Puerto Madero/Chiapas
We arrived here at 9:30 a.m. after safely crossing the dreaded Gulf of Tehuantepec. Whew! We did not have an absolutely calm weather window, but we had a forecast of 20-25 knots for a short duration in the middle of the Tehuantepec. We left Huatulco at 10 p.m. and motored with calm seas and wind until about 8:00 a.m., a little past Salina Cruz, when the wind came up. We were close to shore so the water was calm and the wind was on the beam and it was easy with a small jib. After a few hours the wind died down and the rest of the afternoon and night was calm, so we were thrilled to have an easy crossing. There were a lot of shrimp boats out at night to watch for, but it wasn’t a problem, they were well lit and we had a lot of moonlight. The marina here in Chiapas is so new that it’s not even officially open yet. The docks are finished but there isn’t any water or electricity, so we get to stay here for free! Since this is the last port in Mexico, this is where we check out of the country. On Monday a man here in the marina will take care of all the paper work for us, which will save us hours of running around to several different offices. We plan to leave Mon. night for Bahia del Sol, El Salvador and it should be a 36 hr. trip. We have to plan to be there at high tide to cross the bar and enter the river where the marina is. A local will come out on a jetski and guide us in over the bar. On Sunday we plan to go into town and find a sports bar so we can watch the superbowl game.