On the 8th of February we packed our two, 20
lb. exhaust expanders, filters, diapers for the engine bilges, towels, rags and
loads of other boating products we needed, some small items for other boaters
that they ordered and we were delivering, put them all in FOUR huge canvass
duffel bags and left for LAX at 9 p.m. for an 11:30 flight, with an eight hour
layover in Mexico City. Believe it or
not, it was the only flight we could get.
And, let me not forget, we also had Aggie and a big crate for her because
she needed to travel as cargo.
 |
 |
| Expander. We had 2 of these! |
 |
We arrived at LAX,
put through all four bags,
Aggie (all dressed up, with bows) and her crate and
had four carry-ons. Jewell carried one
expander and I carried the other. We
both had big computer cases with all our electronic items.
 |
At 10:30 we were going through security and
we were stopped by TSA. It seems that
our expanders could be weapons (do you think it is possible to pick up a 20 lb.
piece of steel and throw it at someone???) and needed to be checked into
luggage. With only about 10 minutes to
spare, we repacked one carry-on bag with both expanders, threw in some towels
we had wrapped them with, and Jewell did her best OJ Simpson impersonation and
ran with a TSA woman back to ticketing. Jewell had been quite upset about all
that was happening so I stopped on my way to the gate and bought her a present
of a 1 lb box of Jelly Belly’s.
 |
| The last time I saw these! |
Meantime, our plane boarded and we were five minutes
from the doors closing. I started to
worry that Jewell would not make the plane and notified the agent that my dog
was on board and I needed to get off the plane or they needed to wait until she
arrived. Frantic calls were placed to the ticket counter to try and find
Jewell. Just as they were going to call and remove Aggie, Jewell came running
to the plane. Another $150.00 later (for
a 5th bag), and with the help of the TSA agent, Jewell boarded and
the doors closed behind her.
In Mexico City we collected our 5 pieces of luggage,
our dog, our dog crate, and three carry-on bags and attempted to go through Mexican
customs. (We, however, left the Jelly
Belly’s on the plane. Separating Jewell
from Jelly Belly’s is tantamount to losing a child. Needless to say, I haven’t heard the end of
it!!! “Where’s my Jelly Belly’s” is a
constant cry on the boat.)
Oh, please, don’t make me write about what happened
next!!!! Jewell says I must……so, we
were stopped once again by Mexican City customs. Paid our customs penalties, and were able to put
our 5 bags through to Huatulco, grabbed Aggie, her crate, our three carry ons
and went into the airport. And, guess
what…..we couldn’t go past security without depositing Aggie for transport on
our next flight. Which meant she would
need to be in the crate for our 7 hour stop over and the flight to
Huatulco. We didn’t have it in us to do
that to her. So, we sat outside of
ticketing, which was in the front of the airport right by the front doors. I never knew Mexico City got this cold (about
45 degrees). So, rather than sitting in
a comfortable club, we were stuck, with Aggie, in ticketing. It was so cold that we had to buy blankets.
Finally at 11:30 we went through ticketing, gave them
Aggie, went through Security, and boarded our plane. You’re just not going to believe
this!!!! Upon boarding, we smelled
something that was so foul we gagged (as did the other passengers). The holding tank broke. They picked up the center carpet to explore
the problem, and then decided to disembark us.
The floor was very sticky from the carpet tape from the removed
carpet. Every time we took a step, we
walked out of our shoes, which were sticking to the floor. I’m NOT kidding. Back we went, by bus, to the boarding
area. So now where is Aggie?? We kept scanning the tarmac hoping she was
not sitting out in the cold and all the engine noise. Finally we saw her. We were worried and she was sound asleep
waiting as we were for the next plane.
It took an hour and a half, and another plane arrived. Finally we were on our way.
We arrived with no other incidents. Took a huge van to the Marina, Lucio met us
and all was well. Our dear friend Chris
helped us put the expander on the port engine. He and Jewell even let me help.
Yes, don’t laugh, I bet you didn’t know I even knew what tools looked
like. Voila. The finished installation.
 |
| See proof I did help! |
 |
| Installed and ready to go. |
I asked Jewell out of kindness if she wanted me to go
with her to the markets to get the provisioning done for the passage, and
usually she takes pity and says “no I’ll go”.
But this time she says yes why don’t you come with me. OY. So
here I am trying to remain interested.
 |
| OY! I can't believe I am in Super Che' the market in Huatulco. |
On the 13th of February we left Huatulco. This is the part of the crossing you all have
heard us talking about. The Tehuantepecs.
The winds through this pass can reach upwards of 60-75 kts an hour with
waves up to 20-40 feet. They have blown
tankers 200 miles off shore. The reason
for this is the small piece of land that separates the gulf from the
pacific. It is only 175 miles wide. So when the winds start blowing in the gulf
and the Caribbean they funnel straight into the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Here is a
map:
They tell you that the safest route is what they call
one foot on and one foot off. Meaning 1
to 2 miles off shore in about 60 feet of water.
The only time it is not necessary is if you have a good weather window
of about 5 days. And then you can take the rhumb line that would run straight
from Huatulco to Puerto Madero. After
our prior experiences, the Universe took pity on us and flattened the T-Pecs
allowing us to take the rhumb line and cut out about 50 miles off our trip.
 |
| Calm seas during the crossing. |
This is a map of the areas we have visited.
