Mexico

We didn't mean to come to Mexico ... but it has been soooooo amazing and now we are leaving,  I will miss so much about it - the people are warm, friendly and absolutely delightful, the music, the food, the weather (I think?) the abundance of sea life - just seeing a big whale cruising around the anchorage in La Paz,  blowing out clouds of moist air  - these things and many many more about the country - too much to write about, and we will never forget it. 

So how come we ended up in Mexico?  After spending years sailing in the Solent (South of England) wearing wet weather gear and being cold, we decided we were fair weather/tradewind sailors and decided to follow the warm weather.

In 2021 during the Covid pandemic, we were making plans to leave Panama for French Polynesia. (FP) The boat was completely stocked up in Panama with about 500 cans of beer, 100 litres of Clos (the well known Panamanian (delicious) cartons of red wine) and so much food we could not move. 

We had been in touch with FP regarding their policies for entering the country and had been approved. After making headway to Las Perlas Islands - a group of islands off the coast of Panama which serve as a good jumping off spot, plus a beautiful place to wait for the right weather, we received an email from FP, basically saying "NON"

It was at the time that France closed their borders, and so French Polynesia did the same - no tourists, no flights, no sea voyagers, including the few hundred yachts that visit FP each year. 

Some of our friends were actually on their way, when they arrived they were told they could stay for three days! 

So what to do?  Where to go? Which country will let us in? 

We decided to sail up the West coast of Central America and just stop in at whichever country was allowing tourism. This turned out to be just Costa Rica and Mexico at the time.  Costa Rica was just beautiful, and I have a separate entry for this magical country, but in April  2021 we arrived in Chiapas, in the south West coast of Mexico. 

This is memorable for me, because this is where I had my first ever margarita, and loved it!! 

Now two years later we are leaving, and it's fair to say, I think I know everything I need to know about Margaritas. (blooming lovely lovely lovely things) 

Having watched (and loved) El Chapo , I have always been a little bit afraid of Mexico, and the risk of being shot - obviously this risk is present in any country - London gets it fair share of gun crime. 

I am sure there are dangerous places in Mexico, but using our instincts, and the "hackles on the back of the neck" test, we felt safe all the time we were there.

We spent a lot of time in San Carlos, but also visited La Paz, the Baja, Mexico City, Copper Canyon, Mazatlan, Topolabampa, Puerto Vallarta and La Cruz da Huanacaxtle. Hopefully the photos will show how beautiful this place is. We want to come back. 

Obviously there are a million photos but here are a few....