Life in El Salvador

We arrived here on  April 18 (Wednesday) after a really interesting night to say the least.  We got to the bar on Tuesday night, and you can't cross the bar until what is known as "slack high tide" which only happens once per day.    Slack high tide is when the tide is at its highest point and is neither comiong in or going out.  So we had to spend the night, and decided not to try and anchor off the beach.  We were in radio contact with our friends and the rally organizers, who told us it had been pretty rough.  So not wanting to get beat up all night and having to worry about dragging the anchor, we decided to "heave to" about 14 miles off shore to await the next slack high tide, which would be at about noon on Wednesday.

"Heaving to" is when you make the sails and the rudder work against each other and the boat basically stays put, just drifting a bit here and there,  It is a good way to deal with bad weather when it is too unpleasent to sail.  Used in conjunction with a sea anchor (which we do not have yet) it can be a life saver in huge storms.  But we have used it just to stop at night and go to sleep.

So anyway, we were hove to with our full main and jib rocking us nicely to sleep, at about 7 pm or so.   Then, at about 10 pm, the wind started to absolutely howl, and the boat was not just gently drifting, but was headed out to sea at about 5 knots.  Now it is WAY better to be heading out to sea in conditions like that than it is to be headed towards shore, but neither is really what you want.  So we got up and reefed the sails way in, which slowed the drift to an acceptable level.  Then it started to thunder and lightening like crazy, and the rain just poured down.  It was all very exciting.  I wasn't really that scared,  except for worrying that we might get struck by lightening.  We were delighted to discover that the cabin does not leak a drop. 

The next day all was well, but we were now 18 miles off shore instead of 14.  We then had to go across the bar, which I had planned to do but chickened out as soon as I saw the big waves I would have to go over.  Mike took over and of course drove like a champ.  We got to the marina where our friends and other rally participants were waiting for us on the dock, ready to take our lines.  I was pretty shaky, but glad to be there.  The check in was a breeze - customs and immigration are right there.  Then we got to relax with a bloody mary.  I have decided I really like them.

Since we got here, there has been tons of things to do.  We took out dinghy down the estuary to a little village named Herradura to do some shopping.  We ate dinner at a restaurant that was on stilts right on the estuary.  We took a bus one and one half hours into a town named Zacatecaluca.  We have had happy hours and all sorts of social stuff with the other rally participants. 

First, here are some pictures I took of Huatulco, right before we left.  The first one is me in while we were out shopping.  I am clutching my purse like that because Mike bought a really heavy fishing weight and I was afraid it would break the handle off.

This is a picture of the zocalo, or town square.  It was always full of people either selling things, buying things, or just hanging out.

This is a bird that hung out regularly at the marina.  I love these guys.

Here is me and Mike on our last night in Huatulco.  Actually, we needed to get rid of all our pesos, because El Salvador uses American dollars.  So we ate and shopped and bought stuff - only to discover we didn't leave ourselves enough for the cab ride home!  We had to stop at a bank and get more pesos - the smallest amount we could get and it was still too much.  We overpaid the cab driver and now have a friend for life, should we return. 

We left Huatulco and both of us slept in the cockpit (at different times of  course) because the engine was really loud in the cabin.

And what trip would be complete without dolphins to keep you company?

 That wraps up the Hualtulco pictures, and here is what it looks like here in El Salvador.  We are anchored in an estuary with a resort hotel providing all our amenities.  Not anchored, but moored to a mooring ball.

This is what it looks like here. 

This is one of the free range chickens you see everywhere running around Herradura. 

This is Mike and our friend Ron (from Sundancer) looking inside an oven at the local bakery.  The pastries were excellent!

This is the market where we bought produce.

Here is a picture of how things get to the market.

This is where we hade lunch.  The shrimp was wonderful!

Here is a painting of the Blessed Virgin that was painted right in the street.  Public art rocks! 

This is the approach to Herradura from the estuary.  We discovered (luckily not the hard way for a change) that you have to be very careful when you go there - it gets too shallow at low tide to get back through the mangroves to the mooring field we live in.

 

This is Mike taking us through the mangroves to the mooring field.  He is a great dinghy driver.

 

This is a cashew fruit. You really have to know what you are doing to deal with these - if you start messing with the nut part, you will get a skin rash.  It is a skill.  We cut the nut part off and sucked the juice from the fruit.  It was sort of persimmon-y.

Well, I guess this is all for today.  I do have a lot of other things to report, but I have things I need to take care of.  I love it here and we are not going anywhere (except land excursions) for the forseeable future.  So have a great day and I will pick up the saga later!

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."  (Kenneth Grahame)