Costa Rica to Mexico

I’m happy to report that we’ve had good fortune so far since leaving Gulfito in southern Costa Rica. We were looking forward to having Don share this 1,600 mile passage with us, but were uncertain as to how well we would adjust to having another person living with us in such close quarters. Well, it has been great! Having lived aboard sailboats in the past and having helped deliver boats previously, he fit in almost seamlessly. The companionship he has provided to us has made this trip more enjoyable than most plus sharing the night watches allows everyone to get adequate sleep. His easy going demeanor and positive attitude has really given us a lift! Not only that but he has helped in so many practical ways. There is a noticeable improvement in Barry’s anxiety level. He did admit that having Don on board has made him feel a huge sense of relief after all of our recent trials and travails. I couldn’t agree more and I know it’s especially a relief to Barry because now if something goes wrong he doesn’t have to shoulder the burden himself.

After enjoying about five days visiting a couple of anchorages in Costa Rica we embarked on the first leg of our 1,600 mile journey toward Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. We made excellent time covering these 1,000 miles along the coast of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatamala. We had to travel through not one, but two, sections of coastline that have fierce seasonal winds that blow periodically. The first area is from a point in northern Costa Rica to another point about one-hundred miles along the Nicaraguan coast. We left Costa Rica after getting a favorable weather forecast for this region called the Papagayo. It was to be only a brief window before the winds picked up to twenty-five knots or more. We were able to get through the Papagayo region in mostly calm seas with little wind; with the exception of about two hours of twenty knot winds and choppy seas. Not bad at all! From midway along the coast of Nicaragua and the entire coasts of Elsalvador & Guatamala if we had any wind it was either too light to sail or on our nose. Barry calls this the Blew Moon phenomenon; the direction of the wind is the equivalent to the direction we are traveling! So, as usual, we motor-sailed our way along with generally calm conditions with light wind that came and went. We saw lots of dolphins, sea turtles and the occasional sailfish breaking through the surface of the water as it leapt into the air. Don bought a new camera and has been our official photo journalist. As we got closer to the next treacherous area we got daily weather forecasts and hoped that we would not have to tuck in somewhere to wait out bad weather. This area, called the Tuantepec, is a stretch of coastline about two-hundred miles long in southern Mexico. We both prayed that we would be able to continue non-stop all the way to our first port in southern Mexico which lies just beyond the Tuantepec region. Well, God answered that prayer and we got to keep plowing ahead and made it all the way without mishap. This is no small deal, because it takes two days to cover this two-hundred mile stretch of ocean. Talk about a major blessing! We made it from southern Costa Rica to southern Mexico in 7 ½ days without needing to stop for fuel or bad weather! We are psyched! Granted, we didn’t sail one iota, but we are so glad to be in Mexico in such short time that we don’t care. It’s now April 19th and we are currently in Marina Chahue in Bahia Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico!

About the only adverse occurrence on our trip so far was the malfunction of the plumbing in the head. Before ever leaving Costa Rica we noticed that the toilet kept filling up with water. Barry quickly determined that the through hull that empties the toilet failed. We couldn’t get the necessary parts to repair it before leaving because all the shops were closed for holy week. So, Barry had no choice but to plug the through hull to prevent water from continuously streaming back into the toilet. This put the toilet out of commission and led to the introduction of the red bucket. Yes, for a little over one week we have been relieving ourselves in a bucket! This is additional evidence that the cruising life is far from glamorous. The good news is that yesterday the boys were successful in obtaining the parts to repair the head and also got the repair accomplished. So, much to our delight, the red bucket was retired and returned to it’s intended function. Since arriving, Blew Moon has had a bath, her water and fuel tanks topped off and her head repaired. Tomorrow morning we embark for Zihuatenejo which will be a three night passage. Then, it will be a two-night passage to Barra de Navidad and then one last overnight trip to Puerto Vallarta. We’ll spend a day or two in the next two stops which should still get us to Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta by May 1st. As of today, we are on schedule and hope to fly home the second week in May.

Well, since January we have traveled through the Pacific waters of eight, yes eight, countries; Ecuador, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatamala and Mexico. Once we reach Puerto Vallarta we will have traveled a little over 2,000 miles in four months. We’ve had our share of problems but we have agreed that God used our adverse circumstances to bring about positive change in both of us. You could say that it’s been an intensive marriage encounter which resulted in some rather profound growth in both of us. In this instance, our little cloud definitely had a silver lining. I cannot say it enough; God cares and He is good!
Till next time . . .

Post Repairs Plans

Well, the rough start to this cruising season continued in the same vane it began. The theme this year seems to be stress, frustration and uncertainty. We’ve done enough moaning and complaining to disgust even ourselves. Often, we find ourselves saying, “We just can’t get a break!”. Now, I must apologize up-front to those of you who have real problems and stress in your lives because, ours is kind of self-inflicted; afterall, we did choose to sail a 14-year old, 35-foot sailboat several thousand miles from home. The fact that things break, wear out and need maintenance is certainly no surprise. What strikes us about this season is that SO MANY things have gone wrong. To say that our passage from Ecuador to Panama has us a bit punchy would be a gross understatement. Our time in Panama City was spent dealing with all known problems with Blew Moon. Barry had the fuel system cleaned and rebuilt within the first couple of weeks, and completed several other smaller projects, as well. At that juncture it seemed like we might actually be able to return to the Perlas Islands for some R & R. Unfortunately, time dragged on as we worked daily and waited for the arrival of the crucial radiator hose that was on order. We couldn’t leave with the jury-rigged hose that got us from Isla Contadora to Panama City. Each time we called the store to inquire about the status we got a different story from a different person. This became a source of great aggravation to us. As we clicked items off our “to do” list we felt a mounting anxiety that this silly hose would hold us hostage in Panama City. As it turned out, a whole 31 aggravating days were spent getting what needed to be done accomplished before we were able to head for the Perlas.

Before departing we did actually take two days for some fun. Our first little respite was an afternoon spent at the Mira Flores Locks at the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal. I must say, I was extremely impressed with what I saw and what I learned about the construction of this amazing engineering feat. There are two viewing areas from a building next to the chambers that boats enter for their transit. You can view ships going through the locks from the rooftop and from another ground-level area with stadium-style seating. We had hoped to watch our friends on Cat N About going through, but missed them by a couple hours. However, we did see several enormous container ships, the largest cruise ship I’ve ever seen, some medium sized vessels and four sail boats going through in both directions. The cost of transiting the canal for an average container ship or other large vessel is over three-hundred thousand dollars! And, the locks are open 24-hours and there are ships continuously lined up to transit. We could see all the waiting ships and those coming and going through the canal just outside of the anchorage where we had Blew Moon. At night, the Bay of Panama looked like a floating city all lit up.
A visit to the locks allows you to watch the action while listening to live narration in both Spanish and English. They announce each vessel as it enters the locks and tell you what country it originates from and other interesting information. Throughout each vessels transit they are describing the action. It was fascinating to hear some of the details such as the monstrous volume of water being piped into and out of the chambers. There is an impressive museum that documents the history of the building of the canal up to the present day’s work in progress of constructing another wider and deeper canal parallel to the existing one. You can actually watch vessels go through the canal via live webcam on their website (www.panamacanal.com). I now understand why cruises going through the canal are so popular.

Another real very enjoyable day was spent visiting an Embera village located on the Chagres River which feeds the Panama Canal. This village is one of three on the river and is the furthest into the jungle. The Embera people are one of seven remaining native tribes in Panama. Originally, they lived completely off of the land but then the government declared the area protected land and they were forbidden to grow any of their own food because that disturbed the natural state of the jungle. At that point they needed to make weekly trips to the nearest town to purchase produce. This requires boating down river quite a ways and then driving for about two hours. They still hunt for fish with spears, and live off of the fruits and vegetables that grow wild. They look down on other native people who have established settlements along the river because they fish using nets; of course, this means fewer fish for them to hunt. Tourists visiting their villages are their only source of income which they now need in order to buy food. Like most native tribes they are all craftsmen. You can buy wood carvings, woven baskets, jewelry and such. The Embera are known for their intricately woven baskets made from natural fibers from the jungle that are also dyed naturally. We were given a demonstration of this process along with an explanation of what plants were used for each color. It was very interesting. They maintain their original way of life as best they can and offer visitors a glimpse of their culture and everyday life. Before tourism, the females were bare-breasted; now they wear halter-type tops made of shells and coins above a brightly colored skirt. The males wear very short beaded skirts that tie around the waist. I never thought a man could look so good in a skirt! We saw the women perform traditional dances to the accompaniment of the men’s percussion and wind instruments. Each of their three villages on the river consist of about ten families. They build bamboo homes on stilts because during the wet season from June through November the area gets over 300 inches of rain! I cannot fathom what the river looks like that time of year. We visited during the middle of dry season, so there were areas of the river that our canoe had to be “poled” through. We traveled upriver by canoe for about an hour to get to the village. On the way we stopped for a short hike to a gorgeous swimming hole with a waterfall. Four of the five of us, plus our guide, took a refreshing dip.

The canoe ride was wonderful and the two Embara men who guided us obviously know that river like the palm of their hand. All of us were extremely impressed with the deftness with which our driver safely maneuvered avoiding rocks the whole way. We’re told they do it at night as well! Before the dawn of tourism these long hollowed out log boats were simply paddled. Now, they each don an unsightly outboard motor. The absence of the motor would definitely have made the trip more peaceful and serene, but I understand their desire to get people to the village quicker.

The canal and Embara village visits were definitely the highlights of our time in Panama City.
Once we left Panama City we only had about two weeks to travel through the numerous islands of Panama’s Pacific waters. Sadly, the month we were in the city doing repairs ate into the time we intended to spend exploring the islands of Panama. We did travel from island to island, but only got off the boat twice in two weeks. Barry spent two days in the water cleaning the bottom. We would sit in a lovely anchorage and admire our surroundings and then weigh anchor the next morning. I guess you could say that we just passed through. The scenery was gorgeous, but it wasn’t the kind of visit we had envisioned. We resigned ourselves to the fact that this season has essential turned into a boat delivery. But, God is good and He obviously had other plans for us. Sharing this adversity with Barry has stimulated a lot of personal growth for me. I’d definitely say that it was all worth it!

As of this writing we are in Gulfito, Costa Rica where we picked up our dear friend, Don Johnson (no, not the actor!) who is going to help us get Blew Moon to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Our aim is to arrive by the first of May. This allows us a week or so to get the boat closed up before we need to be home by mid-May. Don just retired from his job with the city of Chula Vista and we asked him to fly to Costa Rica and help us get to Mexico. Fortunately for us, he jumped at the opportunity. Don and his wife, Sue, are great friends and are also the ones who taught all the Coast Guard Auxiliary boating classes we took before leaving San Diego. So, we’ve got the best crew anyone could possibly hope for! We are excited to have him share this 1,600 mile journey with us and are so grateful that the timing was so perfect. His presence has definitely lifted our spirits. We are set to begin traveling up the coast of Costa Rica tomorrow and are praying for good weather. This is the first time we’ve had a schedule to keep and it is a bit unnerving at times. But, God has kept us safe this far and we are trusting in His continued protection.
I’m not sure when or where we’ll be able to post an update between now and our arrival in Mexico. But, as always, stay tuned . . .