Hello! HOLA! Como estan? WE ARE LEAVING MEXICO!!!!
I should not really add exclamation points as we have loved our time in Mexico and we will return no doubt but for now there is a new adventure that awaits us.
We have been busier than 2 mosquitoes in a nudist colony! And now 3 mosquitoes with Matt here! Matt is our friend from Alaska who arrived in Mexico on March 10th and has generously given up his time and energy to spend with us for one week of final projects and provisioning and then three more weeks of passage on the Pacific Ocean! As he has endured the grueling afternoon heat and humidity here and living in a small space with stuff EVERYWHERE and 2 other folks, he already has proven to be a greater friend then we realized. Not really, we picked him because he is super sharp, level headed and ridiculously easy going. We are so grateful to have him aboard and realize this is a working trip and not truly a vacation, so THANK YOU MATT!
With that being said, since our friends from Montana, Karen and Carlos, departed on February 11th we have had no fun time… boohoo! We went into the marina to get a rigging survey and then never left… The project list continues on but is finally getting checked off. I have to keep reminding myself that it is an expedition really, considering we are moving our home 6,000 miles self supported and not a typical “vacation”. It has been so much work but you find many other cruisers to commiserate with about the never-ending projects.
I would go through the projects but I am exhausted and it would be an exhausting list. Soulstice truly is a fine boat and I am concerned you would all feel like, “how could they have spent almost 3 months doing projects???” A lot of this is our wanting Soulstice to be perfect - ha! In my last blog, I mentioned we added many features like adding 2 more solar panels and a new single-sideband radio. Some of these projects are to enhance our journey and are one time events. Others are things that require maintenance and then, unfortunately, repair as things do break on a boat or just decide not to work anymore…I truly feel the same way about the time and energy spent but part of the time suck is the inability to get the parts you need here in Mexico, so having friends who visit you pack bigger bags to bring stuff from the States and waiting for their arrival. The other time suck is not having a car and riding a bus, walking or taking a taxi or uber to get from point A to point to B to get our shopping done to complete our projects.
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle has been an excellent place to stage for this journey. It is a nice local community of Mexicans and gringos. It is a small town with a quaint feel and not so touristy or busy as Puerto Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta. I really like it here and it is a great place to be. Additionally, there are many other cruisers leaving from here to do the “Puddle Jump”, as you call it. The other popular area to leave from is Panama as well and this is based on currents and wind patterns of course. There have been many seminars for us here on weather, rigging, safety, you name it, by other experienced cruisers and local riggers. These information sessions have given us additional knowledge and created an additional community of cruisers who are jumping to knowledge share as well amongst each other.
We do finally have a leave date out of the country on 3/17/2020, St. Patrick’s Day, which I feel since I am Irish and my last name is O’Neill that there is some shamrock fairy dust blowing our way!
Regardless, Hallelujah!! We are finally there!
Follow along with us on our trackers ( we have 2 now):
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| Jamie from SV Totem giving a weather lecture on the passage to the Marquesas from Mexico. He and his wife were on some national news shows regarding their previous circumnavigation with their 4 children. Their oldest son just completed his 1st year of University at Lewis and Clark. |
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| Costco run for booze, snacks and coffee |
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| The crew for OUR puddle jump! |
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