Isla Mujeres, a short ferry ride away from the Mexican resort town of Cancún, was our last stop on our trip, before we headed for Key West. We had a great time there, and took the opportunity to travel by land to the Mayan ruins of ChichenItzá. What an experience!

                             To the right is the chart of Isla Mujeres. Click on it.  

"Right after our daughter Ani and her fiance Fred left us to return home, we left West End, Roatan, for a non-stop trip to Isla Mujeres, a 300 mile passage, due north. This passage was accomplished in a day and a half, with good wind and reasonable seas, and with the help of a north-bound current that brought our speed over ground up to 10.5 knots at times.

We decided to bypass Belize until the next time. And returning to Mexico has been quite a treat. We love Isla Mujeres. We are staying at Marina Paraiso, with reasonable rates, enjoying the good life, the turquoise Caribbean beaches and legendary hospitality. Tomorrow we are taking the ferry to Cancun for the day, and the next two days we are making an overnight trip to the Maya city of Chichen Itzá.

Life is good, very good indeed. Our last last leg of our trek from San Francisco to Key West, Florida, a 330-mile passage made with the help of the Gulfstream, was a fine one indeed. Our home base in Marathon is just a skip and a jump from there. It is sad for us to think that we will not be able to visit Cuba, our beloved and missed homeland, on SIESTA, on our way home to Marathon, just 60 miles or less away from our rhumb line.

We can, more clearly than ever, hear the familiar sounds of the Waterway Net, a ham net we participated in for many years while cruising the Bahamas. We now can pick up the more than 100 audio news and music stations, including CNN and Fox News via XMRADIO satellite radio! And our faithful wireless email system, WINLINK, works even better with some closer base stations, along with CJX in Tennessee, which always worked for us extremely well, even from the Pacific side. Winlink and Sailmail have been a godsend throughout this trip to keep in touch with our loved ones.

This trip has truly been a dream come true for us, exceeding even our wildest expectations. We feel truly blessed."

                             And seen below is a beautiful sunset at Marina Paradiso, Isla Mujeres:

                        Below, a few pics of our unforgettable trip to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itzá: