Viva Mexico!  Joe and I have traveled here many times in the past and have always loved it.  What a wonderful treat to be able to cruise its waters.  We arrived in Isla Mujeres on Saturday night, after a little unplanned detour (send me an email if you want to read about it.)  We had wonderful wind behind us for the trip and were screaming along, surfing down the waves at up to 17 knots.  Try as we might, however, our ETA put us into the anchorage about an hour after sundown.  In our new time zone (CST), the sun sets at 5:30.  We could have slowed down during the passage and added another twelve hours to the trip, but we decided we had enough information between our charts and directions in our cruising guide and from our friends we met in the Dry Tortugas, Rick and Tammi, to risk a night arrival.  It is so difficult to distinguish things at night, with ferries pulling in and out and green lights on the docks on shore.  I was happy Joe was driving.  I conveyed information to him while looking at our navigation software.  There was a constant dialogue back and forth as he confirmed what he was seeing with what I saw on the charts.  I guess after four and a half years, we are getting pretty good at this!

     Rick and Tammi had recommended we stay at Marina Paraiso.  The manager, Tom, is a friend and a fantastic host.  We took the dinghy in from the anchorage on Sunday morning to make sure they had room.  Tom and José helped us tie up and promised to contact the customs and immigration authorities to get us all cleared into Mexico.  David Delaney, who originally planned to spend just a week with us, was fast approaching two weeks onboard and was anxious to get home to his family.  He had to clear into the country before he could leave, though.  It being Sunday, we couldn't expect to have it all accomplished until late Monday morning.  With a three hour travel and wait time at the airport, he wouldn't get back to Boston until Tuesday anyway, so he just had to stay a couple of days in Mexico before he could go back to his snow shovel.  Poor guy. 

     Isla Mujeres is a much more authentic vacation spot than Cancun, just across the straits.  It's a small island with a few hotels and lots of tourist shops and restaurants, but also lots of locals who live and work here.  Constant ferry traffic from Cancun, as well as "booze cruise" catamarans, keep the tourists flocking into the town, but they are mostly gone by sunset.  There is a substantial crowd of cruisers here, and the atmosphere at Marina Paraiso is friendly and helpful.  They even have a cruisers' net on the VHF radio every morning, a sure sign that people get stuck here on their travels.

     I'm not sure how long we will stay in Mexico, but I have to admit it sure feels good.  There are lots of beautiful places to explore, the food is fantastic, and the people friendly.  Aside from a visit from my parents in a month, our reservations book is wide open so we have no particular agenda other than to be in Panama by early March for a transit through the canal.  I don't think the kids like not knowing exactly what is next on the agenda, but I love it.  The world is our oyster.....

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