Monthly Archives: August 2009

ATV Rides, Huatulco Tour & Tacos al Pastor

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Continued from yesterday”¦ When we were done, it still was late morning, so we decided to do another activity at the ranch. We picked ATV riding. A few minutes later, we had bandanas wrapped around our faces to protect us from the dust, and we were ready to go rob a bank. Er we mean ready to go riding. And, maybe we’ll pass a bank along the way”¦ just kidding. Maybe.

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We had a different guide altogether this time. We followed him along a small trail, probably a horse trail, to a dry river bed. We bounced back and forth between Continue reading →

Food, Exploring La Crucecita & Zip Lines

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Yesterday was supposed to be another chore day. Christi took advantage of unlimited water and power and did load after load after load of laundry (we never explicitly mentioned that we are plugged into power here in the marina. Just in case anyone doesn’t realize, all of North America uses the same kind of power system, so at all the marinas from here on up, we should be able to plug into full power), but didn’t get much else done by way of chores. Eric worked on the internet all day, taking care of “life chores”. Unfortunately, the connectivity comes and goes, so it took a lot longer than expected and Eric never got to doing any “boat chores”. We did hire some people to wash the boat and polish the exterior metal. They did a fabulous job. By the end of the day, Kosmos was gleaming.

At 1800, we caught a taxi and went to the airport to pick up our friend Bruce. It was a longer drive than we expected. The road to the airport is nice, both in terms of road quality and scenery. We passed through an area that looked to be untouched forest. While the trees are barren right now, we are sure that in the summer the densely packed trees must be absolutely gorgeous. It turns out our cab driver, Saul, speaks pretty good English. We asked him to help us with our Spanish grammar and vocabulary. We had a conversation in Spanish, telling him all about our trip. When we would say something incorrectly, he would correct us and when we got stuck on a word, he’d tell us the missing word. Practicing with people like him helps us out a lot.

Like most of the rest of Huatulco, the airport is new and nice, though small. It is built in a rustic style, with charming tall palm frond roofs.

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Bruce emerged from the terminal a couple minutes after we arrived. It was so great to see him. Bruce commented that Continue reading →

Checking In and Crossing Paths with Old Acquaintances

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Continued from yesterday”¦ Almost as soon as we were situated, a catamaran named “Gone Native” pulled into the space we had just vacated. In a crazy small world story, it turns out that we know them. In early 2007, a friend of ours had arranged for us to meet some people who actively cruise half the year. They were really nice people who gave us a lot of good tips and advice. At the time, their boat was in Europe. We hadn’t had contact with them since. And, suddenly, here they were! Like us, they are about to stop cruising for a while and are taking their boat home to California.

In another odd coincidence story, we are now directly across from a boat named Cosmo. It was around 1115 and we were puttering around on board. Eric heard someone knocking and calling out “Hello”, but it wasn’t at our boat, so he didn’t pay attention at first. Then he looked out and saw the person was knocking on Cosmo and realized it must be the quarantine officer. Eric brought him aboard. The quarantine paperwork took 20 minutes. The only thing he wanted to see was our trash, which he looked through briefly, then left.

Now it was time to go to the Port Captain’s office. We walked out to the street and quickly caught a taxi that took us to the next bay over, Santa Cruz. Bahia Santa Cruz is definitely geared at tourists. A large cruise ship dock makes up a breakwater that splits the bay in half. The sea wall lining the inside of the breakwater is completely covered by small power boats with bimini tops, clearly intended for taking tourists on sightseeing cruises up and down the bays. There were two small military vessels in the back, too. The boardwalk is a collection of tourist shops, quite a few of them vacant. There are large hotel and/or condo complexes on the hill that separates Bahia Santa Cruz from Bahia Chahue, some of them only half completed. On the backside of the shops, on the outside of the breakwater, is a small beach.

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The Port Captain’s office is in and amongst the shops. There were several armed military officers lounging around near the office. You walk in the door to see Continue reading →

Welcome to Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Around 0100, the wind picked up some more. Instead of 20 26 knots, it became more like 21 27. We know that doesn’t sound like much of a difference on paper, but the gusts were now more frequently on the higher end of the spectrum than they had been before. After only an hour, it started to die down. By 0230, the wind was down to 15. Since the wind was on our side and we were so close to shore, the ride had never changed for us, so even in the worst of the winds the ride was smooth and pleasant.

In the early morning, we rolled up 29,000 nautical miles. Wow. We certainly have done a lot of miles, haven’t we? At 0800, we looked outside and noticed there were a zillion small jellyfish in the water. We made excellent time all morning. We must have a current with us for the speeds to be so good. The currents in this gulf are also notoriously strong.

Our destination was the town of Continue reading →