27th Dec 2010
We knew we were heading into turtle country but had not sighted any until we heard a thump, then a bump, bump, bump along the underneath of the hull – then much to our horror a large turtle came propelling out from the back of the boat – spinning out of control. Once he straightened himself up he popped his head up – obviously wondering what on earth he had bumped into and then proceeded along his way. It was very funny. We see a few turtles every day now – appearing as large algae covered disc floating in the water
We headed to Jicala – a tiny bay along the Huatulco coast – it has great snorkeling. Lots and lots of baby turtles passed our boat – they are so cute and very funny – some swimming backwards, some spinning around and a few diving deep when they see the boat. Their shells are the size of a dessert spoon – very tiny. A few large turtles accompanied them along their journey. We stopped the boat to have a good look at them and Don brought one up in a bucket for a short time.
We are now in the Marina Chahue, Huatulco – the last stop before the dreaded Bay of Tehuantepec. We have been waiting for 10 days for a clear window to cross the 250 mile bay and continue down to El Salvador. There hasn’t been even the slightest possibility of crossing and the marina is beginning to fill up with other boaters waiting patiently also.
This is a very pleasant place to wait out the weather. The nearby towns of Santa Cruz and Crucecita are easily accessible. Though this is a cruise ship stop it never seems too busy. The local fruit and veg markets are excellent and we have enjoyed eating lots of flavorsome fresh fruit while we can.
The days are quite hot (low to mid 30's) so it must be very hot in the summer considering this is md-winter ! We have been kept surprisingly busy with boat jobs catching up on some maintenance and some of those projects that have been on the list for months. It is always an adventure in these places sourcing parts for these projects but have done surprisingly well. We have been helped greatly by our neighbor John on Pelican who has been here about 12 months so knows the town well and the best places to find bits and pieces that boaters inevitably need !
We have decided to stay in Huatulco for the next 2 weeks as Richard and my sister Fiona are coming to visit – we had all hoped their visit would be in El Salvador but the wind gods thought different. We are not too disappointed as there is a wonderful road trip we hoped to do – up into the high mountains to a village called Oaxaca to visit small communities of artists, the largest indigenous run market in Mexico where you can buy chili crickets by the hundreds (a must for all gringos) and taste the local Mezcal – a smoky tasting brew made from the cactus juice !
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