Well, unfortunately, I was not feeling up to par, and missed ringing in the New Year with the crazy Mexicans; very disappointing, at least to me, since NYE is my birthday. I went to bed very early, but did wake up in time to see the fireworks on shore, as we were at anchor and I was able to get a few pics. Let me tell you, NYE is a very big thing here too, though different from NYC. The Mexicans really like to "partee". We could still hear music at 6 am!
We had moved to the anchorage, as El Milagro was expecting a large fishing boat that had made a reservation for the slip we occupied. We enjoy being at anchor; it is a change of pace, no neighbors, quiet and FREE and it appeared that the weather was not going to cooperate so that we could move on down the coast of Mexico.
Within a few days we learned that yet another front was coming our way with gale force winds predicted (45 mph). So we went into Marina Paraiso, (next to El Milagro, since they didn't have any slips available). We just didn't want to chance losing an anchor in the middle of the night, which would not be fun in daylight either.
Many boats chose to ride it out in the anchorage. The gale, accompanied with rain, came and luckily though it was really rockin' and rollin' we made it through unscathed. Only one boat out there "came loose", but a couple guys from Marina Paraiso came to their rescue and all was well. I'm not sure if I had motion sickness or had picked up a virus, but I spent about a day and a half in bed. Had I felt better I would have chosen to get off the boat as it was pretty rocky. Though it was very difficult for me to get off the boat with the constant swells, hobby-horsing a lot.
We enjoyed our stay at El Paraiso and met a number of new cruisers, many of them are also heading to the Rio Dulce as we are.
After spending two months (to the day) in Isla Mujeres, we finally got a small weather window and we grabbed it! We pulled away from the dock at 7am on Monday, January 18th heading for Puerto Morelos, a 40 mile sail. It was so good to get out on the sea again. Wind Shift, Windward, Mo' Better, Star Singer and Wind Song followed a couple of days later.
We arrived about 3:30pm at the mooring field having had a very nice motor sail. We spent one night on the ball, and guess what. . .another front is on the way! Will it never end? I'm beginning to think we are cursed! That's cruising, you just can't follow a schedule. You're dependent on fair winds and hopefully calm seas. However, Puerto Morelos is also a great place to be "stuck"!
The mooring balls inside the reef are free, but after David dove and inspected the mooring support, we decided to seek better shelter so we came into El Cid Marina. We later learned that over the last several months over 8 mooring balls had broke loose, so we now know we made the right decision to move.
David had taken our dinghy to inspect El Cid Marina, while I checked out Puerto Morelos. To our surprise, David found our friends, Jay and Sherry from Sanctuary at El Cid Marina. We had spent a lot of time with them in Isla. We were unable to reach them via radio once they had left Isla; so we were glad to know they were safe.
So David left me at the dock. I never need much of an excuse to explore and SHOP, though I seldom buy anything. Unfortunately, it's all the same stuff; beaded jewelry, Mayan masks, Mayan pottery, little obsidian chess sets and pipes, and the same sarongs, over and over. Their handicrafts are very nice, but not anything I really want or need. (Every thing bought must have a dual purpose on a boat; you just don't have space for frivilous purchases; this I have had to learn. Our "Cap-i-tan" has taught me well, even though I have been reluctant. I have always loved shopping for food, and for now, it satisfies my craving to shop; at least for the time being.) Also, it is all pricey. They barter a little, but not enough for my wallet! Sailboat cruisers do not need or buy this stuff! We need something like West Marine!
El Cid Marina is very nice; complete with a restaurant, self serve laundry, good showers and floating docks. The staff is very helpful and have been roaming the docks all night considering the weather we're experiencing. . .30-35 knot winds and 4-5 ft swells at the dock! Our neighbor, Windward, a practically new Tayana 45', Windward, popped a line in the middle of the night! We also popped a couple of lines, it's been really rough!
Across the street is the El Cid Resort. It is beautiful! Included with the very reasonable $20 (I understand rates rise on March 1st) per day slip charge, we have access to the beach, the pool, a water slide, and a gym. It is an all inclusive resort. They also offer snorkeling, yoga, water aerobics, ceramics, and on the beach massages. Ah, yes, a massage, I must do this before we leave! We have enjoyed not be constantly bothered by the Mayan ladies roaming the beach selling their key chains, hair bands, and woven purses.
Puerto Morelos is part of the Quintana Roo providence of Mexico, another fishing village. See the link on our blog. The town is much smaller than Isla, but just as charming. Several dive shops, restaurants and little shops selling the same Mayan art and such as in Isla. They do have a beautiful beach though. Their prices seem to be a little more; at the grocery I found a 16 oz bottle of white vinegar for $55.00 pesos (nearly $5. US) You've got to be kidding me! They sell some vodka for less than that!
We've learned the hard way that there are definitely items we should have stocked up on . . . like natural peanut butter, Cremora, tuna in foil paks, canned green beans, and canned diced tomatoes, but we have been able to get most everything else we like, albeit, at a greater price.
The Mexicans subsist on beans, rice, tortillas, eggs, alot of varieties of chili peppers and very little meat. They eat tortillas, mostly corn at every meal! Ground Beef is about $3.60 a kilo, though more fatty and not nearly as tender as USDA and their cuts of beef are different. Trimmed and packaged chicken breasts are about double the cost of ground beef. Although, we did find whole, boneless, frozen chicken breasts (they were huge!) for the same price as ground beef) at the butcher counter in Isla.
The fresh markets and grocery stores stock fresh chicken, beef and pork and very nice vegetables, which are very reasonable. Though we have not found a fresh market or anything but smoked pork chops, hot dogs and bacon in Puerto Morelos.
They have deli meats and cheeses, but not US quality (and it's all ham)! Their Virginia ham would be equivalent to boiled ham in US. I wish I could find some cheddar cheese, or some sharp cheese, anything other than Machengo! It is pretty tasteless.
It has calmed down since last night, but will probably take a day or two for the seas to calm. We learned this morning that Puerto Adventuras Marina (about 30 miles away) is closed due to weather conditions. They have a rocky entrance and their insurance company has advised them to close.
The only other option is to continue past Puerto Adventuras to the Bahia de la Ascension; nearly 100 miles. If we do go, we will need to get more fuel, and some provisions. We are comparing notes with our fellow cruisers; there can be safety in numbers. Not sure if we want to chance it, since the winds are still predicted to be SSE for the next few days, with wind "on the nose" and the 2 knot current, it will be a long voyage! Windshift and Mo'better left around 3pm this afternoon. We are anxious to reach them on the SSB radio tomorrow morning to learn of their voyage.
So again we wait, next stop Bahia de la Ascension or possibly San Pedro! A three or four day window opens Tuesday and we are hoping to get as far as possible. Tomorrow we are going to share a rental car with Sherry & Jay from Sanctuary and get provisions. So that is the plan for now, but it seems to change day by day. Stay tuned!
