Isla Mujeres and Nova Scotia

It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the two S’s have fallen off the sign just in case you were wondering about the weird spelling.

Mexico

In the last post I left off in Providencia. Amazing as the island was, we couldn’t stay for long and set sail again after four days. After deciding not to go to Cuba we headed north up to Mexico. It was a much more comfortable trip to Isla Mujeres, but not without its challenges. For one thing, it was one of the longest passages we’d done: four nights. We also arrived in the middle of the night. Isla Mujeres is a small island located just off the coast of Cancun and in the dark all the lights made navigation very difficult. After trying in vain to figure out which red light was which, we decided to make a 180 degree turn and sail back over our own path for one hour and then turn around again so as to approach the coast in day light. Even then what was on the map, what was showing on the Chart plotter, and what we saw with our own eyes didn’t match up. In the end we made it safely to the marina by ignoring the electronics (except for the depth sounder) and simply visually navigating our way into the bay by following in the path of other boats.

Being back in Mexico was a very strange feeling. On the one hand it felt strange to go back to a country when we had been visiting new ones for so long. On the other hand it was nice to be back on familiar ground. For Anouk and I this was our last port of the trip and we scrabbled around trying to make the most of our remaining time. Souvenir shopping, trips to the beautiful beaches, tanning by the pool, drinking many cervesas, and eating Mexican food filled our last few days. The best part was our final day when Anouk, Margaux and I got up early and joined a boat of other tourists to swim with whale sharks!

I’m afraid I don’t have any pictures to share you since Margaux left the underwater camera we bought for the excursion on the boat. I’ll post them later. But if you’re curious about what these animals look like check out the pictures on this website. The first one with the scuba diver is about the same size and the shark we saw: Whale sharks.  We were all nervous at first because we had been cautioned that it was the beginning of the season and finding a whale shark to swim with wasn’t guaranteed. To make matters worse the weather wasn’t the greatest. It started to rain as we headed out and there were more dark clouds on the horizon. After an hour of scanning the waves I was beginning to think we’d be going home disappointed. And then suddenly the guides shouted that they found one! Two other boats were also hovering close by. I’m always concerned when animals are part of tourist attractions but there were lots of rules and I think everything was done very respectfully.

Everyone went out in pairs with a guide. Each couple’s turn lasted an exhilarating 10 minutes and then the next pair would go. We all got two turns to swim with the shark and it was amazing! From the boat all you could really see was it’s huge tail, but once we were in the water we were able to see the entire animal. It swam quite fast so we had to be ready to jump in and swim as fast as we could to keep up with it. I’m not sure how big the whale shark was but I judged it to be around 30 feet. Even just the tail was easily about 6 feet tall!

Swim fast! Swimming with the whale shark.

After everyone on the boat had had their two turns we motored out to a reef where we were able to snorkel amongst some really beautiful coral and fish and even spotted a nurse shark hanging out under one coral head. Before we went home they served us amazing fresh ceviche that the two tour guides had made while we’d all been snorkeling.  All in all it was the perfect day and the best way to spend me and Anouk’s last day on the trip.

Nova Scotia

The day after our whale shark adventure Anouk and I said a tearful goodbye to the rest of our family and boarded a plane for Halifax. We arrived a little after midnight in the fog and rain. Coming into the house was both wonderful and strange. It was great to be home, but it was also weird to be in such a large empty space with so few people in it! We adjusted quickly though and I’ve had a great time these past few weeks enjoying all that Lunenburg and the neighboring towns have to offer. We traded snorkeling and beaches for bike rides and farmer’s markets.

Margaux joined us a little over a week ago. She had stayed aboard to help my parents sail to Florida. We also hoped that she might be able to get a flight from the States that she could bring the cat and the dog on. Unfortunately we were just a bit late and in the summer months the airlines in Florida don’t allow dogs to fly because of the heat. Star the cat was able to come home with her though, and has been having a good time exploring the house.

Florida

Before she came home, Margaux had a few more crazy adventures in the Florida Keys. After a three night trip she and my parents arrived in the Florida Keys. The weather in the area was not good and there were lots of thunder and lightening storms circling on the horizon and passing over them. Although the Caribbean was beautiful it came with a new kind of weather hazard: water cyclones, also known as water spouts.  On our way to and from Providencia we saw a couple on the horizon but they were always short lived and never too close. But in Florida my parents and Margaux got to see one up close. Really close. They had been visiting with their friends from Maggie May, another boat we’d met in Mexico, when the sky began to get very dark. Susan and Andy went back to their boat and my parents and Margaux began to zip up the canvas rain cover over the cockpit. They heard the Miami coast guard on the radio warning the area to watch out for extreme weather conditions. Just as they closed up the hatches it began to pour very, very hard, got foggy and very, very windy. So windy the boat heeled over.

The wind was so strong the anchor started to drag and Candlewin began to drift towards the shore and several other boats. Margaux and Piet braved the wind and rain and went up front to haul up the anchor while my mom steered the boat. It took quite a while to get the anchor up as the boat was being pushed away from it and they had several close calls with other boats. They managed to anchor again and just as they finished the wind and rain let up too. They heard later from another boat that a water spout had passed directly over the boat!

This picture needs a little explanation. In Key Largo where the water spout hit, just before the weather turned these boats collected. First the biggest one, sporting a Miami Dolphin’s flag, dropped anchor and proceeded to blast music from their vastly superior sound system for everyone’s enjoyment. Then two smaller boats, also with Miami Dolphin’s flags, sped in and rafted up to the bigger boat. Four more boats came in and joined the group. Then a lone boat came in and anchored a little ways away. They were not sporting a Miami Dolphin’s flag. But in the ever friendly American way it wasn’t long before they were waved over and invited to raft up as well. In the end twelve power boats were tied together, having a big party. Everyone was climbing onto each others’ boats and having a good time. That is until the water spout moved in and alllll their anchors dragged. All twelve power boats started to drift like one big daisy chain of Dolphin fans. The party was over and everyone went home.

The weather wasn’t always bad and Margaux says it was very beautiful in Key West. They visited Ernest Hemingway’s house and several of the old pubs he used to frequent.  After a few days it was time to move on to Fort Lauderdale. This was not the most beautiful port but we had found Margaux a cheap back to Lunenburg from there.

Getting beauty tips in Key West.

And now I’m preparing for the last leg of my journey. Tomorrow I fly home to Victoria! Our parents are currently in North Carolina. They have had plenty of their own adventures and in the next little while I will get them to fill you all in on their trip up the east coast.

Till next time!

~Faye.