We are still here in Huatulco (pronounced wah-tool-koh) waiting for a weather window. The next passage is about 400 miles through the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The 125-mile wide Isthmus of Tehuantepec and a 75-mile wide gap in the Sierra Madres create a funnel where the trade winds "blow" through. This blow can be very strong (60 MPH wind). These winds are predictable but we have to patiently wait for a 3 to 5 day weather window when we hope the winds will be light.
It looks like our weather window will start on Wednesday night of this coming week. We will be more confident in the prediction by Tuesday. I have repaired our transmission but tomorrow morning we will motor a couple of miles to the nearest fuel dock to give it a test run. We will load up with fuel and will bring extra cans filled with diesel for the long passage to El Salvador in case we have to motor most of the way. The Tehuantepec either blows hard or has very little wind. During this passage we want very little wind. We have filled our propane tank ($8.00), which lasted us almost four months. We will provision the boat with food and water on Tuesday and be ready to go on Wednesday night.
We have had a lot of fun here in Hautulco. The locals have been helpful and the other cruisers have been great. We have made lasting friendships here each comparing boats and sailing stories.
I have required dental work down here. When we arrived I started getting a toothache, which scared me to one of the local dentists. I needed two cavities filled and one root canal. Each filling cost $40.00 and the root canal cost $120.00 and there was very little pain and it seems like a good job was performed.
We did go to a small traveling Circus that was a very interesting cultural experience. We have explored some of the local coves by dinghy with some great friends we have met on "Misty Sea". We hiked to a secluded beach which we now have named "Nancy's Beach". It's a great swimming & diving beach. We have not been in a hurry to leave here (we have been here 15 days so far) but we are now ready to move on to our next landfall.