Adios a Mexico

We have spent 13 months in Mexico, traveled 4800 nautical miles on her waters.
Mexico consists of 31 States and the DF. We visited 15 of them by car, train, bus, and boat. We plan on visiting many more when we enter the Gulf of Mexico in a few years.
The world news (American and Canadian mostly) has done a great injustice to this country, painting it as a lawless society. A tourist destination to be avoided due to violence, drugs and of course the LAZY Mexican. They work 6 days a week at a daily wage that is less then our hourly wages. We are here to say that this is the furthest from the truth. Make Mexico Your Tourist Destination. Much news is made about the people trying to get North to the Great Promise Land. As a Mexican said to us if they opened the border we probably wouldn’t go there. Mexico is no longer a third world nation; it is struggling with low wages and an influx of something I believe to be even more damaging to their society. The BIG BOX Stores.
This nation was set up with the towns surrounding the town squares. Generally the church was at the head, the government or municipal buildings at the side and shopping. In the area would be the Mercado. The large building holds the stalls for the fresh food and clothing to be sold and purchased. The businesses owned by Mom, Pop and the kids learning the value of hard work. Lining the streets, store fronts with homes behind. A living where everyone smiles, greets and visits. The super grocery store; Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club are eroding the fiber that make up this unique system. They are large, sterile, uncaring places that employ 1 person for every family that has to close their business or live on much less. The fruits and vegetables are gassed to be ripened versus the freshly grown market. Us North American’s look at hanging chickens and meats and turn up our noses, after all it could not be safe to eat. Everywhere else in the world it is done this way, our whose system is wrong. Just look at the deaths caused in Canada by listeria.
To explore Mexico is to kayak its lagoons, walk through tropical rainforests and along tropical beaches, traverse deserts and gaze at volcanoes, walk on Colonial cobble streets, learn about the indigenes’ ways of life and experience some resort living, visit Mayan and Aztec ruins from centuries past. To learn about Mexico is to listen to the Mexicans tell their history, explain their customs and festivals. What makes Mexico? It is the people; a hard working, caring society that put family, church and friends first. Their homes are open to you if you give them a chance. It is the people of Mexico we will cherish; from the pangareos that took us inland to fix a starter, the women who stopped me every morning in Guaymas to chat, families that shared their lives with us, all to eager to help with our ongoing Spanish lessons.
Food plays an important role in Mexican lives. Not only does it provide daily nourishment but it is used in ceremonies like the Day of the Dead.
Each area seems to have its own specialties.
The fishing was outstanding. The ocean provided us with many meals. More importantly we observed and learnt about the many different ways fishing is performed along the coast. We never got tired of watching.
There was so much wildlife; butterflies, birds, insects, turtles, whales, whale sharks. However nothing will match the Tail Walking Dolphins.
Sunrises, sunsets, moonrises and moonsets.
Musica, musica, musica. Salsa, romantica, karaoke, mariachi bands, religious, flaminco and good old disco to keep us awake. Some good and some well ………………… Always loud and proud.
Weather played an important role in which direction we travelled. Chubasco, Northerlies, Tropical Depressions, Hurricanes and the Tehuantepec. We had maybe 2 days of rain in the last year and it was only for an hour or two. We have had one season. Summer.
Our plans originally were not to be in Mexico for a full year, but I am glad we took the time explored inland, met the people of real Mexico. Please make Mexico a destination but look beyond the fancy resort or gated community, here lays a beautiful country and people.

Traditional Aztec Dress

Oaxaca State

Our last destination in Mexico has proved to be one of the most interesting areas we have traveled. The rugged southern state of Oaxaca (wha-ha-ka) is separated by barriers of sparsely populated mountains that have allowed the people to pretty much retain their traditions.
Oaxaca has a large indigenous population, which is the reason behind the fine handcrafts that are everywhere. Fine linens, carvings, paintings and jewelry are just a few of the crafts found here.
Huatulco is Mexico’s newest travel resort area. It is nine bays that have fine white sand beaches and lots of coral to snorkel around. There are family businesses and the large all inclusive hotels.
The history here to the Central Valley where the Zapotec and the Mixtec cultures entangled until the Aztecs conquered them in the 15th and 16 centuries. Today the Mixtec’s and the Zapotecs still exist but in much smaller numbers. Unfortunately this state is one of the poorest in Mexicio and land ownership still remains a source of conflict today. Many Oaxacans leave their homes to work in the cities or the USA.
This week has kept us busy walking daily into the town of La Cruceita.
La Cruceita is the town where the people working in the tourist industry live. It contains the town square, church, many restaurants, inexpensive hotels, grocery stores, banks and the mercardo. We have spent much time sourcing out things. The restaurants are wonderful here.
The cuisine here changes considerably from the cuisine we have experienced in the rest of Mexico. In fact even some of the Mexican words are different here. Good Oaxacan cooking is spicy and delicious. There are 7 different traditional Moles(sauces) that are renowned. The best (in my opinion) is the Mole Negro. This sauce can be made with up to 72 ingredients in it. Some of the ingredients are chilies, bananas, pepper, cinnamon, but the main ingredient; chocolate.
This weekend there was a competition between hotels with foods from the Aztecs. We tried many different things including drinks made from cactus however we could not bring ourselves to try one of the common dishes; chapulines (grasshoppers). They come fried, often with chili powder, onion and garlic.
The salt process is still much maintained. You will find salted fish, pork, and beef. Many of the meals use the salted dishes.
One display showed how many centuries ago, people were on the menu. We asked if now a days they use touristas!
We celebrated Ken’s birthday by being shot. Antonio’s brother, Louis dropped by DHL; picked up the serum then proceeded to pick us up and drove us to the Resort doctor. Dr Andres Gonzalez Ayvar was wonderful enough to give us our Yellow Fever shots. A great way to celebrate a birthday. The only payment the Dr. wants is updates and pictures of our trip. We then graciously were driven around and shown the wonderful area. Louis gave us the history as we went. In the afternoon we went to the Best Western Hotel where the owners have so graciously allowed us to use their pool and internet during our stay here. We had lunch and the owners (3 brothers, Carlos, Ricardo, Hector) each came by to wish Ken a Happy Birthday. When were ready to leave when a Mexican City Harley Davidson motorcyclist broke out in his tenor voice and sung Happy Birthday. All in all it was quite fun. Later in the evening, Louis, his wife Sylvia and son Daniel came to the boat. Fellow Canadian Boaters baked a cake for Ken so we sang Happy Birthday then took Louis and wife for dinner at an authentic Oaxcan restaurant. Needless to say Ken had a lot of birthday. (Actually the next day he would get sung to again!)
The Marina is in the small town Chahue. Around us are the small towns of Santa Cruz, and La Crucecita.
Santa Cruz has the big cruise ships. One day the town’s population could be 1000 and the next day 5000. It is a typical tourist trap. However it has a very safe, nice swimming beach. Chahue has mainly small hotels, restaurants but beautiful parks.
The town of La Cruceita has everything else. We love the town.
Many of our evenings have been spent playing Mexican Train Dominoes with fellow cruisers, eating and having fun. We need to be back out on the water in order to get back in shape.
We missed our weather window to leave (we had to wait for our shots) so it looks like it may be Sat or Sun. We just know it will be when it is safe.

The Dreaded Tehuantepec and Papagallo’s are Here
The gradually curving northern shoreline of the Gulf of Tehuantepec(tay-WAN-tay-peck)
measures about 275nm, it’s more of a navigational hurdle that boaters must get across in order to proceed into Central America.
At the head of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, we find the narrowest span of land between the Pacific and Atlantic (120 nm). The high mountains stop for approximately 75 miles leaving flat land and a gap for the winds to blow across.
Winds average force 6 (22-27knot) but during the T-Peckers they rise to Force 8 – 9. The winds raise treacherous, short, high seas which can be experience offshore 500 miles.
A Tehuantepec blow begins suddenly and lasts anywhere from a few hours to several days.
The winds are created when an intense continental high pressure over Texas causes strong north winds in the Gulf of Mexico. The higher the high the stronger the resultant winds. Once the wind funnels through the isthmus, it fans out to the southwest on the western shore of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.
There are 2 strategies for transiting, 1- (the one we will do) is to hug the shore at about ½ mile. This is in the lee of the land and you should get only wavelets if the wind kicks up. It will still not be comfortable but it won’t be dangerous. This means that many fisherman will be out if the conditions are favourable so watching for nets will be an issue. 2) Travel 500 miles offshore. (I think not)
Luckily there are many ways to receive weather for this area, and we are hoping for a good weather window around Tuesday.
Once you get through the Tehuantepec, another weather phenomenon known as the Papagallo can occur. These too are gap winds but do not generally get as windy. The driving force for these winds are the Caribbean Trade Winds. These winds can be felt as high as Guatemala but general are more pronounced in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. As with the Tehuantepec the tactic is to hug the land.
We have been told that cruise ships have come in that were hit with the winds to have the people kiss the ground. A Canadian couple we met drove their car through the area when a gale was blowing and said they were scared in their car. They had kayaks on the roof and thought the whole roof was going to come off the car.
We have been pretty much been studying this area for the year and feel we are ready. My stomach actually doesn’t even hurt. The weather window will be right or we won’t go.
Now for all the people reading this blog; while we do the dreaded T-Pecker cross your fingers and toes maybe say a prayer or two for all who are travelling around here, not just us.
I have chosen to write this extra blog this week as there will be lots to write about Huatulco.

We are located on the water below the red dot

Our next passage brought us to Zihuatinajo. This was the destination that RJ and his friend Mike met us back in Feb. and was the furthest south we had travelled. A huge cruise ship was in port so it was a bustling place.
Onward we pushed into new territory. Acapulco would be the next destination. The moon did not make an appearance until 0345 and it was only a quarter moon not giving off much light. Things went smooth. The AIS picked up several cargo ships en-route. Ken had to make an adjustment for one. We were almost 2 miles away from it but the wake woke me up. It was a challenge but “Auto” did his job and kept us heading in the right direction. A note to ourselves: Be More than 2 Miles Away from Big Boats!
We made great time in fact arrived a little too early to enter the bay. We slowed down and watch the sailboat ahead of us drift closer. They also had arrived early and whee just waiting for sunrise. The sight was fabulous, a million lights lit up the mountain side.
As the sun was beginning to rise we headed into Performance Marina. This marina is an old government dock that was taken over 2 years ago. It offers Med ties and has a wonderful helping staff. Best of all it is downtown Old Acapulco where the locals hang out not the gringos. No Senior Frogs around there. The manager Rene speaks perfect English which always helps when you need to search out repairs and purchase new extra parts. We are actually getting to use our Spanish more than we have to date.
Upon our arrival we took a walk to the Cliff Divers. The La Quebrada cliff divers are a group of professional high divers. They perform daily shows for the public, which involve diving 45 metres (148 ft) from the cliffs of La Quebrada cove, into the sea below. It was worth watching them scale the cliffs to get to their diving platform. They first pray at an alter that

is set up on the mountain. They came awfully close to the side of the mountain for my liking.
We took a walk to the old Fort San Diego. A museum is set up with the history of the area.
Acapulco was inhabited by the Nahua Indians (the predecessors of the Aztecs). Recent discoveries have surfaced in the form of Petroglyphs which may indicate even previous settlements around 3000 B.C.There are even theories about early encounters and commerce with the Chinese culture as early as 412. Although testimonies of this exist in several Chinese records, physical evidence is scarce. The name the Chinese gave Acapulco was “Ye Pa Ti”, or the “Place with Beautiful Waters”. Centuries later, Acapulco was conquered by the Spaniard Hernan Cortes when the Aztec Empire fell in 1521. Conquered, but not colonized, Acapulco was turned into a big shipyard where Cortes built ships in order to conquer more territories. Spanish settlements and colonization began in 1550 and it was until then when the Nahoa Indians were enslaved and displaced from their more than 1000 years homeland.
Since 1571, Acapulco retained its importance as the most important commerce and trading port for Europe with the Philippines and other Asian and South American ports for the next 400 years. During that time, Acapulco became a haven for pirates including Sir Francis Drake. The Fort of San Diego was built to defend the city from their attacks. I find it ironic that Drake was knighted for his thieveries, killing and all in the name of England.
The tourist industry started in the 1930’s when the road from Mexico City was built. The rich and famous decided to make it one of their main destinations.
We spent a whole morning getting an unexpected tour. Ken had heard that there was an Auto Zone where he could purchase a new alternator. This would give us a new spare and a reworked spare. Well it wasn’t in Acapulco. As we travelled the high cliffs with awesome views and an hour later we arrived. They didn’t have the alternator we needed but they sent us to where they thought we could find one. That took us to MANY places. In the end we have a new alternator. The taxi driver made a full days wages, had lunch paid for and numerous waters purchased. I got to attempt my Spanish. Ken loves it he lets me try then just holds up the part. That always works. My Spanish not so much! We ordered the same lunch as our taxi amigo. We had beef parts. I tried not to think too much about what we were eating. It was a fun time and quite the experience. Oh our driver spoke no English. He has 3 kids. He has lived in Acapulco all his life. He knows someone in Toronto. Mostly he was very patient. The taxi was a Volkswagen Beetle with no air conditioning and it was 90.
When the sun went down the people came out of their homes in droves. The town square was alive with buscars. A professional band from Mexico City played for hours. It was a wonderful 3 days.
Onward we went. We now sit in Huatulco, our last Mexican stop, waiting for the right weather window to cross the Tehuanepec. Our good friend Antonio has arranged to have Yellow Fever Shots administered here for us. We anticipate being here for at least a week then leave at the right time to make the 3 – 4 day passage to El Salvador. There will probably be multiple postings this week as for once I have a few topics to talk about while we have internet.

Dia de Meurtos Alter


Where we are today

Getting South
We are on a fast track heading South making marvelous time. The weather has been great for the overnighters that we are doing.
We headed out of Mazatlan to La Cruz a 30 hr trip. It was Nov 01 which is a 2 day celebration of Dia de Meurtos. This would be Mexico’s most characteristic yet oddest fiestas. It is the festival of the Day of the Dead. It got its origins from the pre-Hispanic people of Michocan that the dead could return to their homes one day each year.
The underlying philosophy is that death does not represent the end of a life, but the continuation of the same life in a parallel world. The occasion called for preparation to make sure the spirit came back to the world. An alter was set up with bright yellow marigolds. Tamales, fruit corn and salt were in each home, Containers of water were always present as it was believed that the spirits were thirsty. The spirits of the children visited on the first night and the spirits of the adults on the second day. They join their living relatives for dinner, drinks , singing and dancing in the cemetery.
The combination of the Dia de Meurtos and All Saint’s Day with the Catholics joined the holiday together to become what it is today. It was very interesting.
Now we have been catching muchos peces (fish). American Thanksgiving will be here and a bird would be nice. Well Ken fished and caught a bird. Thanksgiving ……. Not. It did deserve its fate. We tried to get it to go away.
We are now in Zihuatanjo and head out tomorrow for Acapulco. Another long night. I am looking forward to the cliff divers. As a kid I remember watching them dive on CBC Sports.

Sorry but it drowned!