Blog

Dear F&F,

April 19
We had a wonderful time at Carerra National Park. Scott\’s pictures speak for themselves, please see that photo gallery. CAPTIONS will be posted next time we can get to the internet.

April 20
I provision for our next 3 weeks. Scott got confirmation that there is a grocery store in the Galapagos so I am glad not to have to shop now for all the food we need until the Marquesas. I do try to stock up on things I might not find down the road. I have no idea if salsa will be available in French Polynesia, so that is one item I load up on, as well as some fine Costa Rican coffee. I have had mixed results on my yogurt making, but will keep experimenting. It is too hot to try the bread recipes Mike gave me, but I am content to eat less bread & have more tortillas & crackers as staples.

Carmen & Mario Story
Megan & I were fortunate to get Mario as a cab driver one day. He gave us his cell phone so when we were ready to return after our outing we asked the market to call him. He had mentioned his wife also drove the cab, so we were happy to meet Carmen who picked us up.

Mario drove Scott & I to Carrera & Carmen brought us back to the marina. I asked if she had time to come & see our floating home & she was pleased to be invited. I gave her the chick tour (vs. Scott\’s more detailed & technical tour).

On the day I provisioned, I called their cell & she drove me back to the marina. Before unloading her trunk of my groceries, she asked me to please correct her English homework. She is fairly bilingual, but still takes classes to improve. I read a story she wrote about an incident in the north part of Costa Rica that occurred 4 months ago. There was a landslide during heavy rains and some people were killed; a few never found. Her grammar was not perfect, yet the tears rolled down my face as I read her description of a father who was found with his entire body wrapped around his young daughter, trying to protect her. Both of them dead. I had not heard this news and the impact of this country\’s daily trials hit home in that moment. Carmen & I hugged & cried together. When the intensity passed, I did as asked & corrected her assignment. I feel honored that she trusted me to look at her work & blessed to have made these new friends.

Scott & Cindy

Dear F&F,
April 11-18

COSTA RICA – Niece Megan Visits from New York

We got a good referral for a bilingual driver to pick up Megan from the airport Saturday & bring her here to the marina. It can be 2 hours each way with traffic, so I was not keen to make that trip.

She arrived on time and in good spirits. Carlos, her driver & former tour guide, began her vacation with fresh coconuts – one to drink the milk and the other to eat. At another place he let her out to walk across a bridge, viewing crocodiles in the river below.

The first 2 days she & I caught up with each other\’s lives. We signed up for privileges at the Marriot pool, which is about a 15 minute walk but really huge. Despite a lot of kids & adults enjoying the water we each got in a satisfying workout.

The highlight of Megan\’s visit was 2 days of sightseeing:
Our first outing was to a park with a gondola ride up through the rain forest tree tops. First we had a private tour of the trails. Our guide showed us many indigenous trees & plants. He mentioned the medicinal purposes & had us smell many leaves. There were many native snakes displayed in glass cages along the way, which we were pleased to see up close. On the gondola there were 3 other guests plus our guide who continued explaining things. We saw many birds, a sloth & an anteater. It was lovely to be in the treetops. They offered the popular zip-line canopy tour, but that is not our thing.

Another day, we went for a 1 � hour ride to an estuary for a panga tour to see white-faced monkeys. We saw 2 different pairs of monkeys. It was fun to see them up close. The panga driver explained much about the mangroves. He had to time our tour with the high tide. It was already receding when we returned to the dock so he had to get out & pull us in the last bit of distance. The 1 � hour tour passed too quickly, we would have loved to explore the wonders of the river longer.

It was Rolando, our driver who really made our day. We had already gotten acquainted on the ride out & he was very willing to answer our many questions. On the return trip, I asked Rolando for a lunch recommendation & we very much enjoyed some typical food at Soda de Tucan. Little roadside open air kitchens with a couple of tables are called Sodas. I had frijoles with plaintains, cheese & sour cream & have since made it in my galley.

I asked if he knew a place to buy fresh camarones (shrimp). We stopped & bought a kilo of jumbos from a fishing co-op.

Next, Rolando indulged my request for fresh tortillas. He stopped at a different Soda where the ladies were amused by my order of 2 dozen tortillas. It is not a tortilleria, so that request was unusual. They had lots of delicious looking food cooking so I also grabbed some mouth-watering ribs

The day after I peeled the 1 kilo of shrimp I noticed red itchy bumps on 2 fingers of my right hand. I thought maybe I got some small cuts from the shrimp shells, or got a splinter somehow. Didn\’t think too much of it. The next morning I tried to fish out a potential splinter with a needle, washed the area & put on antibiotic cream. The sores got worse through the day & that night I was in real pain. Scott lanced the pus with a sterile needle, used peroxide & more bactroban. It was very inconvenient without good use of my right hand. I appreciated Megan doing the dishes & helping with food prep in the galley. I finally got wise & began oral antibiotics which got it under control in a few days.
Poor Scott has worked non-stop alongside the parade of mechanics. Hot & tired with a few flesh wounds of his own. It has been great to spend time with Megan. I am very glad she came since Lord knows when or where I will next be able to see her. It will be a weekend or two until we get around to the east coast of the U.S.

Scott & Cindy

Dear F&F,

April 7-9, 2009

April 7
We were a bit frustrated to be waiting & waiting for the radio call that the
boat occupying our slip had departed. Finally the happy news came & we
didn’t waste a minute of our pre-paid month sitting & sweating at anchor a
minute longer. We made a quick stop at the fuel dock, tanked up on diesel,
then spun around & tied port side to our slip. Sorry Megan. We know the side
of the boat against the dock is noisier. Our cabin is on starboard, so we
tie up port toward the dock whenever feasible.

It is not that bad being across from the fuel dock. I just close my eyes if
a boat comes zooming in too fast & too close. We are the only cruising boat
in the entire marina, which is a first for us. The docks are filled with
lovely sport fishing boats. It seems like only 10% of them are out fishing
on any given day. Tournaments are the big thing, which happen several times
a year. We can\’t help but feel sorry for the poor bill fish that must get
pretty stressed out by fighting the line & being caught, even though they
use circle hooks to minimize damage & the fish are released after photos.
The boats sitting in the slips are washed & maintained by teams of
industrious locals.

We ran into Ron who is a Canadian refrigeration & air conditioning mechanic..
We asked him to stop by to discuss a quirky problem we have with our air
conditioning system when we run it on the generator. Little did we know at
that time that we also needed his refrigeration skills….

Ben from Georgia came down & Scott showed him the broken bolt problem on
each engine. Scott was happy to have his help with the dirtier aspects of
the broken bolt job. They worked as a team, Scott taking over my usual role
as Vanna White. When it came to drilling out the bolt at an awkward angle
while looking in a mirror the dentist jumped in. Together they removed the
first of the offending items. That only took 4 hours in the nice 95 degree
heat.

I walked through the assorted shops onshore: an internet café, bakery/gelato
shop, resort wear clothing store, bank with ATM, sunglasses store, Italian &
Asian cuisine restaurants, condo sales & tour office, marine supply store,
International Yacht Services (who would become important to us soon), but
most exciting for me was Jimmy T’s Provisions. Jimmy used to be a cook on a
large yacht & was frustrated by the limited variety & availability of
ingredients that make meals more interesting. So when he settled in Costa
Rica he opened this shop which has almost everything; for a price. I had fun
just gazing at items I have not seen outside of the U.S. I bought broccoli,
a very nice pineapple (which is available everywhere, but I was out of fresh
produce). I don’t necessarily love tofu, but there it was in a small
shelf-life box, why not? Pickle relish was a happy find. I could not resist
a can each of baby corn, red & yellow curry paste. And somehow a bag of
chocolate covered coffee beans & a bottle of Chilean sauvignon blanc also
leapt into my basket!

Scott heard from the marina guards that the recommended, but difficult to
pin down, auto pilot mechanic had been seen around the marina yesterday &
today. Scott walked the docks asking every non local guy that looked like a
mechanic if he was our man. If not, he would ask what they did. Thus Scott
met Joey, the owner of International Yacht Services. Joey is a diesel
mechanic. He was gracious despite the fact that we already had Ben, who
works for a different company, onboard. Joey referred us to his partner
Kerry Kurry who is a marine electrician, quite capable of diagnosing our
auto pilot.

April 8
Kerry from Connecticut arrived promptly. Scott explained the auto pilot
quirks and within 2 hours it was fixed. It turned out we had a loose wire to
our switching system. We are always happy when the problems have simple
solutions. We have two completely redundant systems. All components can be
switched while under way. We must prove the repair with a sea trial which
must wait until the engines/alternators are back online.

A canvas repair guy Scott found with sewing machine set up on a nearby boat
came by to alter the back part of our Sunbrella & mesh dinghy cover. Juan
of “Rainbow Canvass” used our old one as a template, but alas, the last 18”
didn’t quite translate over. Our local guy fixed it perfectly and Scott had
him make a few more covers to help protect the dinghy from the VERY intense
tropical sun.

Ben & Scott had an easier time removing the starboard broken bolt and so
began designing a better installation of our alternators. Kerry recommended
a nearby German welder, Dieter (pronounced like Deeter, not like someone on
a diet). Dieter was very easy to work with and did a terrific job.

I tore myself away from the excitement of 3 workers onboard & took a taxi by
to the grocery store. I spent 2 hours & filled 2 carts. They have just about
everything at Auto Mercado. The prices are similar to Los Angeles, some
imported items are much higher. I have asked Megan to bring me pecans,
although I did find them there. I was so excited to find solid albacore tuna
packed in water. The tuna I\’ve tried from Mexico to El Salvador looks like
cat food. We\’ve been eating it regardless, but I was happy to stock up on
cans of the good stuff.

A nice guy on the dock had pity upon me trying to pull the heavy cart load.
Scott was onboard so helped get the bags inside. I spent the rest of the day
updating my inventory, dating & rotating my stock & stowing all.

Since I bought quite a bit of meat & chicken, I put my main freezer online.
We are not sure if the freon level is right since it does not seem to be
getting cold enough. Darn. We had already met the very nice refrigeration
repairman, Ron around here, so if it doesn\’t chill down by the end of today,
we\’ll get him over to look.

April 9
The main freezer is not chilling enough. We tracked down Ron who topped off
the Freon. We will have to wait overnight to make sure it gets cold enough.
All my meat is stuffed into the little freezer. I hope my other items will
survive until the big unit can be trusted.

Scott & Ben reviewed the re-design job with Deiter the welder with sketches..
He apologized about his poor English, but Scott reassured him it was much
better than Scott & Ben’s Spanish or German. He will make two new steel
power take-offs for the 24 volt house battery alternators. This re-design
will prevent broken bolt recurrence as no part of the engines will be used
to support the alternator bracket as was the case in the previous design. He
says he can get the 10 mm thick material on April 13 & would have the job
done in a day.

Scott got an email from another Switch owner that the company that made our
catamaran is back in business as “Swiss Catamarans”. We have made so many
upgrades of the French manufacturer’s installations that I think they would
be smart to hire Scott as a consultant to redesign many systems. We love our
boat & have not seen another we would prefer, but she has been a labor of
love to get (& keep) in cruising condition.

It looks like we have a breather from work tomorrow, so I contacted the
guide that our friends Rob & Tami (met in Ixtapa) had used when they were
here touring Costa Rica. We will meet Alvaro at 6:30 am at the marina
entrance & head off to Manuel Antonio State Park. It is over an hour drive,
then hiking & exploring. Lunch included. I am excited to finally get to see
some of the country\’s treasures. Certainly birds & trees, maybe monkeys &
frogs if we are lucky. We have been told by many people that if you don\’t
have a local guide to point out the wildlife you can miss seeing a lot of
things that are right there.

It is such a relief to be inside with the air conditioner on. Scott is
outside in the heat working a lot, so likes it colder when he does get to be
indoors. Sometimes I actually put on a sweater! He is such a happy camper
with all the helpers coming & going, getting us in ship shape. The old joke
amongst boaters is \”The definition of cruising is fixing your boat in exotic
locations.\” Well, here we are \”living the dream\”! I am looking forward to
Megan to keep me company while Scott does more work next week. Besides
tomorrow’s visit to Manuel Antonio, I hope to also get Scott to Carerra
National Park.

Scott & Cindy

Dear F&F,

April 6, 2009

Scott is eager to get the boat repairs done by the two different mechanics
we need. He got referrals & has been in email contact with them. Main jobs:
remove & replace two broken bolts in our 24 volt alternators’ “Power take
offs”. These are the “mini generators” that charge our main battery system
when we are motoring. Additionally, we need to troubleshoot one funky auto
pilot. Who knows when they will be able to come & do the job? Will parts
need to be ordered? Scott tries to be proactive, always bringing whatever
parts we may need.

Los Suenos means \”Dreams\” in Spanish. This marina looks more like a dream
from Newport Beach, California than what we expected in Costa Rica.
We took the short dinghy ride into the marina. A guard booth is at the
entrance but we just zipped past & tied up close to the marina office (dry
landing). Another guard met us immediately & told us there was a fee to dock
our dinghy if we did not have our boat in a slip here. We explained that we
have a reservation & were checking in. The marina desk gal explained to us
the fee structure. A guy came out with a calculator to help us determine if
it made more sense to pay for just the 7 days Megan is with us or pay the
monthly rate, check in sooner & stay later. It turns out the \”break even\”
point is 13 days. So by paying for 13 days we could stay a month. We won\’t
be staying a month, but do plan to stay in this area 15-17 days. If we want
to leave the boat for day tours when at anchor there are security concerns.
We have been told we should hire someone to watch the boat. At a slip in the
marina we do not have to worry. They have very strict security. In fact each
boat that comes in & out has to check in & out on the radio to the guard
each time: name of vessel, how many persons onboard, where you are heading &
upon return where you have been. The best part of being on shore power is
being able to use our air conditioning. And since we need 2 mechanics, it
will be easier for them to do their work at the dock instead of out at
anchor. Especially if they need to run to their shop for parts, etc.

There are about 200 slips entirely filled with sport fishing boats of medium
to VERY large size. There is only 1 other sailboat here. This marina is
legendary amongst cruisers for being expensive, but we\’d heard the same
about Cabo so were prepared to pay big bucks. We had not been able to find a
cruiser that had actually stayed here recently, so had no way to get the
whole scoop.

We talked to the tour desk & there are a few things of interest within 2
hours drive. The nearest canopy tour here is by zip line (which we are not
interested in) or a gondola you can ride through the treetops. That may be
worthwhile. There is a boat tour up a river into the mangroves to see
monkeys. That sounds promising. Ka-ching ka-ching for everything. But all
touring will fit in secondarily to getting the boat fully functioning.

We fortunately bumped into the wife of a guy that works for the company with
one mechanic we were referred to. She gave us a ride the short distance in
her car to their office. It is a father/son operation primarily selling
power boats but they do have a mechanic on staff. Scott explained our need &
we were able to speak to Ben the mechanic via radio. If we can get into the
slip he may start the job tomorrow.

After a mediocre but pricey lunch (everything is US resort prices) we told
the marina office that we were prepared to pay the monthly rate & move to
our dock today. Unfortunately our dock is still occupied with another boat
who has paid through 4/14 although we were told 2 weeks ago we could have it
beginning 4/10 (how that works I don\’t know). Anyway, there is a rumor that
the boat currently at dock B-17 will be leaving tomorrow. There was a brief
hope that they would be leaving today & we could go there today. But no, it
will be manana. We hope not manana & manana & manana. But there is really no
other choice. We are comfortable out here in the bay on our bow & stern
anchors. Being secured front & rear helps us not rock around too much. I did
have to take a Bonine & sleep meds last night. We will probably run the
generator with the air conditioning for an hour or 2 before bed to help
knock down the heat inside. It is currently 5:00 pm & 85 degrees outside,
but still 88 inside.

Once we\’d reconciled to pay their price tag we expected to have a luxurious
setting & amenities included – not so. There is no pool affiliated with the
marina. The nearest pool is private for condominium owners, no outsiders
allowed at any price. It is a 15 minute walk to the Marriott hotel which has
a large pool filled with families with children since it is Easter week. We
can pay to use that pool & may, but it is an exorbitant rate. We are truly
shocked. The sport fishing boaters don\’t stay onboard. They stay at a condo
or the hotel. The annual rates are 20% less than the monthly rates, and
condo owners get more of a discount but we are still amazed to find this
level of decadence in Costa Rica. It is much more like Maui or Tahiti than
we imagined. But with less pleasant weather and fewer marina offered
services for the pricey place that it is. Scott figured that this is the
most expensive Marina ANYWHERE in the America’s. That includes San
Francisco, New York and L.A.!…Not even close.

I apologize for whining about prices. Obviously we must be rich to be
retired to this lifestyle at our age. My inner Bert Brians (frugal to the
point of miserly) is battling with my inner Suzanne Stolnitz (extravagant to
the point of irresponsible). Scott is going with the flow a bit more easily
than I am. His first focus is always our safety & full-function of all boat
systems. If we get in some sightseeing or take a dip in the pool that is a
bonus. I am trying to reconcile myself to enjoy the tourist luxuries, price
be darned. We talked to a woman from Pittsburgh that owns a condo here. She
told us there is a full supermarket only a $4 taxi ride away. That alone is
a big plus for me since I need to do major provisioning before we leave here
& head offshore. We are blessed to be able to afford these occasional
extravagances. I look forward to getting off of docks out in the South
Pacific where hopefully we will find more temperate climates with fabulous
anchorages & diving for free.

Project of the day: cutting a hole in the door to our fridge/freezer
equipment space to provide better ventilation. We will also install 2 fans
in there, but for today just cutting out & installing the vent is enough.
One more item off Megan\’s bed!

So that is it for today. We are at anchor again & hopeful to move inside to
the dock tomorrow. Maybe one mechanic will begin. We have heard from
multiple sources that the marine electrician is hard to get a hold of. We
will see if Ben has auto pilot experience, perhaps he can do both jobs.

Scott & Cindy

Dear F&F,

April 4-5, 2009

April 4
We were up at dawn again, so underway in the cool of the morning. We stayed
quite a bit offshore since there were some rocky pinnacles which made it
interesting along the coastline near the old Marina Flamingo (now closed).
The wind picked up enough to sail for 2 hours. During that time we had half
an hour of spotted dolphins swimming right with us. There were many Mamas
with 2 foot long Babies close beside – so cute! Many males also played
between our 2 bows. Scott took some video. I just sat on the bow seat
grinning ear to ear. These moments remind me why I live on a boat.

The afternoon got pretty toasty again. We slathered the sunscreen & stayed
in the shade of the bimini. I have taken to wearing my bikini. Least
possible clothing is best. We drink water & Gatorade continually. If there
is some breeze in our face it helps a lot.

It was a 10 hour travel day. Late in the afternoon we anchored at Bahia
Carillo which we are affectionately referring to as a truck stop. There is
no particular attraction here at all. It just allows us to sleep instead of
travel all night. Two other cruising boats pulled in after us. A big
schooner heading north & a 36 foot monohull (couple from the Bay Area)
heading south to the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic then on to Europe. We
swapped stories via radio with the schooner captain. The wife on the
monohull swam over & treaded water while we chatted with her. One boat on
each side of us, not too lumpy & as the sun is setting it is cooling off.

So early to bed & early to rise again. I was tempted briefly to jump
overboard with the other woman treading water, but it is so green & murky,
extremely unappealing when you can\’t even see your own feet. A cold shower
will do.

Before bedtime the boat was rolling too much to sleep comfortably so we
moved our position & set the stern anchor to hold us bow to the waves
better. Much better. I nearly got seasick just looking at the 2 monohulls
wig-wagging in the swell.

April 5
Today is our last big day trip, another 60-70 mile day. There was not
enough wind from the right direction to really go sailing. We did put just
the genoa out for a while & I got to clear up some sail trim questions with
Captain Scott. He is a good teacher. He gets frustrated with me sometimes.
He thinks I know more than I do. Everything is so automatic & natural for
him from his years of experience that he forgets that I really don\’t know &
understand a lot about sailing our boat. We have motored much more than
sailed for the past 5 years. Can you believe our Beach House will already be
5 years old on April 15?

We really like being alone on the water, listening to music. Today\’s
wildlife highlight was a yellow-footed booby sitting on a piece of
driftwood. We passed by fairly close & decided he was so delightful we\’d
circle around & have another look at him. Scott took some pictures & the
bird was quite cooperative in posing, no doubt proud of his magnificent
yellow feet.

Since today\’s passage was long & not much boat traffic, Scott decided to
tackle installing the new helm hatch. It is under & below the wheel. We had
to be on auto pilot, which we mostly are on when not maneuvering, because
the wheel had to be taken off. I kept watch & assisted in my “Vanna White
way”. After measuring twice, he cut once. The new hole is just a tiny bit
larger than the old hole. The old chinzy hatch cover had been replaced twice
before & on the last trip to LA, we brought back a much better quality one
that should hold up. Removing the old one & cleaning up after that was half
of it. Then there was a messy ordeal with power saw, electric drill, sticky
adhesive, etc. I have photos of Scott with tool in hand to show that he is
not losing his touch with a drill. He is quite pleased with himself. One
item off of Megan\’s bed…many more to go before she arrives in 6 days.

We anchored out in Bahia Herradura at Los Suenos. We have both anchors out
again tonight but still rocking around a bit. Since were out to sea we did
not get to take in any local flavor of the Palm Sunday holiday. There are a
lot of locals camping along all the beaches. The whole country is on
vacation this week. I will be interested to see if the Marriott near the
marina has only gringos or some wealthy Costa Ricans on holiday at the fancy
resort. My understanding from a taxi driver the other day is that today was
the religious Easter & next Sunday is the eggs & bunnies Easter.

We have travelled 6 of the past 8 days. Scott is already asleep at 7:30 pm.
I am tired also, but it is too dang hot, still 86 degrees inside. It is 82
with a lovely breeze outside but it seems to take the boat half the night to
cool down from the days heat load. I succumbed to jumping overboard this
afternoon but the water was yucky pea green murk & I couldn’t see my own
feet. Disappointingly, it was not that refreshing. Some benefit when I got
out, due to a slight \”chill factor\” (more like thank God factor) as the
breeze glazed over my wet body.

So far the coast of Costa Rica has been much drier than we\’d expected. It
doesn\’t look all that different than Mexico, fewer cacti perhaps. We know it
is the end of the dry season. But we just thought that meant it would not be
raining. We didn\’t realize everything would look so dry. We are not going
down as far as the Panamanian border, or to the inland mountains where it is
probably more lush.

Sadly they are overbuilding just like Mexico. I am sure Costa Rica used to
be a gem. It is actually quite depressing to read the Lonely Planet
guidebook. Drugs and prostitution are rampant. I keep scanning the pages
trying to discern where the remaining rain forests are & what we should try
to see while here. It sounds like uncontrolled building and non-eco
dominated tourism has ruined the country. I am yet hopeful to have a
positive experience here on land.

Next we will be heading to Cocos Island & then the Galapagos where wonderful
adventures by land & sea are more certain.

Scott & Cindy