GUNKHOLING UP THE GOLFO DE NICOYA

First stop, Isla San Lucas

We turned the rental car in and now were water bound.  We headed out early in the morning for our first stop north at  a small island called Isla San Lucas.  This is located in the Golfo de Nicoya near the top.  It’s about the farthest north you can go as the waters get too shallow further on.  This was about a half-day cruise and Tom tried his best to catch a fish but no luck.  I think I even saw him at one point spraying WD-40 on our lure.  I think I heard him mumble something about that being a sure thing.

This island was used as a penal colony in the last century.  We had heard that the anchorage had good protection and we would be able to see the remnants of the prison cells and possibly bribe the few caretakers there to get a look at what a century old jail system looked like.  We noted the submerged shipwreck that is in the center of the small bay as we slowly entered.  We snuggled in to a safe spot, and far enough away from the deserted buildings of the prison and dropped anchor.  We were surprised by the dry landscape this area.  There was not a lot of green lush foliage that we had been seeing.   This is the dry season in Costa Rica and during the rainy season the landscape greens out.  We explored around the bay in  our kayaks and timidly checked the rustic decaying prison concrete dock.  It didn’t seem inviting so we mostly just poked around.  I noticed some man look out from one of the shacks but retreat back in.  We checked out the remnants of the shipwreck.  There were just a few skeletons of the wreck sticking up with a grey heron that made a perch of what remained.  We found another large shipwreck partially swallowed up in the mangroves.  It wasn’t on the chart so may have happened more recently or may just have been a derelict and abandoned.  This place was eerie and ghostly. This sad but huge vessel literally had its whole rib cage in tack.  Ziggy and I padded through the center of it.  This place became an even more lonely place as late afternoon approached and we realized we would be the only ones anchored here. 

 Tom decided he was going to check out the prison regardless.  He hopped in the kayak and headed off across the bay.  Ziggy was upset that Tom didn’t take him and started howling on the bow.  I guess it stirred a response from prison and we heard some dogs answer back.  It became a howling as Tom approached the stark abandoned concrete dock.  He was at such a distance that we  could only see through the binoculars.  We watched Tom approach the docks but he retreated. Something prevented Tom from going ashore.  After awhile, he headed back.  He said what deterred him were a pack of dogs and a couple pit bulls.  Ziggy's howling must have stirred the wild pack up.  Guess we’ll have to use our imagination to figure out what goes on in that strange place.  At night,  we were further peaked by some lights.  The caretakers were flashing lights at us.  We could see them moving to the dock and back up to the buildings and frequently shining at us.   We watched with our night vision binoculars for a while but eventually got bored, tired and went to bed.

We awoke in the morning, and everything was the same as if nothing had ever happened.

We pulled anchor and headed out.  As we left we noticed a lot of trash in the water and the smell was not the greatest.  Just across the golf was Puntarenas and we figured it must becoming from there.

Punta Naranjo

We left Isla San Lucas and checked out the nearby beach anchorage of Punta Naranjo.  There were a few sailboat cruisers anchored in by the beach.  The anchorage was near the ferry landing from Puntarenas and we could see cars parking and waiting to board and didn’t think that would be an island experience.  We decided we wanted more remoteness than that so headed on south.

We passed Isla Muertos (the dead), Isla Cedros, and Isla Negritos (a biological reserve) and headed to Isla Tortugas.

Isla Tortugas

This island was once a stop for turtles but no longer.  It’s now a stop for tourists.  The white sand beach, palm trees and clear blue waters looked like fun.  We knew that this was the destination of tourist excursions but it looked like a picture card stop so we dropped anchor.  Larry stayed aboard to make sure the boat was anchored and secured.  Tom, Judith and I went to shore.  The shore was covered with pieces of broken white coral.   A gigantic iguana skittered up the hillside when he got a glimpse of Ziggy.  Ziggy ran wildly back and forth on the white shore.  He was ecstatic to be on land again.  A few small boats arrived with tourists and they came to shore as a day excursion from their hotels.  The crews began to prepare their picnic lunches on the BBQ’s.  People were swimming and lazing on the shore.  We saw a tam collared peccary mixing with the people.  It looks like a wild pig and has noticeable tusks but are not members of the pig family.  It was a pet and even enjoyed taking a cooling swim in the shallow waves.  We spent the day picking up shells, swimming and kayaking.  We watched the boats as they came and went and as evening approached and we were the only ones left except for another sail boat which was  far enough away to not intrude.  We felt like we had the place to ourselves.  We had a good day, a good drink, a good meal and a restful sleep.  We were in the cruising mode.

 Bahia Ballena

We all decided we wanted to head south to our next stop and it would be Bahia Ballena.  It was a large open bay that boasted having a Yacht Club marina, resorts, and the bay was a natural stopping point for the grey whales with their babies.  It was quite a ways south and the golf opens more to the ocean at this point.  You could feel the swells and winds start to  build from the exposure to the Pacific.  As we entered the Bay it was wide open and lined with palm trees and a few scattered buildings.  We could see one sailboat anchored on the opposite side of the huge bay but away from buildings and resorts.    We headed for the Ballena Yacht Club.  It had several shacky buildings attached to each side of the pier and the Yacht Club did not respond on the radio.  There were no other cruisers there.  The only boats were a few pongas and some of the small tourist excursion boats like we had seen that dropped the tourists off at Isla Tortugas.  We anchored and took the dinghy in.  We were looking for a restaurant and town. 

The yacht club was completely defunct.  The villagers were sitting on the small concrete dock fixing and tying their fishing nets and looked at us like we were out of place.  It was incredibly hot.  There was nothing there and it looked like a miles to walk to any type of building or resort.  We decided because of the heat we were not up to that so we waved Larry back to pick us up with the dinghy.  We decided to take the dinghy and see if we could approach the beach further down near some buildings.  There was no comfortable approach with the dinghy.  We decided this was not a place we wanted stay.  We’d rather be at a beautiful anchorage without a restaurant.  So we headed back and pulled up the anchor.  The winds started to build more strongly and we were glad we decided to head back north.  The seas were picking up and we could see some of the small pongas bringing back tourists and fighting the waves as they were splashing over them.  People were screaming in the boats and laughing but it looked dangerous and the ponga drivers were serious and heading back as quickly as they could. 

ISLA NEGRITAS

We found our new anchorage behind the protection of Isla Negritas.  We anchored in a niche between Isla Cedros and Isla Jesustia.  It took us an hour longer to get there in the seas because we were hesitant to go through a break between two islands.  Our charts showed a clearing but we could visibly see rocks  and decided the charts weren’t accurate as we’ve discovered many times.  We have been very cautious this whole trip because there are discrepancies in the charts in many places.   It turned out to be a good thing because we saw a huge grey whale breaching and twirling on the water for several minutes.  Of all our travels I have never seen such a display.  As we rounded Isla Negritas, we were protected from the winds and waves and headed to the comfort of our snug anchorage.

As soon as we anchored, we were still were hoping for a restaurant for dinner.   The guys went out on a quick search in the dinghy but came back empty handed.  It would be another night on the Knotty Dog for dinner. 

We’re coming to the realization that not only are the charts somewhat inaccurate but the cruising guides are pretty much out of date.  You’re kind of on your own down here.  You can use the guide for general info but don’t rely that what they tell you will be there.  That’s what makes this trip interesting and challenging, you never quite know what you are getting in to and you have to discover things on your own.  So, we are just prepared for what it brings and make fun with what’s there.  It was a beautiful quiet night and the sunset and bird ballets were priceless.  What more could you ask for?

BACK AT LOS SUENOS

Tom and Larry were up at the crack of dawn, while Judith and I got our “beauty” sleep.  They pulled anchor and headed back to Los Suenos for their afternoon departure car to San Jose and the next day flight to LA and then to Santa Barbara.

Larry and I had a few more days to ourselves before we headed south.  We took advantage of the time to get things in order that we didn’t have time to before we left to go on this trip.  We organized, cleaned, and re-provisioned.  We hung around the marina and resort next door.  We got to know the boat hands working on some of the nearby boats.

THE TICOS

  We have found the Costa Ricans, or “Ticos”, as they are called here, to be some of the most pleasant people in all our travels.  They are shy until you say “hello” and then you are greeted with a wide smile and very good manners. They always greet you back and ask politely how you are.  If you are introduced they shake hands and tell you how pleased they are to meet you.  They offer to help you out at every opportunity and do not expect to be compensated for anything and answer with “it is my pleasure”.  They do not expect to be tipped or compensated for a kind helpful gesture.   They are the hardest workers I have ever seen.  They tirelessly work in the incredibly hot sun and humidity to earn money for their families.  On Sundays, many of the boat hands bring their wives and children to the boats to hang out with them while they work.  Sunday’s are a big day with the family.  They enjoy this day picnicking at the beach or going to town.  I like these people.

They are very appreciative of anything you give them.  They bring gifts to you and always are doing nice things for you with nothing expected in return.  One of the fellows that cleaned our boat would come by each day to just say “hello” to see how we were doing.  One day he went out of his way to bring us a delicious melon that he carried from some distant food stand.  Tony, the boat hand on the boat next door, called “Jammer” wanted to help us catch a fish since he heard we had come all this way and had no luck in doing so.  He came on his day off and sat on the dock all morning lacing bait with string and preparing hooks for us.  He was meticulous in his work and it was fascinating to watch as he laced the body of the foot long bait.  He explained that if a fish bit the end off the rest would still be perfectly attached for a second chance.  He was meticulous in his work and to watch him was like watching a potter or an artist doing his craft.  Everything had to be perfect.  The strings all perfectly crossed and each finished with a special knot and then the bait laid in a large Zip Lock bag a particular neat way.  He very seriously showed me how the hook should be inserted and wrapped with the left over string, and how to place the rubber squid lure over the hook to hide it.  We packed the bait with salt to keep them hard and air sealed them in salt water before freezing.  He showed me how I must break the back of the bait in several places so it would be able move freely in the water like live bait.  He was very serious about all this and wanted to make sure I understood exactly how it was to be done.  He did all of this without expecting anything in return. 

Alex, one of the guards at the marina gate became our friend and would watch out for us.  He spoke perfect and polite English and had manners that would shame most Americans.     They are very hard workers and work long days.  Alex and others that I spoke with typically worked 12 days straight and 12 hours a day.  He slept on a fisherman’s boat at nite and on the two days off he would take a bus home, an all day bus ride, to see his family, and take the bus back the very next day.  Ricardo lived in the hellhole of Puntarenas and sometimes he looked like it.  He wanted a Knotty Dog T-shirt in the worst way.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to get them made before we left so we gave him a Nordhavn shirt which he proudly wore.  The boat T-shirts must be a status symbol for them as they all wear them with pride.

                                                                        Friendly guards at Los Suenos

Any we heard funny stories from the owner of the fuel dock who wanted to know if Ziggy drank cerveza.  He said he had an old German friend that had a dog named Whiskey.  When he would go to their favorite bar he would always order two drinks, one for him and one for the dog.  The dog was his drinking buddy.

THE UGLY AMERICAN

We saw the head of the Ugly American rear its head many times.   

I hated seeing the Ugly American in restaurants, sopas and tiendas.   We would be embarrassed to see him get visibly irritated and angered  if the “tico” didn’t  understand their English.  We were ashamed when he would rudely order his meal in his picky way, expecting it to be the same quality or prepared the same as he has it in the US and outraged when it didn’t come that way.   He rudely bartered, not as a way to explore or interact with the culture, but as a way to get something the cheapest way possible, even though to our standards, it’s already cheap. 

You all know the Ugly American.  He is everywhere.  He comes to someone else’s country and changes their culture.  He exploits their natural resources and destroys their innocence all for his selfish pleasure and sometimes simply for profit.  He pays them a pittance for their hard work while his share is enormous.  He expects to be waited on like royalty.  He shows no respect for their ways and traditions.  The Ugly American expects everything done in a speedy efficient manner for his convenience though it’s not part of the culture he is visiting.  There is no hurry here, where is he going?  There are no appointments, no shows to rush home to see on TV, no traffic hour to beat.  Those few that are the Ugly American make it bad for all of us.

  I hope the Ugly American doesn’t change the “ticos” innocent ways.  I hope the Ugly American doesn’t make them resent us.  I hope that the idea of profit doesn’t force these people to develop all their natural beauty into mega resorts where nothing is left but contrived nature hikes to see “endangered animals.”  I hope he doesn’t take advantage like he has in so many other countries.  This country is still beautiful and unspoiled.  Come see it soon before the Ugly American gets his way.

ON OUR OWN & HEADING SOUTH TO GOLFITO

We were sad to leave these nice people that have been so helpful and genuine but we have a big journey ahead and now Larry and I are on our own for a few days.  We’re heading south now to see some sights and arrive in Golfito to pick up Dave Wyman and Margie & Richard Serbeck.  

Dave, our friend, from Santa Barbara is coming aboard with great experience, having sailed the world and gone through the canal several times.  We are looking forward to having him aboard and learning from his experience. 

Margie and Richard Serbeck are leaving the cold weather of Sioux City, Iowa to the extreme contrast of 90+ and almost equal humidity.  We met Margie and Richard two years ago on our cruise to Alaska.  We enjoyed their positive attitudes and adventurous spirits and thought they might want to join us on the North Atlantic Rally.  They seemed like they had the true grit for the trip and maybe some of it would rub off on us.  They jumped at the opportunity.  We thought it would be great if they could join us here, to get familiar with the boat, and help us with the end of this first adventure by joining us all the way to Fort Lauderdale.  So here we go to Golfito