Isla Mujeres
Out Of India
Birgitte and Ray Charmak
Mon 26 Nov 2007 19:00
Isla Mujeres, a small island of mainland Cancun, where wearing crash helmets seems to be the highest of cool and status. Something about this place has captured us and it has been absolutely lovely to revisit. Especially since the last week of sailing from Rio Dulce, was rather unpleasant. Strong winds gusting 40 to 50 kn and downpours I never seen anything like before. At one point I was hiding in a tiny corner under the spray hood. The last dry spot in the cockpit, tucked into a bath towel singing out loud Norwegian national songs to keep my sprits up. It bucketed down for 3 hours non stop. The seas were grey, the air was grey and I felt pretty greyish myself. After 24 hours of crap weather, I sort of dreaded being 1st mate, wishing I was in a nice and cosy kitchen somewhere enjoying freshly made waffles and hot chocolate. But when the sun breaks through and the seas calm down, life is lovely onboard!
Arrived Isla Mujeres on Wednesday Nov 21st and have since enjoyed being moored to the local dock. The waters are crystal clear and the sand lovely soft and white. The main beach only a few barefoot minutes away. The Mexicans are charming and we feel very chilled. We have emptied out our very dirty fuel, cleaned the tank and changed all filters. We are heading for Cuba as soon as our last parcel with electrical equipment has arrived. We have been promised today. Ray has been a little worried about the next long leg to the American Virgin Islands. The Cuban coast is pretty long, and if something were to go wrong, you are pretty much stuck on your own. Our next door neighbour, in the pirate ship, turned out to be Dag from Norway, who has just left Cuba after 7 years of residency. Ray has thoroughly picked his brains. And, better still. A young, charming man came by, asking if we were in need of crew! And so it happens that Nimrod is joining Out of India heading east! Nimrod has been commander in the Israeli navy for the last few years. Talking of landing on our feets. Again. Welcome onboard Nimrod!
