It is now 2009 and we are in the Switzerland of Central America. It is clean by Central American standards and the water is potable everywhere (a first!). Still can’t flush the toilet paper down but, hey you can’t have everything. Costa Rica translates “Rich” Coast. Supposedly, the first Spanish explorers exclaimed that when they saw how everything grows here. Little could they know that it would really come to mean – keep Costa Rican’s “rich” – bring money!! It is unbelievably expensive here. The economy is largely based on tourism and they have done an amazing job of getting the world to believe all their published information on how wonderful it is here. But we are getting ahead of ourselves as we need to bring you up to date on the travels to get here first.
Our last update had us waiting for a “haul out” in Bahia Jaltepeque, El Salvador. It came and went and they did a pretty good job. As the tide went out, we were supported above the mud by a group of four tire piles on either side of the boat. The crew would then wade into the mud and sand and scrape the boat. With the next tide change they’d wade in again, clean the surface and paint the boat with the new bottom paint. Then, with the next tide change, the boat got repositioned so the painted areas were now on the tires and the previous areas were ready to receive the sand, scrape, and paint routine. It looked really good. But three weeks later, while diving on the boat, we found that the four spots on either side were white and blue – not red. That meant that the new paint had sloughed off practically the minute we hit the ocean again. This means extensive diving on the bottom to keep it clean for the next year or two.
Leaving the Bahia was a new experience for us. The big deal is going “over the bar” and getting to open ocean. The hotel provides a guide to find the low spot and get you over the bar. He did this OK but once over the bar we faced the breaking waves of the open ocean and he directed us right at some huge breakers. We took one huge breaker right on the port hull and it swept all the bat poop and anything not tied down right off the boat. Two more big breakers that rode over just before breaking and we were finally in the open ocean and safe.
We chose to bypass Nicaragua and head directly for Costa Rica. There is not much to see in Nicaragua and besides there were riots going on at the time in various areas. The big issue in sailing this part of the world is Papagayo Winds. These are wind s generated by pressure systems from the Carribean that get funneled over Lake Nicaragua and can go from nothing to gale force winds in a matter of minutes. We did OK with the winds not exceeding 25 knots but unfortunately coming directly on our nose. We learned a new nautical term later: “noserlies”. We, and a lot other cruisers, get a lot of these winds.
It took about 44 hours to make the run to CR and we entered Bahia Santa Elena in the early morning. It was deserted and it was good to rest and relax. It is part of a gigantic national park and there is no development – just wilderness. We spent nearly a week there and when some other cruisers came in, we all took a hike to some small waterfalls.
Next was a short day trip from the Bahia to Playa Hermosa which meant crossing the Gulf of Papagayo. The forecast was good and we went for it. Had a great day sailing and hit up to 12 knots while running with the wind. It was there we first encountered the Costa Rican prices. We took a walk into the town and found an Italian grocery store of all things. The prices were higher than the States and twice as much as El Salvador. Diesel prices are fixed at $1 a liter ($4 a gallon). The country is one with numerous sanctioned monopolies. The only phone company charges over $120 for its cheapest cell phone; a big change from $17 in El Salvador! We have to eat but we didn’t need to buy a phone that bad.
We went to Bahia El Coco to formally check into the country and found it to be the worst country so far. From the Port Captain to a copy facility, to a second copy facility, back the Port Captain, then to the Immigration (who had decided to take an early lunch). Two and half hours later she re-opened and started to process us, only to find that the computer system was down for the next hour. We finally got that one out of the way and back to the Port Captain and to Aduana (customs). All was complete and as we were walking out of the office the secretary asked us if we wanted to sail anywhere else other that the Gulf of Papagayo? Of course, we said. Ah, then you’ll need a “domestic zarpe”. And thus, more paper work was required. It had taken all day to check into the country but at least it was done.
About this time, we got an email from Mary’s nephew, Eric, that he was nearby with Silke, his girlfriend. We’d talked months earlier about getting together somewhere in Central America and here was our chance. We finally connected in Bahia Ballena and they came aboard for the next two weeks. We went to Curu and saw a whole troop of Howler Monkeys, then onto Isla Tortugas for skin diving, spending Christmas in very clear water and seeing lots of fish. Then, onto Isla Cedros for one night only as it is a known spot for dingy’s being stolen right off boats. Then we found wind and sailed! Eric and Silke finally found out what sailing is about and loved it. We anchored at Isla San Lucas. The island was a former penal facility and we went ashore and toured old prison facilities – abandoned in the mid-80’s.
A last sail bought us into Puntarenas, an old and fading tourist and fishing town. Except for the prices, you’d never believe you were in CR. They are trying to resurrect the town but boy do they have a ways to go. Nevertheless, we put into the Costa Rica Yacht Club for $18 a night and the four of us spent New Year’s Eve at a great party put on by the Yacht Club. January 3rd found Eric and Silke heading for Cartegena, Columbia while we took off for the “must see” Arenal Volcano. What the guide books and the CR p.r. folks don’t say is that only about 20 days a year can you actually see the volcano and its active lava flowing down the hill. The dream is to relax in a hot tub at night and watch the lava flow.
Well we didn’t hit one of the 20 days. The entire volcano was covered in mist the whole time. It is rain forest after all. We did get to a cloud forest preserve and take a guided hike, walked down to another tourist facility where we walked numerous sky bridges over the top of the trees and forest, then to an insect museum. That night we did a night hike in the forest and saw coati, tarantulas, sleeping birds, leaf ants, etc. We did find a reasonably priced hot springs – Baldi – and for $20 spent 8 hours in various hot spring pools. They had 25 and we had to try them all. But beer was $6.50 and ginger ale was $5.00 so we didn’t eat or drink much. Our last day we signed up for a white water rafting trip on the Rio Toro. We did over 50 rapids in two hours and 12 km. It was non-stop fun and excitement. It rained on and off the whole time we were away from the boat but then again we were in the rainforest, and a cloud forest so it was to be expected. The tourist brochures never mention the reality – just the dream.
We got back to Puntarenas; spent one day getting ready to leave and got out of there. The estuary was more like a gigantic liquid mud flow moving back and forth. Most monohulls would keel over during low tide and even our rudders got stuck once or twice. We made a straight shot back to San Lucas for a night of making water and a quick swim. The next morning we sailed almost all the way to Bahia Herradura, the home of Los Suenos marina (the home of the big rich fishing boats and their fatcat owners. We anchored out! Then it was on to Quepos, an old banana town gone bust when the banana blight hit in the 1950’s. They are transforming it into a tourist town (like everywhere else). It does have charm and it would be nice to spend more time there later. We went there so we could see Manuel Antonio Park – famous for its animal wildlife that is not so wild anymore. But it was closed on Mondays so we could not get in the normal way. So we motored over to the park and anchored off its beach and just went in. We ended up having the park to ourselves and saw monkeys, tapiers, raccoons, birds, etc. Kinda cool being the only ones in the park. Then it was on to Golfito, the rain capital of Central America. Over 260 inches fall here so it is simply a matter of the less wet season versus the more wet season. We got two small rain showers while here. Had another chance to see somewhat tamed monkeys getting banana handouts, and went to the duty free store (another way to bring tourists here to help out yet another town that depended on the banana industry). Ended up staying five nights before heading off for Panama and the promised land of clean water, good snorkeling, and sand anchorages.
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