The sail to Puerto Aventuras was nice and uneventful. We did keep a constant eye on the engine but aside from a leaky water pump all seemed fine. The entrance to the port was VERY scary. It was super narrow and shallow. It got down to 6.5' and we draw 5.5'. The waves were behind us as we were heading straight in to the coast. Lucky for us it was a pretty calm day and we got info from the owner before entering with very precise instructions to hug one side and then the other. Whew! We came in on a Saturday evening and everyone was in party mode. There was no one to tell us where to go. As we came in a big walled-in bay/lagoon someone was shouting "Amigo, Amigo!" and waving for us to come to him. All of the other boats were tied Med style and we were not prepared for that without someone in the water to attach a line to the huge mooring balls. The guy did not speak a word of English so he ran to find a friend who did. Meantime we just sidled up to the wall and they came back they just tied us that way. He told us we could just stay that way tonight. The office was closed so we could go up in the morning to pay. Thank goodness the electricity was turned on. We hooked up and cooled off and made dinner. That is about when the parties started. Every apartment in the square was wide open and full of happy people. We were a bit jealous. =) The next morning Lane went on deck and came back telling me to come up with my camera. Some very chatty little yellow birds were on our boat and in the trees. They were so cute. After breakfast we walked over to the other lagoon to pay but the office was closed. A call to the owner the night before had him telling us that if no one made it in we could just catch him next time! =) On our walk we realized that the next lagoon was part aquarium with sea lions, dolphin, and manatee. They were all out playing and getting morning snacks. It was an unexpected treat!

The trip to Puerto Morelos was fun. We sailed close to the beach and we passed some major beach resorts and enjoyed watching the beaches and people playing on the water on wind surfers, boats, kite boards, etc. The marina, El Sid, was very nice and that was good because we ended up staying an extra day to work on motor/generator issues which have been plaguing us. They had a huge beautiful resort and beach area with lots of loud, white tourists… rather, make that loud, pink tourists. There was a dolphin adventure beside the marina that was an ‘educational experience’. They didn’t have a lot of people in the water with the dolphin and they were in an open area cut off from the open water by just a mesh wire enclosure. It was still sad to see them pinned up so close to their free brothers. We decided to check out of Mexico here and that was a mistake. We needed the extra time but it was very expensive, $140.00. We will definitely check out in Isla Mujerez if we go this way again!

Later that same day we went in to our boat slip at Marina Paraiso. There was an 'agent' there who took care of the check in process for us. We waited in the bar and at our boat and he would come get us when the various official were there to get our signatures and fees. It was pretty sweet. The marina had a nice hotel with an infinity pool, and, our favorite, a restaurant/bar called Barlito! They had inside and outside seating and a really pretty palapa bar. We ordered a Mexican Pizza and I was hooked! The base was a thin layer of re fried beans, then peppers, onions, a little ground sausage, with a thick layer of cheese and topped off with a thick slice of avocado! It was so dang yummy! Our slip was small and the dock was a bit dodgy but we snugged in nicely and the views were amazing. The grounds were lush and there were big iguana's walking around eating the flowers and entertaining the guests. We enjoyed the town with its bright colors and fun shops and amazing beach bars/restaurants. The prices were crazy inexpensive and the people were super friendly. We did go out for some special meals. We went to one place early to listen to music. A white guy with dreads showed up and we expected some reggae; nope, he played beautiful jazz music on his base sax. Yesss! As the evening crowd filtered in he was replaced by a guy playing more typical 'bar singer' music; but it was entertaining. The best part was his dog. His name was OG and he was a professional mooch. He would sit patiently, not too close and not quite staring. Naturally, everyone would feed him just to get to pet him. What a love! We did have to go to Cancun for our boat permit so we took the ferry over. It was a nice big boat and as we got seated on top for the best views, a guy comes out and starts playing an electric guitar! His first song was Guns N' Roses. It was a good song but way too loud and totally inappropriate. Oh well, when in Mexico!!! The little town we had to walk through to get to the Port Office was a forgotten version of the hay day that this area was before Cancun spread out to the North with big hotels and high-rises. We actually passed a hotel that rented by 2 hour increments. Oh my! The nice lady at the Port office told us to head down the beach a bit more and go to one of the little restaurants on the beach for lunch. She was so right. We stopped at a tiny shack and ordered fish. I asked what kind it was and we had a little communication issue. Soon he came back with 2 large whole fish, one was grouper and one was snapper. I pointed to the snapper and ordered guacamole and both were delicious. We were smart enough to split it after seeing the size of the fish. We sat right on the beach and watched the pipers in the water and the Frigate birds circling overhead.

We left the Dry Tortugas midday on April 12th. We were not long out when we started fishing. After a couple of hours Lane changed the lure on one of the rods and as soon as he set the drag a tuna hit! He had a fun fight and managed to clean it in the 4' seas and heavy wind but quickly decided that we would not be fishing anymore! Later that evening I went up to the bow to check the running lights (yes, we always hook in to the jack line first) and as I bent over a dolphin came jumping up playing in the bow wake. I leaned over to see what was up and my favorite sunglasses hit the water right on top of another dolphin! There were about a dozen of them and it was amazing! One was very little and would not go to the bow but he jumped and jumped alongside the boat. It was so awesome! All I had quick access to was my zoom lens so the photos are terrible but I kept them anyway so I can remember. Later Lane and I were treated to a pretty sunset as we had dinner and started our first night watches. Overall our passage from The Dry Tortugas to Mexico was pretty close to as good as it gets. The seas were a constant 4' to 5' but they were not straight on the nose so there was no pounding and rattling of the boat as we have encountered in the past. We made really good time and were able to sail for most of the trip. It was a VERY long 48 hours and the seas and wind made it difficult to sleep even after a long, hard day. We did manage a few hours each watch but it was probably closer to 4 or 5 hours total of constantly interrupted sleep both nights. It was interesting to just manage to go below to get food or go to the head when the boat was at a constant angle and pitching and rolling. I am sure I used muscles I never knew I had just to try not to pee on the floor! =) I did manage to shower but only because I could sit on the bench and wedge myself in with my feet and then use the spray handle. So many of the grab rails and such on the boat that I had taken for granted ended up being my new favorite features! The night watches were interesting. The stars and the moon were amazing out there and it was weird to see so many cruise ships, tankers, and cargo ships come so close. It kept my mind busy calculating intersections and speeds as I was punchy enough to think that we might crash into one of them if I wasn't careful! =) When we pulled in to Isla Mujerez it was heavenly. It was so beautiful and calm. We were too early for the marina so we anchored out and took showers and napped. Ahhh, to be clean and still. Thank you God for the simple comforts; and for getting us safely to Mexico. Sweet dreams!

Our trip to the Dry Tortugas was another wild ride! We had great wind and not too bad seas to start. We were flying, averaging about 7.4 kts and hitting 9 at some points with full sails. It started getting soupy like a wash tub and the wind gusts were kicking up. We had to reef the main and deal with the soup. I did get sick with all of that churning but I made it more than half way and I was still able to help set anchor, as always! The anchorage was beautiful but still quite rough. Along the way we picked up a little hitch hiker who was tired of fighting the wind too. This is the second time we had a little bird take a break on the boat with us and it is always a treat. I keep a little jar lid for water for them. This one was very tired and spent a lot of time sleeping. He woke up a few hours after we anchored and finally flew over to the scrub trees next to the fort to continue his rest. Good luck little feathered friend. We rocked and rolled all night but the anchor held fast and we slept well with the anchor alarm getting us up each time the tide or current sent us on a new angle. The next day was a long day of chop and roll! It was very windy and we decided to spend the day working on the dinghy engine. We took it all apart and Lane worked on cleaning the carburetor. We thought we found the issue. We put it all back together and tested it using a bucket with the motor on the rail. It seemed to work but the real test will be when we can put the dinghy in the water, mount the motor and open her up! Unfortunately it was so choppy with high wind and currents the whole time we were in the Dry Tortugas that we dared not risk a trip in an iffy dinghy. The time we spent there was still great. Without ever leaving our boat we saw so many sea turtles, dolphin, and the ever present sea birds; especially those amazing Frigatebirds! We were pretty content to just stay on the boat, doing some work and enjoying our surroundings.

It was a beautiful day! We has to motor the whole way to Boca Grande but it was so pretty and a very nice trip. The anchorage in the pass was full of current, as usual, but it was beautiful. The haze mixed with the flat calm water made for some interesting photos. The little mangrove islands looked like they were floating in the air and the reflections of the birds and the setting sun were just breathtaking. When we first arrived there were 3 or 4 boats on the islands and anchored out but they all left before sunset. We got an amazing sunset and moon rise! We totally enjoyed our quiet evening in the middle of nowhere, all alone.

We tried to re-calibrate our compass/auto pilot today to no avail! We spent a lot of time motoring around in circles but it never could figure itself out! So, we knew we would be doing some repairs and/or ordering some new equipment. If not for the bad weather report this would have happened on our way to Mexico and we would have been sailing 48 hours by hand and with compass readings only! No Bueno!!! So, we went around to Garrison Bight and hooked up to a mooring ball. It is a great place to be with lots of other boats and amenities like a nice dinghy dock and a laundry room and especially an office where we can have parts delivered. We enjoyed our time at Garrison Bight even though we spent a lot of time working very hard on the boat. We did manage to get a new auto pilot/compass and install it. It was quite an effort but we did it! The mooring field is right next to a Navy base and we were treated to various maneuvers from the Blue Angels and we saw paratroopers being dropped on several different occasions. It was pretty cool to have a front row seat like that. We did ride out some rough weather but we also has some amazingly calm days. We discovered that we could dinghy right up to the parking lot of a Winn Dixie and several other stores. Last time we were here we walked there from the dinghy dock and it took forever in the crazy heat! We were lucky enough to get to know some neighbors when we were invited to a happy hour aboard a beautiful schooner called Adventure. The owners Dick and Leigh were from the Chesapeake Bay area and enjoy schooner races up there. We will have to catch up with them when we are in that area again. The day before we were planning to leave we were heading back to the boat in the dinghy and the motor stopped. It would start again only to stop again. We managed to limp back to the boat with these stops and starts. It is funny now but not so much then. We were mad that another thing broke but we decided to head out anyway. We will get it fixed in Mexico!

We left the Marina in the morning and got behind the big Spanish Galleon at the fuel dock! After some maneuvering we managed to fuel up and then we motor over to the back of Wisteria Island where we anchored. We were waiting for a weather window for our sail to Mexico. It was looking like we would be able to leave on Tuesday but as we were motoring around we realized that our auto pilot was not acting normal. We were not getting true boat position or direction. It made dodging the sand bars out there a little hinky. We did manage to get a great spot to anchor and watch the water activities and enjoy a beautiful sunset. Lane grilled some fish and we ate like kings with the most amazing view!

We headed straight for the Key West Bight Marina where we were so glad to be hooked up to electricity aka heavenly AC. There was a very huge Spanish Galleon at the marina just across from us. We thought it was a pretty cool neighbor until we realized that it was so big that it blocked our Internet access! We had a great time checking out the new bars and restaurants, especially the Thirsty Mermaid run by Tommy Q. It was beyond excellent. Thanks for the recommend Blake! And of course we went to several of our favorite old haunts like Harpoon Harry’s and BOs. We love Key West!

Ok, so we asked for some good sailing wind and we got it! This trip took 9 hours, the temp was 61F without the wind, we had 4’ seas and 22kt winds off our port bow at 60 degrees. Can you say Woohoo??? It was fun but it was COLD!!! We had to drag out warm clothes that we had stashed way away! I actually used my sarong for a scarf! =) It was a very long day and we ended it tucked in behind Tarpon Belly Key off Cudjoe Channel. We made it in time for a sunset and a very cool moonrise. We looked forward to a nice short day the next day as we had only a 3 hour sail to Key West!