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Therapy · 23-12-2007, 11:14

**Pblais** · 23-12-2007, 11:32

For a quick guide to most any country try http://www.noonsite.com it includes pluses and minuses as well as the latest customs / immigration requirements. I's a good site for basics like these directed espeically to cruisers.

TaoJones · 23-12-2007, 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pblais

<snip> . . . Meat is hard to get, sugar is almost unknown, and a lot of other things can be difficult to acquire as far as daily living goes. You need an inside track to the black market to purchase daily staples. Items come available with short notice and are sold out in hours. . . .

This reminds me of an amusing anecdote that came from Russia in the Soviet era:

A woman goes into a butcher shop to buy some meat. She is aghast when she sees that the price is 15 rubles/pound.

She confronts the butcher: "Why is your meat so expensive?! The butcher across the street only charges 5 rubles/pound!"

"Why don't you buy your meat from him then?" asks the butcher.

"Because he doesn't have any," the woman says.

"Oh," the butcher replies, "Well, when we don't have any meat it's only 5 rubles/pound, too."

TaoJones

Therapy · 23-12-2007, 13:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pblais

For a quick guide to most any country try http://www.noonsite.com it includes pluses and minuses as well as the latest customs / immigration requirements. I's a good site for basics like these directed espeically to cruisers.

TKS...........

waterworldly · 24-12-2007, 03:55

So, I guess nobody here ever has cruised down the east coast of Texas to Mexico to Central America . . . Mom used to say if you don't have something useful to say, just CLAM UP . . . after reading three pages of posts under the heading "where to go", I would say mom was right. I wish there was a "soapbox" thread, just for this type of stuff.

slomotion · 24-12-2007, 10:11

Waterworldly,

Panama Dave already explained this. Whether sailing through the Florida straits or from the Gulf coast, most people heading for Central America make straight for Isla Mujeres and the only part of the Mexican coast they might visit is the southern Yucatan.

waterworldly · 26-12-2007, 03:46

AHHHH, herein lies my dilemma. After spending 20 years in retail, I don't want to go where MOST people go, so getting info is hard. We have looked at that coast, as well as the west coast of South America (Peru escpecially) as well as the southern coast of Australia. These are places that MOST people don't go, and we want to know why not? I know that in Peru, for example, often security is sited, but having spent lots and lots of time there, I found that to be untrue. I have surveyed the coast by auto and found lots of small anchorages that would be perfect to stop at, but never have I read a book or article on anyone even trying to do that (yes, I know its a hard slog, but beautiful non the less, with great people and excellent food). So my inquiry concerning the southeast coast of Texas an Mexico was more a "why not?". I've been to the Yucatan, and found it to be highly Americanized, with lots of complaining tourists everywhere . . . YUK! Got them here in Miami for the last twenty years . . .

Southern Star · 26-12-2007, 06:37

Waterworldly, the small numbers crusing Peru are reflective of the cold water, contrary currents and winds (especially if travelling south from the Panama canal) and the lack of readily available repair and chandlery facilites. Most of us prefer avoiding a hard, cold slog to weather in order to get to our destinations.

Really, its the same with your proposed route to the Caribbean side of South and Central America. It can be done, but the trade winds were so named because they facilitated trade through easier, safer and faster passages.

Brad

slomotion · 26-12-2007, 10:43

waterworldly,

You might want to start a new thread - in the context of the original poster's 4 months to sail from Texas to Columbia or Venezuela, just about everyone would skip the Gulf coast of Mexico. That does mean that no one goes there.

For whatever it's worth (not much) I have heard tales of Mexican authorities demanding 'fees' at each stop along the Gulf coast. I agree with your assessment of the Yucatan for places near Cancun/Cozumel/Playa Del Carmen. However, there are other places:

Cruising World - The Log of ITHAKA

Cruising World - The Log of ITHAKA

slomotion · 26-12-2007, 12:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by slomotion

That does mean that no one goes there.

Uh, maybe: That does NOT mean that no one goes there.

And, yes - I know how to spell Colombia, just not all the time.

Panama Dave · 27-12-2007, 06:45

Waterworldly,
The South coast of Texas is very nice cruising. Not the prettiest water but no crowds and lots of good anchorages. Once you cross the border to Mexico it is not so good. Very few islands, no bays deep enough to take a sailing yacht into, the only safe harbors are very industrial and very far apart. I have researched this thoroughly because it's close to home.
When you visited the Yucatan was it on a cruising boat or as a tourist? It is a very different experience visiting anywhere by boat.
Dave