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