|
|
|
Los Suenos to Golfito
From Los Suenos (Jaco) we made our way down the coast of Costa Rica to Golfito with stops at Manuel Antonio National Park, Isla del Cano, Bahia Drake and then to Golfito
MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK We left Los Suenos early in the morning to get a good
start. I was a little nervous because this was the first time Larry and I alone
were handling the boat except for the first shake down overnight stay and
cruise, at Catalina, when we first got the boat. The boat is much heavier than
our last boat and I can’t push the boat over if it’s getting too close to the
dock. Also, it takes me more time to untie the lines when leaving than it
normally would. So at Los Suenos, the lines had been tightly wrapped around the
cleats from the constant pulling from the swells. I had to spend more time than
I planned running around the boat trying to get all the lines off and thrown on
the boat. Larry had a rough exiting but everything we managed with everything
in tact. We had an easy 5 hour or so run down the coast to Manuel
Antonio National Park. There is a rocky entrance so we were slow and careful
coming in since we can’t trust the charts. We just watched the depth and
depended on the visual landmarks. We had read that it was a rolly anchorage so
we were a little concerned about spending the night there. When we dropped
anchor, it was late in the afternoon. We found a close-in snug spot near a the
cliff and close to the beach. This spot was by far the most beautiful anchorage
we had found yet. The beach was pristine white with beautiful treelike shrubs
overhanging the sandy beach providing nice shady spots to get out of the sun
when laying on the sand. The beach was back-dropped by terraced canopies of
jungle foliage and trees. were flowering trees and leaning palm
trees. It was perfect and not a soul around. We had the place to ourselves. We turned everything off, including the air conditioning because we had a nice soft breeze and the afternoon was cooling off nicely. We could hear the birds from the forest of the Manuel Antonio Park. We had brown pelicans diving for fish by the boat and the familiar frigate birds soaring overhead. Their little bodies support a wingspan of 6 feet! We decided to get our new inflatable dinghy out and go to shore. The waves were soft and easy. Everything we do on this boat is a new experience or a new challenge and the dinghy was our next and newest one. Larry pumped it up and attached the new motor and got it going. We all piled in and headed to shore. As we got near the beach, we glided in on the soft gentle waves we suddenly were followed by a stronger set of waves. By now we were galking at the shore and didn’t notice that we had turned slightly parallel to the wave and before you knew it we were caught completely by surprise and did a complete flip flop! All the contents, including Ziggy, Larry and I were completely doused and under the boat. Everything in the dinghy was floating all around us. We were definitely thinking that we’re getting too old for this crap. We recovered, though sopping wet. We dragged the dinghy to
a safe spot on shore and it wasn’t long before we forgot about our mishap
because our surroundings were so magnificent and we had them completely to
ourselves. Ziggy was busy running madly all over the beach chasing funny little
mini crabs and I was chasing snail shells and tapered shells that were literally
running all over the sand as fast as they could go trying to find cover. Each
one had a mini crab inside and they were fantastic!
We had a lovely but rolly night. The we had the anchorage completely to ourselves and were able to even shower on the back swim step in the open air. We ate dinner on the back cockpit and enjoyed the sounds of the birds and howler monkeys. Since the anchorage was so rolly we were afraid to leave the boat for long the next day. Larry said that I should go in and enjoy the park and take lots of pictures for him. He would stay with Ziggy and watch from shore. This time we took the dinghy to the area down the beach where the ranger said we were allowed to land. The waves were huge here and we circled several times looking for a safe way to get the dinghy in. Surprisingly there is no dinghy dock for people visiting the park. We watched as the Ticos in their pongas would whip in with their powerful outboard motors, ride the wave and at the last minute, turn the ponga, back it to shore, and at the exact moment pull the engine up out of the water so as not to damage the props. The passengers then had time to easily step off in the shallow water and after which the ticos push the ponga while running along side, pushing through the first wave and then miraculously swing themselves up and over in the boat and race off for their next pick up. We just couldn’t imagine ourselves doing all that! Determined we were though to see the park, I decided I’d swim to shore with my money, camera, fins and belly board. Larry took me in as close as possible and that’s how we did it. I purchased my $8 ticket, $1 map, and paid $20 for a guide. Once inside the park, the place loses it ambiance. There were so many people it was ridiculous. I don’t know why there was no one the day before, it must have been the one day a week that it closed or maybe it was late in the date when we arrived. But today it was packed. If any animal could have a decent existence with all these people milling around it would be a miracle. The guide did his best to show my group of five what he could. We saw a couple sloths through a telescope about a 100 feet away and a few herons that I’ve already seen all along our trip. He explained the various medicinal qualities of various trees and all I could notice was the graffiti carved on their trunks. We heard the howler monkeys again. Their roars are mystifying an loud. I actually left the tour early because I was losing interest in seeing the same lizards from a distance of 50 feet away and one American woman in our group kept insisting on speaking Spanish with the guide regardless that the rest of the group couldn’t benefit from their private conversation. I excused myself for leaving early and headed back. I was also feeling guilty about leaving Larry stuck on the boat so long. This time I swam back to the boat from the beach that was empty the day before and now was pack full of park visitors. We stayed another night and again enjoyed the same solitude
as the tourists left about 4:00 although a large tour boat was anchored near us
called the Pacific Explorer.
Now on to Isla Del Cano
|
Practice will make perfect?
Larry went into the foliage
and saw a trail or path that lead through the isthmas to the beach on the other
side of the cliff that our boat took shelter in. We were having a fabulous time
until we were interrupted by a loud whistle. I turned and saw what I though
must be a park ranger down the beach waving at us. In Spanish, he informed us
that the park was closed and we weren’t allowed to bring the dinghy ashore. We
would have to buy a ticket tomorrow at 7:00 AM and enter through the main gate.
We apologized and got our gear together and piled into the dinghy hoping we
wouldn’t do another flip. We managed to paddle ourselves past where the waves
were breaking and had to paddle all the way back to the boat. The engine was so
waterlogged from our mishap that it wouldn’t start. It was going to require
some more of Larry’s expertise mechanical talents to get it going again.
Larry swears he saw the same boat in Alaska when
we were cruising there. If that boat could make it here from Alaska I’d be
amazed. The thing was all steel, and three decks high. It was listing to one
side the whole time it was there. We were constantly wondering if it was
sinking or what was its problem. It also had a bad odor to it that came and
went with it so we’re sure it was from this boat. Nevertheless, the people on
it seemed to be having a great time. Another large boat came in for a few hours
visit. It was the same boat we anchored with in El Salvador. It’s owned by a
member of the royal family and we had heard that the husband of the famed but
deceased Laura Ashley was aboard with his new wife.. They were being motored
around and allowed to land their dinghy on shore. Their captain had recognized
our boat and came by in the dinghy to say “hello”. They were on their way to
the Galapagos and then back through the canal.