely and swell up for days. But at Barrillas, we can leave the boat for some Mayan temple visits and other land excursions.
For now, it feels good to be back at sea. I'm just finishing the dawn watch and pretty soon will be getting some shut-eye. We are getting to be a really good sailing team. Passages don't really tire us out that much - of course, we have had light winds almost all the time. Right now, we have no winds at all. We love our diesel engine!
There is a trio of shearwaters that has decided that we are the event of the day. For more than an hour now, they have been circling the boat and flying by just off the deck, about 2 feet away. They've done this over and over from every imaginable angle.
2PM - later update: the shearwater group kept getting bigger until there were about 20 of them. Finally one of them managed to land on the deck and then another one. The two of them began to bill and coo right under the cabin window and then suddenly, they were going all the way! And then some more of them joined. We became a floating bordello. At one point, there were 9 of them on the foredeck, interrupting each others conjugal bliss. Right now, one amorous couple has managed to hide under the seats of our dinghy and are enjoying some privacy.
You see what passes for entertainment while on passage. Fun is where you find it.
Here is one of the shearwaters. Cute little buggers, eh?
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