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Travalog
Six (March 15 - May 18) After a pounding ride down the Nicaraguan coast to Bahia Elena, were really ready for a few days' rest and some short hops between anchorages. Bahia Elena is a beautiful remote bay that is part of a large national park. No fish camps, hotels, discos, etc. The weather was quite warm with the strong Papagallo winds funneling down offshore. Costa Rica has dedicated a large portion of the country to national parks and ecological preserves. A nice surprise from some of the other countries visited. On our first day there, we decided to take a dinghy ride up a little river in the corner of the bay with the Nixons and the Lorentzens. As we started up the river, we were suddenly attacked by a swarm of killer bees, which had a nest in one of the trees overhead! What was strange, is that they only attacked the men in the group, and only went for the head and face. We powered out in haste with numerous stings to the head by these obviously sexist insects! Sure glad we weren't on foot. By the next morning Steve's face had puffed up and his eyes had swollen shut….burning, and then itching. The next day, everyone except Steve decided on a little nature walk. Before long, Bob Nixon was bitten by a bunch of fire ants while tying his shoes. So much for nature and welcome to Costa Rica! After a day of nursing our wounds, we headed South for Playa Cocos, a necessary stop since it was our first port of arrival. The Papagallo winds were still blowing offshore 20-30 knots, but had fortunately backed to a broad reach, which made for a pretty exciting sail. The little town of Cocos, although scenic, has seen it's better days. The anchorage is quite rolly and getting ashore requires a dinghy landing through the surf, where one has to watch for the extreme tidal ranges. Fortunately, Costa Rica only requires one check-in and one checkout of the country; not every town, as in Mexico. After a visit to the Port Captain and Immigration, a relatively easy operation, we sampled our first Costa Rican meal and cervezas. One of their specialties is sort of a stir-fried rice mixed with either shrimp, chicken, seafood, etc. Very reasonable and quite delicious. We were quite surprised at the Costa Rican weather and topography. Very hot and dry, and none of the heavy rain forest type vegetation we had been expecting. If one is looking for numerous marina facilities in Costa Rica, they will be sadly disappointed. After a couple days of sightseeing and provisioning, it was off to Marina Flamingo, where we planned to leave the boat for three weeks for a return trip to the States. Playa Flamingo is quite scenic with numerous resort hotels and some very good restaurants. American-owned Marina Flamingo, on the other hand, was really a disappointment. Only 8-9 years old, the marina itself is ramshackle and dilapidated. Like a cross between the old Cabrillo Boat Shop and Fleitz Bros., only with med-ties! It's hard to believe a marina could get that run down in such a short time! The med-ties consisted of some old barnacle-encrusted moorings for the bow and some rusty chain wrapped around the dock for the stern. No cleats! The extreme tidal range required a constant adjustment of the stern mooring lines. In addition, the moored boats are situated 90 degrees to the strong offshore winds. It was easy to understand why there weren't more than a couple of boats moored there. Our
friends Dave & Pat Davis arrived shortly before we left to baby
sit the boat while we were gone, and unfortunately had a pretty miserable
time. The first day after we left, one of the charter fishing boats
wrapped and cut our bow mooring line in their prop. Dave was able
to secure and protect VIVA while they untangled the mess. The little
bay, which is normally quite a nice anchorage was filled with jellyfish
at this time, which didn't make for great swimming. In addition, it
was hot, hot, hot! On the plus side, we were supplied daily by the
Tico boat crews with beautiful 2 - 3 pounds filets of fresh caught
tuna. It appeared that the visiting fishermen had no place to keep
or store the fish in their hotels. The first stop south of Flamingo was the pretty Bay of Bahia Ballena. Although still not the heavy tropical forest we were expecting, we were now starting to see howler monkeys, and assorted tropical birds. The Ballena Bay "Yacht Club", sort of a one-stop cruiser bar, restaurant had definitely seen its better days. It appeared to be that most of the spots written up in the cruising guide ten years earlier, were either closed, had changed hands or were in a sad state of repair. We did have one memorable meal at a beautiful small resort hotel on the beach called Tropical Tambour. We had now reached the Gulf of Nicoya, almost half way down Costa Rica, and were anxious to sample some of the remote uninhabited island anchorages up inside. After two days of exploring a few of these beautiful islets, we arrived at Playa Naranjo, a small resort complex, owned by a retired American couple. For $5.00 a day we had the use of their pool, beachfront, bar/restaurant and laundry area! Being tucked up into the Gulf, the water was incredibly calm, away from the ocean swell action. The next morning, we left the boat at anchor and took a ferry across the Gulf to Puntarenas for a little provisioning. We could have taken VIVA, but the water is very shallow with the extreme tides, and Puntarenas has sort of a seafaring "Barbary Coast" reputation. Bob found all his necessary parts, and after a delicious lunch at one of the many Chinese restaurants, we loaded up on fresh produce and headed back to the ferry. The weather still was hot, hot, hot! The next morning it was off to the beautiful bay at Punta Leona, the last stop before leaving the Gulf of Nicoya. Upon arrival, we had to do a double-take. We had finally arrived in the Costa Rica we'd expected. Green, lush tropical forest, complete with monkeys and birds of all descriptions. Also our first taste of the rainy season. The anchorage is at a beach resort, which encompasses many square miles of rain forest, hiking trails, a beautifully manicured beachfront complete with cabins, restaurant and swimming pool. This is a private resort, not open to the public, unless you are anchored in their front yard. We must have been part of the ambiance! The next morning, it was off by taxi with the Nixons to the little surfing town of Jaco, about 15 miles south. We had been warned that there was quite a "shady" element in town and not to stay after dark. Well, the surf was great, the town was loaded with many curio shops and restaurants, and the "shady" characters were the usual assortment of long-haired surfer dudes. No problemas! Next stop, Quepos, an ex banana-loading seaport, and the nearest town to the world famous Manuel Antonio National Park. The anchorage was quite rolly, but the little town of Quepos was quite funky with all the foreign tourists arriving for their park visit. We took a bus to the park entrance, paid our $6.00 fee, and immediately had to wade through a small stream to get into the park. The trail we chose was about a 1 1/2 mile walk around a heavily forested peninsula. In fact the forest was so thick, we couldn't see the ocean…or birds, or monkeys, etc. and hot, hot, hot! The end of our trail dropped us off on a beautiful little cove, which unfortunately we had to share with another crowd of eco-tourists! I guess we had been isolated too long! Quepos had some great little restaurants, and was a good place to provision. The next morning we took VIVA and CHARIS and actually anchored in a bay inside the park. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to land our dinghy on the park beach. So, we took the dinghies around two rocky points and found a little deserted beach with no park ranger access. This was the way we wanted to see this spectacular natural preserve. By now our eyes were getting used to the many shades of green and it was off to Bahia Drake, named after the famous explorer. This spot was equally as lush and tropical without all the tourists. A highlight of this spot was a dinghy ride one morning up a heavily forested river, where we found a tree load of the beautiful red-blue-yellow macaws. When we left the boat it was bright and sunny, but half way up the river we were surprised by an instant rainstorm. Since this was the start of the rainy season, you had to be prepared for these showers on a daily basis, although they usually came as a relief to the normally hot days. This particular area is popular for all of its wilderness resorts and eco-tours. For $100.00 a night you can stay in a rustic little cabin or tent with a communal dining room and commute with nature through one of many hikes, horseback rides or dive trips. On VIVA, we had our own wilderness resort, complete with insects and rain, rain, rain, and interspersed with spectacular rainbows and sunsets! Next stop, Golfito, our final stop and clearing-out point in Costa Rica. Golfito, a small bay in the Golfo Dulce was a truly spectacular setting. We had planned to stay at the Banana Bay Marina for a few days of provisioning, sightseeing ashore and general R & R. Golfito was the main banana loading station, run by the United Fruit Company for decades, but was hit by banana infestation, called Panama Disease. Since the entire work force of this little town depended on the banana operation, their economy was decimated, and still has yet to recover. Sort of like the military pulling out of a small town. In an effort to help the locals, the government has installed a duty-free shopping mall in the old factories, open to everyone. To qualify for purchases, one must register at the office, spend the night, and then return the next day. I don't know how much this helps the locals, but it sure made for some good buys for the transiting yachties. Particularly in the wine and booze department! The Banana Bay Marina was truly a great surprise. Although quite small with a few moorings and med-ties, the facilities and service were first class. Quite a contrast to Marina Flamingo. Upon arrival, while maneuvering for our med tie, I managed to wrap a submerged mooring float in our prop. Within minutes, two Tico boat boys were in the water to clear the fouled line before we could get in trouble. The marina staff was incredibly helpful in obtaining all types of supplies and services and offered unlimited local knowledge. Due to the high unemployment, petty theft is quite rampant, but we never had a problem at the marina or at anchor. Most cases of theft reported seem to come from boater who admitted to not locking their dinghies or leaving gear unattended on deck. Banana Bay could serve as a model for marinas all over the world. Clearing out from Costa Rica was quite simple and trouble free. After a week of boat chores, provisioning and sightseeing, it was time to jump off for Panama and prepare for our Canal transit. We will continue the adventure and apologize for the delay in answering E-mails. It is getting increasingly difficult to find hook-ups or operating phone lines for our computer. Best wishes to all. Stay in touch. Steve & Pam
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