Thanks for always believing in us, Linda!! Wow, what a coool experience! Couldn’t have gone better. Also, that mental shift being on the water after like 4 days was something unreal…. We both loved every moment. And Pineapple too! I can’t even imagine 25-30 days!
Thanks for posting your update! Glad all went well. I had no doubts that it would all work out BTW. I am curious about the planning / logistics of a trip like yours if you’d care to post at some point. I’m assuming you booked a slip days / weeks / months in advance? As well as the weather and route research? Visas, pet regulations, food, emergency contingencies…
BTW - your Substack has the best comments! So much love about you and to you all! My opinion obviously but the “I also did that” comments are so tiresome… and thankfully not found here.
Thanks Mathew! Yes, I’m soooo grateful for the cool & thoughtful comments from folks. I’m very very fortunate! That’s a large part of what keeps me so motivated I think.
And I’m absolutely happy to answer any questions! I’ve moved away from articles purely about logistics because I’m not sure my readers really care lol, but my last one has a lot of the challenges we faced making the jump from Jamaica (weather, cat importation, & discomfort in a place). See below.
For Rio Dulce, we booked a marina slip in March or so based on word of mouth & a cool sailing app called NoForeignLand, & that was super chill, even entering in late April. Thankfully there are a lot of good marinas here, which keeps costs low, & is the only reason we’re able to consider a marina. Not sure what it’s like exactly in different places around the world (we’ve stayed at anchor >95% of the time everywhere else).
For weather, it’s complicated. We use a variety of apps — some we pay for (PredictWind), & others that are free — & all are good in different ways. We also studied Jimmy Cornell’s books about world cruising routes that show historic prevailing winds/waves all around the globe at different times of year, as well as other info.
But we were so nervous thunderstorms on this route, we also hired a weather planner ($100 for the famous Chris Parker). We’re super happy we did because his advice on thunderstorms was more nuanced than PredictWind (PW said we’d have high thunderstorm risks, but Parker explained there wasn’t enough moisture in the air for that; & he was right).
For visas, it’s pretty easy as an American (at least for now), thankfully, but pet permits are complicated af. There is an INCREDIBLE crowd-sourced website called Noonsite that sailors use to look at entry requirements for different countries. It’s not always super detailed or up to date though. But thankfully we knew Guatemala was relatively chill about pets, & we had all our forms in place from stricter countries like the Bahamas.
We know about food & emergency contingencies from books, like writers/sailors Lin & Larry Pardey who cruised for nearly 50 years & shared everything about how stock a boat & be self-sufficient. I’ve found other good resources online that I trust, like the Boat Galley. But honestly, a lot of this shit is complicated because soooo many sailors are fancy & rich (it seems). We don’t have a fridge or any bells & whistles, so we needed to figure out A LOT for ourselves — in addition to learning how to fix up the boat & sail while underway haha.
Thanks for the questions. It’s honestly cool to reflect on how far we’ve come in just 10 months. Because back in June 2025, I don’t know shit!!
Glad to hear about your successful journey to Guatemala! How long are you allowed to stay in country? Looking forward to hearing about your experience there!
Thanks so much!! We got a 3 month visa, & our boat is good here for 3 months, too. Each of these are separate things, unfortunately. But we can get extensions *fairly easily.* We can get a 3-month extension on our visas by visiting Guatemala City, & after that we need to leave the country & come back. Sounds fun honestly! Haha. The boat is a bit trickier, but really just requires fees. I believe it’s something on the order of $300-350 US for an extension to 12 months for the boat.
So looking forward to following your Guatemala adventures and meeting the people through your eyes. I loved it there when I visited. And Highlighter made my morning. What a sweet little visit. Maybe a loved one stopping by to say hello? I’ll tuck my woo-woo back into my sleeve now. Ha!
Wow, thanks Brandi! My mom, quite the religious lady, called it a “Godwink.” It honestly felt *that way*. I’ve never had an experience with nature quite like that. And wow, I’m soooo excited to experience all this & share. I appreciate you so much for reading along!
You are such an inspiration Cory! It's never too late for taking that path. And I think the definition of "radical" is very individual. How much off the original path the new path is - is more about how it makes us feel rather than the actual difference between the two. Isn't it? 😊.
I am 60, have done some interesting things in my life but all while anchored (chained?) by a "regular" professional career in Boston area. Three years ago I learned to surf in Ecuador, and having fallen in love with the people, land, oceans and cultures of Ecuador, took the plunge and bought a small casita in a coastal village of 500 people. Having just been laid off by a ruthless corporation means it is time to push the rudder into a different direction!
With nothing to chain me down now, I plan to live in Ecuador at least half the year, if not more, advance in my yoga and my surfing, learn to scuba dive, get fluent in español, work with bamboo, and so much more... and see what I can do to help this local community, the land, and the beautiful ocean.
Wow, great to meet you Jayant!! You’re an inspiration too. I totally agree that “radical” is based on the individual. It’s really about pushing your Overton window from whatever your norm is (or used to be) & considering something that may have been “off limits” at some point (because you or someone else told you “no”) but it’s what you truly want & it aligns with your core values. Sounds like you found it!
Congrats on making that big leap to Ecuador! We also only considered this sailing life after my husband lost his job suddenly, & it ended up being the best thing that ever happened.
After only a few days in Guatemala, I feel like I never want to leave Latin America. I’m going to practice my español, too, & look forward to building an amazing life here with ocean, jungle, great people, amazing foods, & a society that doesn’t try to brainwash you into wanting things you don’t need constantly & zap every bit of money & energy out of you before you croak. I know there’s a lot of hardship here, too, & I hope to find ways to contribute there as well.
Thanks Jen!! It’s the most incredible feeling having made it, & that bird is one of the craziest interactions with nature I’ve ever had, honestly. But it’s wild to now settle down in this in this new (beautiful) place & not have the 10/10 intensity of sailing. I feel…. bored. But I know I’m just adjusting. And I need to build my routines again, including lotsa lotsa meditation 🧘♂️
Gracias Jorge! I can’t believe it. It’s funny too because a part of me look at it & thinks “it’s not THAT far.” But that’s insane. From my POV, it’s huge.
So well said, Nina!! I’m so happy you caught that message, too. That’s all that it is. There was ONE point in the past couple weeks while in Jamaica when we said “we can’t do it,” & thankfully that only lasted a few hours. Then it was like, “ok we gotta do it, & we know we can do, so what do we need to do to make it happen?”
Thanks for thinking of us, Chas! And I agree!! On day 4 I was wondering “how the hell do people do 30 days of this?!” But by day 6 I totally got it. We were in a groove & started to love every moment. Such a cool sail to end on for a bit. I appreciate you soo much!
Congratulations on another successful passage Cory, Corey, and Pineapple! Glad it was a smooth one, well done!
Thanks for always believing in us, Linda!! Wow, what a coool experience! Couldn’t have gone better. Also, that mental shift being on the water after like 4 days was something unreal…. We both loved every moment. And Pineapple too! I can’t even imagine 25-30 days!
25 days is just 3x what you already did. It would be easy. 💙
Thanks for posting your update! Glad all went well. I had no doubts that it would all work out BTW. I am curious about the planning / logistics of a trip like yours if you’d care to post at some point. I’m assuming you booked a slip days / weeks / months in advance? As well as the weather and route research? Visas, pet regulations, food, emergency contingencies…
BTW - your Substack has the best comments! So much love about you and to you all! My opinion obviously but the “I also did that” comments are so tiresome… and thankfully not found here.
Thanks Mathew! Yes, I’m soooo grateful for the cool & thoughtful comments from folks. I’m very very fortunate! That’s a large part of what keeps me so motivated I think.
And I’m absolutely happy to answer any questions! I’ve moved away from articles purely about logistics because I’m not sure my readers really care lol, but my last one has a lot of the challenges we faced making the jump from Jamaica (weather, cat importation, & discomfort in a place). See below.
For Rio Dulce, we booked a marina slip in March or so based on word of mouth & a cool sailing app called NoForeignLand, & that was super chill, even entering in late April. Thankfully there are a lot of good marinas here, which keeps costs low, & is the only reason we’re able to consider a marina. Not sure what it’s like exactly in different places around the world (we’ve stayed at anchor >95% of the time everywhere else).
For weather, it’s complicated. We use a variety of apps — some we pay for (PredictWind), & others that are free — & all are good in different ways. We also studied Jimmy Cornell’s books about world cruising routes that show historic prevailing winds/waves all around the globe at different times of year, as well as other info.
But we were so nervous thunderstorms on this route, we also hired a weather planner ($100 for the famous Chris Parker). We’re super happy we did because his advice on thunderstorms was more nuanced than PredictWind (PW said we’d have high thunderstorm risks, but Parker explained there wasn’t enough moisture in the air for that; & he was right).
For visas, it’s pretty easy as an American (at least for now), thankfully, but pet permits are complicated af. There is an INCREDIBLE crowd-sourced website called Noonsite that sailors use to look at entry requirements for different countries. It’s not always super detailed or up to date though. But thankfully we knew Guatemala was relatively chill about pets, & we had all our forms in place from stricter countries like the Bahamas.
We know about food & emergency contingencies from books, like writers/sailors Lin & Larry Pardey who cruised for nearly 50 years & shared everything about how stock a boat & be self-sufficient. I’ve found other good resources online that I trust, like the Boat Galley. But honestly, a lot of this shit is complicated because soooo many sailors are fancy & rich (it seems). We don’t have a fridge or any bells & whistles, so we needed to figure out A LOT for ourselves — in addition to learning how to fix up the boat & sail while underway haha.
Thanks for the questions. It’s honestly cool to reflect on how far we’ve come in just 10 months. Because back in June 2025, I don’t know shit!!
https://radicalpaths.substack.com/p/the-anchor-is-up-were-headed-to-guatemala
Glad to hear about your successful journey to Guatemala! How long are you allowed to stay in country? Looking forward to hearing about your experience there!
Thanks so much!! We got a 3 month visa, & our boat is good here for 3 months, too. Each of these are separate things, unfortunately. But we can get extensions *fairly easily.* We can get a 3-month extension on our visas by visiting Guatemala City, & after that we need to leave the country & come back. Sounds fun honestly! Haha. The boat is a bit trickier, but really just requires fees. I believe it’s something on the order of $300-350 US for an extension to 12 months for the boat.
So looking forward to following your Guatemala adventures and meeting the people through your eyes. I loved it there when I visited. And Highlighter made my morning. What a sweet little visit. Maybe a loved one stopping by to say hello? I’ll tuck my woo-woo back into my sleeve now. Ha!
Wow, thanks Brandi! My mom, quite the religious lady, called it a “Godwink.” It honestly felt *that way*. I’ve never had an experience with nature quite like that. And wow, I’m soooo excited to experience all this & share. I appreciate you so much for reading along!
Godwink! I love that!
Being proud of internet strangers is such a neat feeling. Congratulations! Alignment is a beautiful thing once you start settling into the groove.
Have you read “We, the Drowned” by Carsten Jensen? If not, you probably should.
Thanks Olivia! I haven’t read that, but I love the title. I’ll look for it around my marina in Guatemala, which has tons of sailing books!
Welcome to Latin America! Loved your little hand drawn map of your journey, Cory!
Thanks man!! It’s been great so far!!
You are such an inspiration Cory! It's never too late for taking that path. And I think the definition of "radical" is very individual. How much off the original path the new path is - is more about how it makes us feel rather than the actual difference between the two. Isn't it? 😊.
I am 60, have done some interesting things in my life but all while anchored (chained?) by a "regular" professional career in Boston area. Three years ago I learned to surf in Ecuador, and having fallen in love with the people, land, oceans and cultures of Ecuador, took the plunge and bought a small casita in a coastal village of 500 people. Having just been laid off by a ruthless corporation means it is time to push the rudder into a different direction!
With nothing to chain me down now, I plan to live in Ecuador at least half the year, if not more, advance in my yoga and my surfing, learn to scuba dive, get fluent in español, work with bamboo, and so much more... and see what I can do to help this local community, the land, and the beautiful ocean.
https://iseelife.substack.com/p/conquering-my-fears-and-pushing-my
Wow, great to meet you Jayant!! You’re an inspiration too. I totally agree that “radical” is based on the individual. It’s really about pushing your Overton window from whatever your norm is (or used to be) & considering something that may have been “off limits” at some point (because you or someone else told you “no”) but it’s what you truly want & it aligns with your core values. Sounds like you found it!
Congrats on making that big leap to Ecuador! We also only considered this sailing life after my husband lost his job suddenly, & it ended up being the best thing that ever happened.
After only a few days in Guatemala, I feel like I never want to leave Latin America. I’m going to practice my español, too, & look forward to building an amazing life here with ocean, jungle, great people, amazing foods, & a society that doesn’t try to brainwash you into wanting things you don’t need constantly & zap every bit of money & energy out of you before you croak. I know there’s a lot of hardship here, too, & I hope to find ways to contribute there as well.
Such a cool adventure we’re both on!
I can’t wait to make it further south, too!
Thanks Cory. Come visit Ecuador!
Glad you made it! I can’t imagine what a relief that must have been. Also, the bird is uncanny. Seems like a sign you are on the right path!
Thanks Jen!! It’s the most incredible feeling having made it, & that bird is one of the craziest interactions with nature I’ve ever had, honestly. But it’s wild to now settle down in this in this new (beautiful) place & not have the 10/10 intensity of sailing. I feel…. bored. But I know I’m just adjusting. And I need to build my routines again, including lotsa lotsa meditation 🧘♂️
So glad you all made it my friend!!
Thanks Beckett!! Wild huh?!
What a great story. Thanks for sharing. And congrats on making the cross!
Thanks so much Allan! I appreciate the comment & well wishes. It feels surreal!
I live it all. Except the part about howler monkeys. 😬
Hahah I haven’t spotted them yet!! Supposedly they just hang out in the trees… but I’ve heard them!
That freaks me out!
What a mind-boggling achievement guys. That map looks positively insane to me. In the best possible way! You're basically rockstars! 🤘
Enjoy the new settlement and take the time to cherish the vastness of your journey thus far 💛
Gracias Jorge! I can’t believe it. It’s funny too because a part of me look at it & thinks “it’s not THAT far.” But that’s insane. From my POV, it’s huge.
I’m looking forward to catching up again soon!!
Oh Fantastic! You did it! Bienvenidos á Guatemala!! Yay! Great photos btw
Awesome! Thanks Jeanine!! This is so spectacular so far… I can hardly believe it.
I am so happy your voyage from Jamaica went so well!! You’ve really got your sea legs now!
Amazing! Congratulations for doing it despite the sabotage voices.
Life is good when we listen to the other voice 😊
So well said, Nina!! I’m so happy you caught that message, too. That’s all that it is. There was ONE point in the past couple weeks while in Jamaica when we said “we can’t do it,” & thankfully that only lasted a few hours. Then it was like, “ok we gotta do it, & we know we can do, so what do we need to do to make it happen?”
So glad you made it!! Enjoy Guatemala! 👏🏼🩵🤍🩵
Thanks Susana!!
Wow, 8 days went by quick! I was just wondering how you guys were doing early this morning, glad to hear everything went ok!
Thanks for thinking of us, Chas! And I agree!! On day 4 I was wondering “how the hell do people do 30 days of this?!” But by day 6 I totally got it. We were in a groove & started to love every moment. Such a cool sail to end on for a bit. I appreciate you soo much!