IN OCT/NOV of 2000 Gene helped Mike Rose bring Pacific Rose his 42’ Tayana sailboat from Cartagena, Columbia to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Ironically a hurricane named Rose was heading right for them, so to get out of harm’s way, they called a pilot-guide to come out in his panga and lead them through the mile-wide breaking shoal entrance to Bahía Jiquilisco and take them 9 miles up the river to Barillas Marina Club, El Salvador, the perfect hurricane hole.

Gene had loved the adventure of crossing the bar and the wonderful amenities the newly built Barillas Marina had to offer. He was eager to return there and show it to me. We were traveling with Hiatus, so Kent called the guide when we were an hour away from the waypoint. Hiatus was ahead of Moody Blues and would half disappear in the troughs of the large swells. The pilot-guide ahead of Hiatus would totally disappear. It took an hour to get around all the migrating shoals, breakers and sand bars, then another hour to meander up the river past Pirallita Village. (Piral means “wonderful butterfly that lived in fire” – however that is done!)The panga led us to mooring buoys and soon the port clearance guys came out and onboard to check our papers and then took Gene away (to finish the check in.)

We spent five nights up the river at Barillas mostly swimming in the pool, eating scrumptious shrimp, enjoying free Wifi, and blocking passageways in our boom and awning that the barn swallow type birds incessantly worked at building nests in. We went through a lot of bug spray too for the no-see-ums at dawn and dusk are voracious. All in all, Barillas Marina Club was a delight.