We have been having significant headwinds as we continue northward up the Mexican coast. Quite a different scenario compared to our recent weather encounters.

We approached Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa waters, grateful it was in daylight hours. Most of our most recent arrivals have been in the dark, so it was a real thrill to pull in with the sun still shining. We had called earlier via our satellite phone for a slip at the marina for the night, but they claimed there was no room available. We give them our length and width, but "never speak that word that should not be named"--catamaran (those who read Harry Potter would understand that phrase). Many miles ago, we learned never to contact a marina using the word "catamaran," as that was an instinct denial for no "room at the inn."

We contacted Kosmos that we had arrived. Traveling in their Nordhavn 43 motor vessel, they had arrived that morning. When we were told that the marina office said they were full, Eric could not believe their response, since looking across the marina there were numerous empty slips! He kindly offered to go to the office and have a discussion with the front desk. He radioed us shortly and said to come on in. Apparently some aspects of my earlier dialogue were lost in translation. The receptionist thought I was asking to stay for a month, not a day!

Needless to say, we tucked in nicely for the night. We took a bus into Zihuatenejo for the evening, which gave us a feel of the area, considering we were only staying a number of hours, and moving forward the next day.

In the morning we had noted signs that we thought were only rumors. You can see the sign above prohibiting swimming because of potential crocodiles. The river basin empties into the marina, and apparently they are a real problem if you are thinking about jumping in the water. In fact, while we were in the marina office we came across a California sailing magazine, Latitude 38, some of you may be familiar with. Ryan happened to open it to a page showing a photo that captured a croc swimming through Marina Ixtapa waters. There really is reason to have those signs posted! Needless to say, we would wait until our next anchorage to take a dip.