Dos pasos adelante y uno atrás.

The first couple of days back on board O2 we missed Belgium that much -our son, our family, our friends, the chocolate, the food, the green, green grass of home – that we installed a VPN in order to witness the defeat of the Red Devils against the Azzurri. Quite the thriller.

Here, the Marina is all but empty except for Tracy & Richard on SV Leilani with whom we crossed the Panama Canal five months ago and Dietmar himself on SV Corinthia, the organizer of the Panama Posse. A celebratory drink for the occasion was more than appropriate.

Apart from the little brown rays swarming all around O2 at sunset and the Mexican July celebrations that take place every other day in the Baös Mar & Tierra restaurant not much is going on.

We are simply stuck below the Eastern Pacific hurricane zone. Watching our American nephew getting married on Zoom has been the highlight of our stay so far. It was quite a feast to the eyes and their joy was contagious.

So as we are waiting for the perfect weather window to sail across the treacherous Gulf of Tehuantepec to Huatulco, My Captain is keeping himself busy tinkering while I am filling up the freezer with comfort food and planning the exploration of Western Mexico. According to the US State Department we would better stay put.

We are more concerned with the Tehuantepecer wind. This is a violent mountain-gap wind which blows between the Mexican and Guatemalan mountains, and which can reach speeds of 45 knots and gusts to 100knots. Although the wind is at its weakest in July, My Captain is keeping a keen eye on the wind charts. And so am I.

Also our speed stopping device has been hauled out of its storage and is ready to be grabbed and thrown in case “l’océan se déchaîne”.  Please let the passage be a boring one…