05/01/2012, Puerto Aventuras Marina
Interesting! One of the differences between this trip & the Bahamas is, when you go from 1 place to the next, you see land. A lot of the land is still undeveloped. Beautiful white pristine beaches for miles. Then out of the blue is another town.
We left Puerto Morelos this morning & are on our way to Puerto Aventuras. Playa Del Carmen is off our starboard side, & for me, is unrecognizable. It was a sleepy little fishing village & is now bumper to bumper with Hotels & Timeshares. It is where the people ferry goes over to Cozumel. There are plenty of fishermen out here & parasailers, jet skis etc. YUCK! That's exactly what we are getting away from. Puerto Aventuras is also a developed area. We still have to do our Sarpe, which is a permit to leave the country, so we will do it there. Honestly I think it's just another way to spread the $ around.
Being out here on the deep blue is the most amazing thing. We are going against a 2 - 3 knot current & only making 5.5 knots an hour. Running at 1900 rpms, with sails flying to stabilize us. They seem to be helping a little. We're in about 50 - 100 ft of h2o. Not in a hurry, so it doesn't matter. Saw 2 loggerhead turtles! BIG! Fernando saw a sailfish in about 20 ft of water. It is so clear, you can see the bottom. So many different colors of water. So clean & crystal clear. We are very grateful to Be able to do make a trip like this.
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04/29/2012
There were Peter & Wendy, Dave, Diane, Alex, Mia & Koa (dog), Clark, Ken & his wife, Jeff, Walter & John & Steve & Roberta. They were our dock friends in Isla Mujeres. Then, of course, the most important ones - Julio, Jaime, Rosie (who has the same birthday as Fernando), & too many other names to remember. They were the people who worked El Milagro Marina. Eric, the owner, came about mid stay & was very nice, friendly & helpful. This place makes you feel like you are part of the family. They welcome you with open arms & hearts & always have a smile for you. It was not the most fancy marina. In fact it was rough around the edges. But that's what made it so nice. They have bikes you can use, no charge. The showers are outside & open at the top to get the nice breeze in. How cool is that? They will do your laundry for you for very little & also have a dinner for everyone on Saturday nights. There are also rooms to rent that are very clean & spacious, for those of you who do not have a boat. Julio is the jefe (boss). He can help you register with the 4 different agencies. Immigrations, customs, health & agriculture. He can also give you advise when you go to the main land to register your boat. (It's just another way to get $ out of you. But at least now the boat is registered for 10 years in Mexico) It makes it very easy & as smooth as it can be. El Milagro Marina is definitely a place that makes you want to go back & visit again. Thanks guys! You made our stay very pleasant. We'll see you again soon.
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Workers in town square
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Workers thatching a roof in town square
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Our anchorage tucked behind the barrier reef is holding well in a steady 20kt breeze. We sleep to the distant sound of waves cascading over the shallow reef and the gentle rocking of the boat.
We wake to the rising sun sip our coffee and gaze over the water completely content with our world. Today's events include; cleaning below deck, taking the dinghy to the reef for snorkeling, then a dinghy ride to the city pier. Nancy's friend Vicki told us about a good cheap restaurant so we will check that out. We bought a bottle of rum for $3.70 in a small market, yea. In most restaurants a bottle of Sol beer is less $2. Most meals with drinks for two of us runs about $12. Puerto Morles is a quiet town, but as we look around workers were thatching new palapas in the town square and installing new mooring balls in the bay where we are anchored.
| April 2012 |
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04/27/2012, Puerto Moreles
We got wind we were waiting for to sail down the coast. Our heading was South 193 degrees and the winds were 15kts from the East 92 degrees. Going against a 2kt current Tradewinds spread her wings, healed to starboard and with smiles on our faces we SAILED to Puerto Moreles. With the engine just above idle we took our time, this leg took 6 hours. Once inside the barrier reef we dropped the big-ass anchor, the setteled in.
We dingyed into town which is about 200 yards accross the bay, found a great little cafe' where we dined on tamales and Sol beer for $9.
| under way |
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Eddie G
