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"You belong among the wildflowers,
You belong in a boat out at sea,
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free."
         Tom Petty, "Wildflowers"
 

 Each of those steps 91 X 4 = 364 then one step on top equals 365, the number of days in the calendar year. On the equinoxes, 3/21 and 9/21 are special days, for when the sun begins its slow descent, and shadows fall, a serpent appears to be slithering down the steps of the pyramid.  Lots of people come to watch this phenomenon, but this unique observation was only discovered 30 yrs ago.

We also, rented a scooter and drove all around the island, stopping at Dolphin Discovery to watch the dolphin show and to cool off in their pool.
We met Doris and Stan on EOS, a retired couple both from Hamburg, Germany but now travel this coast down to the Rio Dulce and back up to Isla Mujeres for the last 10 yrs.  They were a wealth of information as we learned where the best anchorages were and what to avoid.  We enjoyed our visits and look forward to meeting up with them in Guatemala on the Rio Dulce.
Our second stop was Cozumel, a 40 mile day sail, in a brisk stiffening easterly breeze. Cozumel is a busy, noisy, city.  We anchored right off the central plaza where the nightlife is lively and the ferry boats tie up to unload/load people every 20 mins.  Cozumel is only 9 miles from the mainland. 
The beaches were nice, but there is a strong current running along the coast.  We met Don Price, on September Morn, in the anchorage, and he came by wanting to know if we had any weather. ( what every sailor wants to know).  He was headed to Belize also, and found out that he was retired from the transportation trucking industryalso.  Go figure.  I'm sure well see him also on the Rio Dulce.

After stocking up on supplies at Cozumel, we headed south to Bahia del Ascension, but ended up catching a 4ft mahi mahi and going around in circles for a couple of hours trying to reel that Big One in, and totally exhausted, we decided to head to Puerto Aventuras, a marina just 12 mi southwest of Cozumel.

  We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and met 2 couples from the Houston area, Deb and Bing, and Bobby and Renee, who showered us with their southern hospitality, dinners and drinks poolside, delightful conversation, playing squelch, card games, doing laundry, and we all enjoyed the overall sense of being somewhere else than home and meeting fun people.

At Bahia del Espiritu Santos, a school of dolphin greeted us as we entered the bay.  We slowly made our way up north behind the reef for better protection, me on the bow directing Aaron around coral heads, and anchored in the clearest waters we had seen yet.  Those aquamarine and turquoise blues colors that the water displays as the sun is high in the sky are spectacular. We were alone, isolated, and as the sun set the stars shone so bright as there was no light disturbance anywhere.  The sound of the crashing surf lulled us to sleep.  The next day, we snorkeled the reef, and Aaron being the true hunter/gatherer that he is destined to be, caught 4 lobsters.  We enjoyed lobster sauteed in garlic and oil, with a glass of wine, life is good.

                                

The winds always blow a constant 15-20 knots from the East, more so at night, so when we awoke it was calm.  We made a quick decision, that if we were ever to make it to the atoll called Cayo Norte, which lies 25 miles southeast that this would be the day.  So we upped anchor and made our way, motoring with the main and jib up.
Cayo Norte is an atoll that is part of the Banco Chinchorro.  It is one of four atolls in the northern hemisphere (the other 3 are in Belize).  It is awesome to sail to an island in the middle of the ocean and anchor in 9 ft. of the most beautiful waters.

 Geologically, atolls were formed by coral growing around the edges of steep limestone plateaus. The coral growth has kept pace with rising ocean sea levels since the end of the last glacial period.  All atolls are coral rings rising perpendicularly from great depths enclosing a
central deep basin lagoon. The Mexican Navy patrol came out for a drive by inspection and we waved "Hola" as they sped by us and went to the other boat anchored there.  It was another calm night and morning, so we decided to make our way to Icalak.

Icalak is the most southern town and port of entry/clearance in Mexico.  The cut in between the reefs is narrow, only 75yds across.  We had been dreading this one since reading about it, but it was a calm day, seas less than 2ft. and we made our way in safely.  Icalak, (Ish-ca-lak), is a bigger fishing village than Punta Allen, and going ashore, we met several couples from the U.S. 
who were busy building their homes outside of town.  We met  Mike, of Marina Mikes hotel, and he invited us out for a swim at the "swimming hole", a patch of sand about 8ft deep inside the reef.  He had his 2 kids with him, and was teaching them how to snorkel.  He is originally from Florida, and came here 15 yrs ago, and is
contemplating on going back to the U.S. so his kids can receive a better education. Later as we were sitting on deck looking out into the ocean, we saw a sailboat making its way into the cut.  Luckily for them, they bumped the reef and anchored just before nightfall.

  We met them the next morning at the Port Captains office, we were both clearing out of Mexico, and Hank and Tricia, with their friends, Paul and Deb, were leaving in an hour for San Pedro.  It was blowing 20K out of the East, causing a bit of a rage getting out of the cut, but decided to follow them south.  As they made their way thru the cut, their engine shutdown, and luckily they raised sails and were able to get out to sea in time. It was only 25miles to San Pedro, but the cut in between the reef is narrow.  We followed "Aventuras" and gave them support that they were able to sail their boat into the cut and anchor in the calm waters off of San Pedro.  We contacted one of the marinas ashore, as we approached the cut, and they sent a guide boat out to help us thru the cut.  We both made it safely and celebrated that night, at Blue Water Grill, with a delicious meal, wine and good conversation at Hank and Tricia's Invitation.
Well, here we are in Belize. Glad to be inside the reef from now on, the protection the reef naturally gives, makes the waters a similar feel like lake sailing.  Nice change after the 4-7 ft swells we endured and the northerly flow of current along the coast of Mexico, that made sailing south a challenge. But, hey, we love a good challenge, that's why we are out here.  Challenging ourselves living out on a boat at sea is not an easy lifestyle, but the rewards of beautiful anchorages, meeting new friends, and the joy of being one with
nature, outweighs the few moments of shear terror and unabated discomfort.