Decisions

I'm not going to lie here, our lives are pretty good. But even with our foot loose and fancy free lifestyle, there comes a time in every sailor's life when some hard choices must be made. We are quickly coming to one of those crossroads.

These days, the majority of our most difficult decisions have to do with which taco stand we are going to eat at and if we are going to have corn or flour tortillas. If it's a really tough day, we'll even struggle with whether or not we should have fish tacos, shrimp, or pastor (I usually go for the pastor...it's heavenly. And don't forget to squeeze a little bit of lime on there...trust me). I know, I know, it's almost impossible to choose sometimes.

The other big decision that is usually even tougher than deciding which tacos to eat, albeit probably not as important, is deciding what we are going to do and where we are going to be tomorrow. And even more difficult than that is deciding where we are going to be in a few days, weeks, or months.

The typical cruising season in Mexico is roughly 6 months long. Those 6 months give you free reign of the country until hurricane season hits. We can sail north, south, east, or west, all with no major weather patterns to contend with. But once hurricane season is in force, you have to either go far enough north or far enough south to escape the wrath of Mother Nature's fury.

Some cruisers spend their 6 months of free reign gallivanting around in Mexico and then head out across the mighty Pacific ocean towards the thousands of tropical islands that await in the South Pacific, some head to Central America, and some head far north, seeking safety and shelter deep in the Sea of Cortez, riding out hurricane season just so they can spend more time in the country.

We have already been in Mexico for 2 months, and what do you know, those 2 months went by really quickly. We have been struggling with the idea that our visas will run out in 4 more months. 4 more months is hardly enough time for us to see as much of Mexico as we would like to see, so, we have been scheming together a plan for us to have more time in this beautiful country.

Renewing our visas is an easy problem to solve. All we have to do is set foot outside of Mexico's border for 2 seconds, fill out a new form, pay the handful of pesos it costs to process the form, and then reenter the country. Done. It's as easy as pie and then we have another 6 months of time to gorge on tacos.

The harder problem to solve is what to do about hurricane season. The most logical solution is to head north into the Sea of Cortez, be vigilant and pay attention to weather forecasts, and enjoy our time here while waiting out the season. It's really not a big deal. There are tons of cruisers that do it every year and tons of things to see while we are doing it. There are even a handful of “hurricane holes” that we can safely stay in if a storm is threatening.

The even harder problem to solve is what to do with ourselves now. Where do we go from here.

We are currently anchored at Isla San Francisco which is roughly 200 nautical miles up the Sea of Cortez. It's remote and rugged and there are visible islands off in the distance which are calling our names, practically begging for us to visit. It's beautiful here and we are absolutely loving the area and the people we are with.

One of our hard and fast rules is never leave fun to find fun. We have no place we need to be, so we should stay where we are for as long as we are enjoying ourselves. But as everyone knows, rules are made to be broken. Even though we are loving being in the Sea of Cortez and traveling with the group of people we are with, it may be time for us to move on. This is where the crossroad lies.

So, before we I any further, lets recap a few important points.

1. We've decided that we are going to extend our visas for another 6 months after ours expire
2. We are going to spend hurricane season in the Sea of Cortez
3. Rules are made to be broken
4. Tacos al Pastor are the best (don't forget the lime)

Now that we are all on the same page, the question still remains. Where do we go from here?

Since we are going to spend the summer (hurricane season) up north in the Sea of Cortez, it doesn't really make sense for us to keep exploring this region now. We've got 4 more months before hurricane season hits and there is a whole lot more of the country to see that will be off limits to us once the season is upon us. We might as well go and see that stuff now and then make our way back into the Sea of Cortez when the time is right. Make sense? Good.

So, in a nutshell, we have decided to set sail for mainland Mexico. We'll watch for a weather window, spend a few days at sea, and if all goes well, we'll make landfall near Puerto Vallarta. We'll have 4 months to slowly work our way south down the mainland coast, eating tacos and seeing the sites, before turning around and b-lining it north, back into the Sea of Cortez for hurricane season. And as everyone knows, just as rules are made to be broken, plans are made to change. No one really knows how long this plan will stick.

The View from the top.  If you look closely, you can see our home sweet home floating in the distance.  Yeah, it's not too shabby here.

A small part of the collective heading out for a hike across Espiritu Santo.  Adios Amigos.  You'll be missed.

Yep, another sunset from our floating home.  Photo cred goes to German - Aka el Lobo 

And if you haven't seen our latest highly intoxicating video yet, it is up on Youtube.  If the link below doesn't work on your device, copy and paste this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4JsTon_zrc