Author Archives: Eric

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 →

History of the Mexican Republic

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Mexico’s 1,972,550 square kilometers in size and has an estimated population of 111 million people. It is bordered on the north by the United States, on the South by Belize and Guatemala, on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. Mexico has an incredibly rich history, particularly in regards to the remarkably advanced indigenous people groups. It is believed that the original humans migrated from Siberia (it is believed there used to be a land formation that sank in what is now the Bering Strait) in migratory waves started in 60,000 BC. Somewhere between 7000 and 3000 BC, the people in central Mexico began cultivating agriculture. They went from being nomadic hunters and gatherers to settling into permanent villages. Throughout what is today Mexico, there were dozens and dozens of different ethnic tribes that influenced one another, and at various points in time sometimes conquered one another, too.

Mexico’s “mother culture” is considered to be the Continue reading →

Passage from San Juan del Sur to Huatulco – Days 4 and 5

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Day 4

In the very early morning, not too long before dawn, we encountered 7 pangas within a 10 mile range. Eric was on watch and had to do some evasive maneuvering to stay clear of them. Some had lights on and were easy to see, others didn’t bother to turn their lights on until we were almost on top of them. Thank goodness for radar!

This morning the seas are better. We are still bouncing up and down, but the rapidity of the swells has slowed down, which helps the ride immensely. Interestingly, the wind chop has picked up, going from 6 inches to 1 2 feet, yet the ride is still better. It is so true that wave intervals trumps wave height in the comfort meter.

When the sun came up, we peeked out and saw our bird was still in the cockpit. We started to worry that he may be dying. Yesterday, he would run away from us and try to hide by the little step leading to the starboard side walkway. Today he just sits sadly in the middle of the cockpit when we come out, making no effort to hide. Eric gave him Continue reading →

Passage from San Juan del Sur to Huatulco – Days 2 and 3

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Day 2

It was a smooth ride until around 0430, when the wind picked up to low 20’s. After dawn, we moved closer in to shore where, where the wind was only 1 4 knots apparent and the seas were smooth. Man, talk about a drastic difference! No wonder they advise running so close to shore. It was another gorgeous, cloudless day.

Eric saw a turtle this morning. What made him notice it was he saw a bird standing on the water. Not sitting, standing. He did a double take and realized the bird was standing on a turtle that was swimming in the water. Eric tried to get a photo, but the bird sensed the camera being turned on and flew off. He took a photo of the turtle, but you can’t really see it in the photo. It looks like a smudge. Christi thinks she may have seen a turtle shortly afterwards, but isn’t sure. It was farther out.

At 1300, Christi also saw bird standing on a turtle. We had thought it was a freak occurrence the first time, but now we think it could be a common behavior. As she was watching the duo, suddenly a four foot sailfish leapt out of the water in the distance. It smashed back down into the water and a couple seconds leapt up again. It jumped at least Continue reading →

ATV Tour of San Juan del Sur

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This morning we were at the ATV tour company office promptly at 0900. We think they were surprised to see us on time, expecting us to be late. We waited a few minutes while they got the vehicles ready and then we headed out. Here is Eric getting ready to go.

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It was just the two of us. We love it when we get private tours! At first we followed Continue reading →