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Just arrived at Puerto Madero this afternoon
after two days and nights crossing an area which is
known for storm force "Teuantapec" winds blowing
across the narrow continental gap from the Gulf of
Mexico. We had some good forecasting advice and
made the crossing without any difficulty...except
that a Frigate bird landed on the masthead light
and broke it! We had to duct tape our zodiac
navigation light onto Meriah's bows to get
ourselves through the two nights; lots of
flashlight batteries. The only way we could get rid
of the Frigate (and others) was with the aerosol
hand held fog horn...the whole bird would tremour
from the blast aimed right at it...Victoria was
thrilled with all the action and added her own
voice to the effort. As soon as we arrived here we
were boarded by the navy...checked papers and a
drug dog sniffed us around...no problem. This is
the last Mexican port before Central America. The
next leg is four days and four nights to Costa
Rica, so we'll be resting, shopping and fueling up
over the next few days. The wind also blows across
Central America, so it could be a tough trip. The
"run" to Panama is hardly "downhill"...lots of work
getting there, but worth it for the adventure of
passing through that impressive divide which
separates the continents of North and South
America.
We left Puerto Madero in a bit of a rush because
the Port Captain died of a heart attack only hours
after having given us our clearance papers. He had
been very generous, having waived all the
formalities... but there were no records of the
personal arrangement with us. So the longer we
stayed, the more chance that his staff and other
authorities would get confused with the lack of
information. At least we had our zarpe which is
required to get into the next country.
At about 7pm on Saturday we were off Guatemala
and received a series of weatherfaxes which made it
clear that storm force winds were brewing. The wise
thing to do was head back about 15 miles (4 hours)
to Puerto Qetzal, next to the town of San Jose. It
was a good decision because the wind did howl and
we had to set a second anchor... about 40 knots in
the shelter of the harbour! Yesterday we visited a
mission ship run by volunteers of just about every
nationality. They have stopped here for about a
week to sell educational books (including those
with a religious theme, of course). They were not
pushy about their beliefs, however, which was nice.
We were invited to stay for supper by a girl from
Barbados and also met a very nice family...
Dutch/Hungarian... with three children who had a
wonderful time playing with Victoria. When it was
time to return to Meriah the tide had gone out so
far that I had to shimmy down the side of the
concrete pier using the dinghy painter to get to
where it floated far below! There were no ladders.
The armed guard and a few locals helped find a
place where Nicky and Victoria could get aboard. We
are still waiting for the storm to blow out, but
expect to leave Thursday night for our next stop in
Nicaragua (Marina Puesta del Sol near Corinto)
before continuing on to Costa Rica and Panama.
After a very pleasant stay at Puesta del Sol's
isolated, but very comfortable marina (still under
construction), we're presently (Tues Apr 8th)
anchored in an unnamed bay near the south end of
Nicaragua at 11 30.4N & 86 10.2W. Arrived here
this morning at about 8am with NNE winds of 30
knots in our teeth, gusting to about 40, which
began last night about 10pm. The wind has dropped
now in the late afternoon with occasional gusts
only. Meriah and another vessel being single-handed
by a good, beer drinking Dutchman we met at Puesta
del Sol, are considering making the 35 mile run for
shelter behind Cabo Santa Elena, Costa Rica, this
evening if the wind is still down. We have
discovered from our weather advisor, Don from
Summer Passage in San Diego, that this "no-name"
anchorage is supposed to be the windiest place in
all of Central America, with gale force winds
across Lake Nicaragua funnelling out the coastal
valleys. No wonder we are having problems! Don
confirmed, however that these "Papagaos" winds
tended to die down by 6pm and pick up again by
6am... so we'll make a run for it.
We have stopped in to rest overnight at Ballenas
Bay only 25 miles from Puntarenas and will be
leaving any moment (now 7am Friday 11th) for the 5
hour run to get us there. We've been really pushing
it to get past the area of Papagayos Winds which
get up to 65 knots offshore...motorsailing a lot so
we could move faster and now have only just enough
fuel to make it up to Puntarenas against the
headwinds.
Well we're in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, now and
just about to leave for Panama...will be heading
out this afternoon after completing the necessary
paperwork. So far this is my favourite place. The
economy is on the move here, the people are
friendly and helpful...there is just a great
feeling about the area as far as first impressions
are concerned. We had an introduction to some
Americans who have a produce exporting business, so
we were able to get a good feel as to what its like
to live here. Its very appealing. We're staying at
the Costa Rica Yacht Club here...a very pleasant
place with pool, showers, cold beer and patio
restaurant...a great combination. The Manager,
Carlos, really understands the needs of visiting
cruisers and was extremely helpful with all aspects
of our visit.
Again on our way to the Panama Canal we stopped
to rest at Bahia Honda. This isolated anchorage
makes a reality out of dreams of a tropical
paradise. We dropped the hook in behind Isla Honda
in a beautiful bay with a tiny community that is
only accessible by boat...and if the inhabitants do
go to the mainland, it is still miles of trail on
horseback to the nearest town. The whole bay is
surrounded by lush green forested mountains and
totally protected. It wasn't long before dugout
canoes of villagers came out to sell us fresh
fruits and children paddled out looking for
handouts (too bad, they have been spoiled by the
sad perception of the "rich American" reinforced by
passing cruisers).
We've been really pushing it to beat the
hurricane season that hits the Caribbean in
June...have to be about as far north as New York by
then. Lots of difficult weather as we make our way
to the Panama Canal. It has been two days and two
nights since Bahia Honda. Last night we were
dodging a huge thunderstorm. We thought that we had
made our way around it when it changed direction
and nailed us... wind and torrential rain, but
fortunately the lightning stayed up in the clouds.
Now we're anchored in a little bay resting and
waiting for the storms to settle down....we can
hear Howler Monkeys arguing in the forest
ashore...definitely the tropics. Only two more days
to the Canal, so we are getting close!
This morning the Easter Bunny visited Meriah and
Victoria was delighted to find a note from the
Bunny which explained that it was thanks to the
APRS Position on our web site that he could find
her. It was wonderful watching Victoria finding
hidden candy all over the boat, with squeals of
delight as each new treasure was discovered!
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