More Catch Up - Mexico to Costa Rica

Nothing too special here, but some video and pictures covering our last stop in Mexico and our trip to Costa Rica. That last stop was Huatulco. This is a relatively lightly visited area by cruisers, but a very popular stop for those heading further South.

Huatulco is a very nice town that is benefiting from some serious investment on the part of Mexico's tourism authorities. Beautiful harbors and beaches, lots of inexpensive but nice places to stay, and some very nice people. If you are looking for an inexpensive but very nice vacation in Mexico, Huatulco has our stamp of approval. Check it out!

The primary reason for Huatulco's popularity with Southbound cruisers is that it is a great place to clear immigration and customs as you leave Mexico, and it is very sheltered while being the last "safe" harbor prior to crossing the much feared and rightly so, "Gulf of Tehuantepec".

The Gulf of Tehuantepec, it is a large bay on the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the narrowest area of land which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific Ocean. Northerly winds that originate in the Gulf of Mexico funnel through the gap created by a narrow break in the Sierra Madre Mountains and into the Gulf of Tehuantepec with average winds of 30 to 40 mph. These winds can increase rapidly to gale, storm and sometimes hurricane force bringing with it huge seas that can push you hundreds of miles out to sea.

We waited in Huatulco for a few days, saw a reasonable break in the high winds and headed South. All and all, it turned out very well. We saw winds in the 30's for a few hours on the morning of the second day, but by that evening things were down to the low 20's and then spent the next few days alternating between 5 and 25 knots. Not too bad, considering.

Once out of Mexico, the coastline became very interesting with lots of towering Volcano's to see along the way. Some of which were somewhat active.

Landfall was made in Bahia Santa Elena, where we spent a night anchored in the middle of a beautiful bay surrounded by dense rainforest, listening to howler monkeys and creatures we could only imagine. It WAS like being in a Jurassic Park movie!