When I returned to the boat Barbie had accomplished several tasks. Barb had the water tanks full and the leaking dinghy repaired. We took two weeks to order and receive charts, visit Key West by bus (50 miles, $1 each way for persons over 55!) repair a leaky diverter valve and prepare the boat for sea again. Among other things, that included a dive under the boat to clean the hull. Our bottom paint is just over two years old and the water in Marathon’s harbor seems to be especially challenging. I took two days to clean the bottom in water so turbid that I could barely see my hand brushing the hull at the end of my fully extended arm.
Barb began to notice tenderness in a tooth so she went to a dentist who scheduled a root canal for the 1st of May. The procedure went well and Barb gave me the okay for a departure the next day. We filled our jerry cans with fuel (35 gal), topped off our tank (1/2 gal) and left the harbor sailing only a short way to New Found Harbor and dropped the hook. It was time to get out of Marathon! Having visited Key West by land already, we sailed past it to anchor on the leeward side of the Marquesas Keys for the night before sailing to the Dry 
Tortugas and an anchorage in front of Fort Jefferson the next two nights.
Tortugas and an anchorage in front of Fort Jefferson the next two nights. 
We toured the fort and planned our passage to Isla Mujeres, MX. With route 
planning from Chris Parker at the Caribbean Weather Center, we decided to leave after 10 AM on May 5th and proceed west from the Dry Tortugas to the looping Gulf Stream and then to ride it south past the tip of Cuba, Cabo San Antonio, and onward to a point about 30 nm (27 as it turned out) south of the latitude of Isla Mujeres along the 86oW longitude line. We then turned due west and rode the current directly into the south entrance to Isla Mujeres Bay about an hour before dark on the 7th of May. We had mild seas, but we also had mild wind so while we had sails up, we also ran our engine. We 
saw almost no traffic, but kept in touch with another boat that had left a few hours earlier than we did, S/V Stolen Child (from the poem by Yeats.) We shared information about our routes and what ships, currents and winds we were seeing. It was a comfort and a diversion to talk with them even at a distance that required using the SSB radio instead of VHF. We both arrived safely and met for the first time in person aboard a neighboring vessel the next morning, the 8th. Jack and Jo on the M/V Bodacious suggested we visit for coffee to go over what they knew about “checking into Mexico”. Patrick and Nancy from Stolen Child joined us. Bodacious had been a support boat for the St. Petersburg to Isla Mujeres sailing race the week before and had been assisted in their check in by staff at the sponsoring marina so they told us what they knew about being assisted. I wanted to see what the procedure was first hand and being parsimonious by nature I preferred to pay no agent for help. Patrick agreed that we would provide moral support for each other as we set out to brave the seas of beaurocracy before us. The cruising guides said to call the Capitan de le Puerto and we had done that last evening as we approached the harbor and again this morning with no response. So we thought that the Capitan de le Puerto would be a good first stop. We dinghyed ashore and walked through town to the Oficinia. The official asked if we had been to “Sanitation” and we said “no.” So off we went to “Sanitation.” We were told at Sanitation to go to the clinic to find the officer there. As we were walking, a man on a motor scooter called to us. He was the Health and Customs officer and would help us. First he needed to see our paperwork. He gave me a form to fill out and did some looking at my documents. Reading the crew list he said, “do you have a notarized copy?” “No.” said I. “You must have the crew list notarized,” said he. “Where may I do that?” I asked. “Do you have anything notarized from the US?” he asked me. He saw my Bill of Sale and saw the notary stamp saying this will do this time, but next time, no. Now he said, “Where is Barbara?” “On the boat,” I replied. Stamp, Stamp, Stamp, Stamp. My crew list is certified and I think we just cleared customs. Patrick is next. Same steps are repeated. We are told to go to the boat and return with Barbara and Nancy to Imigracion next. We do that. Finding that office about five blocks away we show that our crew lists and papers are checked by Sanitation. We fill out more forms and are sent with one for each of our crew to the bank (5 doors down) to pay the fee. We wait in line, pay 474 pesos for the two of us and get more pesos while we are at it. We return from the bank with more paperwork, copies of which have been faxed to who knows where. We are talking with the official who mentions that he owns an internet café up the street. We leave and I decide return to get recommendations for lunch from him. His assistant declares that it is a good thing that I came back because we had not finished the paperwork. I called the other three back off the street into the office and we conclude our official business at Imigracion. Now we head for the Port Captain’s office, which is around the corner from the lunch recommendation. We hand over all our paperwork, answer several questions, pay another 277 pesos (based on tonnage), get more stamps, a very official printed, stamped and signed statement on the back of our original crew list and we told “Bien venido a Mexico.” Lunchtime! Lunch was pretty good and pretty cheap and after the rigors of the morning behind us and a meal with cervesa inside us we were decidedly more relaxed. Isla Mujeres is a busy little tourist town with a certain amount of charm. 
Did I take photos? Nope! Sorry. We have learned from the cruiser’s radio net that there is a daily happy hour at the Marina Paraiso – 10 peso beers and we decided that there would be a good place to learn about Isla Mujeres, etc. We found our way to Marina Paraiso and enjoyed the company we found there. Some cruisers we had already met in Key West or in the Dry Tortugas anchorage days before.
planning from Chris Parker at the Caribbean Weather Center, we decided to leave after 10 AM on May 5th and proceed west from the Dry Tortugas to the looping Gulf Stream and then to ride it south past the tip of Cuba, Cabo San Antonio, and onward to a point about 30 nm (27 as it turned out) south of the latitude of Isla Mujeres along the 86oW longitude line. We then turned due west and rode the current directly into the south entrance to Isla Mujeres Bay about an hour before dark on the 7th of May. We had mild seas, but we also had mild wind so while we had sails up, we also ran our engine. We 
saw almost no traffic, but kept in touch with another boat that had left a few hours earlier than we did, S/V Stolen Child (from the poem by Yeats.) We shared information about our routes and what ships, currents and winds we were seeing. It was a comfort and a diversion to talk with them even at a distance that required using the SSB radio instead of VHF. We both arrived safely and met for the first time in person aboard a neighboring vessel the next morning, the 8th. Jack and Jo on the M/V Bodacious suggested we visit for coffee to go over what they knew about “checking into Mexico”. Patrick and Nancy from Stolen Child joined us. Bodacious had been a support boat for the St. Petersburg to Isla Mujeres sailing race the week before and had been assisted in their check in by staff at the sponsoring marina so they told us what they knew about being assisted. I wanted to see what the procedure was first hand and being parsimonious by nature I preferred to pay no agent for help. Patrick agreed that we would provide moral support for each other as we set out to brave the seas of beaurocracy before us. The cruising guides said to call the Capitan de le Puerto and we had done that last evening as we approached the harbor and again this morning with no response. So we thought that the Capitan de le Puerto would be a good first stop. We dinghyed ashore and walked through town to the Oficinia. The official asked if we had been to “Sanitation” and we said “no.” So off we went to “Sanitation.” We were told at Sanitation to go to the clinic to find the officer there. As we were walking, a man on a motor scooter called to us. He was the Health and Customs officer and would help us. First he needed to see our paperwork. He gave me a form to fill out and did some looking at my documents. Reading the crew list he said, “do you have a notarized copy?” “No.” said I. “You must have the crew list notarized,” said he. “Where may I do that?” I asked. “Do you have anything notarized from the US?” he asked me. He saw my Bill of Sale and saw the notary stamp saying this will do this time, but next time, no. Now he said, “Where is Barbara?” “On the boat,” I replied. Stamp, Stamp, Stamp, Stamp. My crew list is certified and I think we just cleared customs. Patrick is next. Same steps are repeated. We are told to go to the boat and return with Barbara and Nancy to Imigracion next. We do that. Finding that office about five blocks away we show that our crew lists and papers are checked by Sanitation. We fill out more forms and are sent with one for each of our crew to the bank (5 doors down) to pay the fee. We wait in line, pay 474 pesos for the two of us and get more pesos while we are at it. We return from the bank with more paperwork, copies of which have been faxed to who knows where. We are talking with the official who mentions that he owns an internet café up the street. We leave and I decide return to get recommendations for lunch from him. His assistant declares that it is a good thing that I came back because we had not finished the paperwork. I called the other three back off the street into the office and we conclude our official business at Imigracion. Now we head for the Port Captain’s office, which is around the corner from the lunch recommendation. We hand over all our paperwork, answer several questions, pay another 277 pesos (based on tonnage), get more stamps, a very official printed, stamped and signed statement on the back of our original crew list and we told “Bien venido a Mexico.” Lunchtime! Lunch was pretty good and pretty cheap and after the rigors of the morning behind us and a meal with cervesa inside us we were decidedly more relaxed. Isla Mujeres is a busy little tourist town with a certain amount of charm. 
Did I take photos? Nope! Sorry. We have learned from the cruiser’s radio net that there is a daily happy hour at the Marina Paraiso – 10 peso beers and we decided that there would be a good place to learn about Isla Mujeres, etc. We found our way to Marina Paraiso and enjoyed the company we found there. Some cruisers we had already met in Key West or in the Dry Tortugas anchorage days before. You must click on this photo to see what must be the largest flag in the world. That has got to be a symbol of national pride if there ever was one.
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