Mexico

Isla Mujeres

Coincidence, fate? Here we are with a yacht called Aztec Dream in Mexico. How did that happen? By rights we never planned to visit Mexico, but as any sailor will yell you, plans are for changing. Perhaps Aztec Dream was telling us, she is happy to take us anywhere in the world, but visiting Mexico was her rite of passage. Fair enough. Not to mention a visit to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza is somewhere on the bucket list.

Without a working autopilot it was always going to be a tough passage, hand steering for 60 hours or so to get here. Raymarine had been very helpful via email correspondence, and we more or less knew it would come down to replacing the drive motor. Safe in the knowledge it was on order and due to arrive with Lynne’s parents, we weighed anchor and left one of the most beautiful anchorages we had been in for some time. It was just a shame about the wretched sand flies.

We left with a forecast of 15 knots from the East, which should have put us on a beam reach. Instead, for the first two hours we had very little wind, from the North! Eventually, the wind strength and direction lived up to expectations and Azzy raised her skirts and sliced gracefully through the azure blue sea, with the wind at a very agreeable 120 degrees from starboard. What is nice about this point of sail, is how quiet it is. With the gentle motion of the boat, the almost cloudless sky and the occasional squadron of Flying Fish for amusement, the experience was somewhat soporific. 

However, our state of semi-euphoria started to wear a little thin by nightfall, even after watching a stunning sunset. 






Two hours 'on' and two 'off' really does not allow for much rest, and by morning we were both very tired with the prospect of another night to come. Some of the waves we were riding were huge! It is not often we find ourselves counting down the minutes to a change of watch.

On the plus side, we could take some positives out of the experience. It proved we could still manage the boat, and it honed up our helming skills. In fact on the last day, we mostly relied on the feel of the pressure of the wind on our bodies to hold a good course rather than watching the instruments. It was still very tiring though.

Normally we don’t enthuse much about seeing a coastline of concrete high rise buildings, but on this occasion the almost Miami-like coastline of Cancun was a welcome sight. By this time the helpful current had really taken hold, and we barrelled towards our goal at nearly 9 knots. We followed our waypoints through the busy channel and across to the island of Isla Mujeres, which would be our home for the next few weeks. 

Isla Mujeres is a small island adjacent to Cancun and is a popular tourist attraction. The first thing you notice going ashore is the abundant traffic, consisting mainly of rented golf carts.

We had heard many stories of poor holding in the anchorage, so when the time came to finally drop the anchor we made sure it was well and truly dug in... or so we thought! Exhausted from very little sleep during the last 60 hours, we opened all the hatches, completed the final log entry and put on the anchor alarm. It was a very strong gust of wind that woke us up. We had both said "Let’s just have a little nap", but were so tired we had slept through the klaxon of the anchor alarm, and a tentative peer out of the window revealed our new location, about 10 metres from a reef and a good 100 metres from our original location. Fortunately we had anchored at the back of the herd, so we did not have any boats behind us to hit. We re-anchored and agreed to take our naps in shifts!

The next day we moved Azzy into El Milagro marina to await the arrival of Lynne's brother, Phill. Many thanks to the crews of Easy Rider and Tulum III for helping with the lines on an unfamiliar pile mooring. We actually managed to run aground in the soft mud on the first attempt to berth, so have made a mental note to leave at high tide and must make a plan how to untie ourselves without bouncing against the moorings. It was much easier in the Med!

One of the first tasks was to clear into to Mexico. Whilst you can do this without an Agent, we elected to use one and were very thankful we did. Julio at El Milagro took care of everything. We had our temperatures taken by a Doctor, and Customs and Immigration came to the marina for the raft of form filling. The next day the paperwork was ready, save the temporary importation of the boat. This has to be done within 4 days of arrival or you face a big fine. We took the 20 min fast ferry with the paperwork over to the relevant office in Cancun, and half an hour later emerged with a ten year permit. In all it cost us about US $300 just to clear in. Compare that to Martinique, where we paid 2 Euros each and booked ourselves in on a computer terminal in about half an hour. Oh well, you have to go with the flow.

El Milagro Marina

El Milagro marina is delightful. It is small and intimate and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Once a week, they organise a barbecue and buffet of side dishes for just $15 a head, all you can eat. The marina also gives patrons free use of kayaks and paddle boards, has a small plunge pool, use of kitchen and even a table tennis table and lending library. Along with Phill, we did try the paddle boards and none of us fell in, which was a minor miracle given the swell from the speeding leisure boats that pass the marina. The cost is about $250 US per week, which is more than we were paying per month in the Rio Dulce. The dock side water is not potable and we have been advised not to drink the tap water in Mexico, but you can get bottled water from the small shop just at the marina entrance. Electricity, unless you are running your air conditioning 24/7 is included, and the WIFI is also free. Although it is not lightning fast, it is very good and we can even pick it up on the boat.

By the time we had completed clearing in and got our bearings, Lynne’s parents had arrived at their hotel in Cancun and we took the high speed ferry to pay them a visit. About a month ago, the ferry company started three new routes to the 'hotel zone' and one of these new stops just happened to be about 200 metres from their hotel. What a result! As the hotel was 'all-inclusive' and we were not guests, we enjoyed a nice lunch out in a nearby steak restaurant and the staff were kind enough to provide a cake and candle as it happened to be Graham’s birthday.

No visit to Mexico would be complete without a visit to one of the wonders of the world, Chichen Itza. We arranged a tour through the hotel Lynne's parents were staying in, and happily friends on Tulum III and Easy Rider agreed to join us.

The first stop on our tour was at Hubiku where the brave could take a plunge in the cold waters of a Cenote. A Cenote is more commonly known as a sink hole, and it exposes the water table underneath the fallen limestone rock. The Mayans would have considered them very important, not only as a source of fresh water, but some of them would have been used to cast artefacts and even sacrifices into.

Lynne braved the cool water to have a dip, as did many tourists, and shared the water with a very tame fish population. Up above small birds flew around and the setting was quite breathtaking.

Visit to Chitchen Itza

From Hubiki we made our way to Chichen Itza. It has been a while since we have been on a modern coach, but what’s not to like? Efficient air conditioning, reclining seats, smooth and quiet, and as the only scenery appeared to be about 15 foot high shrub land it was nice to have a nap.

Chichen Itza is a remarkable place, and this is a view that many shared judging by the thousands of tourists already on site. Lynne had first visited some 13 years ago and at that time, like some temples in Tikal in Guatemala today, you could climb the steep steps of the main temple. Today it is roped off to preserve the structure, but frankly with the temperature feeling like 40C and no shade, you probably would not want to climb to the top anyway.

Our guide Raul told us that what we could see represented only 6% of the the total site. Most of it remains encapsulated by vegetation and will take a generation to uncover it, if at all. The sheer scale is as remarkable as the location in the heart of the Yucatan. Napping on a 3 hour coach journey was one thing, but at the time of the Mayans, the wheel had not been invented. They walked almost 200km from the coast before choosing the location to build their city.  

The Temple, or pyramid known as El Castillo dominates the skyline and is simply stunning. Archaeologists believe it is where the people of the Yucatan worshipped the 'Plumed Serpent', known as Kukulkan to the Mayans and Quetzalcoati elsewhere in Central America. El Castillo has been described as 'a pyramid within a pyramid, within a pyramid' due to the discovery of a substructure underneath the two outer pyramids. The ancient people built the three pyramids in successive phases. The outer, visible pyramid measures about 58 metres on each side. The next, intermediate pyramid below it measures roughly 32 metres per side and is 20 metres tall. The smallest innermost structure is about 10 metres tall. It was also recently discovered that the pyramid is built over a large cenote, and some experts are concerned that it might someday collapse in on itself. 

Although there are 13 ball courts on the site, the Great Court is easily the most impressive and here you can see some of the carvings on the wall depicting the players. Although no one knows the rules, it is likely a form of basketball and the teams have to pass a solid rubber ball (about 3 to 4 inches in size) through a stone hoop, high up on the outer wall. There is some debate as to whether the winning or losing captain was decapitated, as it was considered an honour, and also likely that some deaths or serious injuries took place as a result of being hit in the head by the ball.

We spent some time just wandering around the vast site, taking in the Temple of a Thousand Warriors, the Jaguar Throne and a visit to one of the Cenotes. This particular cenote was considered sacred by the Mayans who used to throw offerings to the gods into it. Divers have also discovered human remains, and it is thought some people were sacrificed to ensure there was enough rainfall to grow their crops.

Just before we sign off from Chichen Itza, we should just mention that twice a year on the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, you can join about 30,000 people to witness the descent of the Plumed Serpent. Seven triangles of light (alternating with seven triangles of darkness) can be seen projected onto the staircase of the pyramid for about 20 minutes. 

The library picture below shows this to good effect.

Autopilot Update

Next up was to replace the autopilot motor, and we are happy to say that it was very straightforward. Just drop the ram from the rudder quadrant, remove the wires from the junction box and unhook the rear of the unit. Then it is a question of undoing some allen headed bolts, removing the old motor and replacing with the new. The dive belt was in perfect condition and the clutch plate surfaces looked OK, so all back together and hey presto, we now have a working autopilot...

Well, at least one that will turn Port and Starboard to the inputs from the Control Head. We will have to do a sea trial, but this should be a formality. The original set up is stored in the on board course computer so no calibration should be necessary.

We did take some time out to visit Cancun. We found an Apple store that replaced Lynne’s iPhone 6S battery under a campaign for a small fee, and purchased a handy lead to plug the iPad into the TV so we can watch our favourite YouTube Vlogs on the big screen.

Exploring Isla Mujeres

On Phill's second week with us, we hired a golf buggy for half a day for 750 pesos and did our tour of Isla Mujeres.

The first stop was the sculpture garden at Punta Sur, the most southerly point of the island, which at 20 metres above sea level is surprisingly the highest elevation in Yucatan. Now, when I (Steve), think of sculptures I 'get' the ones like the Bust of Nefertiti or The Burghers of Calais, but modern sculpture leaves me cold. I just don't get it, and even less so when I read that the sculptures are the artists interpretation of the spirit of the Mayan civilisation. Maybe I just needed to squint and use my imagination? Anyway, it was nice to be out and about and the park afforded some fabulous vistas.

After the Sculpture Park we headed to the Turtle Sanctuary, had a spot of lunch, then stopped to have a drink on the beach at the North of the island before returning our cart.

Lynne's parents came to visit us at the marina a couple of times and enjoyed the peace and tranquillity, compared to their bustling hotel. Steve took them for a ride around the anchorage and into the Lagoon in the rib, and we all had lunch in the excellent restaurant of the neighbouring marina, El Paraiso. It was hard for Lynne to say goodbye to her parents when their holiday came to an end, but she will see them again soon when we are back home in the UK for the Summer.

Moving On

As our time in the marina draws to a close we said goodbye to Phill and look forward to seeing him in the UK in the summer, and again in Guatemala in September.

Now we need to start thinking about our sailing plans again. Probably the favourite option is to head South and back to Guanaja, then on to Roatan, and finally clearing out in Utila when it comes time to head back to the Rio in June. We really enjoyed our time in the Bay Islands and look forward to returning to them briefly.

As we have covered the Bay Islands in previous posts and don't intend to do anything spectacular other than read (John Buchan knew how to write a great story), swim and explore a little more, this will be our last blog post update until we get back to Guatemala.

So far it has been a very relaxing season, and we are glad that Aztec Dream made it to Mexico.

We thank you for taking the time to read our blog. In the absence of any updates on here for a little while, we will post some interim ones on our Facebook Page, The Voyages of Aztec Dream.