Summer Travels

I have asked some of my friends who are traveling this summer to send me updates and photos of their adventures. Marco, who owns CARAVANSERAI, in Sayulita, left us in late July headed for the Yucatan to a place called Holbox. He has sent me photos and a simple note, which i will share with you all here. I will also publish a summary of the places he visits. As of the last e-mail, Marco is headed for Europe, so much more to come I am sure. Marco's Note:"Hell o senor , hope all is swell in Sayulitaland . A very relaxing week here on the island , perfect weather , breezy nights , breathtaking skies , powder white sands , swarms of european tourists looking for whale sharks , many new quaint little stores and restaurants . Nice to see all my local amigos and amigas . Leaving on tuesday for Europe , how time flies ... How is everyone at Afortunados ? All the best ."

Holbox

Holbox (hol-bosh) is an island located near the northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo. It is part of the Yum Balam ecological reserve, separated from land by the Yalahua Lagoon. Holbox is 26 miles long and beautiful seashells are constantly washing up onto its fine white sand beaches. The jade green Gulf of Mexico waters that bathe these beaches are beautiful and swimmer friendly. The water is usually calm and shallow at the beaches, making it a great place for swimming with children.

On this island there is only one small village, also called Holbox, where less than 1,500 people make their home. The streets are sand lined with brightly painted wooden houses. The majority of the people are fishermen. They catch large red snapper, bonitos and grouper. These fishermen also go after lobster and octopus in season. As you can imagine, the seafood sold in the local restaurants is fresh and delicious. Treat yourself here to some of the world's best ceviche, a cold dish with fish, shrimp or other shellfish marinated with tomatoes, vinegar and oil, cilantro, and garlic.

The Yalahua Lagoon separates Holbox from the mainland. Find a local driver to take you on his boat, and explore the wonders of this mangrove lagoon.

One place to visit is Isla Pajaros, an island where the birds come to sleep at night. Approximately 140 species of birds live in the Yucatan and visit this island at different times of the year.

Summer attraction For several years now, whale sharks have been coming to the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula to feed and mate during the months of June through September. Tourism based on whale shark watching has increased dramatically in the last few years and Government agencies have taken steps to protect these magnificent animals so that the species will not be harmed and so they will continue to return to this area. For that reason, Holbox has recently been named by the Mexican government as the only port that can offer trips to swim with the whale sharks and there are strict rules against scuba equipment being used to view them in the area. Local guides have been trained to give tours that are as safe for the whale sharks as they are for their human visitors.

Eugenie, left us in late july as well, she was headed to Hawaii to pick up a sailboat and is sailing it to San Francisco, California I will enclose some photos and her message as well.

Geography

Kāneʻohe is located at 21°24'33" North, 157°47'57" West (21.409200, -157.799084)[1]. Nearby towns include Kailua to the east, reached either by Kāneʻohe Bay Drive (State Rte. 630) or Kamehameha Highway (State Rte. 83), the former also providing a connection to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and the latter connecting to Interstate H-3 and (at Castle Junction) Pali Highway (State Rte. 61) to Honolulu. Likelike Highway (State Rte. 63) runs southwest over and through the Koʻolau to Honolulu. Likelike provides connections to Kahekili Highway and Heʻeia, and H-3 southbound to Hālawa. The first three exits on the windward side of Interstate H-3 east (north) bound access Kāneʻohe. Following Kamehameha Highway northward from Kāneʻohe (State Rte. 830) leads through Heʻeia to Heʻeia Kea.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22.0 km²), of which, 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²) of it is land and 1.9 square miles (5.0 km²) of it is water. The total area is 22.80% water, although this is merely a portion of Kāneʻohe Bay included in the census tract.

Ann Hadley, Dan Eliseian, Me: Eugenie Russell, Nick Moren, and Jenn Vickers

Eugenie's e-mail "here's the 1st of the blogs i will try to send regularly/the rest will not be from this email but from an email from the boat via the radio.. on a sailmail account and will be short and sweet. everything coming and going from the sailmail has to be short and condensed with no signatures etc...other wise i cant use it. anyways, here's the crew from left to right - Ann Hadley, Dan Eliseian, Me: Eugenie Russell, Nick Moren, and Jenn Vickers. We are in front of the Kane'ohe Yacht Club... on Oahu. other shot is all the other boats after the Pac Cup getting ready to re-depart for the main land, and then other one, us hard at work for 2 days getting the boat ready to go.
we had to clean scrubb, taking everything apart, and out to repack, fix broken parts, provision and put away, set our bags, and fill the water tanks, clean the water maker, fill the fuel, and jerry cans, and off we go.We are planning to go north and after the high head east to SF."
you can follow us via the tracker....
go to my work site, tracker site, cruising services, jworld boat, ask
naye.....
will let you know.
cheeers and have fun.
we will sail fast and take chances."

I wish them both safe travels