January 28, 2006 - Golfito, Costa Rica

January 28, 2006 – Golfito, Costa Rica

We had a delightful trip down the coast from Puntarenas to Golfito, starting on January 21. Our first day we sailed 28 miles to Bahia Herradura where the fancy marina, Los Suenos, was having a very large fishing tournament. Condominiums here are selling for $500,000 to $2 million. We anchored near the mouth of the bay because the marina was full and we believe only wants large fishing boats because they said that even if they did have room they would charge us $195 per day. The marina invited us to use their dinghy dock for $40 per day. We said no thank you! The waves caused by the 100 or so large fishing boats rocked and rolled us when they all returned near the same time in the evening.

We continued down the coast 39 miles to beautiful Manuel Antonio Park. On the way we saw a very large whale spouting right in front of us. He stayed on the surface so we could clearly see his back and then sounded out of sight. We anchored just off the park’s beach. The water temperature was 86 degrees. In the park we saw 4 sloths; amazingly one was on the ground, very up close and personal, crossing our pathway, very slowly. It was an unusual sight because they only come out of the trees once every several days. We also saw and heard Howler monkeys with their distinctive guttural roar, saw White Faced monkeys who let us get close, and watched Squirrel monkeys jump from tree to tree, seemingly “flying”. See our photos as we were able to take some great shots. We knew the 2 other boats (Adventuress and Blue) sharing the park anchorage with us so we all went to dinner on shore and drank too much Flor de Cana rum. Oh, but it was a fun evening! We spent our second day in the waters off the park kayaking around the point to the other side, swimming and generally recovering from the night before.

From Manuel Antonio Park we sailed 27 miles further to Bahia Uvita where we anchored next to a spit of sand which extends out into the bay 1/4 mile at low tide. We kayaked ashore, enjoyed a short walk, and returned to the boat to cool off in the water around our boat. Another advantage of a catamaran is having shade between the hulls to get away from the sun. Our friends on Adventuress and Blue each caught a Sierra on the way down so we invited them over for drinks and to barbecue their fish. It was a great deal for us and a fun evening.

The next day we sailed 25 miles to Bahia Drake, a large shallow bay with very warm water, 88 degrees. We swam to cool off. In the late afternoon, all 6 of us (Adventuress and Blue) climbed into our little dinghy and went ashore where we enjoyed an early dinner and bought a few provisions at the local tienda (store). Cruising is fun because often times we run into boats we know and we share some experiences together until our individual agendas do not put us in the same place at the same time. The cruising community is a very social and helpful bunch of people who have the same quest in mind, to enjoy life and travel. Having that in common, we have a great time when we get together.

On January 26, we left early to make the 62 mile trip to Golfito. Traveling at 7 knots we estimated the trip would take 9 hours. There was very little wind so we motor sailed most of the way, never turning off the engines. As we turned into Golfo Dulce where Golfito is located, the waters became an aqua blue, much like the Caribbean. Can we expect aqua colored waters in Panama? We plan to spend 2 nights in Golfito taking on water, fuel and provisions for the 2-week trip through the western islands of Panama to Panama City.

January 20, 2006 - Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We have spent the last few weeks getting dental work done, visiting our friends in San Jose, and doing boat projects. Once again dental work is very inexpensive here, saving at least 70% of US prices. Portia has a new crown for her implant which she was going to fly back to Puerto Vallarto for but instead was able to have done here. We had our teeth cleaned and caries filled. Steve decided to get some veneers which has really enhanced his smile. When not in San Jose, we spent 4 days in the Gulf of Nicoya at anchor at 3 island groups: Islas Tortugas, Isla Cedros and Isla Jesusita. We very much enjoyed getting away to the islands where Steve speared fish and brought 3 delicious scallops to the dinner table. While in San Jose, we stayed at the beautiful home of our new friends, Patrick (Canadian) and his Costa Rican wife, Lorena. This lovely couple owns a 43’ Catana catamaran which is at the yacht club and lives full time in San Jose in their brand new home. We had a fun time playing tennis at their club house with Patrick who is a very nice tennis player. It felt great to hit that ball again.

We love Costa Rica. The people are very friendly and helpful. The country is beautiful. We are now ready to head south again towards Southern Costa Rica (Golfito) and then Panama. We leave tomorrow morning (January 21) at high tide.

December 19 to 31, 2005 Inland Travel to La Fortuna, Costa Rica

On December 19, Portia’s son, Mako, flew into San Jose International Airport. We took a bus to the airport, a 2-hour ride which cost only $2.30 each. The bus service here is very cheap and the buses are similar to greyhound buses, pretty comfortable. Since Mako was arriving late we checked into a hotel before meeting his plane. At check in we discovered that Steve’s wallet with all of our credit cards and $300 in cash were missing. We immediately concluded that he had lost it in the taxi from the airport. The hotel called the taxi company but no one had reported finding a wallet. Unfortunately, we had heard many stories about theft in Costa Rica. In just the last week, two outboard motors and a dinghy have been stolen from cruisers while at anchor and while the cruisers were on their boats. We doubted we would ever see the wallet. 1.5 hours after losing his wallet, we took a taxi to the airport to meet Mako, to the same taxi cab stand where we had gotten our previous taxi from the airport and found our previous taxi driver who showed us to his taxi. The wallet was amazingly still in the back seat with all of its contents! Steve kissed his wallet and Portia hugged the stunned taxi driver. Naturally, he shared in our joy by receiving a $20 tip, an outrageous sum but we were so relieved.

We have found in our travels that often chance meetings and unplanned circumstances lead to some pretty nice future events. While we waited at the San Jose Airport, we met Miguel who was waiting for some guests to arrive. Miguel owns a eco lodge in La Fortuna, near the Arenal Volcano. After conversing with him while we waited for Mako’s plane to arrive amid many fans who were waiting for the same flight because the Costa Rica soccer team was also aboard, we decided to travel to his eco lodge. Miguel picked us up the next morning at our hotel near the airport and drove us to his eco lodge, a 3-hour drive north of San Jose. We were going to stay one night but stayed 3 nights. It was wonderful! After arriving at Miguel’s eco lodge, Cerro Chato Eco Lodge, 9 basic but clean rooms, he drove us to Volcan Arenal, an active volcano where he left us to hike 2.5 hours through the volcanic rock area and jungle area to where he picked us up. At first when we heard the volcano rumble we thought it was going to erupt on us, but then realized that when it rumbled it spewed boulders which we saw bouncing down the side of the upper area with puffs of smoke where it bounced. It was mesmerizing. After dark, we stopped to watch the volcano at night and found that those bouncing boulders were bright red volcanic fireballs which magnificently colored the top and sides of the volcano. Miguel then took us to the Tabacon Hot Springs near the base of the volcano and we enjoyed 15 spectacular pools of naturally heated spring water. This gorgeous resort has water falls and pools of varying degrees of heat with cooling pools and water falls interspersed among beautifully landscaped gardens and pathways.

On December 21, we rode our horses 45 minutes to the zipline base where we then climbed many steps up the hill into a thick canopy of trees. We then ziplined across to a platform some 120’ up a very large tree. We completed 7 thrilling cables. At one time we were at least 150’ above the ground in the canopies zipling from tree platform to tree platform. To zipline, we wear harnesses which are clipped onto a steel cable. We used a thick leather “brake” which we held directly on the steel cable as we sped from tree to tree. It was both thrilling and visually beautiful zipping through the lush green canopies. Upon our return to the eco lodge we hiked 45 minutes to a huge waterfall. The path to the bottom was treacherous with steps at odd angles and some missing. The hike back up was more difficult as it was getting dark and the steps were very steep. Our hike back to the eco lodge was pretty much in the dark. It was a fun filled day to celebrate Portia’s birthday.

On December 22, we went white water rafting on the Sarapiqui River in Class III rapids. It turned out to be mostly mild rapids with a few Class III rapids but it was beautiful. We swam in the clear cold water and saw a leopard crane (it’s feathers looked like leopard skin). On the ride back to the eco lodge we saw a sloth high up in a tree and some huge iguanas up close.

On December 23, we took the public bus to Puntarenas and our boat. It was a 5 hour ride. On Christmas Eve we sailed Dream Caper to Islas Tortugas, a small group of islands some 2 hours from Puntarenas where we snorkeled and Mako kayaked around the islands. On Christmas morning we sailed back to Puntarenas where we met with 8 other cruisers for Christmas Dinner at the Costa Rica Yacht Club. On December 26, Mako flew back to California and we went on to San Jose for a dentist appointment and to meet some cruiser friends who are temporarily living in San Jose. It was truly a wonderful Christmas and we especially enjoyed having Mako with us.

On New Year’s Eve we enjoyed live music and dinner around the pool at the yacht club with another cruiser. We toasted the New Year. We now look forward to heading to Panama.

December 12 to 18, 2005 Bahia Huevos to Puntarenas, Costa Rica

On December 14, 2005, after spending 2 days in a beautiful bay (Bahia Huevos) where we snorkeled and enjoyed the tropical views, we headed south toward the Gulf of Nicoya, closer to San Jose. We only went 19 miles the first day and dropped anchor in Bahia Portrero where we had dinner at the Flamingo Resort and Marina with lovely views of the bay lighted by a full moon rising. Later, we enjoyed after dinner drinks on Songline, with John and Barbara, who we just happened to see at the local market.

On December 15, we continued on to Bahia Carillo, 56 miles further down the coast. On the way we caught a Big Eye Tuna which we ate as sashimi and sushi for dinner. Bahia Carillo was a rolly anchorage but has an outstanding row of large palm trees lining the beach. Even though this anchorage has a reputation for being very rolly, it was not noticeable on Dream Caper because she is a catamaran. On December 16, we traveled 46 miles to Bahia Ballena. We caught another Big Eye Tuna on the way which we shared with Songline upon our arrival at Bahia Ballena which is in the Gulf of Nicoya. The next morning Songline gave us a ride on their dinghy to the Saturday market on shore where we found fresh herbs, mozzarella cheese, excellent vegetables and fruits, and fresh tofu. A resident American has organized this market to serve mostly the foreign residents in the area and cruisers. It was outstanding and the quality was far beyond any fresh items we have purchased in the last 3 months. Portia made fresh pesto with the basil and parsley.

We then pulled up anchor and motored to Puntarenas, which took 2.5 hours. We arrived at high tide which is necessary to get into the very shallow marina without going aground. We motored down the lagoon on the north side of the Puntarenas peninsula, past the numerous fishing boats and ferries. The Costa Rica Yacht Club (CRYC) then sent a guide in a panga to take us through the shallow channel to our mooring buoys. The CRYC is a hotel and restaurant with a fuel dock. It has a nice swimming pool, 24-hour panga/taxi service (which means we don’t have to worry about using our dinghy), around the clock security service, and very clean shower facilities. All boats are tied up on buoys and some are tied to a floating dock which has water plumbed to it. Unfortunately, we are too big and heavy for such a floating dock which is too bad because it would be nice to have water to wash off the boat and fill in our tanks

December 12 to 18, 2005 Bahia Huevos to Puntarenas, Costa Rica

On December 14, 2005, after spending 2 days in a beautiful bay (Bahia Huevos) where we snorkeled and enjoyed the tropical views, we headed south toward the Gulf of Nicoya, closer to San Jose. We only went 19 miles the first day and dropped anchor in Bahia Portrero where we had dinner at the Flamingo Resort and Marina with lovely views of the bay lighted by a full moon rising. Later, we enjoyed after dinner drinks on Songline, with John and Barbara, who we just happened to see at the local market.

On December 15, we continued on to Bahia Carillo, 56 miles further down the coast. On the way we caught a Big Eye Tuna which we ate as sashimi and sushi for dinner. Bahia Carillo was a rolly anchorage but has an outstanding row of large palm trees lining the beach. Even though this anchorage has a reputation for being very rolly, it was not noticeable on Dream Caper because she is a catamaran. On December 16, we traveled 46 miles to Bahia Ballena. We caught another Big Eye Tuna on the way which we shared with Songline upon our arrival at Bahia Ballena which is in the Gulf of Nicoya. The next morning Songline gave us a ride on their dinghy to the Saturday market on shore where we found fresh herbs, mozzarella cheese, excellent vegetables and fruits, and fresh tofu. A resident American has organized this market to serve mostly the foreign residents in the area and cruisers. It was outstanding and the quality was far beyond any fresh items we have purchased in the last 3 months. Portia made fresh pesto with the basil and parsley.

We then pulled up anchor and motored to Puntarenas, which took 2.5 hours. We arrived at high tide which is necessary to get into the very shallow marina without going aground. We motored down the lagoon on the north side of the Puntarenas peninsula, past the numerous fishing boats and ferries. The Costa Rica Yacht Club (CRYC) then sent a guide in a panga to take us through the shallow channel to our mooring buoys. The CRYC is a hotel and restaurant with a fuel dock. It has a nice swimming pool, 24-hour panga/taxi service (which means we don’t have to worry about using our dinghy), around the clock security service, and very clean shower facilities. All boats are tied up on buoys and some are tied to a floating dock which has water plumbed to it. Unfortunately, we are too big and heavy for such a floating dock which is too bad because it would be nice to have water to wash off the boat and fill in our tanks