Dear F&F,
February 13, 2009
We were underway by 7:30 am & anchored by 1:00 pm. I slept pretty well last night & feel MUCH better today thank goodness. Z anchorage looked very pretty at night with all the lights of the buildings. And this morning at dawn with the big ship gone it was quite lovely as we left.
Papanoa is just a little bump in an otherwise straight coastline which runs southeast. There are 2 other monohull sailboats anchored here & we are all heading to Acapulco before dawn tomorrow. One couple has a 2 1/2 year old onboard. She was quite well behaved sitting in their dinghy bouncing besides as Scott talked to the parents. I was hot standing back in the shade of our cockpit. The little girl had a life preserver on & was in the full sun. Yikes! We are so glad to not be burdened with either children or pets onboard. They are heading through Panama Canal to the Caribbean & East Coast on a 3 yr plan. Then back to Seattle to put her in school. Have not met the other boat couple yet.
I took a nap, which was great because I can almost never fall asleep during the day. Unless we are on watches, then I know it is my job to get sleep & it seems like my brain has an easier time shutting down. I am still not 100%. I think I need to just expect it to take me 3-4 days to get my \”sea head\”. We are not feeling compelled to go ashore in this heat (88 degrees & 65% humidity). Fortunately it does cool down at least 15 degrees at night. It seems to be primarily a fishing village here.
There are mixed reviews on Acapulco. Reports of theft & general yuckiness. Scott is kicking himself for not thinking ahead & topping off our diesel cans so we would not need to stop for fuel there. We may get to sail some tomorrow afternoon if the wind picks up. We hate to skip it since we are going by. May be a \”safety in numbers\” thing, with the other 2 boats going there too. There is an anchorage just past it that many cruisers go to instead. But we will probably go & see if we can get a mooring for 1 night. It seems they don\’t ever have docks available. And the docks are med-mooring style (walk off the back). We will see what the story is when we get there. There is a fuel surcharge. Many of the yachties are super cheap & get offended by that sort of thing. We just figure it is part of the cost of traveling.
After Acapulco it will be all day/night run to Puerto Escondido. Escondido to Huatulco a long day. Then we wait for the weather to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec. This is the narrowest stretch of land in Mexico between the Caribbean & the Pacific. The Gulf of Tehuantepec is LEGENDARY for what are affectionately known as \”Tehuantepeckers\”; winds that can blow your socks off if you go at the wrong time. It will be a 3 day/night trip for us. And we hope to time it when it is NOT exciting. Tis crossing may be a motorboat ride the whole way which is fine with us.
Scott & Cindy
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