Costa Rica

January & February 2003

Thursday January 2, 2003 - back in Bahía Ballena

We had an interesting New Year's celebration.  December 31, in the late morning Paul (an American who splits his time between here and Monterey California) picked us up and transported the ten cruisers here up the hill to his house.  Every year-end he roasts a pig and throws a thank-you party for his Tico (what the local Costa Ricans call themselves) help and their families.   He invites as well his many North American friends and there were also a few who hailed from Europe - making for a wonderful international group.  This community has a large number of Americans many that live here full time and others that only winter here.  The view from the house was great overlooking the bay .  The party loads of fun, interesting people and delicious food.   We were driven back down the hill just as the sun set.  Before returning to our boats we enjoyed a few drinks at the Ballena Bay Yacht Club.  Not a one of us made it until midnight but we wished each other happy new years in the morning with our morning swim. 

In the afternoon on January 1st, a big party got set up on the beach at the town of Tambor.  We dinghied in at about 3:00pm, enjoyed some ice cream, beer and the great music.  Bill does not dance, but the rest of the group also enjoyed the dancing.

Tuesday January 7, 2003

Bill spent the last four days deep at work on his FotoAlbum program.  He has been adding the ability to move photos around using the table of contents and last night he finally got it working.  We have continued to go in to the restaurant late each afternoon to visit with our friends and have a few cold beers.  Last Friday one of the local expatriots, Chris, had a happy hour in his woodworking shop.  It lasted well into the night and we all had a wonderful time. Although we have been recently eating on Lanikai, last night there was an extra large group at the Ballena Bay Yacht Club Restaurant, so we stayed for dinner and again enjoyed their wonderful hamburgers. 

Friday January 10, 2003

We woke up to NE winds on Wednesday morning.  We still planned on visiting Montezuma again for the day and by 10:30 were out waiting of the bus with four of our friends but the bus never came.  The other four climbed in a taxi for the trip but Bill and I decided to stay behind.  We walked back to the dock and Bill jumped into the dinghy but the water was so low that I decided that it was better to jump into the water then climb into the dinghy which I did.  I did not matter that I had gotten wet this way as the dinghy trip back to Lanikai was a very wet one.  The wind continued for the next three days with occasional gusts to 30 but mostly only in the 20mph range.  The problem was the waves and chop that were created on the bay.  We did not even venture ashore on Wednesday - instead we read on board and Bill spent many hours fixing up his program.  Thursday afternoon it finally calmed enough that we ventured ashore.  I made the trek to the grocery store and then we spent the rest of the late afternoon in the restaurant visiting with friends.  We met a couple from Seattle that were down for a few months and had an interesting chat with them. 

Today we had planned to move back to Islas Tortugas to spend a few days but we again changed plans and stayed in Bahía Ballena picking up fresh vegetables from Honey Heart and making another run to the grocery store.  Our current plan is to leave tomorrow heading south. 

Sunday January 12, 2003 - Bahía Herradura

Yesterday with the winds finally looking like they were going to blow from the north again we left Bahía Ballena and moved across the gulf to Bahía Herradura, reported to have good snorkeling.  A resort and expensive marina have moved in over part of the good snorkel area but there is still plenty of room to anchor and much reef left to explore.  The wind, true to fashion,  turned on us and became a southerly right on the nose so we motor-sailed our way across.  The bay is very pretty and being the weekend, the beach is crowded with city folks that have come to the beach for a few days.  Pipe Dream anchored nearby in the early evening.  

Bill spent today on Pipe Dream helping Ferdy track down some electrical problems.   His new batteries do not seem to hold a charge.  Besides lots of corrosion the main problem seems to be that he has not yet put enough amps into them to fully charge them.   For dinner Ferdy cooked up some freshly caught fish and we all enjoyed fish tacos.

Wednesday January 15, 2003

Monday was another day spent helping Ferdy and they seem to be making progress.  Pipe Dream had to return to Puntarenas Tuesday so they were off early.  Bill and I spent the day onboard relaxing, programming and reading.  This morning the rest of the cruisers headed south.  Bill and I checked out the reef near Isla Herradura and the rock in the middle of the bay.  Great visibility and some nice fish but really pretty barren.  The fish seem to be just returning after the marina construction a few years ago. 

Sunday January 19, 2003

Thursday we went to the fuel dock at Los Sueños resort and filled up on diesel for the main engine and gas for the dinghy.  Friday we headed south to Quepos.  It was a motor-boat ride in practically no wind, but the little we got was right on the nose.  Saturday we shopped at the Quepos farmer's market and purchased some lovely vegetables and fruit from trucks lined up along the beachside parkway.  After stowing our purchases on the boat we returned to town to explore.  We ran into friends from Dream Weaver and joined them for lunch at one of the many small "sodas" in the town.   Today my antenna coupler for the HF radio failed to tune the antenna on any band so Bill helped me to track down another problem in the wiring - which we solved.  The coupler then was brought back to its semi working state, (it tunes fine on some bands and refuses to lock in on others).  I removed the ground from the radio and that seemed to help more but we will see how it works in a week or so.  I probably should add more copper foil to the ground network in the bilge. 

Tuesday January 21, 2003  - Quepos

Yesterday, for the first time since leaving El Salvador, Bill got his computer hooked up at an internet café.  There we discovered that all of our accounts are real low on funds.  Contributing factors were our rental being empty for a few months (unbeknownst to us) and the generally bad economy in the US that resulted in the lowest dividends that we have ever received for year end.  We quickly faxed off letters to our investment company to sell off some shares and solve the problem for now.

Today Bill was back early to the internet café to download some long files but all to no avail as the net was almost as slow as yesterday.  We also failed in our attempts to find Bill either a new pair of snorkling flippers or a way to repair to his old ones.  Third bad news was that the antenna tuner - after working fine for two days - again no longer wants to tune on the 15 and 17 meter bands.  All in all a bad day especially following a sleepless night due to the large waves in the anchorage.

Friday January 24, 2003

Internet access proved to be more successful on Wednesday and Bill managed to get everything that he wanted.  I ran some more copper foil in the bilge and am hoping for better antenna tuner action.  The anchorage was still real rolly so when Bill returned to the boat mid afternoon we both immediately returned to shore.  There we had a late lunch at one of the many restaurants and enjoyed the sunset at another before returning to Lanikai for another rolly night.

Yesterday we took the bus to Manuel Antonio to visit the National Park.  The park was lots of walking but was wonderful.  The views over the sea to the many islands were spectacular and we saw lots of animals.  Tropical rain forest - dense growth and interesting trees - crowded close to the trails.  Standing at one of the many view points an iguana climbed up on the platform with us.  We saw a sloth high in a tree sleeping with one (or maybe three) babies.  They did not move much so it was hard to count.  There was a group of white faced monkeys eating in the trees along a roadway.  We watched them for over an hour as they worked their way through the trees parallel to the road.  At times they were real close to us and even darted across the road nearby.  As we were drinking a soda, getting ready to head out of the park, two interesting raccoon type animals wandered by.   We waddled out of the park just before closing time, into the town and stopped at the first restaurant that we found that had an upstairs eating area overlooking the beach.  After some food and an hours rest we were ready to board the crowded bus back to Quepos. 

The anchorage last night had finally calmed down to gentle rollers, although we were both so tired that we would not have noticed. 

Monday January 27, 2003 - Bahía Drake

Friday Pipe Dream showed up in Quepos carrying some new fins for Bill.  We had a quick visit with them Saturday morning as we were returning with our load of fresh veggies from the farmers street market.  They had guests on board, one of whom did not like the rolly anchorage, so they spent the day on shore, hopefully we will get a better chance to visit when they arrive here Wednesday.  Sunday morning we were up early and off to Drakes Bay.  It was a long day with no wind but the anchorage here looks interesting.  The water is clear and there are several reefs to explore.  Another cruiser coming from the south showed up just before sunset and offered us some fresh dorado.  Of course we accepted, so now we have fish for a few more dinners even though we only got several nibbles on our hook Sunday and no bites.  

Saturday February 1, 2003

We have had an interesting week exploring Bahía Drake.  Monday and Tuesday Bill and I explored the reefs in the dinghy and found no great spots to snorkel as the reefs were all close to shore and had breakers washing over them.  Hiking on land was wonderful and we found an interesting small river to take the dinghy up for an interesting ride through the jungle and a fresh water swim.

Wednesday Bill and I got sidetracked on our way into the beach to check out the little town.  We found the river and a small dock where we left the dinghy to hike over to the beach on the outside of the peninsula that protects the bay.  We ended up hiking quite a ways down the path that goes all the way to Corcodavo National Park just inland from the beach, and on to the Gulfo Dulce.  We never made it to town or up the river.   Pipe Dream arrived Wednesday afternoon and Thursday we took the trip up the river with them.  The dinghy ride ended at a small waterfall.  Jutta and I had fun climbing up toward the fall then riding the swiftly flowing water back down to the dinghys.  We decided that this spot would make a perfect picnic spot and provide great water for laundry back on the boats. 

Yesterday we repeated our hike from Wednesday, hiking even further along the trail.  This time we were smart enough to take a picnic lunch. There are many Eco-lodges along this end of the trail and we found one that would sell us cold beer at a reasonable price.  We stopped there both directions of our trek.   Besides the great flora we saw several pairs of scarlet macaws in the air and nearby in trees overhanging the water.   A family of white faced monkeys crossed our track overhead in the trees and we stopped to watch each other for a while before continuing on.  We did not get back to the boat until almost 5 PM after a exhausting but wonderful day.

Tuesday February 4, 2003

Saturday we again took the dinghys up the little river but this time we took jugs to bring back wash water and a lunch to enjoy at the little falls.   Bill and Ferdy signed up for scuba classes that started on Monday so Saturday afternoon they picked up the books.  Sunday I did laundry while Bill read and watched a CD movie of the sport on his computer.   Ferdy showed up later in the day to watch it too. 

Yesterday while the boys started their classes with several dives in shallow water around the point, Jutta and I took off on a hike.  We were given a penciled map of the trail to a waterfall which we followed.  Most of the hike was in the water of a small river.  When the going got wetter, deeper spots in the river, we found a nice rock to stop for lunch.  We decided to leave our packs on the rock and continue on with less gear to hold overhead but on our first try Jutta took her camera.  Soon after leaving the rock we were swimming and climbing through rapids and small waterfalls.  Not wanting to risk the camera we returned to the rock, tried a shoreside trail which petered out after a short while, and returned to the rock.  We ended up leaving everything on the rock and scrambling up the rapids to a wonderful falls but sans camera to record the feat.   

Saturday February 8, 2003

The last week was a busy one.  Bill and Ferdy finished the dive certification course with two days of dives out at Isla Caño.  Jutta and I spent one day doing boat chores intermixed with kayak trips.  We took the kayak to shore several times to try to catch the vegetable truck and took it up the river in hopes of getting further upriver with it than the dinghys but the waterfall was too difficult for the two of us to ford.   Wednesday Jutta and I went hiking with the town drunk, Johnny Be Good.  Actually he is a very interesting fellow,  very knowledgeable on the local fauna and flora.  We had a very educational and fun hike and covered lots of territory.  Johnny helped us to find tucans in the trees, spider monkeys and we also saw several pairs of macaws flying overhead.  He also introduced us to several different plants including the Chanel No.5 flower, a walking palm tree, and the palm oil palm.  He also broke open coconuts for us but of a very different variety than we had had in El Salvador.  He dehusked it to the nut with a stick stuck in the ground then used a rock  to open the nut so that we could drink the liquid.  This nut had lots of meat so we hauled the nuts home for later consumption.  Every evening we met up with our tired husbands at the local bar for a few drinks before heading home to our boats.

Thursday was a day of rest with a few boat chores thrown in; laundry,  head repair and other cleaning. 

Friday we again made the trek to waterfall but this time we took our cameras to record the feat.  We all commented that we felt much more tired after this walk than the previous one but it was an interesting hike and all four of us enjoyed ourselves.  We stopped at the local bar for some empañadas and beer before climbing into the dinghy for the short ride home.

Today was another day of rest ending with a pot-luck dinner on Mariah.  Delbert and Trudy had caught a dorado on the way to Bahía Drake so they cooked it up, Jutta and I provided the salad and rice.  It was a grand feast and a fun visit.

Sunday February 9, 2003

Bill and I were up early today and motored out to Isla Caño arriving there just before the parade of tour dive boats.  We dropped the hook in the one legal spot and took off snorkeling in the dinghy.  Starting from the north east corner of the island we snorkeled most of the way back to the anchorage towing the dinghy.  The underwater scenery was wonderful and we swam with many schools of fish composed of very tiny fish to fish about a foot long.  We also passed over several groups of white tipped sharks but they were swimming in the opposite direction from us.  This entire area is a National Park and therefore protected.  The local resorts that bring divers and snorkellers out, educate them on preserving the coral and are very careful with their boats.  Anchorage is allowed in only one small bay and everyone seems to follow this rule.  The coral was brightly colored with greens and browns predominating with some purples and one area of bright blues. 

Monday February 10, 2003 - Golfito

Last night after a nice dinner of barbequed dorado from the freezer we went to bed early.  When the evening light wind replaced the daytime westerlies it left Lanikai laying in her most uncomfortable position in the rollers that wrapped around the island.  By 11PM we gave up and headed south toward Gulfito.  With the light wind in our main giving the motor a little help and a favorable current we averaged 5.8 knots to the Gulfo Dulce.  As we entered the gulf we were greeted by a lone dolphin that did many leaps clear out of the water for our enjoyment.  He actually followed along with Lanikai for a time leaping and jumping along side of us.  As we got into the gulf the wind slowly died along with any ripple on the water and soon we were motoring through glassy seas.  Several other groups of dolphins passed our way but none stayed long.  In the glassy seas we saw two yellow water snakes on the surface that looked like chunks of yellow line until they wiggled.

The entrance into Gulfito is thankfully wide as none of our three charts agreed with each other or with the modern GPS.  We anchored off the Land and Sea Yacht Club,  which for very little money provides security in the anchorage and many other cruiser friendly services.  It is run by ex-cruisers so they really know our needs. 

Friday February 14, 2003

Yesterday we went with Pipe Dream to the "duty free zone" here in Gulfito.  Not much there to excite us but Pipe Dream filled up their liquor cabinet.  The rest of the week we have spent recovering from our very active week in Bahía Drake with many early to bed nights.  We have also started the grand provisioning for our upcoming months that we plan to spend in the isolated islands of western Panama.  The town is very interesting being composed of two parts, the old company town and the pueblo civil where we are anchored.  The buildings are mostly old wooden structures many with upstairs balconies.  The town is basically along the one road that parallels the waterfront although there is a short “upper” street near the central area of the pueblo civil.  Bill found an internet café that allows him to use is own laptop on their net so he is off this morning picking up our e-mail, bank statements and other interesting stuff.  I made a grocery run and spent the rest of the morning doing a little reshuffling of three lockers to make more room to store flour. 

Getting fuel in gerry jugs, a run to the next town for propane, and a few more grocery runs and we will be ready to leave.  Our plan is to check out on Tuesday then head out a few days later or whenever we are ready.  On to Panama - our next country.