Last Port before USA
26 May 2009 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Nancy
We made it to Isla Mujeres in great time...roughly 36 hours! We were able to sail most of the way. We only needed to motor sail once we were off the coast of Cozumel, MX, it seemed that we lost our favorable current and the wind died! We followed the buoys in and watched very closely to avoid hitting the reef and headed to Marina Paraiso.
I am sitting here on the boat, docked in Marina Paraiso, MX while Brian is working on the engine, basic engine stuff....i.e. change the oil, filters, check transmission fluid etc...until he finds an unfortunate engine problem...water pump being "wiggly" for lack of mechanic terms, it looked suspicious so as a preventative he decided to rebuild it so we would not have it go out on us when we cross the Gulf of Mexico. There is always something with a boat! The statement that Brian has said all along before and during our trip is that "Cruising is fixing your boat in beautiful places" has come true in several instances. With a 1983 (that was a good year ) engine and with the recent miles (4000+ but this includes all the sailing) we put on it, it is not surprising that it would need some tender loving care (work). I am sure learning more about Westerbeke 58 engine then I thought I ever would need in my life! Once we get to Florida we will have the engine worked on to prepare for our journey on the eastern Caribbean
It is very beautiful here on Isla Mujeres, MX. Water is various shades of blue! This place is really like a ghost town. The locals report since the scare of the "swine flu" tourism has dropped 95%. Hotels and marinas that are usually at 98% occupancy are down to 8%. It really has played havoc on the MX economy. Even though there were only a few cases reported in Cancun, none have been reported on the island. We met a very friendly taxi driver (Riccardo) that took us around the island and showed us some of tourist spots and recommended a local restaurant that had the best grilled fish! We plan to stay here for some "R & R" as well as a weather window to make our last journey for the season, crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. Back to the USA! We are looking forward to catching up with friends and family, hoping all is well on the homefront!