Preparing to Leave Costa Rica

We’ve now been in Golfito in the Golfo Dulce (southern Costa Rica) for one week. The Panama border is a mere sixteen miles south. Blew Moon is tied to a mooring in this shallow bay between an island and the mainland. Everywhere you look there is lush tropical vegetation. And boy is it HUMID!! The rainy season is here early and we’ve had daily thundershowers. We are serenaded by howler monkeys in the early mornings and late afternoons. Golfito is a small port town that years ago had banana exportation as it’s main source of income. All that remains of this former thriving business are the dilapidated buildings throughout town. Now, there are only a few local fisherman and the mainland is lined with several small marinas that mostly cater to the sports fishing vessels. Amidst these marinas is a cruiser friendly establishment called Land Seas Services operated by two Americans who sailed here thirteen years ago and never left. Tim and Katy have created a very comfortable place for us cruisers passing through to hang out, get laundry done, use their wireless internet, use their showers, fill our water tanks, etc.. Barry and I are both glad to once again be in the company of other cruisers. Here, we’ve reunited with a few of our former cruising buddies, which has been a great boost to us. Yesterday was Easter Sunday and the ten boats currently here had a lovely potluck. It was a very relaxing day topped off with a marathon game of Mexican Train Dominos, which is a popular cruiser pastime. The only down side was that there is no English speaking church for us to attend in this small town. I hope that all of our family and friends had a good day.

Our time here has been focused on preparing for our weeklong passage to Bahia Caraquez in Ecuador. We are bypassing Panama this year with plans to cruise the many beautiful islands of that country next season. We plan to see some of Ecuador before flying back to the states on May 23rd. We’ll return to Blew Moon on November 15th and travel to Peru and possibly some other South American countries before sailing to Panama. Most of the ten boats here in Golfito are heading to Ecuador so we plan to stay in radio contact with one another during our longest passage to date. Barry will be checking us out of the country tomorrow and we intend to leave on EASTER POTLUCK

Wednesday.

Before arriving in Golfito we spent time in several awesome places and had the pleasure of seeing lots of incredible wildlife. While still in the company of Geisha and Shiraz we rode the bus for an hour from our anchorage in Bahia Ballena in the Golf of Nicoya to the funky beach community of Montezuma. This town was filled with aging, tattooed ex-patriots and dreadlocked younger folks selling their jewelry on the streets. There were definitely more gringos than there were locals to be seen in this town. At one end of town you can take a short hike on an easy trail that leads to several pretty waterfalls. That was our main reason for visiting Montezuma. Because access is easy there are always plenty of other people on the trails and in the swimming hole under the largest and last fall. It was worth the trip because we enjoyed the company of new friends and the beauty of the falls. Barry and I cooled off a couple of times in the water.

BAHIA BALLENA

After parting company with Geisha and Shiraz in Quepos we headed to Manuel Antonio National Park. Our time there is definitely another highlight! This is a relatively small reserve and is the only virgin dry tropical forest left in Costa Rica. The dense forest spills down steep hillsides onto several beautiful beaches that are a part of the park. The first beach you come to after entering the park on foot has a small area where boats can anchor. It and Drake Bay are the most breathtaking anchorages we’ve had the pleasure of staying in. We were the only boat anchored off the beach in Manuel Antonio for three nights. Each day we dingied ashore and walked back to the official park entrance to pay the $7/person for us and the $8 for the privilege of anchoring Blew Moon within the protected waters of the park. We alternately spent time hiking, swimming and lazing on the beach. It was wonderful! We saw howler monkeys, white-faced Capuchin monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, several two-toed sloths, our first anteater and lots more.

From Manuel Antonio we headed to Drake Bay on the Osa Penninsula. Most of the Osa Penninsula is the enormous and rugged Corcovado National Forest. The only way to see it is to hike and/or backpack overnight. We did lots of hiking before reaching the Osa Penninsula and hoped to do more. However, I couldn’t take the humidity enough to physically exert myself. Since we saw so much before getting here I don’t really feel like we missed out on anything. One highlight of our two-night stay anchored in Drake Bay was the awe-inspiring flights of flocks of Scarlet Macaws from one tree to another along the beach we were anchored off of. The area is known for the abundance of these brightly colored birds, but we’ve talked to some folks who never saw any during their time in Drake Bay. So, I feel very fortunate to have witnessed them in their natural habitat. Another highlight was when we took our dingy from the bay up a narrow, river where we took a much needed refreshing dip in the cool, fresh water. The river was in a steep canyon covered with dense tropical jungle. It was a great place to escape the intense tropical sun.

In total, we have spent three months exploring Costa Rica and now it’s time to move on. So, the next time you visit our blog we should be in Bahia Caraquez, Ecuador. Please pray that we have favorable winds and seas, that we stay healthy and Blew Moon has no problems. Although, the problems we’ve experienced this season are minor compared to what some others have had to deal with, I am hoping that our trip is uneventful. It won’t be long until we’ll be back in our new home in Idyllwild and able to spend time with family and friends that we have missed during our months away. Blessings to you . . . . Stacey