Costa Rica

A Yacht hauling cargo ship loading in Golfito destined for Florida

Golfito

Southwestern Costa Rica with Punta Blasa and
Isla de Burica in the background

On the morning of May 7^th, 2013, after raising our anchor at Punta Balsa, just a few miles away, we rounded the westernmost point of Panama, Isla de Burica, and turned north toward Golfito, Costa Rica.  The seas were flat calm with only the slightest swell and in spite of the slight southerly current we made good time up the coast and into the Bahia Dolce (Sweet Bay).  We pulled into the Golfito harbor and were greeted on the radio by Bruce Blevins, a friend of our Panama agent, Pete.  Bruce popped out in a launch to help guide us to the Fishhook Marina.  By 3 PM we were tied to a nice floating dock at the marina and Bruce was on hand to assist us with the paperwork clearing into the country.

The fish that helped revive Golfito

Formerly from Florida, Bruce is now an agent and broker in the area.  He assists owners in shipping their boats to and from the east coast (there was a yacht transport ship in port as we cruised in and Bruce was busy supervising the loading of yachts destined for Florida).  It seems that to save the time, expense, and wear and tear on their yachts, (most we observed were large sport-fisher style) owners will ship them back and forth for the fantastic fishing seasons in both Costa Rica and Florida.  We had earlier considered just such an option for Arrluk, but discarded it as too costly.

Sail Harbor has modest, but high quality docks

Bruce and I prepared some clearance paperwork and then he and I jumped in his jeep and made the short trip to immigration, Customs (Aduana) and the Port Captain’s office.  By 5 PM we were legally in the country and had our all important temporary importation permit (Customs), our visas (immigration) and our domestic Zarpe (travel/cruising permit).  With the formalities out of the way we sat in the beautiful open air dining room/bar watching the daily afternoon thunderstorm heading in and enjoyed a nice dinner and cold beverages.  Golfito is a large sport fishing community and frequently hosts English speaking customers, so most of the staff spoke English and all of them were exceptionally helpful.  A significant number of English speaking ex-pat’s also live in the area, so there is a small subculture of them and even their own Gringo Bar, Latitude 8 (ocho), downtown.

Looking north from the marina, Golfito is stretched along the
shore with steep mountains to the east.

As we had completed our final preparations in Panama for our departure to Costa Rica, we had determined our anchor and aft navigation lights no longer worked.  I made it my goal in Golfito to find replacement bulbs.  In Golfito, Matthew scaled the mast and removed the bad anchor light, so we knew what kind we needed, and the aft light was a standard navigation bulb.  While there we went to every ‘marine’ store (one – mostly fishing gear), auto parts (two) and hardware store (two) we were unable to find any replacement bulbs in town.  Finally, I ordered some nice LED replacements online from the US and made arrangements to have them priority shipped to Los Suenos Marina, one of our next planned stops.

The Marina's outdoor restaurant/bar was dark and relatively cool

Upon arrival I’d mentioned to Bruce that I needed to have our canvas zippers replaced and he recommended a local Ex-Pat who was the local canvas maker.  I was impressed with the work I saw on several of the local boats who sported his Biminis (shade covers) and other canvas covers so I asked Bruce to have him stop by the boat.  The next day he did, and the day after that Arrluk sported shiny new aluminum canvas track (which I installed) and brand new zippers on our aft canvas screens.  As the bugs were fierce in the evenings, this was a very welcome repair.

Arrluk sporting her new zippers - nearly bug free now

We made several trips into downtown Golfito, the first by taxi all the rest by foot, to buy groceries and chase our parts.  The town is stretched along the bay at the bottom of a steep rain-forested mountain.  Originally built by a fruit company as a major shipping port for Bananas, for many years the community prospered as a “company town” supporting the industry.  With changes in the Banana market, much as we’d seen in Jamaica, in the mid 1980s the company pulled out and transferred all their land to the Costa Rican government.  The town fell upon hard economic times.  A small duty free area was formed which helped somewhat, and the community turned to fishing to help it recover.  Now a major sport fishing area, as well as an active commercial fishing community, Golfito is recovering and doing much better economically.  One thing we did note in our shopping trips was that costs rivaled those in the US for food, services and fuel, and each bore a significant sales tax.  Locals advised us that Costa Rica was the most expensive of the Central American countries and to wait to do any significant re-provisioning until we could get to the small nearby Panamanian border town, where everything was less expensive.

The main highway into downtown Golfito.  It was always busy with bikes,
buses and taxies

Bruce also introduced us to Chris, another American from Florida who married a local girl and is now raising his family in Golfito.  Chris now acts as a tour guide and driver for those in need.  On Monday, May 13^th, we hitched a 90 minute ride with Chris on his weekly trip to Capacho, Panama, just across the border.  There, we visited a large grocery store, beverage dispensary (soda shop for case lots) and liquor store for very inexpensive beer and booze (1.5 L bottle of Rum for $7, as an example).   Several hundred dollars poorer and several hundred pounds of provisions later we were soon back in Golfito.  Chris proved to be knowledgeable about the country and the area, and we learned a great deal about Costa Rica, its people and their culture, and the Golfito region from him during our trip.

We hoped to leave early on the morning of May 14^th and continue our journey north, but by the time we’d received our necessary Zarpe to travel to our next port (Playa del Coco via Los Suenos) and refueled at the town fuel dock it was nearly 11 AM before we headed out of the harbor and back south out of Gulfo Dolce into the open Pacific Ocean.

On the Road Again

Our next stop, 62 cruising miles but only 25 miles due west of Golfito, Bahia Drakka (Drake Bay), was much touted by those in Golfito as a must-see anchorage.  Named after Sir Francis Drake, for which local lore has anchoring here to re-provision and re-calk his wooden ship in the 1600s, Drake bay is a sheltered bay with a deep approach.  The later we were thankful for as our late departure now had us arriving well after dark.

Bahia Drake still sported ominous storm clouds the early morning of our departure

We enjoyed an uneventful trip on calm, nearly flat, seas. As the sun set on us, cruising north along the coast, we were treated to a fantastic sight; bioluminescence within the sea.  As the sky was cloudy from the looming evening thunderstorm, and there was no moon, it was very dark; yet the sea was alive with light.  Every little whitecap and our bow and stern wakes glowed brightly in the night with light generated by the disturbed plankton within the waters.  As though not quite enough to compensate us for having to travel in the dark, we were soon visited by a small pod of dolphin, all glowing from nose to tail as they sped through the water at our bow disturbing the same plankton.  You could clearly see the dolphin and all their markings.  Ghostly and iridescent, the scene was wondrous and while not photographable, will remain etched in our memories.

Bahia Drake proved to be a slight challenge to anchor safely in, primarily due to all of the other boats already there, none of which shone a single light.  Thank god for radar and depth sounders, as we would have had a very difficult time without both.  By 8 PM we were safely anchored, and just in time, as the storm blew in with a fury, and the rain came in torrents.  Did I mention that all the reviews of Drake Bay were that it was gorgeous but VERY rainy ;-)

Punta Quepos

We awoke to a gorgeous little bay, occupied by small local boats anchored or moored around us.  It was odd that the night before, these little boats looked huge on the radar!  After a few obligatory morning photographs, we set out for our next planned stop, Punta Quepos.
 Again blessed by wonderful cruising weather, we arrived early at Punta Quepos, just south of the town of Quepos, to find a nearly deserted anchorage.  This was likely due to less than sterling ratings in the guidebooks for the site due to its exposure to the west and potential winds and swells from that direction.

What a storm does when you're at Anchor.
Our overnight "track"

As the afternoon thunderstorm threatened and winds picked up we dropped anchor, and let out a lot of rode (chain) to make sure we didn’t get blown off our anchorage.  This proved to be a good choice, as darkness fell and the storm hit we experience brief 35 Kt winds coming from shore (east), along with furious rain for several hours.  I left our chart plotter’s anchor alarm and my iPhone anchor alarm both set just in case, as we retired for the evening, rocking gently from the swells and the wind.

Numerous nighttime anchor checks proved for a somewhat sleepless night, but morning found us still well anchored.  Our chart plotter documented the effects of the storm, tides and current on our position relative to the probable anchor location throughout the evening.  We’d done a lot of swinging around during the night!  We set out for Los Suenos Marina at just after 7 AM.

Los Suenos, CR

Arrluk's crew getting some exercise with Los Suenos
Resort in the background

Yet again blessed by a wonderful Pacific cruising day, but faced with a much stronger southerly current we motored along bouncing from 5.5 to 6.5 knots and entered the large bay where Los Suenos is located right on schedule.  The marina is located at the northernmost corner of the bay with an entrance to the south that is not immediately apparent until final approach.  The large marina stands out at the base of a hill occupied by large condos and fancy development style homes.  Before working our way into a slip, we topped off our fuel, during which the fuel dock guys were extremely attentive to assure there were no spills.  They explained that the government allowed the development on the condition that they run a very eco-friendly operation … a besides, the boss was up on the breakwater watching what was going on in the marina ;-)

Many boats, mostly locals, elected to anchor outside the Marina

The marina, in spite of its impressive breakwater and narrow entrance deep into the bay had a surprising amount of tidal current and swell in it.  After a couple of attempts to back into my assigned slip, assuring I didn’t bump any of the multi-million dollar boats nearby, I gave up and we nosed ourselves in bow first.

Affiliated with Marriot resorts, Los Suenos is a large development selling condos, homes and (probably) time shares.  The whole campus, which has a Marriot hotel in addition to the multiple little subdivisions, a golf course and apartment style homes must be several square miles.  As we walked much of it one hot afternoon, I can attest that it is huge! 

Matthew up the Mast

The marina sports multiple awards as the marina from which many of the “Billfish Champions” originate.  Fishing for Marlin is very big business, as evidenced by several hundred multi-million dollar sportfishing boats berthed here.  Each of the boats seemed to have at least one, if not several workers who worked on them each morning wiping them down with chamois and washing everything to keep it shiny and clean.  We were only one of three yacht style boats along with three sailboats in the marina, the rest were all sport fishing boats.  Notwithstanding our minority status, marina staff treated us very well and were extremely accommodating, even helping us track down our package and getting it delivered … three days later. 

A variety of wildlife enjoyed the resort as well as
the tourists and residents

 Our intended overnight stay in Los Suenos was extended to three nights.  It seemed that in spite of my phone call and e-mail messages to the marina to get registered and verify a shipping address, our package showed up the day before we did and they couldn’t find our name in the list of boats/guests, so they refused it.  By the time we understood this, the package had already been sent back to the big city San Pablo.  Getting it scheduled for re-delivery through FedEx was a challenge.  Fortunately, marina staff were familiar with the local (in Costa Rica) delivery service and called them directly to get it scheduled for a Saturday re-delivery.  Otherwise, through FedEx, the package wasn’t going to be delivered until Monday.  Making lemonade out of our lemons, we enjoyed one nice dinner out, walked into the older part of town, and frequented the very well equipped marine supply store.  Otherwise, we greatly enjoyed the dock time with the associated electricity and air conditioning. 

Captain Bob up the Mast

Floating Dock, Floating Boat, swell activity do not equal
good nighttime photography

Our package finally arrived Saturday morning and I set to work getting the new lights installed and checked.  I even went up the mast myself to install the anchor light.  While getting me up there with the boom hoist proved easy for the rest of the crew, I underestimated the impact of a rope on my butt and ended up with a couple of unmentionable bruises; I think the kid will go up next time.  I’d also purchased on sale in the local marine store a pair of electricity saving, LED spreader (flood) lights to replace the high energy-consuming halogen ones over our boat deck.  The old ones used so much juice that we seldom, if ever, used them. 
Overall, I was pleased with the result of all the lights.  Everything was installed by mid afternoon, and after checking our cruising plan, we elected to stay the evening and leave early the next morning for our intended anchorage at Bahia Carrilo, about 60 miles up the coast, northwest.

The Final Legs

Yet another great day for cruising greeted us as we made our way up the lush jungle covered Costa Rican coast which grew even steeper and rockier the further north we went.  The wind picked up in the afternoon, as the traditional afternoon shower prepared itself.  Bahia Carrilo was described in the guides as a small anchorage.  When we arrived that afternoon we found that it was not only small and surrounded with rocks, but it was also full of local pangas and small sport fising boats on moorings.  We took a good look at our prospects and quickly turned around for the next anchorage, Bahia Samara, described as having plenty of room, just a couple of miles further up the coast.

This tiny little lighthouse outpost must sure be lonely. 

Bahia Samara was an anchorage that required great attention to enter as the wide beach and open areas were full of charted rocks and bars.  Nevertheless, by 5 PM we were anchored 150 yards off shore in 12 feet of water and got a good set on our anchor before the storm hit for the evening.  In spite of the location appearing to be fully exposed to the south and west, large rocks protected us from nearly all of the ocean swells, so we spent a quiet night.

On May 20^th, 2013 at about 6:45 AM we set out for our final Costa Rican ‘port’: Playa del Coco. There we intended to clear out of the country with officials.  Another uneventful and smooth cruising day greeted us.  All the while we were carefully watching the storm forecast that showed bad weather on our intended path at the end of the week.  Our plan was to clear out of Costa Rica as expeditiously as possible then head straight for El Salvador, skipping the coast hugging route through Nicaragua and Honduras so we could be in a safe and secure location before the storm hit on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Playa del Coco

We arrived in the large Playa Del Coco bay and puttered about for a while looking for a suitable anchorage among the many boats moored in the harbor.  With no marina or even dock in the community, every boat seemed to be on a mooring ball and they were closely packed in the areas with the best anchoring depth.  We ended up moving to the south end of the bay, near mostly moored fishing boats, nearly all with no one aboard.

At about 5 PM, after a day’s journey of 63 miles we dropped the hook in about 30 feet of water and let out as much rode as we dared with the other boats moored nearby.  We were going to swing with the wind and tides, they would only move around on the secure moorings.

We were immediately struck by the stark difference in this region of Costa Rica.  The vegetation was brown and, while still covered with trees, the hills around the town were not the lush green jungle we’d seen in our entire Costa Rican cruise, even only 63 miles south at Bahia Samara.  This northern region of the country is closer to the Caribbean and is famous for the Papagayo winds that can quickly develop and sweep across the land and out across the Papagayo gulf, just to our northwest.  The town itself is very tourist oriented, and filled with bars, restaurants, hotels and shops selling souvenirs and other locally made products.  Many people spoke English, and we observed more tourists than on prior stops.

Hitting the Beach at Playa del Coco

On May 21^st, the morning after our arrival, we gained a whole new perspective on what is involved in a "beach landing" and the requisite relaunches.  With no docks, just a beautiful crescent shaped beach, everything must go in and out through the 'surf'.  Unlike our previous beach landing in the Bahamas on nice island beaches, this place had rollers coming in.  Fortunately these were not the big rolling breakers we were used to in the open ocean, but still, in our little dingy, it made things a challenge ... and pretty darn wet.

Kathy, Arrluk’s first mate, and I made the run first thing in the morning, checking in with the Port Captain's office to get the low-down on the process: We had to go to the bank and deposit the $20 Zarpe fee into their account and get a receipt, then clear out with immigration, then get our export permit for the boat from customs, then return to the port Captain’s office before 3 PM to get our international Zarpe issued.
We then went back to the beach and found that some kind hearted and strong souls had hauled the dingy up above the incoming tide and tied it to a tree for us.  No one was around to thank so we spent 20 minutes dragging it back down to the water and provided additional entertainment for the locals as we boarded and I rowed out far enough to get past the rollers, lower and start the engine and get us going again to pick up the kids (I mean, ‘the rest of the crew’).
Immigration went ok as the agent there spoke pretty good English, but made us do one piece of paperwork three times until it was absolutely perfect and legible.  I guess he just couldn't read my handwriting, so he laboriously copied it over again until he made a mistake, so Kathy finally did it.  They allow no initialed changes, as we are accustomed to in the US.  Unlike when we checked into the country and I did all of the paperwork, Here they would not allow us to process the kids out without seeing them in person.  After our first beach landing we were none to happy about it, as we were just beginning to dry out.  The bank took an hour of waiting in line, then filling out yet another form, then another line to finally hand them a $20 bill and get a slip of paper.

An hour later, after dealing with passive-aggressive resistance to leaving their games and the comfort of the boat we again made an assault on the beach, only this time with 5 aboard instead of two, and at a little better spot with less abrupt rollers.  We got wet, of course, but with the extra hands had an easier time finding our own tree and dragging her up out of danger.

We then discovered Matt, the youngest of our crew, had left his shoes on the boat so off to a nearby shop for some $5 flip-flops, then back to immigration, where everything was all ready for us.

Unfortunately, customs was out at the airport, so we hailed a local, unsanctioned but cheaper, cab and traveled 30 minutes there for a 5 minute process, then back again.  Finally, about 1 PM we presented ourselves back at the port captain's office with all necessary documents, papers and receipts. .It took them 40 minutes to type up a single page "International Zarpe" (travel clearance), but we finally got out of there with what we had come for.  It may seem like a real pain, but without that document we would most likely be denied entry into our next country.

By 2 PM we were safely sitting in a local cafe getting some rehydration and a last honest to goodness Costa Rican meal.  Kathy and I shared a pizza and the kids had burgers ;-).

Playa del Coco was quite a little town and I think we would have loved to stay longer.  Other than the lack of any boating facilities, we liked it much more than our previous stops.  We even supported the local economy and bought a beautiful and colorful hammock to hang on Arrluk’s back deck in which to take a siesta now and then.

Following our rehydration and meal, documents in hand, we assaulted the beach again.  Sure wish I could have had a video of that launch!  Needless to say, we arrived back at the boat with 5 wet passengers, a dingy half full of water and sand, and passengers a bit on the cranky side.

After showers and fresh clothes all around; gear stowed for the morning’s early departure; generator recharging batteries; AC running because it started raining sideways and we had to close all the windows (the genset was running anyway); and laundry going to deal with all the soaked sandy clothing; we all felt much better and were looking forward to an early evening to ease the pain of a 5 AM departure.

Based on course, distance and projected speed, and our need to be at the river entrance to our intended marina at nearly high tide on Thursday afternoon, we had to leave Playa del Coco as early as possible in the morning.  Ideally, we'd leave earlier than 5 AM, but as no one in Costa Rica believes in using lights on their boats we would sure hate to take out one of the locals before first light.  From the puttering of their outboards, it seems the fishermen are out at all hours but we sure couldn't see them!

The Trip Continues

On May 22^nd, 2013, 5:15 AM, we were on our way: 225 miles straight, with no turns, to Puerto Barillas, in southern El Salvador.  The storm was still forecast to arrive in northern Costa Rica on Friday and sweep north up the coast.  Our plotted course had us arriving at the entrance to harbor in the early afternoon of Thursday so we could catch the tide and beat the storm.  Puerto Barillas itself, is a 10 mile, pilot guided, trip up into the Jaquilisco bay to a sheltered estuary where the marina is located well inland from the sea.

Panama - The Pacific Side

Panama City - Balboa Yacht Club

Panama City looking northwest  from Roca San Jose

Arrluk pulled into the Balboa Yacht Club on the early afternoon of April 28th, 2013.  Repeated attempts to raise someone on the radio were frustrating, as we puttered around on the outskirts of the open mooring area, once coming very close to a shallow area, before a man on a Panga simply arrived to waive us over to a nearly submerged, sea life encrusted, "ball" (actually a couple of nearly submerged tires) and assisted us in getting moored.  Our location later proved to be "less than ideal," (my words) or, "The Shits," (my wife's) as we were right in the path of all the crew and support launches that left the port at all hours, always at full speed.  Thus we were constantly subjected to substantial wake action and the loud roar of the engines.  To top if off, the "boat" moored next to us, a large two deck, no cabin, catamaran party boat, hosted numerous events throughout our stay, always with the stereo speakers turned to full volume with music we seldom appreciated.  We would have loved to move to a mooring further to the north or east, away from the launches' path, but all moorings were in use by long term residents.  The place was convenient as a stop, but not particularly memorable, which may explain that we haven't a single photo other than one taken of our arrival dinner in the restaurant.

Oddly enough, although only 150 yards from the main channel for incoming and outgoing ships to the canal, we never received a wake from these vessels, regardless of their size.  They simply were travelling very slow and deliberately, often passing us without our even noticing them.

The Balboa Yacht Club provides water taxi, or Panga, service to the boats in their marina, if you can raise them on the radio.  We noted most of the cruisers in the area simply blew their ship's horn a few times to get attention, and soon the taxi would be motoring their way.  This was a blessing, as we found no need to launch our dingy during our stay.  The long dock, leading from shore to the office and fuel/taxi dock, was sturdy, but in need of some TLC.  Once ashore, we found a very nice outdoor restaurant and bar area crowded with people.  They served a very nice burger and, more importantly, very cold drinks, of which we immediately enjoyed several.  We learned that the marina was home to a significant number of long term ex-pat residents and it was quite common to hear as much English in the bar as Spanish.

On April 29th we were visited by Peter Stevens our agent for the Canal Crossing.  Peter is quite the character and soon was making arrangements for me to find a doctor to have an infected leg looked at, and chasing down some hard to find supplies/parts.  We relinquished copies of all our documents and our passports so he could process us out of Panama.  For a welcome change, we were not going to have to visit any government offices.

Over the next several days we visited a local clinic and I received some strong antibiotics (as well as a shot in the butt) to combat my infected leg, along with instructions not to leave town until I'd seen  the doctor in two days for a recheck; we made several trips to the Supermercado (supermarkets) for restocking our freezer, coolers, and cupboards; runs to various marine and auto supply stores to find some bronze pipe fittings; and a day long trip to the Albrook Mall for a dose of big city shopping (we bought little but enjoyed the air conditioned comfort).

Flock of seabirds with Cruise Ship in the distance
outside Flamingo Marina, Panama City

We had to adjust our travel plans due to the required doctor visit, so extended our Panama City stay until the  afternoon of May 2nd.  On the 1st, we scheduled a re-fuel first thing in the morning.  This ended up being half day operation, as communications failed and we reported to the wrong marina (La Playita, instead of Flamingo, several miles away on the other side of the causeway) first thing in the morning.  Several radio attempts, multiple cell phone messages left and finally just gut instinct had us parked off the entrance to Flamingo Marina, watching the cruise ship passengers motor from the ship into the harbor for their guided bus tours around the area, when we finally received calls back from our agent that we could pull into the harbor and the fuel dock.  By the time we were back on the ball in Balboa, we'd spent nearly five hours to take on less that 400 gal. of fuel and top off our water tanks.  (Note the last fill-up of fuel was in Jamaica, so we didn't do too badly on mileage, considering).

The Pacific was passive, compared to our Caribbean
cruising

On May 2nd, at 2 PM, after a final clearance from the doctor and last minute bulk beverage run, we dropped the ball and began cruising again!  Our destination was Naranjo (Orange) Point, 170 miles to the west.  Geography dictated that we had to actually head further south, to clear Pt. Mala (Bad Point) before we could start in a westerly direction.  Darkness soon set in, and we resumed our night shift routine, as the evening storm loomed just south of us, with quite spectacular lightning illuminating the various ships leaving or heading to the canal.  We kept a close watch on the radar for approaching vessels, to assure we had no unexpected encounters.  The evening passed with seas and weather being kind to us as cleared the point and turned West along the extreme southernmost portion of Panama.

Our little Anchorage Cove at Pt. Naranjo, Panama.

At about 5 PM on May 3rd we dropped Anchor in a small cove north of Pt. Naranjo.  We had fair protection from the swells and enjoyed a nice dinner and evening's rest.

That evening we were treated to a fantastic display of bioluminescent bugs, that swarmed around the boat and occasionally made entry.  We never quite identified the bugs, but they seemed to leave a long streak of light in the air rather than the brief blinks of light we were accustomed to from US fireflies. Unlike US lightning bugs, they seemed attracted to humans, which made us a bit uncomfortable and had us checking our windows and screens.

The experience prompted us to break out our stored screening for the aft deck and work on getting it installed for the first time on the voyage.  This was a bit of a challenge as it had been years since the screen was up and the aluminum track it slid into at the top was corroded and rough.  It was a task to identify each screen, then pull it through the track to the proper position, but we managed to get it done before the next evening.  In the process we identified that many of the heavy nylon zippers had deteriorated to the point they were nonfunctional and needed replacement.

Isla Rancheria Anchorage (Northeast of Isla Coiba, Panama)

On May 4th we cruised 51 miles west northwest to the northern tip of the large Isla De Coiba, where we dropped anchor in a very sheltered and deep cove on the east side of Isla Rancheria, reportedly a private island.  There we weathered a significant thunderstorm with spectacular lightning, thunder, winds to 25 knots, and rain pouring down.  Thankfully, we were well anchored and had dinner cooked before the torrential downpour arrived.  It did make for a bit of a sleepless night, as concern over our anchor and changes in wind direction caused the boat to move differently, something that quickly wakes us cruisers up to check our anchors.  The next morning, as shown in the above photo, left little sign of the storm we experienced the night before.

Fishing Pangas were everywhere.  Most have no lights
so beware if you are cruising around this region at night

The next morning we departed for Isla Parida, another 50 miles to the northwest.  There, we found some competition for our intended anchorage with local fishermen, who anchored their pangas close to where we hoped to drop ours.  Instead we puttered our way north a half mile to Punta Jurel and found a fantastic little cove just off a "resort;" anchoring at only 3:30 in the afternoon.  The resort was little more that an outdoor dining area and fire pit, from what we could see, but did have a fair amount of small boat traffic.  Isla Parida is very close to mainland Panama, and is a frequent weekend destination for vacationers.

Punta Jurel, Isla Parada, Panama (to the right) with our anchorage cove in the center, right

As darkness fell we succummed to yet another night time sunset photo (below) with the little campfire glowing and cracking in the quiet night, only punctuated by the occasional howler monkey or bird call.

A gorgeous Punta Jurel sunset.

We had a very quiet evening, with only a minor thunderstorm and a bit of rain to keep things damp and cool(er).  It was still quite hot and humid, but being off the coast, we had only a few bugs, especially with our rear deck screening deployed, which permitted us to sleep with our rear deck's french doors open all night, allowing the slightest breeze through the boat.

The seas remained calm for much of our voyage, a real blessing. This photo is of the north side of Isla Parada as we left

The morning of May 6th saw us weigh anchor and set out for our last intended anchorage in Panama, Punta Balsa.  Punta Balsa is located at the extreme northwest of Panama and is an isthmus of land upon which the border with Costa Rica runs through the middle to the Pacific Ocean at its western tip.

Punta Balsa anchorage area.  Costa Rica is just beyond that ridge line!

We arrived in the early afternoon at high tide and anchored as shown in the above photo.  Upon the tidal turn and upon reflection we moved the boat to deeper water toward the left in the photo.  It was a relatively quiet evening, but we did get some constant swell activity that kept us rocking all night.  By early next morning we were set to leave on a 55 mile trip to Quepos, Costa Rica where we hoped to rest up for a while and enjoy the pleasures of another marina.

Sealife

A Pod of Dolphins "Riding the Bow Wave."

While yet to spot any whales, we've had the pleasure of visits from many other creatures.  Of course, our nearly constant companions are the dolphins who seem to delight in riding the pressure wave in front of the boat.  We had to wonder about their communication with nearby pods, as it seemed that just as one pod tired of visiting with us, another would jet into position and begin their play with the boat.  On a number of occasions we would see them breach the water, jumping high and spinning before splashing down with a great slap.  On a few occasions we would catch a glimpse of one out front "standing up" with his head out of the water giving us the eye and checking out what was above the water line.  This occurred so often that we actually quit photographing them and the kids no longer rushed to the front of the boat to watch when the watchman announced, "Dolphins!"

Sea Turtle moving right along

We've also seen a large number of sea turtles of various types, lazily swimming along.  I'm afraid weve even given a couple of them a rude bump, not spotting them in time to turn the boat.  They simply bounce off the side of the boat, but one poor chap not only bounced off the boat, but then slammed into the trailing dingy.  Poor guy made an immediate, but tardy dive for deeper water.

Two or three Sea Rays 'sunning' the tips of their fins

One of the strangest behaviors we've seen and have yet to find an explanation for, are the sea rays' morning ritual.  Early each morning, as the sun begins to hit the water, the rays come to the surface where they cruise along for some time with the tips of the fins, like batwings, sticking above the surface of the water.  In some instances there will be several of them doing this together.

A Sea Ray of some sort swimming with his fins out of the water

We will then see the rays (we are not sure if they are the same ones or not) breaching the surface and flying 10 to 12 feet in the air while flipping at least two times, landing with a great splash in either a belly or back flop.  It happens with regularity but no predictability, so our attempts thus far at capturing this dance with a camera have failed.

Of course it is rare for us to not be escorted by a group of birds, some large, others quite small.  Some appear to be using the boat as a means to target fish who fly or swim across the surface (literally) to escape the boat.  More on this (with photos) in future additions of the blog.

Our next blog installment should get us through Costa Rica.  As we author this installment we've successfully cruised to El Salvador where we are weathering some storms, swatting bugs and simply relaxing.

Panama Canal - Gatun Locks

The existing locks of the Panama Canal take some impressively large ships, but Panama wants to accommodate
the newer and much larger super tankers and freighters

The original Panama Canal opened in 1914.  To this day they still use the original gates for the locks, as they take very good care of them.  Just north of the Miraflorez locks at the north end of the Culebra Cut, is a small community chock full of Panama Canal Authority tugs.  This facility is the home and primary workshop for those that keep the canal and its equipment running.  Here, they have built many of the dredges and other specialized equipment in use within the Canal and the facility houses one of only two floating cranes in the world capable of removing the gates to the locks.  BTW, did you know that the lock gates float;  We sure didn't.

Gatun Dam on the Chagres River is one of several dams
constructed to create Gatun Lake, the heart of the Canal

The people of Panama recognize that one of their primary sources of income and the economic engine that keeps their country strong is the existence and ongoing operations of the Panama Canal.  To that end, a number of years ago they embarked on an ambitious project: by vote of the people, they decided to expand the canal so that it could accommodate some of the largest ships ever built.

Chagres River below the Dam

When the canal was originally built it was sized for the largest ships of that era.  As technology advanced and our need for shipped oil and other goods increased worldwide, carriers began constructing super tankers and super freighters far too large to fit through the existing canal.  The people of Panama are betting on these carriers wishing to cut weeks off of their shipping times by using the new, much larger, locks on two new channels being carved for the the canal.  And they are betting big, to the tune of Billions of Dollars in construction costs.

From the old highway (soon to be replaced by a new bridge)
the project looms large in the distance

Construction began in 2007 and the new locks, were originally scheduled for completion in time for the 100 year anniversary of the Canal, in 2014.  Unfortunately, the project was hit by a serious accident that claimed workers lives.  This resulted in a labor action by local unions for safer working conditions, and lengthy delays as issues were resolved.  The new locks are now scheduled to open in 2015. As we witnessed in our tour of the Gatun construction site, the project continues 24x7 to meet the completion deadline.

Display at the Gatun Visitors' Center

At both the north end of the Canal (Gatun Locks) and the south (Miraflorez and Pedro Miguel locks) new channels have been cut and larger locks are being built.  The original locks will still operate as they do now, the new locks will simply increase the capabilities and capacity of the canal by adding a "third lane" to the system.  We learned from our Pilot Advisor, that the remaining choke point for the canal will be in the narrow Culebra Cut.  Other than the locks themselves, this cut serves as a chokepoint for ships inside the system, as two large ships cannot pass one another inside the channel.  When the larger ships enter the system, this remaining chokepoint will necessitate very careful regulation of vessel traffic within the system.

The scope of the project soon becomes apparent when you get to the Gatun Visitor's Center  (View NE)

While at the Gatun Visitors' Center we enjoyed a 30 minute video explaining the project(s) (in English!) as well as providing a history of the Canal and the various attempts to build it over hundreds of years.  We definitely recommend a stop at this center if you are on the north end of the Canal for any time.

View NW from Gatun Visitors' Center showing Gatun Lake

Panama

Fort San Lorenzo

Panama - The Caribbean Side 

On April 17, 2013 we cast off from the nice docks of Errol Flynn Marina, Port Antonio, Jamaica just after our new cruising friends in their large catamaran sailboat and headed southwest toward Panama. Our weather and sea forecast was not fabulous, but about as good as it gets for the season.  We had agreed that we would likely not make Panama in a straight shot; if seas were high or winds not favorable we would head east or west during the night to mitigate the effect of the rough seas on the boat, then correct that course during daylight when we could see what was coming.  The journey was anticipated to take about 100 hours straight.

The journey ended up being much more pleasant that we had anticipated, considering the forecast seas of up to 9 feet.  We seldom saw those types of swells, and as the winds were very favorable for our sailboat partners, they soon "left us in the dust (or spray, as it were)." Our speed with the swells and winds was around 7 knots, there's was well over 8. A bit after noon they were beyond sight and by evening they dropped off of my radar altogether.  We chugged along, watching the flying fish racing the boat, the frequent families of dolphin playing with our bow and dealing with the day to day chores of keeping things going as the boat rocked back and forth from the swells striking us slightly off our port bow most of the time.
The first night out, Alex had another "oops" with his foot on the power panel, turning everything but the engine off.  Recognizing quickly what had occurred, we quickly recovered but not before a threat to remove the offending foot and leg should it happen again. (Thankfully it has not ... to date, anyway).

Cruising along, all systems were working fine.  We seldom used the generator, as the engine kept the batteries nearly charged, but when we did, I noted an increase in our engine room bilge pump running.  A thorough search revealed a small leak somewhere on our generator's external heat exchanger used to cool the bow and stern thrusters' hydraulic fluid.  This was quickly resolved by closing the through-hull valve for the genset when it wasn't operating and we added this to the list for future projects while safely at anchor.
The last night at sea, April 18-19, as the seas increased in height, we altered course to a more comfortable westerly direction, which spared us all most of the rocking from sea swells striking us nearly broadside.  We had a very comfortable evening cruising and at first light altered course back toward Colon, Panama.  Unfortunately, our little detour meant arriving there after dark, so we soon altered course slightly to head a bit further east, to the closer point of the country known as Isla Linton, where there was a well defined anchorage area.

Isla Linton Anchorage in first light of a rainy morning.

Unfortunately for us, as a well defined anchorage, Isla Linton was chock full of sailboats when we finally did arrive just at dusk on the evening of April 20th.  We had just enough light to dodge the large fish farming operation stretched nearly across the entire entrance to the bay and find a spot nearby to drop anchor, without weaving our way through dozens of anchored sailboats (something that is not at all appreciated by those already settled in their safe spots).  We ended up setting anchor twice, as the first shot didn't quite stick, and I was very concerned about drifting into the fish farm or another boat.  But soon we were settled and enjoyed a nice dinner and good evening's rest after cruising for 603 miles non-stop.

At first light we headed out toward Colon and our destination there of the Shelter Bay Marina.  We then got a good look at what we'd come through the evening before in the failing light.  The fish farm took up all of the bay entrance but a small channel in the middle and on either side.  We'd gone around to one side on a high tide, but had we attempted that on a low tide would have run aground.  I heartily recommend that anyone planning on staying there only enter the area with very good light.

A beautiful Sunset looking toward Colon,
observed from our slip in Shelter Bay Marina

The journey to Colon was short, only 29 miles, but a bit of a challenge due to the heavy large ship traffic entering and leaving the harbor.  After radioing for clearance from the harbor control, we slipped in the "East Entrance," away from most of the larger ships, then wove ourselves to the west through many anchored ships of all sorts  inside the harbor. The marina is tucked in at the extreme northeastern end of the harbor.  Directions were a bit confusing here because we always thought of Panama being oriented north and south, however, in this section of the country, it actually runs west to east and the canal itself runs north to south (from the Caribbean side to the Pacific).  By 1 PM were safely tucked into a slip in the marina, just a few boats away from our friends on their Catamaran, who'd arrived the previous evening.

We found Shelter Bay to be comfortable and well-run with a couple of notable exceptions.  Our first and only meal in the restaurant took several hours to deliver and then several of the meals were cold.  We did not patronize them again during our visit.  Those more experienced later pointed out that our meal was on a Sunday, a busy night for the restaurant because of the nearby military base and US soldiers who frequented the place, and because on Sunday's they have minimum staff working.  We suggested to restaurant staff and marina managers, who don't operate the establishment, that they should bump up their staffing on the weekends, but were told we were not the first to complain, and thus far no action had been taken to fix the problem.  Oddly enough, the place is undergoing a major expansion effort and will soon be twice the size it is now (which we seldom saw even half full of patrons).  Our second disappointment was in the marine supply store, or chandlery as it is known in this part of the world. It was poorly stocked unless you needed fishing gear, and staff was less than helpful in requests to order parts or basic supplies.  I even visited one of their other stores in Colon, and was unable to locate a basic plumbing fixture.  We ended up going to an auto supply in Colon to find what we needed.  We later visited their sister store at Flamingo Marina, on the Pacific side, and found nearly everything we had asked for at the 'north' end.  This was a real disappointment, as the Marina is quite a ways from town.

Ft. Sherman's active military base

We began preparations for our upcoming canal transit and I yanked out the offending heat exchanger from the genset hydraulic system.  Unfortunately, it was shot and not repairable.  As you can imagine, the marine supply was less than helpful.  After our experience shipping an exchanger to the Bahamas from Florida, we were not overly anxious to extend our stay for another such endeavor.  Some McGyver instinct took over and soon I was pulling off the brand new exchanger I'd just installed for the fin stabilizers  moving it to the genset hydraulic system, and reinstalling the freshly rebuilt stabilizer exchanger back in it's original location ... I only needed two bronze reducing bushings to complete the task, something that took two trips into Colon over two days and a good translator to locate.  That job, along with fresh fuel filters all around and an oil change had our systems freshly prepared for the journey ahead.

Local Capuchin Monkey

With our preparations completed, we elected to take a day and tour some of the sights.  We'd previously walked around the area, which was actually the old Ft. Sherman Army base turned over to the Panamanians when the US lease on the canal ended and we returned everything to Panama.  Part of the facility remains an active Panamanian military installation  complete with a significant contingent of US National Guard members here on humanitarian missions building clinics and schools in remote areas.  Their helicopter flights got us up early in the morning and kept on until mid evening most nights.

The sound of the helecopters was not quite as regular as the sound of the Howler Monkeys, that greeted us every morning and evening from just outside the marina in the surrounding jungle.  On one of our walks we were able to see some of the smaller and less reclusive Capuchin monkeys.

Our first stop was down a very well worn (and sorely in need of repair) road to Castillo (Fort) San Lorenzo (not to be confused by the large winery Castillo San Lorenzo).  From wikipedia: "Chagres, once the chief Atlantic port on the isthmus of Panama, is now an abandoned village at the historical site of Fort San Lorenzo. The fort's ruins and the village site are located about 8 miles (13 km) west of Colón, on a promontory overlooking the mouth of the Chagres River" [see photos below]. In 1502, during his fourth and final voyage, Christopher Columbus discovered the Chagres River.

The Chagres River runs north from the new lake that
supplies water for the Panama Canal

By 1534, the Monarchy of Spain had, following its conquest of Peru, established a rainy-season gold route over the isthmus of Panama—Las Cruces Trail—most of which consisted of the Chagres River. The trail connected the Pacific port of Panama City to the mouth of the Chagres, from whence Peru's plunder would sail to Spain's storehouses in the leading Atlantic ports of the isthmus: Nombre de Dios, at first; and, later, Portobelo. (The dry-season, overland route—the Camino Real—connected Panama City with those ports directly.)

Imagine this moat filled with water.  All the battlements
had narrow ports from which archers could pick off
hapless attackers

Attracted to the treasure, pirates began attacking Panama's coast around 1560. To protect the Atlantic terminus of Las Cruces Trail, Spain built Fort San Lorenzo at the Chagres River's mouth. From 1587 to 1599, the fortifications evolved into a sea-level battery.

The Moat for the primary fort

In 1670, buccaneer Henry Morgan ordered an attack that left Fort San Lorenzo in ruins. He invaded Panama City the following year, using San Lorenzo as his base of operations.

In the 1680s, the Spanish constructed a new fort 80 feet above the water. Set on a cliff overlooking the entrance to the harbor, the fort was protected on the landward side by a dry moat with a drawbridge. During this time, the town of Chagres was established under the protection of the fort.

Actually walking inside ruins of a fort constructed around 600 years earlier was very moving.  In spite of the heat and humidity, we explored every nook and cranny with one exception; we did not take the steep walk down to the beach to the north, as none of us was too excited about the return climb up the steep path.

View looking north to the beautiful but tiny harbor & beach area

From the promentory where the fort was located we went down a very rough road to a small dock area at the river's mouth.  Until recently the road had been blocked by trees fallen from a recent rainy season mud slide.  From this view we were able to gain a whole different perspective on how effective those cannon must have been upon anyone trying to gain access up the river who was not in favor of those in command.

Fort San Lorenzo from the land side, behind us are the secondary battlements complete with rusting cannon

From the mouth of the Chagres River, the fort appears small

Following our trip to Fort San Lorenzo, we visited the visitor center for the new Gatun Locks construction site.  I'll do a separate Blog entry for that, as we have a number of photos and the construction description will take a bit of wordsmithing.  We wrapped up our trip with a final run into Colon for some last minute provisions, primarily case-lot drinks which the previous grocery stores or "super mercados" did not have readily available.  Then back to the Marina to finish stowing our provisions and making final preparations.

Panama - Through the Canal

We'd engaged the services of a Canal Agent (Pete Stephens, Delphino Company, who's not the least expensive, but definitely did us many favors and was well worth the cost)  to facilitate our paperwork and trip through the canal.  Although we exchanged a number of phone calls and some significant funds it was two days before a Canal 'Measurer' showed up onboard to measure the boat from bow sprint to swim deck and to inspect to boat to assure we could safely make the trip.  Unfortunately, we exceeded the cutoff for smaller boats by 2 feet, so ended up paying about $500 more for our transit than what our "advertised" LOA (Length Over All) was reported to be (48' 8").  Our line handlers were to show up about 90 minutes before our Saturday, 12:30 PM departure time for the Canal Pilot boarding area, near the Gatun Locks, where we had a 1:30 PM appointment for Pilot Boarding.  All we had to do was arrange locally for our fenders, which were reportedly plentiful in the marina.  Inquiries to that effect found that there were no such fenders currently available (actually these are used tires, wrapped in black plastic, with ropes attached).  Back to our favorite chandlery we went to order up a set of fenders for the trip, which they assured us they would have by Saturday morning in exchange for a fat deposit.  We left there not at all confident.

Approaching the Gatun Locks (Caribbean Side)

Saturday morning arrived and we'd delayed refueling (last fill-up was Jamaica) until our line handlers arrived, not really wanting to have to dock the boat again, afterward, while we waited their arrival.  The appointed time came and went, then the phone calls and voice messages started flying back and forth.  Our handlers had been delayed by a large ship entering the canal (the marina is north of Colon and the Canal).  Sweating bullets, we all but resigned ourselves to not making our time slot for the trip, when the crew roared up in an old beat-up truck, bailed off and raced to the boat.  We pulled off the docks with 30 minutes to make it across the harbor to the Pilotage area.  Needless to say, we made it in time, but did not refuel prior.

To the right, our new friends

Each and every vessel transiting the canal has onboard either a Pilot (ships over 60') or an Advisor (Jr. Pilot).  Our advisor arrived by launch shortly after we dropped anchor in the appointed area.  After instructions to head toward the locks without delay and a brief radio conversation between pilots, we were asked to serve as the center vessel of a three-boat raft to make our way through the Gatun Locks. These locks are the first of two sets of locks and our trip was to be relatively brief;  it  only raised us up to the level of Gatun Lake, where we would spend the night the proceed in the morning.

To the left, our other new friends

As we approached the entrance to the locks we were slowly joined by two sailboats.  After quite a bit of hollering in spanish, and some interesting rope tying we found ourselves looking down on either side to the tops of sailboats securely lashed to us.

The locks begin to close, the excitement is about to begin

I slowly motored my way into the first lock behind a smaller cargo ship, and soon the locks closed and water began boiling in around us.

The cargo ship, as are all larger vessels, was towed through the locks by means of cables attached to rail "locomotive" engines on either side.  Some of the biggest ships will use three of these on each side.  We were thankful for this as it was difficult enough maintaining control of our 'raft' without dealing with the prop-wash of a larger vessel ahead of us.  Trying to steer three boats at very slow speed was a challenge, but after the first lock, and a better understanding of how the boat handled rigged this way it became much easier.

Locomotives towing the larger vessel ahead us us through Gatun

Soon we found ourselves putting our way out of the final Gatun lock and out onto the massive Gatun Lake.  About 10 minutes later, following a brief separation ceremony with our new friends, we were told we could drop anchor and enjoy the evening near the construction site for the new larger canal.  Our Pilot Advisor would be back aboard at 7 AM to complete the trip.

A spectacular sunset greeted us on Gatun Lake

We spent a very quiet and restful night on the lake, with no swell or tide to force us to get up and check our anchor.  Our line handlers (who had hardly worked a lick all day) enjoyed a fine dinner and then began watching our DVD collection before most of us collapsed into a good night's sleep.  I'm not sure any of the slept that night as when I got up before sunrise, several of them were still awake and texting away on their cell-phones.

A new Advisor joined us promptly at 7 AM and we soon found ourselves motoring along a placid lake in a very wide, well marked channel.

The lake was placid and calm.  The whole trip looked like this

Smithsonian Institution's permanent research site on the lake

  We greatly enjoyed this worry free portion of the trip and I was ever so glad that we agreed to spend the night on the lake and travel the waterways during the day.  We passed a permanent research site staffed by the Smithsonian that continues to launch digs and other archeological expeditions on and around the lake.  As evidenced  by Fort San Lorenzo there is a great deal of history yet to be discovered in the region.

We learned that the channel was constantly being dredged and improved.  Several times our advisor pointed to a little island my chartplotter's display and said, "that is no longer there, the channel now goes right through it.  The result was there were no sharp turns and although we had to dodge a few large boats, we were going "against the normal flow of commercial traffic."  There is a pattern to the canal, due to several narrow portions that do not allow to larger ships to pass one another.  So, since all of us were 'small' we were "bucking the pattern" travelling against the commercial traffic and set for a "special lockage" at the south end that would only consist of small boats.

A vertical drilling rig. This baby drilled vertical holes for blasting
then, "kablooie!" the canal gets wider.

This guy keeps the gunk out of the canal and pumps it or barges it
(as in this case) through pipes to form hills much like the one behind it.
This was only the 'business end' of the massive dredge

Our voyage continued throughout the day without incident.

We did pass an interesting vessel being towed through the canal.  It seems that some vessels cannot power themselves for whatever reason, but it was surprising to see a huge cargo ship being towed fore and aft by Panama Canal tugs.  It wasn't until she came alongside that we noted what appeared to be the big dipper painted on her superstructure, which generated a few comments about it being part of Alaska's Flag.  Then, as she passed, obviously destined from her appearance for the scrap yard, we saw her name emblazoned in faded paint on her stern: "Greatland, Anchorage, AK"  pretty darn sad, but ironic.  I've lived in and around Anchorage for 30 years and never seen nor heard of the "Greatland."  One can only wonder at the places she's been and the ports of call she's made and here she is passing another group of
Alaskans as she heads to her final resting place.

The 'Greatland,' Anchorage, AK.  Headed, from all appearances,
for the scrap yard.

The impressive 'new' Bridge of Americas over the canal

Two sets of locks remained for us to clear, after going under the 'new' American bridge that spans the canal near Panama City; the Mira Florez locks would take us from the Gatun Lake level down to the Pacific Ocean.

These locks have a huge visitor center overlooking them, and are a frequent stop for cruise ship passengers.

Mira Flores Locks visitor Center

Our Special Lockage afforded us a close up view of the
engines used to tow ships through the canal.

Although there were no large ships for our "special lockage" the electric locomotives used for them were busy moving back and forth, our guess was for the large number of tourists we could see on the balconies of the visitors centers.  It also gave us a unique opportunity to photograph these guys!

Panama - The Pacific

Needless to say, shortly after clearing the Mira Forez locks and separating ourselves from our little raft of friends (a different group from those at the Gatun locks; no, we did not motor the whole Gatun lake hooked together!) we said goodby to our Advisor and made our way to the Balboa 'Yacht Club' and a sturdy but loud and very rocky,  mooring ball that would serve as our new, unsteady, home for several days.We "anchored up" at 2:15 PM on April 28, 2013, disgorged our underworked and overpaid line handlers (they only had to tie up to other boats!) and made our way to the restaurant for a very needed hamburger and several cold beers.

It seems I've run out of time, energy, and internet connectivity, so will not only have to cover the Gatun lock expansion in my next entry, but will also have to catch you up on our visit to Panama City and 'escape from Panama' to Costa Rica, where we presently 'reside.'  

I appreciate everyone's patience and tolerance as you await updates on our progress, but, as I write this, we are scheduled for an early morning departure from Los Suenos (Herradura) Costa Rica, destined, in a few days, for Playa del Coco, where we will outprocess from Costa Rica and head north on our continued voyage.  In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at this diary in hopes of eventually catching up with the long delay caused by lack of internet and energy.  I'm now only two weeks behind!

Best of luck and happy cruising to you all!