Three Strikes

Just after a lovely lunch at La Vena in Tenacatita as we were changing our tattered Canadian courtesy flag, a 90 foot power yacht dropped it's anchor a little too close given that there were only three boats in the anchorage. It's like surfing or skiing, everyone follows the crowd. The woman on the bow of the yacht was yelling and waiving to her husband at the helm that she couldn't stop the anchor chain. Apparently she was having trouble with the windlass. As is common, panic ensued. Why, I don't know. Who cares if you lose your anchor chain in 20 feet of water, dive down, attach a halyard and winch it up. So now husband and wife are yelling at eachother on the bow (which is also, common) about the anchoring situation. Unfortunately, the boat was still in gear at about 5 knots and heading straight for Lost Elvis mid-ship. A local ponga full of tourists stopped to watch. I started yelling to him that he was still in gear. Randy ordered all of us to prepare to abandon ship so we scrambled under the life lines, stood on the rub rail and prepared dive in and swim as fast as we could. Just as we were about to dive in, the captain of the yacht looked up in shock, ran to his helm, which was quite a distance, slammed the vessel into reverse and stopped about 20 feet away from us. We were shaking. I'm sure the panga would have plucked us out of the water but the woman would have been launched through our running rigging, Elvis would have been demasted and likely sunk. All for a few hundred feet of chain.



To take our minds of things we resumed working on the Canadian flag. As Randy was hoisting it, the radar deflector fell on my head. It shattered my plastic hair clip and gave me whiplash but other than that I was OK. If not for the hair do, I would be in the hospital, or worse.



Randy paid a visit to our new neighbours to have a de-briefing on what just happened and how we could all learn from it. After much blame, it was agreed that the Captain is ultimately responsible for the vessel and crew. The yachties invited us for cocktails and snacks so we could all come to terms and get over the unnecessary adrenline hit we all felt.



That's when they tried to kill us a second time, with Captain Morgan rum. Randy and Paul were rather ill the next morning. After we pulled up the anchor, they both went back to their bunks and I took old Elvis back to Barra. She, as well as the rest of us are very happy to be here.

If any provisions are needed while in Tenacatita, La Manzanilla has fresh fruit and vegetables on Thursdays. There is a little deli and fish market operated by some gringos. Most items are frozen but that works well for us since we don't have to run our freezer for ever to freeze it ourselves. Gasoline for outboards can be found in a little mechanic shop on the way to the highway. Take a taxi to the garage where instead of a hoist, the owner has a pit, and instead of a gasoline pump, he stores gas in plastic soda bottles.

Lost Elvis Sailing, Yes Sailing to Careyes

We left Chamela for Careyes on December 15 and since it's only an hour by motor we decided to sail. There wasn't much wind but our friends on Maluhia egged us on. After an hour we had to start the engine to keep up with Maluhia, a catamaran weighing less than a 1/4 of us. At idle with sails we were holding 6 knots. After about 3 hours, we made it to Careyes, a tiny little anchorage, lined with luxurious hotels and houses. The anchorage is much smaller than Charlie's Charts indicates. It can hold about 5 boats if they are all stern anchored. It's about 25 feet deep and the bottom is sand. The snorkelling is fantastic at the islands near the old Club Med and the water is about 10 degrees warmer than at Las Tres Marietas. We had an expensive lunch at the Careyes Hotel and sat by the pool freezing to death in 15 knot winds. The pool is not heated so not very inviting at this time of year. There is an expensive seafood restaurant in the large pink palapa in the middle cove. The entrees range from 180 pesos to 500 pesos (lobster). Tomorrow we head to Barra. Unfortunately, the tides are not in our favour so we will have to spend a night in the marina which is prohibitively expensive. During the summer in the off-season they were charging $2.40 per foot and no one was there! Hopefully they will give us a break as it appears things are still quite slow post-US recession.

San Pancho Wedding, Mariettas and the Cat Comes Back

On November 13, 2010, Chris Pilutik (my brother) and Jackie Fowler were married in San Pancho, Nayarit, Mexico. It was an amazingly beautiful and fun event with a Banda Group, Mariachis, much dancing, local food and perfect weather.

Rather than sail Lost Elvis up to Sayulita and leave her there anchored during the festivities, Randy and I decided to rent a room at Costa Azul in San Pancho. Costa Azul is one of the area's first "adventure resorts" and was two doors down the beach from Villa de Roja, where the wedding was held. We got a taxi from Paradise Village for 300 pesos. San Pancho is small so there is no need to have a car there unless you are going to drive up to San Blas or up to the crocodile tour. If you do rent a car, use "Gecko" out of Bucerias. He's Canadian and offers a decent rate.



San Pancho's bridge is out due to the heavy rains in September but they have built a temporary by-pass for cars and pedestrians. If you need anything, go to the Indio it has everything.

San Pancho Surf Shop is also a great resource. If Fabiano is working there, he can arrange surf trips, fishing charters, hikes to the waterfalls, horse back riding... etc. He's a native San Pancho-ite and a long time family friend. You can surf right in San Pancho at the end of the main street. In the winter, it's a fast break. During the week there is hardly anyone surfing. The locals surf before and after work
After the wedding SV Lost Elvis boarded 13 of the wedding guests at La Cruz and set sail for a day trip to the Mariettas. We saw dolphins and whales. The guests snorkeled, swam and kayaked. Randy attempted an "Amphibious Assault" dinghy beach landing, ended up sideways in the waves and then upside down in the coral. Other than a few scratches Randy was fine. Fortunately, he let all the passengers out to swim ashore. Any dinghy landing that starts with the words "Watch This!", "I learned this in the State Department" or now, "Amphibious Assault", means someone is going to get wet.


Big thanks to MV HannaMarie, a Mikelson Yacht Fisher (aka Calamari), Brad and Adam for helping us entertain our guests. Back in port in La Cruz, we found an excellent boat washer, stainless guy called Jose. He is very reasonable and thorough.

After a few tears and much discussion, I have decided to take Roan, my Devon Rex, to Mexico to live with us on the boat. My ex's schedule would leave Roan alone most of the time and Roan is very bonded to me.

He's sleeping in my dirty clothes hamper beside me if that's any indication.

Mexico is the same as most countries for importing a cat. You need a veterinarian's certificate of good health and confirmation of distemper and rabies shots within 10 days of travel. As well as smuggling in a good supply of his normal food, my vet also suggested bringing in bottled water in case he doesn't like the local stuff. What she doesn't know is that the water in Paradise Village Marina is filtered and treated before it gets to the docks and that our boat also has three filters before it pours out of the tap. I drink it all the time without incident. I'm sure Roanie Baloney will be fine.

Roan and I leave on December 9 on a Westjet direct flight from Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta. This is the only direct flight from Vancouver and is about 5 hours in total. During the busy season, Westjet allows only two pets in the cabin. They have specific requirements about the size and type of cat carrier however, the cat carrier does not count as carry-on. They charge $50 for the cat.

I am worried about him escaping, drowning and freaking out when the engine starts. We'll have to close the boat up while we are out so he does not escape. Thank God we have air conditioning so we can cool things down when we return to the boat. I'm sure it will all be fine but I am so worried. At the same time, I can't send him out for adoption or leave him with my ex; those options would be worse for the cat.

Back Home

The next port after Zihuatenejo was Barra de Navidad. We entered the bay early in the morning in early August. The majestic Grand Bay Hotel still towers over the narrow entrance to the lagoon. As we rounded the corner toward the fuel docks we saw the lagoon; empty. Not a single vessel anchored in "the mud". It was almost mysterious since the last time we were in Barra (December 2008) there was almost no room for us to anchor.

We planned to fuel up, splurge on a night or two at the fancy marina, tromp around Barra for a day or two and then launch our last leg home to Paradise Village, Puerto Vallarta.

Of course, planning any voyage in the middle of Hurricane Season, is laughable.

Entonces left Zihua a day after us under sail only as they had transmission issues. The storms and tropical lows chased them all the way there. They arrived in the Bay of Banderas a few days ahead of us at under six knots. Old Lost Elvis incurred a hefty marina bill from waiting out the storms that consistently ripped through or right by Barra. By the way, there were no visiting boats in the marina either but we still couldn't get a deal. Many Mexican business do not understand that when business is slow, jacking up the prices does not necessarily make up for things. We begged for a deal for our week long stay; but "nada". Next time we will anchor in the mud no matter what.

Barra is hot and muggy in the summer; much like Zihua but not as bad as Golfito, Costa Rica. Even the Columbian complained about Golfito and he lives in Baranquilla, which to me is just as hot. We toured around town with Eric (Northern Romance) and Heidi, his girlfriend, ate at Pipis, Ambers, and various other haunts. There was not a "cruiser" to be seen, nor any white folk either except for the odd ex-pat. It was the last few days of Mexican summer before the kids returned to school and they were everywhere with their bright pink, green and blue inflatable beach toys.

On Saturday, August 21, 2010, despite advice from Weather Routing, we decided we could no longer afford Grand Bay no matter how bad the weather was. We had to get out. We had the usual afternoon squalls and cells but made it from Barra to Nuevo Vallarta in about 19 hours.

We arrived in the dark near the markers for the channel into Paradise Village Marina. It started to pour rain. We motored around the bay, past La Cruz to see if we could find Entonces (Chad and Liza) waiting for dawn to help us see our way in. Lost Elvis can practically negotiate the entrance solo but the benefit of a little light was helpful.

Elizabeth and Richard (Seagnome; SG Boatworks) greeted us at the docks. It felt good to be home.

The Anatomy of a Hamburger

Zihuatenejo has the best hamburgers in the world we have decided. Our favourite stand is directly across from the basketball courts.

The burger consists of bimbo bread buns, grilled, hamburger patty, ham, string cheese melted on the ham, avocado slices, chopped tomatoes, pickled jalapeno peppers, mustard, ketchup, mayonaise... outstanding.

Today is kayaking at Las Gatas. Anders leaves for Vegas at noon so we are kayaking early.

Randy and Luis Bandito are working on the fridge and air intake lines as they are still full of trash from Acapulco. The generator line had celophane from a cigarette package and half of a toothbrush!

This afternoon we search for water filters and a Mexican flag likely stopping at Tamale Annies for pozole and, you guessed it, tamales.

Sunset Bar is closed. Some employees and the manager tried to sue the owner so she returned to Victoria/Vancouver. Ric's (Memo's) is closed until November when the cruisers return

The owners of Blythe Spirit left her here for the hurricane season and their deflated dinghy with engine are stranded on the playa principal. Other than that there are two other sailboats here; one in Playa Principal with us and the other at La Ropa.

Zihua is inundated with locals at this time of year... much busier than the winter. The only other gringos here are those that have chosen Zihua as their permanent residence.

Lost Elvis - Huatulco to Acapulco

This blogsite is very slow to load photos so unfortunately, I don't have any on this blog. Thea arrived in Huatulco from Vancouver via Phoenix and Mexico City. Flying on a US Airways guest pass sounds like a great deal but it's not. When I arrived at the gate in Vancouver (after confirming my reservation over the phone) I was advised that because I was flying to Mexico, I was not permitted to check any bags. Well, our sailing friends know that not checking bags is not an option. We are constantly lugging parts and supplies to our boats. In the end, I convinced them to at least check my bags to Phoenix but that was the end. I had to buy a one way ticket from Phoenix to Mexico City.

Huatulco was as beautiful as I remember but greener due to the seasonal rains. We at tacos al pastor as much as we could. On Sunday we went to Barra de La Cruz to surf with our friends Chad and Tony from "Entonces"; our buddy boat. It was fabulous. I was just playing in the breakers trying to stand up on my board but the boys were out on the point on a left break where the local surfers (1/2 of which were women) would push them out of the line up. As in most line ups, the locals stand their ground. If it were a week day it would have been more tranquilo.

It took us 36 hours to get the boat from Huatulco to Acapulco. Entonces stayed behind due to repairs. It was strange for me because we have two guests who are experienced sailors. All of my normal duties were covered. I slept alot. The weather was typical for this time of year; squalls, south swell; 60% good 40% not so good.

Entonces will meet us in Zihau on Wednesday.

We must have caught Chad's bad fridge karma because we smelled something burning in the main hold of the fridge. It turned out the the thermostat was fried. We got Marcelo and Jorge here at the Acapulco Yacht Club to fix it. It took them all of about an hour and they wanted $200!! We bargained them down to $100 including parts which is still a rip off.

We found Nacho Camacho again but too late. He said he would not have recommended Marcelo and Jorge had he known.

Nacho Comacho is the king of the bay of Acapulco. He is a captain and knows everyone. You can usually find him at Bar Mitla, across from the yacht club. By the way, fellow cruisers, there is a new marina called "Performance Marina" here in Acapulco beside the cruise ship docks. It's all med mooring but they also have mooring balls and a fuel dock.

Tonight its off to watch the cliff divers and off to the fuel docks here at the yacht club at 07:30 before we head to Zihua.

We love Mexico! It's sooooo nice to be back.

Arriba!!!!

Lost Elvis Arrives Safely in El Salvador

Bahia del Sol Resort

This morning I received the following email from Claudia at Bahia del Sol Hotel and Marina in El Salvador:

"Hello Thea

Lost Elvis was calling us on the radio at 5:30 am but they were too late for the high tide and had to wait for the next high tide at 4:45 pm.

They are all right.

Sincerley,

Claudia"

The reason they have to wait is that Bahia del Sol Marina is in an estuary and in order to enter, vessels have to cross a bar, sometimes in very high surf. The marina sends a pilot in a panga/lancha to weave each boat through the bar between sets of waves. The tricky part is that the pilot often doesn't recognize that a 23 tonned boat with a full keel and no bow thrusters cannot accelerate or manouevre like a sport fisher so the crossing in Lost Elvis can be a little challenging and quite stressful.

The entire vogage from Golfito, Costa Rica took almost exactly 72 hours. We did it last year (going the other way) in about 65 hours.

I have not spoken to Randy yet as he is still at anchor (standby waypoint: 13 degrees.15.7' N; 088 deg.53.5'W) waiting for the high tide late this afternoon. The marina monitors Ch 16 and during the high season the "cruisers" monitor Ch 22 and will arrange for the pilot who is employed by the marina (Rafael).

Tonight Luis Bondi and Richard Lee Johnton fly in to help Randy sail the boat across the Tehuantepec to Marina Chahue in Huatulco but not before enjoying the fine cuisine, papusas and Pilsen beer. They may also visit the stilt restaurants in the estuary for fresh seafood or perhaps visit with Jan, a kind Canadian woman, who operates a free English school for children. It won't be the same without our friend Alex Kao (Reflections) who just arrived from the South Pacific to Hawaii with his fiance Leah Prentice. Randy will have to find someone else to drink Flor de Cana.

Bahia del Sol Marina and Hotel has rooms and suites, conference rooms, excellent internet, a pool, a fantastic restaurant and discounts for "cruisers" on food and beverages and a mini casino.

PURA VIDA - More Nightmares

And all this time I thought Pura Vida meant, full of life or pure living..... after living in Costa Rica for 80 days, I now know it means STICK IT TO THE GRINGOS.

Gringos get charged more for everything and they are forbidden to buy cell phones. Gringos can no longer use the same border crossing to renew their visas every 90 days. If you use Panama once, you have to go to Nicaragua, the next time.

Also be careful with the marinas some of which have fully adopted the "Stick it to the Gringos" national policy of Costa Rica. They do not tell you any of their fees (except dock mooring fees) up front and try to offer services which they claim they are doing to help you and to make things easier (most of which as previously mentioned, the screw up). For example, they suggest that instead of taking the bus to the border to renew your 90 day visa ($5), they will drive you in their van to make it easier. What they do not tell you is that they will charge you $50 for "helping" you out. For six large bags of laundry they charged us over $400. They charge $50 a month for water (which they don't tell you either). Their electrical power is over priced. There is a 23% tax all all food and beverages and they charge American prices for mediocre meals. While many marinas offer a food and beverage discount to live aboards and long term slip renters, Golfito marinas offer no such benefit. There is absolutely no incentive to eat or drink at the marina if you are staying there. Order in from Chicken Bros, any of the Sodas, the chinese restaurants.

It's not only Golfito; it's the entire country. Two bags of normal groceries (mostly local; not American brands) normally costs about $40. Diesel is over $4 a gallon. A can of beer in the store or direct from the supplier is $1.25. In Panama you can get 24 cans of beer for $10.00. A pipa fria on the street is $0.60..... that's a frickin' coconut! They grow like weeds every two feet. In El Salvador a coco frio (same thing the Ticans have their own word for coconut) at a nice restaurant is only $0.5o. A 1/4 chicken dinner in San Vicente, El Salvador is $1.25!!!!! Are Costa Rican's disconnected from the rest of Central America? Are they trying to kill tourism in Costa Rica? I believe they are well on their way. I gave Costa Rica two chances. I will NEVER return to Costa Rica until it comes into line with Mexico, El Salvador, Nica and Panama. In fact, Panama is equal in natural beauty, fauna and flora and it also offers so much history AND Panama is half the price of Costa Rica!!! It's just as safe and the Panamanians actually have a culture (eg. Carnival!)

The Ticans are all depressed and when they do deal with you, you can tell behind the false grin, they are trying to rape you for every penny they can. When something goes wrong, they try to blame someone else.

Do yourself a favor and skip Costa Rica all together. Go to Panama, it's just as safe, beautiful if not more and more than half the price for everything. El Salvador and Nicaragua are also better options for price, friendliness, natural beauty, surf, beaches. Pura Vida is Pura BS.

After arguing with Fishhook over our overpriced invoice for almost an entire day, we are moving Lost Elvis to Bahia del Sol Marina and hotel in El Salvador. Where slip rental is half the price of Costa Rica, the people are friendly, always smiling and honest and they offer a discount to the boaters who rent their slips.

We hope to get the boat to El Salvador by Monday, July 12 or Tuesday, July 13. Then, on about July 15 or 16, depending on weather, Lost Elvis will cross the Tehuantapec again to Huatulco to stay at Marina Chahue. The long term plan is to get Lost Elvis to Paradise Village Marina by the end of July where Dick and Gina and the rest of the establishment treat us with respect and where we are charged a reasonable rate for exceptional services (the antithesis of Costa Rican Marinas: exorbitant fees for substandard services)

Thea is in Vancouver working to try to help pay the incredibly ridiculous fees of our Costa Rican Marina and will likely re-join the crew in August in Huatulco.

Fishhook Marina Update and Warning

If you can believe it, we are still in Golfito. On Randy's last break we got skunked by bad weather yet again. We have resigned ourselves to the fact that SV Lost Elvis will remain here in Golfito for the rainy season. They call it "winter" and the dry season (December through April) is "summer".

Another unbelievable fact is that David, the Columbian is still in Costa Rica. Immigration (the girl with the purple hair) allowed him to stay in Costa Rica for 30 days without a visa (Columbian's need a visa) as long as he stayed on the boat and in the marina.

Thirty days were up on May 27. Two weeks have gone by with lame excuses every day. The assistant manager at Fishhook Marina tried the worst excuse ever. She said that because the Columbian worked on a boat in Panama that had some drug connection, that INTERPOL, yes Interpol was investigating, the Columbian, Randy, me and Lost Elvis!!!! Randy immediately contacted the Chief Commanding Officer in Afghanistan who confirmed with Interpol that NO SUCH INVESTIGATION happened or is ongoing or is going to happen. So a complete lie was offered by this woman at Fishhook to cover up her ineptitude and the bumbling immigration officer. This delay is costing us lots of money as we have been providing food and accomodation to the Columbian. Today I advised management at Fishhook that if the Columbian is not deported today, I will take matters into my own hands. My legal connections in Vancouver will get me the best immigration lawyer in Costa Rica.

If the woman at Fishhook tries to put the blame on us one more time, I will single handedly ruin her reputation among cruisers and yachties and even around town if I can.

I will start with this. She will insist on handling your immigration, customs and check in. Do it yourself. She has consistently botched everything she has handled for us. She even pissed off immigration which caused a week's delay in the deportation of David. I had only a 30 day visa for Costa Rica because we landed here without a Zarpe due to emergency. She told me that she would get me an extension on my visa (normally it's 90 days). I mistakenly assumed she had handled it. Mikael, the General Manager, showed up at my boat on the day my visa expired and told me I had to go to the border immediately to get my Costa Rica exit stamp. Mikael is excellent. He knows the procedures inside and out and will not make excuses or try to blame you, the customer, for delays or problems (which the assistant manager frequently does). Ask for their fees for ANYTHING, up front. If you need any advice or services at Fishhook ask Mikael. Do not ask anyone else. Mikael is professional and knowledgeable.

The assistant manager also told me that I had to move Lost Elvis to another slip while Randy was away working. I told her I was not touching a thing; not even the ignition. I explained that Lost Elvis weighs 74,000 pounds and has a full keel and no bow thrusters and that I certainly hoped the marina had enough insurance to cover any damage caused by them moving our boat. She soon abandoned that hair brained plan.

Franklin at Fishhook will clean your hull and propellor. Make sure he does it after hours otherwise the marina takes a cut. He will also mind your boat if you take off on a tour inland or to Zancudo. He is trustworthy and reliable and knows a heck of a lot about boats.

Golfito's Rain

After seeing SV White Falcon (Veronica and Andre) off at the fuel docks downtown, some friends and I filled up the dinghy (RDS dos mas tres... or whatever Randy has named it) with fuel, beer, sodas, water, gatorade and some snacks to find fish and failing that, a beach. Even out in the big bay, Golfo Dulce, the sun was tough on us without even a whisper of breeze to cool us. My umbrella, which is a must have piece of equipment in this town, served well as a parasol. We trolled with my Ugly Stick and a huge lure along big bay up towards Abraham's estate, where we entered a smaller bay with two fishing lodges (also Abraham's). About two hours later we did not catch a thing "Ni un zapato" (not even a shoe!). We spotted a little beach which turned out to be gravel. It appeared that there were a few towels or clothes spread out on part of the beach. Several palms lined the shore and a few little streams offered nice landings. My skipper however chose to land in the middle of the beach and swamped the dinghy increasing its weight three-fold. We tugged and pushed and pulled trying to haul it up the beach and out of the beach break. Suddenly, as if out of no where, I smallish and slight man with no teeth, offered to help. The old guy was surprisingly strong for his size and the dinghy was safe from the breaking waves. We offered him a beer and he invited us to chat in the shade. His name is Miguel, and he lives alone in a one room hut with a corregated tin roof, a nice breeze surrounded by a colourful garden and then jungle. He uses the streams for drinking, bathing and laundry, which was what we saw drying on the beach. The only access is by water taxi since his outboard engine recently died. He loves his paradise and relishes the solitude which we sensed. So after he toured us through his property, showed us various plans included a giant if not monsterous bamboo thicket, we launched "RDS dos mas tres", tossed him another Imperial and left him in his little piece of heaven. Mentioning this encounter to Sr. Abraham, he said, "Oh, that's Miguel, my neighbour". I guess he would be a neighbour since he's the only human within 10 miles of Abraham.

And today I was almost frightened by the noise and duration of the "aguacero"; rain storm. I walked to the panaderia, well almost ran, as I was racing the storm. By the time I bought my french bread and some sort of empanada made with a light pastry, the onslaught had already begun. Winds clattering the corrugated roofs and bearing the undersides of the you teak tree leaves. The Ticans hide under bus shelters, overhangs, the gas station, trees and store entrances .... and they wait and wait.... and wait. I tried this tactic with no success the torrential rains kept pounding down. Eventually I found a little red taxi to take me and my french bread to Fishhook Marina. The floor in the back seat had about 3 inches of water. I guess he had some holes in the floorboards. It was 600 colones for a distance of about 2 blocks but it was worth it as the rain continued for another 45 minutes.

Everyone speculated that such an early downpour (1 pm) bode well for a nice afternoon and evening. There have been showers all day and in fact, it's almost downright chilly.

Annie just dropped by to borrow more videos, a common pass time during such bad weather which is why she comes to me to increase her selection.

Hiking In Golfito

I finally found  nice hike/walk in the jungle.  It's actually a gravel road but it's steep and the rewards at the end are beautiful.  From Fishhook Marina and Lodge you continue on the main road away from Golfito passing a soccer (football) field on your left that has artificial turf.  Just after that you turn left on a gravel road beside a small stream.  Accross the stream is another soccer field.

Wear good shoes as the rain, moss, leaves and other tropical growth make the footing slippery at times.
Cathy and Dave from Andante met me at Fishhook at 6:30 am to start the 2 hour trek.  The relentless rain from last night made the air thick and hot like a quilt or a blanket.  Within minutes we were soaked in sweat and the sun was just up. Even the shade of the jungle did not offer relief from the smothering heat of the damp tropical heat.

Within 45 minutes we had peek-a-boo views of the little gulf and the mangroves at the end.  When we reached the look out, we could see the town  of Golfito and the Golfo Dulce.

We saw Toucans flying about but but the were too far off to really see them even with binoculars.  Just as we were starting our decent, one of them flew to the lower branches so we could see him.  He didn't even flutter a feather when a motorcycle passed along the bumpy road.  I managed to get several photos of him before he found a better roost.  I've heard that the locals eat Toucans. Impossible!  It has to be an urban myth.

Golfito, Costa Rica Take II

This blog site is not too user friendly, so excuse the set up and the order of the photos.  On April 23, 2010 we left the port of Panama City.  Randy was reluctant to set sail on a Friday but we went anyway. We calculated about 5 days to get to Bahia del Sol, El Salvador.  Olga, Randy's sister came down for this leg of our delivery of Lost Elvis back to Paradise Village, Mexico.  We also have a Columbian crew member, David Jose Jiminez Pereira. David and his dad have been working in Shelter Bay and in Panama City, on Lost Elvis (metal, varnish, wax and cleaning) for the last three months.  They are like family.  David begged us to take him to Mexico on our voyage. We told him that we could not pay him but we would fly him home at the end of the trip.  His father agreed and now we have a 25 year old going on 18 to look after.  He's a good kid and a hard worker.

Randy arrived in Panama on April 19 to find that the generator wouldn't hold any oil, and even worse, the ice maker was kaput. We needed a marina badly so we could get power and hopefully fix the generator.  Flamenco Marina, the only marina in Panama City, was full. Thankfully,our friend Taylor Housser was hauling out his boat, Bakatawn which freed up a slip for us to use for four days. 

We found a good mechanic who goes by the name of  "Fish".  He fixed the crank case for the generator.  It looked like new.  After he installed it we discovered that the generator pump was leaking and needed an complete overhaul. Fish found a "tailler" that could fix it on a priority basis, if we paid a bit of a bump.  After about $600 in labour, bribes, parts and other nonsense we were back on track... except the ice maker which is still on strike.

We left Panama for El Salvador well provisioned and mechanically sound or so we thought.  Right in the middle of the shipping lanes for the canal, Otto, our auto pilot decided to drive in circles.  Out come the manuals.  It turns out, our new flat screen TV, which is mounted about 12 inches away from the autopilot sensor, interferes with the compass of Otto.  So now when we are under way, the TV resides on our bed.  So much for watching movies on long crossings.

Panama to Isla Coiba was a beautiful sail.  Light winds, calm seas, blue skies. As we were reveiwing our fuel consumption (divide by 2.5, carry the one.... both of us are math phobics), we got slammed by what we thought was a Papagallo.  It turned out to be a tropical storm carrying winds at gale force.  It was tracking us or we were tracking it.  For over 20 hours we took 6-8 foot waves on our beam at 4 second intervals.  Our portholes and gunnels were underwater each time we were slammed. Two of our crew members were in their bunks for over 18 hours with no food or water due to sea sickness.  Randy and I finally decided to abandon our El Salvador plans and head for Golfito, Costa Rica so that the boat and crew could rest and recover.

We arrived at Fishhook Marina and Lodge at 9 am on Sunday morning; exhausted.  Lidia, the manager helped us check in.  She returned to advise that Jose David, our Columbian crew needed a visa and would have to be sent back to Panama to apply for one which they couldn't do because of road blocks.  I explained that the only reason we are in Costa Rica (beautiful but really expensive) is because David and Olga were severely sick.  They were dehydrated and had not eaten for 2 days.  Immigration finally acquiesced and has allowed Jose David to stay in Costa Rica but he is not allowed to leave the boat or the marina.  Of course, this is nonesense but on the other hand, you don't want to risk it in a foreign country.  It really irritates me because he is a good kid and as long as he lays low, I'm sure he could walk down the street or go have lunch at a little "soda" but they won't let him. 

Before Randy returned to work, we went to Zancudo fishing lodge throught the mangroves to have lunch and swim in their pool and the next day, to Abraham's house out in Golfo Dulce (where we saw wild Guacamayas eating almonds) followed by "pescado entero" at "Bar Restaurant Juan" accessible only by boat/dinghy. 

Randy left for work on April 30 after a failed attempt the day before (no airplanes due to weather).  Thank goodness for Skype. We can chat for free when Randy is in Kuwait, Hong Kong or Africa.
David and I are working on the boat; cleaning the bilge, the dinghy, the seat cushions and plastic glass.  David is also going to put another coat of varnish on the rub rails.

Two days ago I went to the duty free zone here in Golfito.  It's about a tenth of the size as the Zona Libre in Colon but it has some good deals on electronics, alcohol and Italian housewares.  The process is like a wild goose chase however.  It's best to use one of the "facilitators"; unofficial young men who will lead you through the paper work and help cart your purchases around for about $15.

I met a nice couple heading for Panama; Andres and Veronica.  He's German and she's Tica.  This afternoon we will eat local ceviche while I give them the low down on Panama. Using Stanley as their maritime agent to get them throught the Panama Canal will be my first pointer and purchasing Bahaus' Panama Cruising guide, the second.

Golfito seems a little cozier and slightly less gloomy than last year; a few more smiles, an occasional unprovoked "Buenas Tardes".  The general sadness that douses the town like it's tropical rains is as damp and dreary as the Golfito afternoons.  I believe that when the National Fruit Company pulled up stakes here in the 80's, some of the town's happiness clung and left with it.

Isla Contadora, Panama

Isla Contadora is one of the Las Perlas Islands in the Golfo de Panama on the Pacific side.  It's a 15 minute plane ride from Panama City; four hours by sailboat.  It's a popular get away for the city dwellers and those who are better off.  Las Islas Perlas used to be loaded with oysters and pearls; hence the name.  They were stripped of their jewels and are now a Panamanian tourist destination.  After transitting the canal we could not sit still and we had to catch up with Alex and Leah on Reflections.  We hadn't seen them since the early fall in Vancouver. They were about to launch for the Galapagos and it seemed silly not to see them off when we were so close.  We snorkelled.  Randy and Alex caught fish with their spear guns.  I cleaned and cooked our fish but Parrot Fish have the texture of mud and taste like sand.  We found out later that because they eat coral; they are not good fish to eat.  Besides, I told Randy not to kill the pretty fish.  Later that night we went out for dinner to a fancy hotel restaurant where I ordered a whole snapper for $14; normally they are $6 or less.  We stayed for two nights.  By then our friend Paul Belna was a regular salty dog.  We said good bye to Reflections at dawn and made our way back to the big city.  The winds were about 15 - 20 and the seas relatively calm.  It was beautiful.  For contrast, on arrival to Panama, all three of us took over our friend Matt's house; listened to music, made pizza went for steak dinner and yes, even did laundry.  Thanks Matt for always being such a generous host.  Sometimes we feel like crusty cruisers but Matt always welcomes us. 

Panama Canal Transit #2

Here is Lost Elvis ready to go through the canal again.  It's the second time with us and the 5th time for her.   We have had two Columbians working on our boat for the last month or more; Jose y Jose Jimenez, a father and son team.  They re-caulked and varnished (5 coats) the cockpit, the companion way doors, the helm and the table for $700 plus materials (which are cheap).  Novi, a boutique Home Depot sells Marine Varnish at a good price.  Because Jose and Jose David needed a lift back to Panama City, they came through the canal with us as line handlers.  Papa Jose drove the boat over to the flats; he's a professional captain.  Our first advisor, Fernando, was outstanding.  He is a born again Christian, and immediately blessed me upon learning that I was a heathen.  He also blessed Randy and I as a couple and the boat on her journey; so we've got that going for us.  Honestly, Fernando was smart, interesting to talk to and was excellent and organizing our flotilla of two boats as we transitted the Gatun Locks.   It went off without a hitch. The second advisor who arrived at 6 am the next day, Hernandez, a gringo looking fat guy who claims to have been advising for over 20 years was USELESS.  He even argued with the advisor on the other boat.  He almost crashed us into the wall and then tried to blame it on the two Captains who had a system that worked flawlessly until fatty decided to scream out commands.  Again, my fellow cruisers (oh how I despise that word), they are ADVISORS.  They do not know your boat or any of the boats in your raft.  If they provide ill advice; ignore them and tell them to stand down.   Or in our case, give him more to eat and tell him to stand down.

Randy has been working like a fiend; 30 hour days with little rest.  While he has travelled around the world at least twice he has had no down time to enjoy it.  What little time he has; he tries to rest and even that's a challenge when you are in a different time zone every day.

He got very sick in Ethiopia which he discovered in Cairo; dangerously high fever, gastro mahem in every respect.  After a day of IV, Cipro, and about 4 other meds, his fever came down to 102 F and he wanted to come home.  Being sick to the verge of hospitalization in Cairo is probably the last thing any  non-Muslim person would ever want.  We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Sue and Sarah in Crew Scheduling at Southern Air for getting Randy home safely and as quickly as possible.  He is still very, very sick but at least he's home thanks to our friends at Southern.