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September 1, 2009 We take off across the bay to Golfito, sailing the 10 miles on a pleasant beam reach. The channel entrance is well marked with large square billboard markers placed atop each other on the hillside at the end of the channel. After entering the inner bay of Golfito, we turn right and make our way down to the anchorage area.
September 2, 2009 There are a couple of repairs that we need to address while we are in Golfito. They are the reason we didn’t spend more time exploring Gulfo Dulce as we had originally planned. Not knowing how much time the repairs will take to finish, we decided to head straight to Golfito from Puerto Jimenez to take of them and then venture out if we still have time. One of the items that need repair is our original high pressure fuel pump for the generator. We have the new one installed, but it doesn’t run at full capacity due to missing spacers. We figure that we can repair the original pump and keep the new one as a spare until we can figure out a fix for the spacer issue. Tim at Land/Sea, the local cruiser hangout, has recommended a local mechanic, Robert, that can possibly repair the pump. We meet with Robert and show him the pump. He figures that it is a simple broken internal spring and will repair and return it in a few days. Hurray! Sounds great to us. We spend the rest of the day exploring town from end to end and visit the duty free zone located in town. The duty free zone was created as a stimulus to the local economy. It is full of merchandise, mostly appliances. But there are a few grocery merchants and plenty of tax free liquor to be had. We didn’t have our passports with us (needed to get your duty free paperwork), so we will return some other day.
September 3-9, 2009 The next week is filled with small boat projects. Fan installations, water system repairs, caulking of various ports, etc. The rainy season is in full effect and it rains everyday for 20 minutes to an hour. Occasionally it will rain for several hours, but it is typically only a light sprinkle after the first thirty minutes or so. It does make it very difficult to do the caulking to eliminate leaks. The caulking takes two to three days to dry and any attempt to try to keep it dry seems in vain. Partially covering the areas helps somewhat. But when there is a deluge of water coming down, even if just five or ten minutes, everything gets soaking wet. So I try to make an application just after the rain stops or very first thing in the morning. Most often it rains during the afternoon, though sometimes it can rain as early as nine in the morning. All you can do is try, and keep reapplying. I also managed to finish the second major repair on our to-do list this week. This involved tapping new screw holes into the boom. It’s an on-going joke that we cruisers love to drill holes in our boat. I mean, how do you keep the water out if you keep drilling holes that let the water in? These holes were necessary (of course) due to the gooseneck slide rail pulling the existing tapped screw threads out over the last 28 years. In English, where the boom attaches to the mast, the screws have pulled themselves out. The screws themselves have also worn out their threads and need to be replaced. That’s the real tricky part, finding the correct heads on the 3/8 inch screws. In the end, I take some hex bolts to a local machine shop to have the sides ground and tapered and a slot cut into the head. I left them a diagram of what I needed and the bolts. It took two tries for them to get it right. Having what I needed, I repositioned the rail an inch lower by tapping new threads with a tap on loan from Sidewinder. Plugged the old holes with a bit of caulk and coated the new screws with lock-tite before installing. Hopefully that will prevent any future movement, and the repair will last another 28 years. Amongst all the boat projects, we’ve found some time to explore Golfito a bit more. Golfito (literally meaning 'little bay') is a port town near the border of Panama. The town lies on a narrow strip of land surrounded by beautiful rainforest. Once a major port and banana growing region in Costa Rica, Golfito has been in a state of decline since 1985 when the United Fruit Company closed. There is a road and trail that runs along the ridge through the rainforest from one end of Golfito to the other. After several days of trying to convince me to do the hike with her, Jodie asked Suzi from Sidewinder if she’d like to do it. She did and they setout the one morning at 6:30 with the intention to only do a small portion of the hike up to the top of the mountain and back down. 5 hours later they returned to Land/Sea, having completed the entire hike along the ridge and down the jungle trail on the other end. We’ve also enjoyed a couple potluck dinners up at Land/Sea with our cruising friends. One couple we’ve met while being here is Eric and Sherell from Sarana. They are the authors of the cruising guides we have been using from El Salvador through Costa Rica. They are a great source of information, having sailed as far south as Ecuador before returning to Costa Rica. We cringe when we hear that they were attacked by gunmen in Ecuador one night. In as little as three seconds from hearing another boat bump into them to guns pointed at them. Other cruisers in the anchorage heard what was going on and shined a spotlight on them. That caused the gunmen to flee from the scene. A terrifying experience for sure.
September 9, 2009 Feeling like we have a good handle on our repairs, we decided to head out of Golfito today to go to a nearby botanical garden located in Gulfo Dulce. It lies 10 miles to the north on the west side of the bay. Named Casa Orquideas, the garden has been carved out of the jungle over the last 25+ years by Ron and Trudy MacAllistar, a couple from Vermont that passed through the area while touring Central America by van in the 70’s.
Of course that is not the way things turned out. For about an hour, at around 8 o’clock, a 20 knot wind blew us at a 45 degree angle to the beach. We could hear the waves crashing behind us, built up by the wind. We just wait it out till the wind calms down. All is fine and we have a comfortable night after that.
September 10, 2009 We land the dinghy on the pebble beach in front of Casa Orquideas at 8:30 a.m.. We are greeted by a friendly dog as we secure the painter to a nearby log. We spend the next three hours on our own private tour (we were the only ones there that day) with Ron, seeing smelling, tasting and touching a wide variety of beautiful ornamental palms, bromeliads, heliconias, cycads, orchids, and flowering gingers, as well as fruit trees and other edible plants that thrive in the tropics. It was a great experience and well worth the effort of coming here. One thing we learned is what a large variety of plants the ginger plant species has adapted into, both ornamental as well as edible. If you see a flowering plant in the tropics, it’s a good guess that it’s a ginger plant of some kind.
We decide not to press our luck and stay another night in our precarious anchor spot. After returning from the orchid garden we have a relaxing afternoon sail back to Golfito. Sailing closed hauled nearly back to Puerto Jimenez (on the opposite side of the bay) before tacking back across the bay to enter the channel into Golfito.
September 11-14, 2009 We spend the next few days making some various repairs. First is an annoying water system issue that I have been trying to figure out. It seems that when the water tanks get about half empty, the pump can’t create enough lift to draw the water out, acting as if the tanks have run out of water. I have checked all the clamps and fittings in between the pump and the two tanks, tightening when necessary. I’ve also inspected the diaphragms in the pump and found them intact. Still this problem keeps occurring. My guess at this point is that there is a hole in the pickup tubes that extends down into the tanks. That would also maybe explain why the “run-dry” symptoms occur at different levels in each tank. But what it doesn’t explain away is the coincidence that each of the two tanks developed the problem around the same time. The tubing is copper and 29 years old, so it is possible that they have degenerated at the same rate over the last 29 years. Although it seems unlikely. Left with no other real solution, I drill into the cabin sole with a 3” auger. Unfortunately, I cannot remove the solid tubing without creating a hole directly above the water tank. Fortunately, the area directly above the fitting is located under the settee, so the hole won’t be seen from inside the cabin. Of course I will re-plug the hole when finished, but it won’t be pretty. Oh well, what’s another hole it the boat, right? Once I removed the copper tubing I couldn’t see any real corrosion or obvious hole(s). I cleaned the pipe and then filled it with water to discover a minuet tear near the top of the tube. I used solder to patch the tear and re-installed the system. I’m not completely convinced that it was the problem because the tear was so small, not a lot of air (if any really) could pass through. Anyhow, once the system was put back together, we could only wait to see if the problem would reoccur as the water level dropped below half-tank level. I will hold off the repair on the other tank till I see if this has made a difference. Next repair was the broken flopper stopper. In Hurredura, the flopper stopper came apart one night, the tack welds holding the hinges having failed. We switched to our second stopper and stowed the broken one away. After a trip to the local hardware store that stocked stainless nuts and bolts, I took the flopper into shore. Land/Sea has a designated workbench that is project central for any and all repairs. I drilled out holes in the hinges and wings of the flopper and bolted everything back together. I also put in a few bolts on the sides that didn’t break to give them the extra support they need. Nothing really tricky required for this project, just aligning a lot of holes and drilling into hard metal. The high pressure fuel pump came back from the mechanic with three new springs. I reinstalled the pump and fired up the generator. She started right up and didn’t have any problem keeping up with a 30 amp load for the hour she ran.
When he arrives he takes the pump apart and we find that there is a metal burr in one of the cylinders. The burr has caused the governor slide to stick in the closed position preventing fuel from flowing. He files it down and re-assembles the pump as I watch closely. I take the pump back and re-install it (again). The generator starts up and runs fine, but when I put a load on it dies. I am quickly becoming an expert at dismantling the fuel systems of Northern Lights generators. I have to dismantle the entire system to remove the pump. I pull the fuel pump out and begin to dismantle it. I feel confident that I can re-assemble the many small parts after watching the mechanic do it once. I notice that the mechanic failed to engage one of the fuel control pins with the governor rail. I fix the problem, re-assemble the pump and the fuel system (again) and start the generator. It fires up and runs with a load this time. Thank goodness. I’m done for the day and we reward ourselves with a pizza. We have found a great pizza joint called Zaragossa’s in town. The pizza is even better than the one we got in Puerto Jimenez. And cheap at $10 US for the large size. This is about the only thing we have found in the entire country at a decent price. Travelers beware. Anyway, they have a thick pan crust that they prepare with what must be about a half a cup of olive oil in the pan. The dough is literally floating on the oil before the toppings get added. Sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen but it tastes so good it’s worth it.
September 15, 2009 Today is Independence Day for Costa Rica. Spain gave it up without a fight. We head into shore early to watch the parade go by. The parade was made up of mostly school bands and groups of young girls doing not so young dance moves. The oddest thing was that they didn’t shut down the street for the parade. There is only one street that leads through town and occasionally a car or a bus would slowly crawl its way against the flow of the parade. The parade lasted for about an hour and we returned to Savannah.
Hey, guess what? Our generator wouldn’t start. Seriously. I take the fuel system apart and look at the fuel pump. The fuel rail is stuck again. I dismantle the pump to find a small metal sliver that must have peeled off the new spring and wedged itself between the fuel control ring and the cylinder wall. That small bit of friction prevented the governor rail from sliding open. I re-assembled the fuel pump and system and things are running fine again.
Due to a recent change in the Costa Rican law, we are only allowed to keep Savannah in the county for 90 days on a temporary import permit. Our original plan was to spend 6 months or so in Costa Rica, however with the new law our import permit expires on September 28th. It’s probably good we are limited to 3 months since it’s so expensive here, our cruising kitty would be even more depleted than it already is. So with only about a week left on our permit, we buckled down and got most of the remaining boat projects finished. We also spent the week provisioning, which meant several trips to the local supermarkets and a couple trips to the duty-free zone. Our plan is to spend a couple of weeks in Western Panama and then head to Ecuador. Not knowing what will be available in Panama, we wanted to get our provisioning done here since it could be 3-4 weeks before we make it to Ecuador. We decided to head to Ecuador now to get away from the worst of the rainy season in Panama (October and November). It’s currently the dry season in Ecuador, which will be a nice change from the last few months. It will also allow us to do some inland travel in Ecuador and Peru before the rainy season begins there in December or January. We will head back up to Panama in January to explore the rest of the country. But before leaving we need to leave our mark in Land/Sea’s cruisers lounge. With paint provided from David and Suzi (thanks guys!), we find an open spot among the past cruisers logos and names. No rules here as the more art inclined have left elaborate logos and the rest of us have done our best to leave something legible.
I have never even held a paint brush before, other than a roller and trim brush for the house. But I thing I did a fair job in the end.
September 24, 2009 Since our import permit expires on Monday, and none of the officials work on the weekend or on Mondays, we are just going to checkout of the country today.
So we’re officially checked out of the country and plan to leave Golfito tomorrow. It’s always such an exhilarating feeling to checkout of a country and prepare for the next adventure that awaits us in a new country.
September 25, 2009 Before leaving Costa Rican waters, we want to spend a couple days at Pavones, which is just at the entrance of Gulfo Dulce. Pavones is a famous surf spot and has the 2nd longest left hand break in the world. I get Savannah ready for the quick trip while Jodie runs into Land/Sea to settle our bill. We pickup anchor and say goodbye to Golfito. After a quick 12 miles, we arrive at Pavones. We find Ed and Cornelia on A Cappella here; they had left Golfito the day before us. Like most anchorages that are close to good surf spot, you never know how rolly it will be. We setout the flopper stopper and hope for the best. Jodie and Cornelia decide to ride into shore on their body boards to checkout the town of Pavones. Since the surf wasn’t doing much, I settled in for a relaxing afternoon to unwind from the craziness of the last week.
September 26-28, 2009
The crowd here is friendly, a mix of locals and travelers, many that come again and again. There is good reason for making the trip as the waves are excellent. The bottom is somewhat forgiving, comprised of rounded boulders. Tread softly and you won’t have any problems. Around noon David and Suzi on Sidewinder arrive and are anxious to get some surfing in since it has been several months since they’ve brought out their boards. I head back out with them to catch the afternoon waves while Jodie goes into shore with Ed and Cornelia. I manage to catch a beautiful wave and ride it for nearly a full minute, pumping the board for speed and sliding down and back up its face. Easily my best ride ever. Thank you Pavones! Tomorrow Ed and Cornelia will be leaving, so we head over to A Cappella for farewell appetizers and drinks. They aren’t planning on spending anytime in Panama before heading to Ecuador, so we probably won’t see them for several weeks.
September 27-28, 2009 Surfing in the morning and relaxing the rest of the day, now this is what cruising is all about. Last night the anchorage became quite rolly, so after our morning surf we decided to go to the other side of the bay where it would be much calmer. We had scoped it out on our way into Gulfo Dulce several weeks ago, so already had a spot picked out for just this reason. We’ll be leaving for Panama tomorrow and want to be sure we get a good night sleep.
September 29, 2009 We are leaving Costa Rica today and heading for Panama. I have mixed feelings about Costa Rica. It is billed as a paradise and an ecological haven. But I didn’t find this to be the case. To me it was an overhyped tourist trap. Most businesses are owned by foreigners and the local population is trapped in poverty by low wages and high prices for durable goods. It is the typical case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. In some ways it is the fault of the local people themselves. Nowhere in the country did we find a central Mercado, local vendors selling meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. The central Mercado is something that the Costa Rican people has abandoned or lost, at least along the Pacific coast where we were. Don’t get me wrong, Costa Rica is a very beautiful and a safe place with friendly people. We both wanted to love Costa Rica. But “Eco-tourism” comes at a cost that is significantly higher than simple tourism. Not to mention eco-groceries, eco-restaurants and eco-beverages. You get the point. 30 miles to go today. We leave early and sail with an unusual wind from the northeast. The wind is actually coming out of the Gulfo Dulce and we take full advantage heading south. After crossing the opening of the Gulf, the wind swings back around to a more predictable southwest breeze. Sidewinder is behind us, but they will undoubtedly catch us sometime during the day. Sidewinder radioed us letting us know that they had a fish on. I was being lazy and hadn’t dropped in either hook yet. In goes each line and immediately we get a bite. A nice yellow fin tuna makes his appearance as I reel in the line. We radio Sidewinder back to say thanks for making it happen. In fact, today turned out to be our best fishing day ever. By the end of the trip we managed to catch three more; a dorado (mahi mahi), a bonito, and a slipjack. Logan has finally caught on to where the fish come from as well. He has never before shown any interest when I clean fish on the side deck. But now he sneaks out of the cockpit to get a close up look and maybe a bit of a taste. After his inspection, he slinks back to the cockpit opening and waits for me to throw him tidbits. He has become quite a sashimi hound.
We round lands end (just ahead of Sidewinder, they went way out) and officially enter Panamanian waters. A rugged island lies off the tip and we get tossed a bit rounding it as the seas become confused. After turning the corner, it is a downwind run, something we haven’t seen in a long time.
We stop just east of the point at an open anchorage off Punta Balsa. The bottom is irregular and all cobblestone (guidebook says “good holding”, ha!) and we try time and again to get the hook set. Finally, we give up and just let the anchor and 200 feet of chain sit on the bottom in 9 feet of water. Sidewinder does the same. The wind is calm behind the point and the swell dampened by the shoreline and reefs. We should be fine for our one night layover. And we are tired and ready to turn off the engine and just stop. Stopping is good.
September 30, 2009 A reasonably quick sail is planned for today. Not in any hurry to do the 20 miles to Paridia Island, we eat a nice breakfast and relax till 8 or so. Then, figuring it will be better to arrive early rather than late we get going. Sidewinder is ready to go as well. Well kinda. Suzi is still in bed. Dave is itching to leave so he says, “Lets go!” We head out with Sidewinder trailing behind by a few miles. Again, they are sure to overtake us. We are sooo slow! We motor the first ten miles, and then the wind picks up behind us. In Golfito, we had brought out our spinnaker and rigged it up while at anchor. One of the neat tricks that you can perform anchored in a tidal estuary. The wind can blow from behind you while the running current holds you in place. We drag out the spinnaker, connect all the lines and haul it up. Of course it is rigged wrong (my fault) and we take it down briefly. Then back up it goes and we are spinnaker sailing for the first time ever! Sidewinder hails us to say how pretty we look. And to say that if they weren’t SO far ahead of us they would deploy theirs! That’s pretty much how it is in the sailing world.
We get to know the sail over the next hour. How we point and where it performs best. After that we sit back and relax as we near the island. We hook a mackerel to add to our overstuffed fridge. Definitely time for a fish fry.
Also to our surprise, s/v Kate has passed us in the night and arrived here before us. The anchorage is a bit wind blown so we hunker down for the day. We’ll slip around the corner to another more protected anchorage tomorrow to catch up with Kate.
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