We had a nice sail relaxing and fishing. Dolphins and rays were jumping everywhere. We were lucky to spot a single sperm whale floating about,-actually, We came within feet of going over top of it. The green sea turtles were a regular sight with some piggybacking.
The Islas Santa Catalina a group of islets off of Brasitito were a stunning sight of massive pinnacles offering spectacular diving. Unfortunately, we all were all having ear trouble or colds so had to give diving a miss.
We spent the most part of the day motoring, which is kind of boring after such lively winds of the past few weeks.
Chantal and Genevieve livened up the ride a bit by fastening the banana float behind the boat and rode into the bay. Fine for a while but Genevieve fell off at the most inconvenient time navigation wise. We practiced a man overboard drill between some rocks and swell. Meanwhile, inside Pete and Michel were fussing with the pressurized fresh water pump system. While frustration levels rose inside the kids have a hoot outside obliviously enjoying water sports.
Upon our arrival we were greeted by "locals" Alfredo and his son Oliver. They offered the girls jet ski rides and the fun was full on! Meanwhile….. Pete and Michel are sweating inside trouble shooting the water system. Sue and I opted for Cervasa’s and photo taking.
The pump was fixed temporarily and we all settled in for a well deserved swim ashore. There was surf at the beach so we tied to one of Alfredo’s mooring buoys and swam ashore. The beach was comprised of an amazing white shell sand that could rival any Caribbean setting. Ashore there were fine resorts off of the beach separated by a road lined with souvenir sellers. The beaches were pristine and free of the "sellers" that were so annoying in Nicaragua. I was happy to see a series of 2 garbage bins offering recycling a lined up along beaches.
Costa Rica is really working hard to keep their parks and country clean and very visibly noticeable in some areas
Alfredo offered to bring a tent down to the beach so the girls could camp out. We had to swim to the boat and bag the gear to bring to the site. We had a lovely night around a camp fire. Alfedo brought out his guitar and sang some Cuban flamingo songs. Apparently, he has some association with the Buena Vista Social Club and his repertoire certainly attested to this. I could of stayed all night listening to his beautiful songs. The girls were equally entranced. Helen played a song which was nice to see here perform in front of people. We were joined by a bongo player and a couple of young adults traveling from Argentina. We shared stories …. Everyone has a story and Alfredo’s certainly captured my attention. After hearing a small piece of his life I was extremely grateful that I am Canadian. ( I hope I get this right, this is what I remember after a few disjointed conversations we had - )
In 1994 he was flying commercial aircraft in Cuba. Apparently, his father had been executed for organizing political opposition to the Castro communist government.
Alphredo got into trouble with the government by making a statement in a bar to a reporter about the government not having a "clean shirt". He was being interviewed after some airline misshape involving questionable aircraft maintenance practices. His interview was published and probably taken out of context given the circumstance.
When he arrived back home, he was charged with crimes against the government and headed for some serious jail time. He continued to fly after some weighty negotiations and was restricted to domestic flights. After towing the line for some time, he was given clearance to fly internationally. On his first international flight he redirected the plane he claimed political exile and was granted asylum. He took a boat to Miami arriving penniless, survived living on the streets by working as many jobs he could to get his feet back on the ground. He married his beautiful wife he met I think at a refugee support organization. Despite the escape from the communist oppression of Cuba Alphredo disliked the "American Dream" facade. He and his wife made plans to raise their children is an alternative environment that was more inline with their principles. They opted for Costa Rica which has similar beaches and the tropical paradise offerings of Cuba.
They have two gregarious boys who enjoy this alternative life. Yes, there is life after Nintendo…They packed up thier belongings sold there home and started a jet ski, water sports business 4 months ago. We wish them well and are certain they will be successful in their endeavors.
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