Well, it was Monday morning, both Rob and I were up early! At 6am we were watching the surf that seemed to have significantly settled down from the night before giving us a tiny bit of peace of mind. As the next 60 minutes went ticking by, the waves seemed to increase with every set. By 7:15am we hadn't heard from the pilot yet, but had all but talked ourselves out of making the attempt. The other 3 boats had arrived during the night, making 6 of us just hanging out waiting for the official word. Bill from s/v"Mitakuuluu" came on the radio and we watched the panga come crashing out of the surf and come towards us. "It's a go!!! The swells are much further apart and while we will experience some "pushing" just listen to our instructions and follow us...NO PROBLEMO!!!" One of the other boats that had just arrived that night was sort of volunteered...armystyle...he happened to be the closest to the way point and the panga was now ready for the 1st boat. Listening to his instructions... We heard the pilot guy in his little 20 foot panga with his 75 hrs pwr outboard say to Terry (the 1st boat captain).... " Okay, you're doing really good...keep coming....now you're going to feel a little push...but it's okay... okay here comes another little bigger push....now give it full trottle...." My very first vision was..OH GOD...it's just like child birth!!!!! It was pretty tense watching a 38 ft boat ride a wave up to the crest then back down into the trough where now all you could see was the top half of his mast! All along we heard the pilot boat say...You're doing great, keep her straight...now you're going to feel a little bigger push...there you go, now that's not so bad" We were 3rd in line and it took only about 10 minutes of following the panga per boat, talking us thru every step along the way on the radio, then after one of the swells, he just said "WELCOME TO EL SALVADOR"... switch your radios to channel 22 and Mary & Mike in the dinghy will guide you down the estuary to the marina!" What a sigh of relief! While intense for a few minutes, it really was no worse than some of the big swells we have experienced coming back from Half Moon Bay in California, or the swells heading down the Mexican coast around Cabo Corrientes! The swells were at our stern, just pushing us along. Never did we feel afraid just a little tense and lots of adrenaline flowing through our veins!!! Once the 1st swell went under us, it really wasn't as bad as it looked!!!! Bill, in the panga got some incredible photos, so be sure to check out our photo gallery. Once at the marina, Immigration and the El Salvador Navy personnel were there at the docks waiting to check us all into their country, check out our paperwork and stamp our passports! Needless to say we broke out the Korbel Champagne and the 12 of all had to celebrate our BIRTHING DAY right there on the docks!!!! The rest of the day was spent having a great breakfast at the marina water side cantina, then taking a 3 hr nap! The people here are all very welcoming and very cruiser friendly! We stayed in a slip for 2 days, enjoying the pool every afternoon, talking, making new friends and learning alittle lay of the land. On Thursday we have a tour guide coming to tell us just what kind of things El Salvator has to offer us... Terri & Lyman and Rob & I are really looking to do an tour, to a real archeological site and visit some ruins in Honduras on our 1st 2 or 3 day inland tour. We plan to be here for at least a week before we have to cross back over the sandbar (altho "they" say it's easier going out, than in...we shall see) and head to Barillas Marina about 30 miles south of here where we plan to get Triple Stars ready for it's 1st real rest from cruising. We are very glad to to have stopped in Bahia del Sol...Good food, new friends, pool and internet...what more could we ask for!