Costa Rica April 4- 26, 2009

 Leaving Bahia del Sol, El Salvador we knew we had about a 48 hour crossing to reach Costa Rica.  We also knew that we would be coming into an area of high winds called Papagayos.  We had checked all our weather sources so we would know whether to stick very close to shore or to go out a ways.  On this trip we had winds as low as 3.5 knots and up to 20 plus knots.  We were able to sail for 5 or 6 hours and then we did a combination of motor sailing the rest of the way.  At one point in the beginning of this passage Hank was afraid that we were going too fast and that we would arrive at our destination in the dark, so he reefed the sails to slow us down a bit.  We will never do that again for we found that later we slowed down to a SOG (speed over ground) of 3.1 instead of the 5.9 that we were making when we thought we would get there too early.  Hank called Don Anderson on the SSB to get a weather up date as we traveled.  Don lives in Oxnard, California and helps sailors by doing the weather on several radio nets daily.  He also has his own watch times when you can contact him directly.  He told us that this was still the Papagayo weather season but it appeared that we would be OK to travel.  Also on this trip, Effie, (Alan and Mac) volunteered to contact us twice a day by SSB radio to record our location and give us weather routing.  This is a wonderful feeling to know that someone knows where you are and that they are able to check their computer for the latest information on the weather.

We traveled on and took 4 to 5 hour shifts during the night.  The main thing that you are watching for besides other boats is fishing long lines and nets.  A long line usually has a plastic trash bag flag at one end, and then a series of floating plastic bottles where hooks are attached to a long floating line.  Sometimes these lines can go on forever, hence the name Long Line.  Equinox is a full keel boat with a protected prop so we are not so worried about catching the line in the propeller but we still like to put it in neutral and glide over the line if we can.

Also when on night watch you need to pay attention to the chart plotter.  We have a device called AIS (Automatic Identification of Ships) which will tell you the name, direction, speed and length of an approaching ship.  Betsy used the AIS feature to call the Coral Princess to make sure that they had us on their radar.  In perfect English, the person on watch told her that they did indeed have Equinox on their radar.  That bit of information lets the person on watch breath a little more easily, knowing that the larger ship is aware of the much smaller sailing vessel.  It seems strange but coming with a mile of anther boat or ship in the night seems way too close.  

 When sailing for more that an overnight you spend a lot of time looking out at the sea.  We are always entertained with what we see. We love to watch turtles go by, see rays jump, and watch dolphins frolic around us.   On this trip we saw a flock of birds that was very much larger that any we had previously seen.  These birds were feeding on bait fish but it did not help our fishing ability for we caught nothing on this passage.

We arrived in Bahia Santa Elena about 8 in the morning. We had read an article in, “Cruising World” by Beth Leonard on Costa Rica.  She talked about this anchorage and how it is surrounded by Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, one of the many national parks that make up more than a quarter of Costa Rica’s land mass.  This is one of the last remaining areas in the world of tropical dry forest. We immediately thought of the Baja peninsula for we saw cactus and mangroves mixed together.  This area will only get about 60 inches of rain while down by Golfito you might get 220 inches annually. Beth Leonard also wrote about seeing scarlet macaws and hearing howler monkeys.  We were happy to pull into the bay and find a place that would be protected from the wind.  We were also pleased to see another friend was already anchored, so we called good morning to Panchita, got the anchor secured and took a nap for a few hours. 

During a passage you find that your sleep is regulated by your watch time and you are luck if you get 4 hours of good sleep at a time.  We got the dinghy down and went a little exploring, we saw that there was a family camping on the beach and that a ranger was in the park area.  Panchita called us over for dinner knowing that we had just finished a passage and would probably be too tired to want to cook.  We enjoyed catching up with them since we had not seen then since we left Huatulco, Mexico. We are not sure where Beth Leonard saw the macaws but we had read that they wouldn’t be at this anchorage.

Our plan was to go across the gulf of Papagayo early in the morning and go to Bahia Culebra anchoring at either Playa Panama or Playa Igunita.  We knew that we didn’t have too far to go but we started out at 8 am.  The first part of the trip we had the wind from the aft with a knot or two of current going with us.  We were sailing with the jenny poled out, making about 8.5 knots, we were smoking!  Then we knew that we would be making a sharp turn ro port and the wind would be on our beam, since we were using the whisker pole to stabilize the jib, we knew we wanted to get the pole down before we turned.  Good thing for when we turned the wind was blowing 21 knots with gust to 28.  We were triple reefed and we were still going about 6 knots with really short period waves.    When we approached the bay the waves were still high so we headed in as far as we could which put us at Playa Igunita.  This was supposed to be a deserted beach but this being Easter Week there were many families camped on the shore.  When you are in this much wind you must keep a sharp eye on everything, so when the anchor finally goes down, you again realize that you are exhausted.  As they say it was really Miller time or in this case Pilsen time. 

We rested the next day and the following day we headed to Playa de Coco to check into the country of Costa Rica. Playa de Coco is the most northern port of entry and we wanted to check in before the holiday week end.  Well so much for planning, it was the Thursday before Good Friday so we hurried into town by anchoring our boat and using the dinghy to get to shore.  After chaining the dink to a light post, (folks in Costa Rica seem to think it ok to "borrow" your stuff if it isn't chained down),  we headed for the port captain’s office.  We saw him out watering the lawn, but when we asked him about checking in; he said the office was closed for it was Jueves Santo.  All the offices that we needed to visit would be closed until at least Monday and we weren’t sure if they were all going to be open on that day.  We asked if we could check in when we got to Golfito and he said no problema.  We walked around the town, visiting a bakery, the market and wishing that the ATM machine was not out of money for we had no Costa Rican Colónes. The town felt like a surf town much like you would find in Hawaii or Mexico.  We did learn that a small café was called a “soda” and the breakfast signs looked very inviting. but we didn't have lunch partly because many places that served alcohol were closed.  No booze for the four day weekend.  That must be a bummer for the resort folks, this being one of their busiest weekends and no booze. 

We had heard that several of our cruising buddies were in the next bay over so we headed over to Bahia Huevos for it was very protected from the wind.  There were about 6 boats already there but there was plenty of room for Equinox.  We were told that you could hear the howler monkeys in the morning and that there were many birds too.  Taking the dinghydown  from the davits, we headed to explore the river up the mangroves, hoping to see some wild life.  We didn’t see any wild life except small black flies that seemed to want to land on your face, had to keep our mouths closed, ech!!  We used our hats as fans to keep the flies at bay, but they seemed to want to chase us.  Later just as the sun was going down, Jammin’ called over to say that he was watching the monkeys in the tree tops looking at the sun going down with little monkey sundowners?  Since he was closer to the beach that faced west, we grabbed the binoculars and jumped into the dinghy to go see our first howler monkeys.  By the time we got to the spot, the sun had set and I couldn’t make out the monkeys although others said they saw them.  So far, monkeys zero, attempts many!  We did go back to the beach in the early morning to see if there were still any monkeys about the area. There wasn’t a footprint on the beach and it was too early for the diving boats to visit.  What was on the beach was hermit crabs, there was a ton of them.  They were just all over the beach, various sizes and moving away from you.  I wondered what it would be like if a young child started collecting the shells without knowing that there were live animals inside the shell.  Those shells would really start to smell.

Our next anchorage was Bahia Guacamaya which was only three hours away from Bahia Huevos.  When we arrived we headed to the far right bay for 4 day excursion boats were anchored in the left side.  We knew that these boats would probably depart before sunset but we didn’t want to be in the way of their snorkeling.  On shore was an eco-lodge with three big tent like shelters and a very pretty glass windowed office.  Betsy told Hank that she could live in the glass house now that would be interesting.  There must have been some plans to bring guests to the shore by large boats for a very well constructed pier had been almost completed. At present the construction seems to have been abandoned.  It was nice to walk upon the pier and look down into the very clear water.  We saw a small seahorse on the beach so we knew that the snorkeling must have been very good.

 We left Bahia Guacamaya after walking the beach; it was about 4 in the afternoon when we headed out.  We wanted to go most of the way at night for there would be three boats traveling together and one boat was going to be single handing it. The wind was supposed to be light so planned on motor sailing most of the way.  Our goal was Bahia Ballena where we knew a cruiser friendly yacht club was located.  This yacht club was really a restaurant but they were very nice, and a great place to get some good fish and chips.  We arrived at 11:00 so we relaxed before we went to shore.  The town was not very big, but it did have a grocery store, a couple of real estate offices, and some tourist businesses. We saw monkeys on shore by using our binoculars and we definitely heard them early the next morning.  The next morning the three boats’ crew decided to take a hike out to the far point.  We make a whole day of it, starting at 10 and not returning to the boats till 4. We walked along the jungle trail with our eyes on the trees, looking for those evasive monkeys, when the three year old in our group called out “Monkeys.”  We figured she saw them first because she was riding on her dad’s shoulders so she didn’t have to watch where she was putting her feet.  It was the heat of the day and the monkeys were stretched out resting.  An arm or a leg or tail might be hanging down, but the main part of the monkey was sleeping on a branch

Finally we were up close and rather personal to a wild monkey.  As we walked on we saw many more groups and they never failed to awe us.  We were watching a group moving in the trees and noticed that a large male was urinating as he climbed.  That should have been a clue to get out of the way for in a moment, Hank and Dave both said that they felt moisture and realized that they were being peed on good thing we were not carrying guns.   We also saw a brown coated squirrel and a black crested magpie jay on this hike. 

 1,000 Place to See Before You Die lists Manuel Antonio National Park as one of the jewels, an idyllic combination of exuberant forest, white-sanded beaches and rich coral reefs. It is one of Costa Rica’s smallest parks, and one of the last remaining habitats for the red-backed squirrel monkey.  We were able to sail from Bahia Ballena to the anchorage right in front of Manuel Antonio Park.  We had read that the anchorage might be rolly so we used a bow and stern anchor but did not deploy the flopper-stopper. First thing in the morning we had about two hours of a good rain shower. We had to laugh at John from Mystic Moon as he had to dink over to the beach to pick up his son and 2 friends to come back the boat after a night of partying.  John became quite adept at driving the dink and bailing.  Needless to say dry was not in the plan.  When it was over, we lowered the dinghy and went to shore.  We wanted to walk to the entrance of the park, pay for the anchorage, buy tickets for admission, and hire a guide.  The guide came with a telescope on a tripod that made the animals so much more visible.  In fact when we were walking with him, although we were all looking in the trees, he would stop, set up the telescope and show us an animal.  We saw the red-backed squirrel monkey, two and three toed sloths, howlers, the white faced monkey and much more.  We learned that the Manzanilla de Playa tree was toxic like poison oak or ivy, and that it was all over the beach area.  Many people are unaware and they use the tree as a beach shade even hanging their towels on its branches.  Later they wonder why they itch so badly from the salt water.

Our last stop in Costa Rica was Golfito. We arrived in the early morning after an overnight passage from Manuel Antonio Park.  As we pulled into the bay we saw a large U.S. Coast Guard at the municipal pier.  It was rather heart warming to find a U.S. ship this far from home.  Right close to the ship we made a right turn and headed down to find our friend Randy on Lost Elvis.  He advised us to anchor out so we could get the lay of the land.  He was going to be checking out of the country that morning and we could come along with him to check in. The check in process takes patience and lots of time.  We had an advantage for he knew where he was going so we didn’t have to search things out for ourselves.  We went first to the port captain’s office where he explained all the steps that we needed to do.  Then we went to the disease control office, got a bill for about $52 dollars to be paid at the bank and then to return with proof that the fee was paid. After that we headed to the immigration office where the clerk organized our papers into piles while we filled out our visas.  She stapled copies together to give to customs and to the port captain. She spoke some English and she was very helpful.  At that point we jumped into a cab and headed for the customs office that was located in the duty free mall.  Now this is the part that really tried our patience because the office reminded us of the DMV back at home, well actually we think they run the customer service training academy for the DMV.  There were many employees that were in the office, but only one worked the counter and he appeared to be new, most of the others just looked at you, so it reminded us of getting drivers licenses renewed. .  He also only spoke Spanish which is what we had been expecting all along.  It seemed to take forever to fill out our paper work, the real problem being that our boat registration showed that it expired the end of the month.  Since you need to have the original document, ours was being brought to us in Panama.  We didn’t believe it should be a problem since we only wanted to stay in Costa Rica for a week.  Finally he gave us a 30 day importation permit instead of the regular 90 days.  We had started the check in process at 10:30 and it was now 2:30.  We were happy to have completed the task and went to find a good place for lunch and of course a tall frosty one.

We ended up moving the next morning to Fish Hook Marina which had only been owed by the current owners for 16 months. The new owners have worked hard to up grade the docks and to have a very cruiser friendly place.  There were many large fishing boats already tied up but we saw a few sail boats and knew we would be just fine.    Much nicer accommodations than Land & Sea and we could run the A/C.  Since there is little breeze this was a great plus. 

Golfito is Costa Rica’s most southern port town, located on the Osa Peninsula on Golfo Dulce.  This area has long been known to surfers and from 1935 to 1985 United Fruit Company was an active employer.  But when this company moved their banana shipping to another country, Golfito fell on some rather rough times.  You have the feel that it is still a company town for the homes are constructed so much like the cane towns of Hawaii. The real problem with the town from a cruisers’ point of view is that the town is so spread out.  The taxi cabs are a great help and of course there is the art of walking.  Hank and Betsy walked down the road one morning and ended up having breakfast at a restaurant called El Ceibito. 

  Too soon it was time to check out of the country and get our International Zarpe.  That of course meant that we would be traveling to the port captain, immigration, aduna, and bank then back to the port captain.  While we were doing our paper work at Immigration, a group of girls showed up.  They were wearing pink tee-shirts that said English speaking school.  They wanted to talk English and interview Americans.  They asked us both questions and then when we got ready to leave we asked for their picture, telling them that it would be on our web site.  They were very cute and spoke excellent English. 

This time it only took two hours and it went very smoothly.  It went so smoothly that we were able to stop by the store John and Cathy from Mystic Moon, load up on the necessities of life, not the small bag of food and the two cases of wine.  They have friends coming down next week and had to load up.  They also have a much larger boat than Equinox and have a place to store the stuff.