Goodbye to Mexico...

As we drew ever nearer to the Mexican border, we could see the landscape changing. Everything was greener and food a bit different. We did not linger long in Huatulco when we learned that the weather was good for crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec. There are terrible winds that blow from Texas across the isthmus of Mexico and into this gulf that can make passage impossible for a week at a time. We had such good luck with calm seas, plus a current pushing us along, that we decided to stop for six hours and just float in the middle of the gulf to insure a morning arrival at our last port, Puerto Chiapas! Once we entered the port we were surprised to find that we were the only small cruising vessel anchored there, among sophisticated tuna boats complete with their own helicopters (top), a Naval base, a fishing fleet, and a cruise ship center (bottom)! It took three trips to get all the paperwork done for our exit papers. The day we needed to pay for our anchorage we could not find a way to access the east dock... a security guard, complete with gun, told us to tie up to a panga that was tied to a tugboat, that was tied to the cruise ship dock! We scrambled out of our dinghy, over the panga and tug and onto the dock where we met David, the chief of security for the port who personally drove us to the payment office, then gave us a tour of the new cruise ship facility.(middle) This is a place we'd like to visit again! However, they are in the process of building a marina, so our reception next time may be very different.