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.