Regrounding, Regrouping

Sublime sunrise after a harrowing night

Hi friends and family,
We are glad to report that we are safely docked in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, after a somewhat harrowing 4day journey from our last port in Nicaragua. When I say 4days, that includes 3nights during which we met a series of challenges including lightning storms, engine failure, and more lightning storms. Navigating around these obstacles kept us up all night, and far off our course, so that we were only making progress toward our destination of Puerto Madero, Mexico, during the days.
When the engine died the second time, on day 4, we decided to turn downwind and downcurrent, to head for Puerto Quetzal. Ryan had met the mechanic here--whose name is, charmingly, "Ziggy"--in January. We are awaiting his help with the repair as I type.
Needless to say, after three nights with almost no sleep, we were a little "spun out," as Ryan would say. Now, after two good sleeps and some re-grounding, we are feeling better about everything.
There is a lot of good in this, of course--the yin and the yang. We are definitely having a memorable adventure. I am becoming quite the sailor- really learning to read the wind, trim the sails, etc. That part is lots of fun. Ryan has been able to get the engine running both times it died, so that has given us some confidence in our ability to problem-solve on the fly. Also, here in the port, we have met some very nice and very interesting adventurers. They have stories of journeys that make ours seem like a bleep on the radar screen.
We have the Gulf of Tehuantepec ahead of us, which feels to me like the crux of the trip. We will leave here when the engine is ready, and sail overnight to Puerto Madero, where we will check in to Mexico. Then, when the weather feels right, we will cross the big Gulf for Huatulco, Mexico. Please envision us sailing with the wind at our backs, toward the northwest, through clear, sunny, starry skies. We appreciate your thoughts and energy.
Lots of love,
Jess & Ryan

Our nighttime gear includes harness and headlamp. As you can see, when morning comes I usually feel a little "loopy."

This "Boobie" bird decided to land on our solar panel, just after we had decided to turn toward Quetzal. He had a very wise look about him, and he stayed with us all the way into port, which was well after dark. We figure he was a protective spirit, especially since the engine kept running for us all the way in.