Hola, Mexico!
10 October - Isla Mujeres - Mexico
On anchor at last, we sleep soundly.
I wake up rested for the first time in what feels like an age. Argonaut, in contrast, is like a disaster zone. A ceiling panel dangles, held up only by a single electrical wire. Everything is everywhere. It reeks of fuel. And it’s so damp inside that I can still see salt water droplets fully formed. This is going to be quite the tidy up mission.
Despite the madness of the past few days, I feel quite calm. Was it even real? It has been an emotional rollercoaster ever since we left England. Waving goodbye to our family and friends, putting our careers on hold, giving up our home - and for what? Our plans to sail to Antarctica - the adventure of a lifetime - lie in tatters. We push through the disappointment, enduring long days in the humid Florida heat, to get Argonaut afloat again. Exhausted, we set off. Only to face a comedy of errors once at sea: steering failure, an electrical fire, subsequent loss of power, water ingress, engine troubles, sea sickness, sleep deprivation, all in the face of oppressive heat. And just when we thought the worst was over, a category 5 hurricane dips down to say hello, meaning we have to power through strong winds and high seas. The scale of what we have experienced this passage, I am not ready to comprehend. So I don’t.
Our priority for today is to check into Mexico. Pure - and simple?
We gently lower Argonaughty (our dinghy) from her hoist to the aft, down into the inviting turquoise waters, then set off to shore in search of customs.
We weave into a lagoon via a small inlet, then tie up to a brightly-coloured timber dock leading to what my brain can only comprehend as paradise. It’s a beach club called Bahia del Rey - picture rattan cocoon chairs suspended from palm trees, tables where you can sit on swings, and a pool with DJ booth and bar. Even though it’s still morning and not yet filled with partygoers, it has a cool vibe.
As we step up onto the timber dock, relief washes over me.
I am very happy to be back on land!
We start asking around about where to find customs. And we learn that the process to check-in to Mexico by boat can be quite involved. But there is an agent called German based on the island who can arrange it all for us. He is based at Puerto Isla Mujeres, only a few minutes walk down the road.
German is happy to help. However, in order to start the check-in process, Argonaut would need to be alongside his dock. This wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem, except for the small fact that we do not have a working engine. The entrance to the lagoon is narrow and shallow, so coming in under sail falls outside even our risk appetite! Thankfully, German helps us arrange a tow for the following morning.
