Changing Boats

How simply wonderful to downsize.
It's nice to be back at home although we miss our boat very much

how to read the blog

The posts are rather random and at times I had a hard time getting the posts out on the net. The newest post is first and when you reach the bottom of the page a green prompt "older posts" will lead you to older posts.
Click on it to get the next set of posts.
Have fun

Reflections

This was probably the most amazing experience we could share together as a family.
Cruising was really just what our family needed to reconnect and learn from each other.
When Michel and I arrived back home, the girls had surprised by having the house clean and decorated with welcome home messages.
They presented us with a large card thanking us for this amazing adventure.
Josee wrote:
This trip meant everything to me...I am so thankful for those time the wind was in my face and sun in my eyes. I had a big grin on my face, and all my worries were gone.
I knew my family was the best family to be taking me a journey so big; so loving, and full of joy. I know we may have of struggled, and might of not been the best sailors of the sea, but we are the strongest, and made a life time story. We may of thought everything would be normal, but we are not normal. We are the Poirier family and I am proud to be in this family.

Chantal:
I guess I changed my mind when I thought I did not want to come. I must of been crazy! The whole entire trip was unbelievable! My most vivid memory was waking up in the morning walking into the cockpit and seeing a spectacular beach right in front of my eyes. it made me realize how lucky I was to wake up in a place that hardly anyone in the world can see.
It really changed my life. the whole entire trip was amazing and made me see life is worth living at its fullest, and we sure did live life at it's fullest down there.

Genevieve: You were right, in every possible way, 1 million percent. Our trip was life changing- each of us grew and changed into mature, intelligent, globally aware, well travelled human beings. Who else can say that at 17?
We truly know the value of a dollar. You have shared with us your dream and given us new and exciting dreams for ourselves. You have given us so much in the past year. Things that money can't buy. You've given us the gift of travel...which we will keep with us forever and pass on to our own children.
You have given us the gift of perseverance, which you have mastered- taking care of 3 teenagers Girls!) as well as taking car of a 51 foot boat. I'm sure other cruisers would marvel at your courage.
You have given us the gift of love, even when we didn't deserve it. And most of all you have given us the most amazing, wonderful and unforgettable experiences.
Our hearts will always be with the ocean, and our family will always be able to reminisce about our crazy adventures we had together. I love our family and I love and admire your both.

Was our trip everything dreamed it would be? I would have to say no, it was more enriching than what I could of imagined.

Welcome home

Back to reality. This is what 8 months of mail looks like. Most of it is junk mail!
Such a waste of resources.
What's with this Capitol One banking mailouts!.
I received over 12 credit card invitations and 7 congratulation you have won a Caribbean cruise notifications.
Really quite amusing after travelling and seeing people so happy in Central America with virtually noting.
Do we really need all this stuff?

Barillas El Salvador

We are now in Barillas at Bahia de Jiquilisco El Salvador. This is an estuary with a lot of really healthy mangroves. There was a 4-5 foot crocodile hanging around our boat. These boys appear to be living in the mangroves while they mind fish traps in front. The estuary is quite large with meandering arms of water winding around for miles. It is quite easy to get lost exploring these waterways.
There are so many mosquitos and "no see ums" here it is unbearable. At Barillas they burn coconuts to smoke out the bugs for folks like us at the anchorage. I guess these guys are immune to the effects or just a lot tougher than gringos.

New Crew

This little fellow hoped aboard while we were at sea, in fact, we were about 20 miles from shore. He explored the boat and hopped on our legs, unafraid and very curious. He kept going inside the companion way, then flew out the hatch. Everytime he found his way inside he would peep away until he discovered a hatch to escape only to explore his way back inside. He continued this game for just over an hour. Silly bugger.

New Crew

We meet Sam and Jules Scuba Diving in Nicaragua. We asked them if they would like to help us sail to El Salvador and they jumped on the opportuinty without a lot of time to think about it. I think they had fun. We actually had the best winds sailing with them. They are backpacking around Central America and call South Africa home. Sam is a doctor and has a contract to work in Australia after this trip. We had a great time together and wish them well in thier adventures together.
They are getting married this December in India-

San Juan del Sur Nicaragua

Perhaps one of our favourite spots on the trip was San Juan del Sur. We really spent a lot of time there. Glen, Larry, and Mark from the Scuba Shack were great friends and very helpfull in arranging our sail delivery.
The Scuba Shack became our hangout. This little town offers great tourisim activites for very little cost.

Cool People

The best part of cruising was meeting a wide variety of people who all lead incrediably interesting lives. We have learned so much from all these new friendships. The following is a sample of our El Salvadorian friends.
with out a doubt, the Salvadorians are the most hospitable, friendly and lively Central Americans.

The Dardano family

"Me Casa su Casa" my house is your house is the moto of this wonderful, vibrant family. We are certainly happy that Chantal "hooked" up with Charlie. We spent a lot of time with this family and shared a lot of laughs and fun together.
We feel really blessed to have met them.

Giovani Fabietti

Giovani's assistance was pivitol in getting our crates into El Salvador. He is the only Salvadorian with a sailboat.
He spent countless hours negotiating and exploring options for us. He is currently working hard on starting up new anchorage opportunites in El Salvador
We are forever gratefull for his help and friendship.

Gervin and Debora

This couple who live rather humbly in Tamerindo were happy to have us anchor in front of thier house. Debora cooked meals for Michel and Gervin worked very hard along side Michel getting Jovietal ready to go.
He organized these locals to dive for oysters for us for a farewell dinner.

Gervin and Edmond

These two amigo's were great friends. Gervin is from Tamerindo in El Salvador
he was great help in getting things done on our boat. Edmond " A Canadian lawyer living in El Salvador was great help as a friend and translator.

Jan Costa del Sol

Jan is a great friend to cruisers and the local people who live on a small island in the Estuary, near Herradur. She offers trips to town to help cruisers provision and hosts a chicken barbecue every Wednesday. Her students like to practice their English on the cruisers. The students hope to secure good paying jobs because they can speak English.
She currently teaches these children and a few adults from the Navy English classes on her property.
This is a picture of her school and students. The other picture her giving locals a ride back home from a day of shopping. When she offered one of the students of her school a ride the whole family joined. It was pretty hilarious getting all the stuff in the truck.
We all jammed in and laughed all the way home to the estuary which was about a 45
minute drive. Jan arrived in Costa del Sol over 12 years ago in Quantum Leap a 72 foot Oceanis sloop. She fell in love with the place and decided to call El Salvador Home.

Reflections

Update

I am finally up to date on the blog.
I had to rush through, it takes a long time to load and I know there are a lot of mistakes.
We are still in San Juan del Sur and are leaving for El Salvador in a few days
We are waiting for weather and tide conditions to improve for the transit.
The heat is really hard. I welcome rain and cold...even freezing rain. The one thing about being cold is you can always put on some clothes. Being hot on the other hand does not provide so many options.
Thanks for reading our blog and I appologize for the sporatic posts, it's just that internet is so random.

ladies of the lake

this is the source of the Papagyo winds and also the lake provides fresh water for laundry day.

Granada Cemetary

Masaya Volcano

The site of virgin sacrifices.

San Juan del sur and then some more...

San Juan Del Sur
We were happy to see Sea Whisper still anchored here.
Checking in was a breeze and we celebrated by watching the sun set at the Girls favorite hangout…Iguana’s . we met up with their Smither’s friends and we all had a laugh…are you still here? It turns out we both arrived in San Juan at the same time after months of travel adventures. They like it here and I see why.
We met up with the boys from the Dive shop and they were really glad to see us.
We love this town again after such a bad time with the sail….and it is a whole lot easier to be here with without the girls to worry about.
We took a tour to Granada, Rivas and Masaya Volcanoes
Rivas is a really funky town like Chinindega with lots of bike rickshaws and people selling home made snacks. The road out of San Juan Del Sur is terrible, infact, much worse than the last time I was here. There are virtually no trafic signs and half the road is closed while the other half has boulders strewn all over the place, never mind the pot holes. I was having deja vous of an imminent car accident . …I don’t really want to go over on my side again.
We made it to Granada and toured the majestic cemetery. It is filled with mausoleums that are dedicated to family. A nice custom to have all your family members burried in the same place. The statues were amazingly, beautiful and really quite a testament to the family buried there.
They even had a separate mausoleum for dead presidents.
Granada is colorful with the colonial structures each with brightly colored doorways opening to a beautiful inner courtyard, I love this style of home.
I was going crazy taking pictures, it was just so damn beautiful.
There are literally hundreds of poor selling what ever they can to the visitors of this town. I really felt kind of sad watching a family while I ate lunch sell chicklets and single cigarettes for a pennies.
The whole days take may muster up a dollar or two. Which does not go far here..
Fuel is so expensive and the price of food is increasing as well. Most can not afford anything beyond rice and beans.
Nicaragua is definitely not as affluent as its neighbors however, the people seem friendly and have a sense of pride. They recycle here and there is little garbage on the streets. I saw bales of plastic on the side of the road waiting for pick up.
I wish El Salvador could do the same.
In contrast to El Salvador the Nicaraguans seem to be hard at work everyone works. The only hammock people I seem to notice are the elderly and small children.
Women can be seen gathering wood from the side of the road , washing, carrying things on their head, or sweeping. They keep their yards very clean and many homes have brightly painted walls with gardens at the entrance.
The men can usually be seen working on the side of the road, either in construction, burning fields, farming, or ranch handling. It is apparent that the young boys are left with the "cow boy" duties.
There are more families traveling here riding in horse drawn carts than in the rest of Central America.

The Masaya volcano was definitely a highlight. This is the most active volcano in Central and South America. We climbed to the top to gaze into the sulfur rock spewing active volcano. It was hot humid and smelly. The cross on the top of the climb was erected by a Spanish Catholic Priest apparently as an exorcism ritual. The priest was convinced that the volcano was the gate way to hell.
The locals believed it to be a mystical place of the gods. They perfomed sacrifices there by throwing young virgins into the steaming hole in the earth.
The caves near by were used to discuss who would be considered worthy for the ritual. It was a tremendous honor to the family to have a child chosen to sacrifice.
The volcano was believed to be the home of a witch who the locals would consult for information about crops planting and other worldly concerns.
The caves were used to hide fighters during the war and also later for satanic rituals. Today, they are a park and visited by 3 varieties of bats, boa constrictors and birds.
Parakeets like to nest there apparently, they have adapted to the sulfuic atmosphere and their predators have not

Granada

what a colourful city!

On to Nicaragua

We sail and motor sail…the afternoon is great as we sail closer to Papagyo territory the winds pick up and we have the best sail so far.
As we approach Bahia Brasillito where we met our Cuban American friends, I decide to sit on the bow to enjoy the late afternoon sun. I start to panic as I see us approaching a large mass of brown water ahead. I yell to Michel about a rock ahead and he quickly alters course. We look at all our charts and there are no rocks charted. The mass was too large to be a whale but the strange thing was waves were not breaking on the mass….hmmm
Not too much further I see another mass of brown with fins poking up. I yell at Michel to turn the boat around and investigate. We crossed over a group of about 100 or so rays just floating around. This was the explanation for the other large mass I observed earlier on. We drifted overtop of them which was amazing as they glided underneath the boat. We were just off of Tamerino Beach and there were thousands of rays floating around and dozens jumping all around the boat. We wondered if one was going to land in the boat. An amazing site to say the least, perhaps it was mating season.
We anchored in Brasillito a lovely bay bursting with tourism. The white sandy beach attracts many activities. You can rent, jet skis, horses, hobi cats, and ATV.s. There was a wedding on the beach just at sunset- around the same time as 20 ATV’s roared through followed by horses. I would have freaked out if it were my wedding. Everyone wants a piece of paradise.
I had a job of returning Alphrado’s sunglasses. This involved swimming ashore from the boat as the dingy was stowed and there is a bit of a surf there.
We sailed to the next anchorage enjoying all the rays jumping along side accompanied by dolphins. The next anchorage Bahia De Culebr was a nice surprise right on the edge of the Papagayo Gulf where the winds are notorious.
The bay is dotted by expensive resorts on the hill tops. It seems that majority of luxury resorts are in these parts of Costa Rica. It is noticeably dryer and the brown landscape reminds me of Okanogan hillsides.
We had a quiet anchorage, well protected and no swell. We met a family cruising from Seattle with a beautiful, intelligent 8 year old girl. She seemed to enjoy cruising despite the absence of friends her own age.

Bahia Murcielagos the bay of Bats.
Once again we get whacked at the exact same place when we traveled with Pete and Sue. For some reason Michel opted to go inside the Islands rather than go the extra couple miles out. Apparently, he wanted to look at the islands. This knife edge peninsula has amazing rock formations that jet out of the ocean. The high mountains seem to accelerate the winds to boisterous gusts that scare the crap out of you. Michel kept saying I hate this shit…I was happy to see a group of dolphins follow us through. I talked to them and thanked them for taking my attention away from the anxiety that was beginning to take hold of me during the nasty gusts of wind.
We checked the Grib file weather reports for days and I was predicted to have 8-10 k winds. The winds were on the nose and more like 10-15 k but entirely manageable. We adjusted the sails to pinch as high as we could to windward which involved a course that was about 30 degrees off of where we wanted to go. This was a sacrifice for comfort as we could opt for tacking back as we got closer to San Juan del Sur. As luck would have it the winds and seas subsided enough to motor right into the wind for the last 10 miles. We only got a few bashes and waves in the face hardly worth mentioning. We felt like it was a perfect Papagyo crossing- as this is probably as good as it gets. We sailed for the most part of the day getting up to 9 knots and fighting with the engine into the wind at 3-4 knots

Jovietal leaves Costa Rica

Leaving Gulfito
Michel sold our outboard for 200 bucks ( the cost of the new prop) to the machine shop guys. I wish he traded it for the whopping bill they gave us
60 bucks a night to tie up at the dog shit dock. I know the dilapidated fish boat beside us did not pay such a fee. Then I remember the broker who arranged for us to tie up here was good friends with the owner of the shop. Hmmm.
We motored for about 20 hours in flat calm seas. The auto helm works just great….I can’t believe how much nicer it is to have time to do stuff no kids and no helm duties. I start on a cleaning binge. Our boat is covered in black mold from, humid, dank Gulfito.
It was a full moon and a perfect night for a passage. I had an uneventful night listening to music with the only disturbance being dolphins and rays jumping along side me. Oh, and there was a cloud squall that dumped a little water on me. The radar picked it up and I fooled around with the charts and radar confused that the large target resembled land, even with the rain clutter control.
I could see no land and the charts said we were 20 miles from shore. I had to trust that these targets were rain- which has been non existent in these areas for the past few months. We are getting closer to wet season which starts in May.
We have wind in the morning and put up the sails…the main jammed again, apparently it is at one point of sail the mast is raked backwards for down wind and the main is baggy no matter how the topping lift is adjusted. We free it and sail at 9 knots….weeee….

Leaving costa Rica..yahoo!

Back at Gulfito
Its not as hot now thank god. Michel has managed to get a lot of stuff done while we were away. We have our ham radio hooked up and can emailnow The rudder is repaired along with beefing up the archway. Lori and Lionel sold us their outboard and it is so great having a motor that starts---with the added bonus of an electric start. We are ready to sail again. But the girls are flying home tomorrow.

We arrange a cab to take us to San Josee which is 6-7 hours away and costs 220 for the cab. We drive through the mountains and follow huge volcanic ridges winding our way to a summit over 3000 feet. We stop for lunch at a Tico cafeteria and watch the hummingbirds feed from the feeders they placed around the windows. The hummingbirds are larger than the rufus hummingbirds we have at home. It is a cool 15 degrees and the girls started to complain…just wait till you hit 7-10 at home girls! Get used to it.
We overnight and leave to the airport at 4 am. We were surprised to see Dee Dee from New Moon (the Catamaran we met in Panama) They had hit a submerged log in Los Suenos, Costa Rica and were stuck waiting to repair an engine. Never a dull moment in a cruisers life. It is important to note that logs are virtually non existent in Central American waters. I think I may of seen 3 in my entire journey so far. One of those trees thought to be a coconut palm tree ended up being a whale shark.
When we observe chunks of wood floating on the water toped with birds they usually end up being either harmless chunks of Styrofoam or sea turtles.

Sea Whisper crew- Lionel and Lauri

Gulfito again

We bus back and taxi back to the boarder, a little worried about crossing back into Costa Rica given our last experience. The only trouble we have is getting hassled by a boarder crossing official who is apparently directing traffic by blowing a whistle and waving a baton around. No one is paying much attention to him. So here is this guy standing in the middle of traffic at a boarder that seems to have no entry and exit gates that are typical in the US Canada boarders, there are cars, busses and taxis all driving around him as he blows constantly into his whistle and waves his baton in random directions.
When he sees us, he hones right in on Chantal, runs towards us and babbles away at her as he leads us to the Costa Rican customs building. Chantal is visibly annoyed, she tells me she is sick of these guys always hitting on her.
Upon closer observation I begin to question if this guy is actually a border official. His uniform is dirty, his hat is all faded and the baton is a builders level. Locals walk by him and say Que Passo Rambo….apparently he is a local fixture around here a little crazy and they let him play in the traffic.
While we check in Chantal is hit on again by 20 something buff guy who arranges a taxi ride to Gulfito for us at a reasonable price the upside getting hit on does have some advantages, I suppose.

Back to Panama

We flew back to Panama and stayed at the Casa Luna hosted. This was a really cool hostel in the old part of Panama San Feilpe. This area was burned down by the English Pirate Henry Morgan in the 1800’s.
I loved the colonial architecture here along with the jumble of clotheslines strung on just about every balcony. This area has a Caribbean Cuban flair and I loved the noise and color so present. The cobblestone narrow streets were lined with colorful wooden doors topped by decorative filigree iron work.
The hostel was great with large wooden doors, hardwood floors and rooms with small balconies that over looked the Panama canal and Church square. There activities for backpackers, poker, ping pong and even a small private movie theater. The girls loved meeting all the backpackers from all over the world. I think they may have the travel bug too someday. I was thrust backward into a pleasant memory of myself backpacking over 20 years ago…oh man I feel old.
A lot of the travelers were headed to South America, Chili and Peru which seem to be the hot spots for backpackers these days.

We bus back and taxi back to the boarder, a little worried about crossing back into Costa Rica given our last experience. The only trouble we have is getting hassled by a boarder crossing official who is apparently directing traffic by blowing a whistle and waving a baton around. No one is paying much attention to him. So here is this guy standing in the middle of traffic at a boarder that seems to have no entry and exit gates that are typical in the US Canada boarders, there are cars, busses and taxis all driving around him as he blows constantly into his whistle and waves his baton in random directions.
When he sees us, he hones right in on Chantal, runs towards us and babbles away at her as he leads us to the Costa Rican customs building. Chantal is visibly annoyed, she tells me she is sick of these guys always hitting on her.
Upon closer observation I begin to question if this guy is actually a border official. His uniform is dirty, his hat is all faded and the baton is a builders level. Locals walk by him and say Que Passo Rambo….apparently he is a local fixture around here a little crazy and they let him play in the traffic.
While we check in Chantal is hit on again by 20 something buff guy who arranges a taxi ride to Gulfito for us at a reasonable price the upside getting hit on does have some advantages, I suppose.

Back to Panama

Chantal meets her soul mate

Off to the San Blas Islands

San Blas
The next day we flew to the San Blas and stayed in a hostel type lodge that was really the highlight of our adventure.
The hotel/hostel was originally built by the Smithsonian institute as a research station. The rooms are built on top of a reef on cement and wood stilts. They are all joined by walkways. There is a sliver of beach providing a dock and hammocks. The rooms were rustic to say the least but hey, I have no complaints. Where else can you stay in a house built out of coconut and bamboo shoots which allows the Caribbean breeze through to cool your skin and to be lulled to sleep by the sound of waves underneath your bed.
Josee claims she has had the best sleep ever.
We were treated to some wonderful basic meals comprised of what ever was fresh; grouper, octopus, and chicken along with rice and fruit. During the day we were taken by a panga usually a wet ride to a variety of Islands to explore and relax. Think white sand, coconut trees, coral reefs and a grass hut. That’s it folks. This describes the 365 islands that are the San Blas. We were intrigued by one small island that was comprised of white sand and a single coconut tree it kind of looked like a child’s drawing. Every day here was a post card.
You won’t believe this, sitting all day under a palm tree, eating, snorkeling and swimming is surprisingly tiring. We all felt pretty sapped afterwards and crashed in to bed before 8 pm.
We visited the village of Poivierner and were treated to dancing and singing. A very big part of the kuna culture. They don’t like to get their pictures taken and will ask you for a dollar everytime you take one.
They are so beautiful with the women legs and arms adorned in colorful beads and brightly patterned head scarfs. And mola blouses. Its a national geographic photo. These women where there traditional clothing everywhere. We saw some women shopping in the large shopping malls in Panama city which really looked rather strange…a culture clash to say the least.
The Kuna are proud of their culture and the women are highly regarded in this matriarchal society. Kuna were chased out of Columbia to the mountains of Panama only to be chased out again to the islands because of the canal constuction.
They were pressured to assimilate but declined and developed a simple life style of fishing and coconut trading. The San Blas coconuts are reputed to be the best in Central America. The islands are not owned by Kuna individuals but the coconut trees are.
Currently they are trying to balance the impact. I am told there are no outside ownership- of lodging permitted, the result…rustic affordable paradise lodges like our place and no Hilton’s - works for me!
Molas are the trademark of the Kuna women. These are intricate fabric appliqué work depicting sacred images and ceremony. They sell them on every island they can be seen flapping in the wind strung between two palm trees.
I could not resist buying a bunch, they are just so beautiful.....I am so happy and blessed to have experienced this trip.

our hotel

Here is our wonderful hotel purched on a reef.

Does life get any better than this?

35 bucks

you can stay here all by your lonesome for 35 bucks all inclusive..rice, beans, fish and water.

Girls gone wild

The shopping in Panama is awesome! These kuna girls enjoyed selling us beads and art at the artisan market in Panama City.

Country Inn Hotel el dorato

This was the view from our room in Panama. The sailboats are waiting for transit.
I almost stayed up all night watching the ships pass through.

On to Panama

I decide to get the hell out of Gulfito and take a trip with the girls to Panama City. to meet Mike and Neila who have our new Credit Card that courierd by a visiting friend and to shop for an auto helm part.
We taxi to the boarder and cross into Panama without too much fuss. It is really a strange boarder with no defined crossing. There are just a lot of buildings and traffic. You actually have to search where to check in. We find out later that down the road a few kilometers there is a passport checkpoint.
As luck would have it a Mini bus had room for us to David - Panama’s second largest city. We travel to there and transfer onto the luxury bus to Panama City.
The bus was freezing cold beyond what I could stand. I had to beg for hugs from the girls to keep warm.
Panama is a lot richer than the rest of Central America. There are a lot of ranches with large North American desert style homes.
Panama City is beautiful with sky scrapers and a landmark bridge spanning the cannal. The" Bridge across the Americas" It is breath taking - back in a city
We taxi to our hotel and find our reservation was not accepted and they only have a suite available for 30 bucks more. It turned out we were at the wrong hotel because I had asked for a canal room and we were in the city. The taxi took us on a tour of the city and to our other hotel. ( we thought he was being nice, but found out later it was fare gouging)
When we arrive at the hotel they give us the same story about not having our reservation and add another 30 bucks onto the room fare. 160 bucks. The trick is if you book on internet, there is no guarantee that your room is available at that cost because the internet booking clerks work independently. It’s just a scam. We grab a room on the canal and can see the boats anchored in front of Balboa Yacht club. We have a balcony over the pool and watch the ships pass through the canal. It really is amazing to see the cruise ships pass through followed behind the hundreds of container ships. It is non stop action.
We get our credit cards from AT Last.
I managed to find a place where I could get the part I need for our autohelm in a mater of days with no tax.- I tell the clerk I was so happy I wanted to kiss him. Finally something is going right for a change.
He shyly said it could be arranged then asks me to wait a minute. He returns with a surprise. Apparently, the part I needed was ordered and not picked up by a customer so he handed me the exact part I needed.
The next few days are spent shopping, shopping, shopping. This city is
amazing, malls and stores everywhere offering shoes at 1.99 and knock off brand name shirts for 2.99. Jeans 9.99
Girls gone wild.
After a couple days we opt for cheaper accommodation to allow for more shopping but we really come up short. We stay one night in a dive for 80 bucks and 1 night in a grand suite that has seen better days for 1 night.
I stumble across the deal of the Century. I had my heart set from the start of this trip to go to the San Blas Islands. I stopped into a travel agent to see what it would cost just out of curiosity really.
I almost fell off my chair when she told me that 4 nights, flight, accommodation, meals and tours would cost a mere 180.00 per person
Surely she had made a mistake. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself.

Back in Costa Rica ...sort of.

We arrived back in Gulfito in the late afternoon and were surprised to see so many boats there. We met up with "Homers Oddesy" from Duncan and Sea Whisper from Ladysmith.
The saga of the Customs and Jovietal in Costa Rica
Michel checked in the following morning with the Port Captain and regular Zarpe run around town visiting, port captain, immigration and customs. It was at Customs where we encountered a major obstacle. We had not checked in Panama to get a Panamanian Zarpe because there was no place on route to do so. We had handed in our Zarpe when we left Costa Rica and not asked for a temporary exit zarpe. Our old zarpe was good for 90 days and we had only been in the country for 20 days so we thought they could just reopen the old Zarpe file…. Apparently not so!
Customs told us we can not enter or should I say Jovietal can’t enter Costa for 3 months because we asked for an exit Zarpe. Who knew to ask a temporary exit and why did they not offer one when we checked out? I talked to other cruisers and they have never hear of such a thing.
We were left with an option of putting the boat in bond until Yachtpath or Dockwise (deepsea frieghters) arrive to put our boat on board if they had room.
Dockwise was schedualed to arrive within a month. We were allowed to tie up at the marina until they arrived. Banana Bay Marina was full and Fish Hook had space available. We were told we would have to pay 100.00 per night plus a bond fee .
Now, we have been in the loop about how reliable the dockwise schedual is as they lease space on the ships and the dates are often much later than scheduled. ( today they are 5 weeks behind)
The cost to ship 30,000. Plus bond and dock fees and we may as well buy another boat.
I remember that there is an international law that states that a port must accommodate a foreign flagged vessel in port for repair if unseaworthy. Well we have repairs to make so we make it very clear that this is our intention and that Gulfito was the nearest port to do so.
We have to hire Brokers to help us out because we did not want the boat to go in Bond. Which means that the marina has stewardship of the boat and it can’t move until customs has released it. Basically, stuck until Dockwise or Yachtpath take the boat. ( yacht path is full and Dockwise doen’t arrive until December)
The Customs broker offers us another option; he has friends that work at a machine shop which has a dock that we can tie up to and repair the rudder.

We move to the dog shit covered dock and endure endless stares by the workers at the shop. We actually have to pass through the interior of the shop and step over piles of metal work to get to shore. We are told we are not allowed to anchor in front of the shop we actually have to be tied up at the dock. It is gross and has little to offer at low tide we were on the bottom which really added to the stress.
I hate Gulfito, it is humid, hot and really wet. There is black mold everywhere and all my clothes and bedding are damp. I just got rid of the rash I developed last time I was here and now it appears its coming back. I am beginning to have melt down and I just want to go home. The girls want to go home .
Thankfully my mom has offered to take the girls till I get back and out of this mess.
I decide to get the hell out of Gulfito and take a trip with the girls to Panama City where we will meet Mike and Neila who have our new Credit Card that was courierd by a visiting friend. I also needed to shop for an auto helm part.

Coiba Panama

The snorkeling here was the best to date! Lots of fish and reef sharks.

Coiba Park

Isla Rancheria - Coiba

Am I ever glad we took a side trip here. We almost gave it a miss because of the expensive park fees involved at Coiba. We anchored away from the ranger station to avoid the 160 dollar park fees.
The islets have an amazing amount of wildlife and the waters are clear. Turtles visited us at anchor with curious glances. The islands have be designated as a Smithsonian Institute" research area and it’s not hard to tell why.
Coiba is the main island with the best anchorage’s and the charter boats anchor there.
It was once a penal community where prisoners roamed the island.
It was the island it self that was guarded.
The Prisoners were moved in the late 80’s and it is reported that 5 escaped the transfer. There was a murder of a cruiser in 1989 apparently by one of the escaped convicts. Cruisers were told to avoid Coiba up until recently where it is now deemed to be "safe".
We explored the reefs just off of Ranchierita and were amazed to find hundreds of colorful fish, coral and a couple of reef sharks.
We dingyed over to the park ranger side and explored the white sand beaches where I came across a turtle nesting area. The ground caved in around me as I mistakenly walked over the sand tunnels. I was thankful nesting season was over.
We left the Island for Bahia Honda to meet up with Denis and Linda on Rapture.
On our way our main sail jammed in the mast. Apparently, folded inside we could not free it properly to sail. There seems to be no rest for us on this trip.
The rudder is getting worse and now the main. I’ve had enough and I can’t see myself cruising for much longer. I am glad to be heading home.
I hope Dockwise works for us.

Bahia Honda Isla Gomez
We are going backwards now we motored all day and returned to a familiar anchorage and first favorite stop The crickets were louder than I remembered and a couple landed on our gib sail. I was worried that they would find there way inside the roller furler and make it a home and we would be tormented by their noise for until they freeze to death back in BC.
We left somewhere around 5 am to make a straight shot to Gulfito. It is dark and there are 2 thunderstorms ahead on each side of us.
We hope that they dissipate before sunrise- The last thing we need on this trip is to get struck by lightening -AGAIN!
We are blessed as they pass over and get higher as the sun rises. A sigh of relief and peace as we make a wide open transit to the gulf. The ocean is deep here and last time we crossed we saw whales.
We put out the rods and caught a lot of jack fish. We were catching them at a pretty steady rate up until a park ranger hailed us down from Coiba. They informed us that fishing is not allowed in the area because it was a park. Damn, no wonder the fishing was so good. Josee hooked something big which snapped the line. Actually, this happened twice today. Apparently our angling inexperience is the problem.

Coiba treasures

Cebaco

Cebaco
We awoke in a nice little bay beside New Moon the Catamaran we saw the night before. We fueled up at the fuel barge only to meet some young skippers and crew that invited the girls to surf and dive. We new they were craving company of peers so we decided to let them loose for the day.
We enjoyed meeting the skippers of these luxury fishing vessels and I was fascinated to learn about the life style of these guys. Basically, they serve as crew on million dollar sport fishing yachts for wealthy owners that fly down for a couple days to slay marlin.
The boats are jockeyed between fishing hotspots by either ( American) captains or Yacht Path Dock wise freight. The Captains of these boats are on a salary of about 70-100K a year dependent on the size of the boat. They usually have one deck hand and have the responsibility of maintaining and provisioning the vessel as well as dealing with the bureaucracy of the local government officials.
Unlike luxury yachts, these captains are burdened with the task of making sure that the owner’s catch fish. The two yachts we "met" were well over 2 million dollars each and the operating budget for one of them was 1 million a year.
One of the boats had the owner aboard who boasted that he went through 5 captains in one year. Later, when I talked his captain, he said he was counting the days until the end of his contract. He had 4 months to go before he had a contract to go to Alaska for Skipper a fishing vessel there. ( we met up with him a few weeks later and he was fired too, which I found strange because the owner was really praising how good this captain was)
We barbecued up some tuna that one of the boats caught the day before- It was fabulous.
Cebaco has a barge with a bar and barbecue for people to enjoy. Cebaco Bay Barge serves as a platform for provisions, beverages mainly and pre-ordered boat stuff from Panama. This service is mainly for sport fishing boats that fish the rich waters off shore that are noted as the best sport fishing grounds in the area.
The alternative is a long 80 mile passage up a river for fuel.
I was impressed by the Galley provisions on Reel Escape the larger of the two fish boats, the supplies in the Galley would rival any gourmet food outlet.
We really enjoyed meeting the crew; Adam and Omar. . They really planted a seed for the girls to consider crew positions in a few years time.

Punta Mala- bad point

Punta Mala
It was a long passage and pretty typical of days past, a visit by dolphins broke up the monotony of the day. The landscape changed again to resemble the dry hills of Nicaragua. Everything was fine until we passed a place called Punta Morro de Puercos where on the charts indicate strong rip tides. Converging currents and strong on the nose winds made the last few hours hell. We had
pre-planned a few anchorage’s to duck out in case of this type of scenario but unfortunately the winds were blowing from the wrong place making the anchorage untenable.
As we rounded Punta Naranjo the winds shifted and the bottom came up abruptly to 20 feet as we entered shoal area. The winds blasted us from the North East----not good for where we wanted to go.
We decided to head as close to shore as we could only to get winds that accelerated from the hills into us, making me absolutely wet and tense to say the least. I was on the helm as Michel tried to navigate some safe anchorage options to get out of this nasty area for the night.
It was getting dark and the Panama Ships were visible in the distance. We have no radar and we were a bit nervous about sailing at dark especially in these conditions.
We rounded Punta Moro de Purercos where 2 currents collide offering a confused sea. The winds picked up and I really had no option than to tuck in full harness with the wind and water blasting in my face with a vengence. I kept my nose glued to the compass lubber line ducking the waves as they crashed over the bow and on to my head….I want to cry and go home.
I longed for an auto helm this was just too much work on the helm. The kids ducked in below and immersed themselves in Harry Potter. Genevieve was really upset that she could not help as her stitched up hand rendered her pretty much useless. Chantal was a real trooper, she stepped up to each task demanded of her and kept our spirits high with her observations and willingness to help. Her awareness as to the seriousness of our situation was remarkable. One thing I have learned about Chantal is she gets things done when she has to, a take charge kind of person, which is great in these kind of situations. Josee hides and does not say a whole lot, she basically stays out of the way until we need here. She is the best on the helm.
We tucked into a large bay(Isla de Canas or Rays) which really did not offer any reprieve from the wind however, the seas were not as confused. We traversed our way in the lee of the land following the outline of the bay which was about 15 miles - 10 miles was done completely in the dark. Our anchorage was supposed to be at the end point of the Bay. Lucky the wind and water were warm, as I was completely soaked and it was getting cooler.
We traveled for a couple hours in the dark amid strong gusts and breaking seas, navigating our way to small anchorage that offered a tiny bit of shelter from swell and wind. We were confused to see a series of lights in the middle of the bay simulating land where it was not supposed to be. The lights were bright and stationary about 20 or so different configurations. Michel insisted that they were boats because land is not supposed to be there according to our Nobel Tec charts. (electronic) I am not convinced to rely on these charts and opted to investigate the paper charts.
This confirmed Michel’s assertion that the lights were a series of boat. I imagine it was a fish packing operation or something as there is a shelf area and currents that that offer prime fishing grounds. This really added to the confusion and stress of the night.
We entered the anchorage completely in the dark as I prayed for the moon to rise to help us out, but as luck would have it, moonrise was well over an hour away. There were a few shore lights that offered some good points of reference. We dropped the hook and set anchor anxious to tuck in for the night. Then we heard some huge breaking surf about 200 feet ahead. Holy s***t, we quickly pulled up anchor and got the hell out of there to the West side of the Bay. As we approached we saw a catamaran (New Moon) anchored close to a small island at the point. We were grateful that they were there giving us a point of reference for anchoring. ( the name ironic- as I was praying for the moon to rise to help us out in the dark) We dropped hook just beside them and anchored quite close to the rocky island which offered a little protection from the swell however, it was really dangerous to be anchored so close to rocks with the wind was pushing us towards them. The prevailing winds pushed us out to sea so we trusted that they would continue to blow in that direction when the wind shifts. We set all the anchor GPS alarms. Chantal poured us a large glass of rum on the rocks and put on some soothing music for us.
Michel and I looked at each other and realized that we are not cut out for this.
We really worked well as a team and I was proud of his skills to get us safely in the anchorage.
Chantal, made us some food ,and organized a clean up of the boat.
I headed for the shower and was amazed at how my hair would not lather because of all the caked on salt. We tumbled into bed and slept deeply for a few hours and woke later to check the anchor position and wind.
Michel sleeps better than I do in these situations; I worry too much. All the trust is put on our anchor. I tell myself that the anchor held well in San Juan del Sur and the winds here are similar however, I am just not sure about the holding ground.
We hold on for the night and need another day to rest before we head out to the Gulf of Panama.
We decide to move anchor as it appears we have moved farther out of the bay.
The swell is huge and the surfers have arrived in droves to catch the incoming tidal surf. Great for them, tough for us.
We move anchor and set it 2 more times to position ourselves far enough away from the island and surf to allow some comfort.
It worked! We had a great sleep and the winds died about midnight. We thought about leaving then for Isla Perlas, but opted to get a good sleep instead as the next passage was over 20 hours in a notorious area for bad wind and seas. We awoke at 5 and left in light winds and seas with a 5 foot chop.
As we rounded Punta Mala the seas increased and the wind kicked up right in the nose again. I felt the rudder making noise so we lubricated it. Upon closer examination it appears that the bearing might be worn as there was a lot of play in the shaft. Michel was not sure exactly how much play there should be. The last thing I wanted was to worry about rudder problems in hellish winds and seas in the middle of Shipping lanes from Panama- I can’t think of anything more hazardous.
We talked about the boat our time factor and agreed that the boat needs to be back in Canada. We need to get her back into cruising condition where parts are available. The tropical islands are all starting to look the same and the sun becoming a nuisance. I am pretty sure that I am not a good candidate for long term cruising. We thought about the canal transit and the visit to the San Blas which would have to be done in a couple of weeks if all went well. We would have to make our way up to Cartegena Columbia to park our boat for a season.
We are running out of time and money- Gulfito and yacht delivery is sounding like a better option.
We both have concluded that cruising in the Pacific Northwest is really first class.
If you don’t mind rain. I mean the anchorage’s are well marked, lit, and there are tons of them. Here they are far from the comforts and security of the PNW
The best thing about cruising in Central America is the people that you meet.
We turned the boat around to head back to Gulfito, where we will put Jovital on Dock Wise and do some land trips. Sailing down wind eased the pressure on the rudder and we were a lot more comfortable however feeling a little let down about ending our trip.
I really had regrets not going to the Mayan ruins in Guatemala and Honduras. I want to take the kids to the Caribbean side of Honduras where we can dive. Perhaps we will take the bus to Panama, pick up some mail there and maybe help someone transit the Canal.

Going to the Hospital

Gulf of Montijo
This is a shallow shoaly river with sandbars and islands scattered about.
We plotted a track using Noble Tec and did not deviate much from the track.
We were able to transit sandbar shallows at 10 feet of water. We did pretty well considering the charts were about 20 feet off. ( our anchorage showed us on land) We arrived just before dark and went ashore to inquire about finding a medical facility.
We arranged for a hospital transit in the morning. Santiago is a small city is only a 30 km away.
We had a horrible dinner of salty seafood at the pier and watched the fish boats come in.
We taxied into town and Genevieve received some stitches and instructions and prescriptions to ward off infection. The care was pretty good and cheap (35 bucks) We got a whole lot of provisions as the prices of food were the lowest we have come across so far, in Central America. The towns are clean, quiet and the roads are terrific. The housing was the nicest we’ve seen so far as well.
Absent are the shanty town, the corrugated rusted steel structures so common in El Salvador and Nicaragua. The town folk seem subdued, no one looks at you in the eyes. It’s as if they are dismissing you or something. No smiles, just solemn faces…
It was kind of strange.
We got everything done early and found time to help Michel climb the mast to install the anchor lights. It was a bit breezy and overcast which made it a lot cooler. As he topped the 65 foot mast he discovered for furling problem and lubed the furling.
We had a nice dinner and went to bed early because we had to leave at 5:30am to catch the tides to get out safely.
We searched around for an alarm clock which is something we have not had a chance to use…as cell phones were alarm clocks at home and El Salvador.
It turned out we did not need one as we were struck by a Panga at 5:15 am.
We were a little choked that the guy did not even stop.
The only damage was minor pink and red scrapes along our hull.
We left shortly after and had a nice sail out of the river, making a record 8.5 knots