New Directions

We had great time in Cocos but had to make some tough decisions while there. It seems that our batteries were not keeping a charge, which led to a serious sit down talk. After going over our options we decided to turn the boat around and head for Panama to order a new bank of batteries. Making that decision was not an easy one, it meant that our plans for the South Pacific would be put on hold till next year. As we all know, you need to go when the weather is right and getting a late start could be disastrous. On our way we had some beautiful places to anchor and met some nice folks as well.We ended up having to tow "White Rose" into Taboga, an island off of Panama, that started a whole other adventure of repairing boats, transporting boat parts and taking some wild rides into Panama City on the ferry that just about flies to town in a mere 20 minutes.



Al at the Dock, a pic of Tobago from the boat.
fishing off the pier


a friend in Bahia Honda

Hiking on Cocos

Having arranged to meet the guide at 5 AM, we wake up at 4 AM to get the dinghy and ourselves ready to hike to the other side of the island, Bahia Wafer. Landing wonderfully uneventful, we tie up the dinghy and meet up with Melana to set off on our hike. Melana is a petite, strong woman who lives in San Jose and is here for a month as a volunteer. The hike has three parts, the first is steep climb up to the top, with amazing views of the bay, the second part is through the forest, cool, wet and shaded, the last part is a steep descend. This was my favorite part; we use ropes to hold on to, to keep us from slipping down the side of the hill. We come out of the woods into the work area where crews of about 15 are working on the future housing for park workers and volunteers. Everyone greets us; Melana knows everyone on the crew, and will probably be cooking him or her some meals for the next few weeks. The hike took 3 hours and we’ve earned a little rest in a hammock.

We run into the main park ranger guy, I don’t remember his name, but we’ve nicknamed him Fidel, for obvious reasons. He gives us a tour of the base, shows us the confiscated illegal long lines that is a constant problem here, and some of the equipment and boats owned by the Nat’l parks. He says that replacement parts for the big Yamaha outboards are a problem. Boat parts…a common thread for discussion for all boating types. He allowed us to use the computer in the office so we were able to do a few surprise emails to let some folks know of our latest change of plans. The best part was that the office was air conditioned….so nice.

We got a wild, fast ride back to our dinghy on the ranger’s extra big, extra fast dinghy. The rest of the day, we cleaned up our muddy clothes and bodies, hung out on the aft deck; our heads hit the pillow before 8 PM.

Most people that come here come for diving so they can swim with the hammerhead sharks; we were just happy to play in the water, sans the sharks thank you.

Good Bye Puntarenas Hello Cocos Island

Leaving Puntarenas, we finally cast the dock lines off midday Saturday, April 10. Our little flotilla cruised out of the marina led by David, in his turquoise blue, Parasail boat, then us, followed by Mahboula.

We’d made many friends at the marina and were a little sad to say our good byes. George and Karen, on Mahboula are heading towards the Panama Canal, with plans of being back to Florida by July 1.

Our next destination is Cocos Islands, 300 miles off shore of Costa Rica. Cocos is a National Park, one of many in Costa Rica. The passage took about 72 hours, with 15 to 20 knot head winds much of the time; making for a lot of rock and rolling. We did have one day of lovely sailing, so nice not to be motoring. As promised, it’s the rainy season and we got heaps of it. While on watch, you can crunch up under the dodger and sort of stay dry.

A few facts about Cocos Islands: it is only about 2 by 6 kilometers; it gets 280 inches of rainfall a year, it has three species of bird not found anywhere else in the world, the water is a deep turquoise, and it is lush and beautiful. There are two park ranger bases, one at Bahia Wafer and the smaller of the two, Bahia Chatham, where the anchorage is located. The other boats in the anchorage are dive boats and a big ship with a helicopter, which cruises over to the other bay a couple of times a day. The big draw of this place for most folks is the diving, one of the few places that you can dive with the hammerhead sharks…not something I’ll be jumping over board for. These boats pick up tourists in Puntarenas, and Heraduras, take the 36-hour trip here to spend the next few days swimming with sharks. We had planned to do some snorkeling but so far; Al hasn’t gotten me in the water yet.

We stay for about 5 days, so we get to enjoy it and of course, to celebrate Al’s big birthday.

What's Up Right Now

I know I’m still behind in my blog posts but I thought I’d let you know what we are up to right now. We're here at the Costa Rica Yacht Club in Puntarenas. We’re almost ready to head to the Galapagos, then onto the South Pacific; we should be leaving in the next few days. We've been busy with boat projects; Al’s been working on getting leaks repaired, he’s been up the mast a few times installing a lightning rod and repairing something or other up there, those are just a few of the jobs he’s been knocking out. I’ve got the easy stuff; I made new bug screens, boom cover and a bright yellow quarantine flag, Our old bug screens disintegrated in the sun and all it took was hearing that there are no see-ums in the Marquesas to send me into a sewing frenzy. We have done most of our provisioning, except for the last minute bits...meats, fresh veggies, eggs, and fruit, of course we won’t carry very much fresh produce because it just won’t last for the month long trip to the South Pacific. We have a good store of canned goods and that will just have to do us. We’ve nuked and vacuum packed some things to prevent little critters from feasting on our food.

Most days we usually leave our A/C'ed room before 8 in the morning to beat the heat and work until about noon, or until the temps reach above 100 degrees F, whichever comes first. The rest of the day is seems to just go by, going into town, naps, playing on-line, taking showers, and watching the TV in the room. It's funny, I used to be one to never watch TV, but since we don't see any when we're on the boat, I find I tolerate the tele pretty well when it's available.
The Marina was really hopping last week, it being Semana Santa (Holy Week) the place was full up. Latin American countries seem to take the week off and search out places close to the water to relax and enjoy.

A few more pics from Atacama

The Light Side of the Moon

Our next bus trip took us to Northern Chile, to the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama. The bus drops us at the dusty outskirts of town, where trekking companies are picking up their new arrivals and guesthouse owners are vying for guests. After checking out a few locations, we settle in at a place close to the center of town. We were not very impressed with Atacama to begin with but it definitely grew on us. The accommodations are simple, cold and a bit overpriced but there is magic in the air and the longer you stay the more difficult it is to leave. We booked a few tours; a hike through terrain that made me feel like I was strolling on the moon, another to some amazing high sand dunes that we climbed to catch a wonderful sunset. Lastly and my personal favorite was an evening with a French astronomer to learn and observe the night skies, only how Atacama can show them to you.

The outdoor observatory, the largest public observatory in Chile; it’s located about 6 km out of town, far away from the lights that would distract from the sky gazing. It is where Alain and his wife, Alejandra, both live and work. Their 2 goals are to conduct private research on Near Earth Asteroids and to show the sky to as many people as possible. The astronomical tour begins with Alain explaining some of what we will be able to see and detect, he spins such an interesting tale, you can easily tell this is a man who has truly found his passion and has figured out the best way to share it and inspire others. We go out side to the big telescopes; with Alain’s assistance we see the craters of the Moon, the rings of Saturn and contemplate our universe. The evening ends with a wonderful mug of hot chocolate and an experience I will remember for a very long time.

The website for San Pedro de Atacama Astronomical Explorations is: www.spaceobs.com

The Longest Day to Salta

The longest bus ride we took was from Buenos Aires to Salta; a grueling 27 hours on a bus with facilities that barely functioned, that is if you were brave and/or desperate enough to venture in. Salta is a beautiful city, with a grand central plaza that is alive with restaurants, music, shops and all sorts of folks strolling. We stayed 2 nights a few blocks away but moved over to a nicer place on the plaza. Everything was wonderful, grand old hotel with a graceful marble staircase, good accommodations and great service. We'd been up really early for a tour of surrounding areas so we were looking forward to an early night...so wrong, it turns out that night was a preview of a festival, so there were parades, floats dancers and piped in loud music, it all started about the time we went to bed...it was really funny actually, we thought...oh how romantic a room with a view of the main Plaza, but ended up with front row beds to a very loud party. The front desk was able to move us to another, more quiet room the next morning so everything was good. We did a few all day tours; we went to the Quebradas de Cafayate, the town of Cachi and the Cardones National Park, enjoyed amazing landscapes, prickly cactus and even played in the snow some. This is where we first begin to encounter evidence of the Incas.

OH MY...IT'S ALREADY 2010

It's been awhile and now I'm so far behind I'll have to give you the essence of much of the last 4 months rather than all the details...but that will be another day not today. I'll be back! In the meantime HAPPY NEW YEAR.