Mexico is now behind the Tortilla Flotilla. Our last few days were spent on our personal island in Espirtu Santo. We randomly stopped here one night tucked behind and island because the mono-haul in the Flotilla ran aground right off the reef. When we woke up in the morning, we realized that we were 30 yards from an uninhabited sandy beach. We spent the day gathering wood for a bonfire that night, did some exploring of the island, and even got in a good game of bocce (Meg and I lost by one to Team Salty Dog, who we were up 7-0 and lost our composure). That night the bonfire was fun and we all drank some Franzia (which is cheap box wine they picked up in the Bahamas) and had some good laughs. One of the Flotilla members, upon canoeing back to his boat at the end of the night stepped on a piece of glass (he claims it was a croc hiding and waiting for his fresh gringo meat) and cut his foot open pretty bad. He probably should have gotten stitches, but decidedly against it and just to check it out in the morning. Luckily Gualby has a certified nurse and pharmacist on board to clean and wrap his foot, and gave him antibiotics that only recently expired.
We waited in Espirtu Santo until we could get the best wind to make the jump to Belize. We found that the best would be to leave late afternoon, and do an overnight passage. I was a little nervous as I had only be on a true sail during the day, and not more than a few hours. We decided on doing three hours on, three hours off, with Meg and I being one leg and Con and Penny the other. I took the helm for a good portion of our shift and really got a feel for Gualby. It wasn't that extremely hard after a while. You just set up your line using the GPS then try to find a star ahead of you to keep your heading correct. It did get a little harder when the star you were using disappeared behind a cloud and you had to go completely off the GPS (which lags a few seconds, making it hard to stay on point) or harder yet using the compass. I think I did pretty well for my first overnight, at least that's what First Mate Meg said, but still need some work to be trusted by myself. It was absolutely beautiful to see the sun rise right before we got relieved of our 4-7 am shift by Con and Pen. Just seeing the sky slowly turn from black to pink to an almost blood-orange, right before the sun topped the horizon, was simply awe-inspiring.
We made it into Belize water at about noon and headed for our destination of San Pedro on Ambergris Cay. It is a small town that has some great restaurants and some really cool bars. It is a bit touristy, but the people and the overall vibe of the area make it my favorite spot so far. Here are some of the pics from the end of Mexico.
 |
| Meg and I being idiots in Cozemel |
 |
| Saw him walking out of the store..I'm gonna see it to Coke |
 |
| Crazy mangrove in the middle of a canal |
 |
| Really cool house in Punta Allen |
 |
| House made of an old Modelo boat that the guy had up on cinder blocks |
 |
| No they are not dead, just three bros taking a siesta |
 |
| Crazy croc we found waiting in a panga boat after leaving town |
 |
| Beach view of Mayan ruins in Tulum |
 |
| Mayan temple shot from the coast |
 |
| Great shot of Salty Dog from shore |
 |
| More Ruins |
 |
| Shot of coast from Mayan ruin in Tulum |
