You think you know black ...

--- or ---

It was a dark and stormy night. (from the cliche-ridden yang-side.)

Yesterday morning we left Costa Rica and headed south around Punta Burica rounding it into Panama. Things were going well all day. In the afternoon we even had a consistent 8 knots of wind with flat seas to sail at about 4 knots more or less in the direction we wanted to go. We were pinching in toward land a bit but were still some miles off. Towards sunset, we started seeing towering cumulus (aka convection, aka thunderheads) off in the distance and were starting to watch the formations light up like lanterns. Very beautiful and majestic in the distance. Just at sunset Hope caught a yellow fin tuna. I had just gaff'd it and got it into the tail noose to bleed it when I looked at the instruments and saw that the depth was registering 24 feet.

Yikes.

Slash, slash, toss the fish in the tail noose off the back, then get to the wheel, slow WAY down, and make a U-turn. Head directly to 15 feet. Wrong way. Then to 43 (better), then back to the 20's. Well, OK, just head away from land. In the meantime, Hope checks the chartplotter. We're supposedly 4 miles from shore in 600+ feet of water. Radar confirms that we're 4 miles from shore roughly where the GPS says we're supposed to be in relationship to the land (Punta Burica). Except that in the general vicinity (not exactly where we are), there are little exclamation marks in triangles. They usually mean: "Area inadequately surveyed" and goes on to talk about what 'prudent mariners' should do. With a sea mount rising to 12 feet, I'd concur with the 'inadequately surveyed' notation. Days before, we'd encountered an unmarked sand bar rising to only 20 feet from 200+ feet at the mouth of Gulfo Dulce. The sun was overhead then so we could see the change in the water color and know where to steer. This time, the sun had set and we had no light to show us the extent of the formation. Well, we can't get out of the 20's no matter what direction we go and once the gauge registers just 12 feet of depth as I'm trying to find 'a way out'. So Hope takes the wheel and coasts to a stop. I go forward and drop the dinghy anchor over the side. With the depth sounder registering 24 feet I've got 40+ feet of small anchor, chain, and rode hanging over the side. Huh: touching nothing?

Yup. The depth sounder had lost its mind. We resume our course and the depth sounder happily registers the ups and downs of the bottom making changes in 1/10ths of a foot but staying between 20 and 30 feet. We finally see it blink which means that it can't find bottom (greater than 400 feet) ... then it then happily informs us that the bottom has just zoomed back up to 25 feet (19-35) for the next mile or so. While we were coping with all this, another fish got hooked accidentally. So we just let it drag until we finished the deep breathing and the adrenalin levels approached normal. Recovered and fillet'd the tuna and let the mackerel go. (Sushi tomorrow!)

But now the squalls and thunderheads had formed behind us and in front of us. Beautiful, starry skies overhead. Plus one dark area off to starboard. This is where dark is an understatement. Overhead, I can see 'black' in the areas between the stars. But the black of this cloud and in the monsoon-like downpour beneath it connecting to the water makes the black between the stars look sort of a medium-to-dark gray. I can see it where the two 'blacks' touch. Turn on the radar again, and yup (again), where that black hole in my universe is located is a solid blob of water a mile wide and many miles long. Fortunately, it and we traveled on roughly parallel courses in opposite directions so it never got closer than a half mile. (You can't outrun these things, they outrun you if you're lucky.) It had a cloud stretching for miles that crossed our path. I could see stars behind me and ahead of me underneath it, but overhead it might as well have been a rip in the space-time continuum for its depth of blackness. By the time we're clear of that, thunderheads are pretty much all around us at various distances.

Fortunately, it only turned out to be a very sloppy sea (translation: uncomfortable, hard to stand up even holding on but not dangerous) and we didn't have to pass under or near any of the thunderheads. I woke Hope up at midnight for her watch and they had settled down to a distance much further away (except for a last one ahead which died down before we got there). Hope says she got to watch (through the binoculars) vertical lightning strikes to the water. I missed those, but then she missed the lightning strike in San Carlos, Mexico a couple of years ago that hit the land about 100 yards from our mooring ball.

We're anchored now at Isla Partida in Gulfo Chiriqui, Panama (08.101167N, 082.367483W). Looks like the mainland is getting ready for another convection party tonight but we're anchored for anything. The depth sounder resumed normal operation as soon as it found a real depth less than 400 feet. The tuna is chilled and awaiting final trimming. All's well (even better than yesterday when we set out) as we settle down to naps and look forward to wonderful time here in the islands of Western Panama.

Happy trails!

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Good bye Costa Rica

We did the check out process today, obtained our Zarpe international, and will be headed towards Panama tomorrow. We left Golfito for Rincon (a 4 hour trip) but only stayed two days. The anchorage was lovely with green green jungle and we saw our first toucan. Wow they are loud. We were taking squishy (our dingy) into the mangrove swamp area to explore when we heard an incredibly loud bird. There it was in all it's glory, sitting in a tree and moving it's head from side to side. Wanted to be sure we saw the profile from the best possible angle? Why we didn't stay longer? No place we could find to anchor securely. The bottom went from 60 feet to 8 feet in two boat lengths and to top that off there is an 11 foot tidal range. And, the mud bottom would not set our anchor well. That leaves us both feeling a bit iffy and not really anxious to take long hikes inland. Visions of poor Ceilidh stuck in the mud is not a pretty sight. We did swim and frolic in lovely water and also saw 2 more scarlet macaws flying thru the sky. The howler monkeys woke me up at 4 am the second morning. We were anchored so close to shore it sounded as though they had climbed right onto the rigging. Yikes! No they were still on shore swinging from the trees in the jungle. It has been raining every day - sometimes off and on all day and sometimes only in the evening. The thunder rolls across the water like a freight train and I can feel Ceilidh resonate with the sound.

No luck on the photo uploads. The internet connections here are not up to the task. Next opportunity will be Panama City, Panama. We are holding high hopes! The photos are stacking up and can't wait to share them. We were able to submit our taxes via turbotax. Yahoo for the plugged in age. Don't know what we would be doing for banking and business tasks without the internet. Oh, also was able to check Pamila's blog and see photos of Molly, Vanessa and Lucinda in Egypt. Way cool. Thank you Peach and Dmitry!

It is hot and humid in the Gulfo Dulce. Don't know if it is just this area which cuts more inland or if it is the natural procession of seasons. Hoping to find cooler and dryer conditions in Panama. Sitting here with 87F, 63%humidity and sweating quite a bit. The breeze just picked up as I write, however, and it is amazing what a difference! Suddenly I feel wonderful! On that note I'll sign off. Next missive from the western islands of Panama.

Love to all
from the yin side

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We are living the sweet life now

anchored in Golfito, Gulfo Dulce, Costa Rica (he he, dulce=sweet, get it?) Arrived yesterday from Isla De Cano. Wow. The anchorage was ok in calm weather, which we had, and it was beautiful. Snorkeling at the island was THE BEST we have ever enjoyed. The water was the clearest we have seen, on par with Avalon - visibility to 30/40 feet. Huge fish of so many colours and configuration and none of them were in our fish ID book. Just the same, we saw them and enjoyed the experience. Snorkeled into a canyon type rock area and came face to face with a 3 plus foot very large mouthed something. I turned around and started swimming away and then turned back around and approached mr. fish at a very s l o w pace. Mr. fish didn't appear to be interested in me so I hung our and oggled him. Beautiful blue, yellow and lavender fish, way cool iridescent blue tuna type fish that were also huge, The coral reef is not as colourful as we've seen but there were varieties and shapes that I saw for the first time. Other people snorkeling saw sand sharks and sea turtles. I missed those,

Rich and I want ashore and did a hike to what they can the archeological site. Not a whole lot to see but the walk thru the jungle was so beautiful. The sun was just getting to the horizon as we returned to the beach and the birds in the canopy went nuts, calling back and forth and flitting from tree to tree. Randy and Gail on Otter did meet us there and we caught up on all their adventures the last two years in South America. Also met some more interesting people on their Oyster 82. Such a small world. They live in Wikiup, Sonoma County, and will be traveling to the Galapagos and South Pacific. We used to live very near them. We and Randy and Gail were invited to their boat, Darling, for drinks the first evening. Funny how small Ceilidh looks when anchored next to a 82 foot sailboat.

So we are now in Golfito, anchored in the estuary. We were out of vegies, beer. toilet paper and propane. Time to head to town for sure. Did our first shopping run today and will continue to acquire and stash away provisions for a few more days. The town here is interesting but the constant litany of warnings about theft from EVERY cruiser we meet has made the town seem less appealing. I would rather be forewarned than sorry so there you go. We'll be here for another few and then visit the Rincon area at the head of the Gulfo Dulce. Just heard tonight from other friends who visited Rincon that there are many monkeys, macaws and other birds to be seen as well as fantastic swimming and snorkeling. Just my type of place. I'll write again with breaking news.

Love to you all and happy almost birthday to Heather!
from the yin side

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Sharing thoughts

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise one is doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen, who play with their boats at sea --- "cruising," it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If one is contemplating a voyage and has the means, abandon the venture until fortunes change. Only then can one know what the sea is all about.

"I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it." What these people can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine --- and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a person need-really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in --- and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all-in the material sense. And we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry --- playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

-- from Sterling Hayden's book Wanderer, pub. 1978

(yang, rubbing his bruise from the 'cruising' jab)

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Wasting away in Bahia Drake

Not really. Just enjoying life and staying awhile. Spent a day enjoying a ponga ride to and thru a huge mangrove area on the Rio Sirpe. They brought kayaks along and we spent time paddling thru the narrow mangrove passages looking at birds, plants and different species of mangroves. Beached the kayaks and took a 1/2 hour walk into the jungle to see what we could see. The guide with us knew PLANT NAMES! So nice to meet new species and become first name friends. Also saw birds, frogs, lizards, monkeys and ever so many insects. Way cool. Back to the ponga and up to the town of Sirpe we stopped at a restaurant for lunch and then back towards Bahia Drake. The ponga captain and guide pointed out various birds, animals and reptiles that I never would have seen - including 3 more types of monkeys, a crocodile, bats sleeping in a line on a tree over the river, white ibis.... you get the idea. Really enjoyed the day and rested well that night.

Rich and I challenged the inflatable kayak again. There is a river that goes up into the jungle very near where we are anchored and we were told it could be navigated a ways up in a kayak. So, we inflated and set out on our adventure armed with a small cooler containing lunch, snacks, water and beer. Also brought camera, field glasses, bug spray, you know, the essentials for jungle stream exploration. Good news. We CAN paddle the kayak in a more or less straight line and yes, we are still friends. When our friends on s/v Laniki took kayaks up this stream it was earlier in the year and closer to the end of rainy season. The water level was further down and we were hauling the kayak over one set of rapids after another. Decided to head back and were successful in kayaking down the same rocks we just hauled the kayak over going upstream. Yahoo! No mishaps and much fun. The water was fresh and ever so cool. The birds calling and jungle trees covering the stream made a lovely setting to just sit in the kayak and eat our lunch and lay back looking up into the trees. Saw many beautiful and colourful butterflies flitting thru the canopy.

Have met many interesting landbased people here. It is a wilderness camp area and very difficult to reach. There is a dirt road, landing strip for very small planes, and ponga traffic from Rio Sirpe. There are two tiny stores and trucks that come once a week supplying vegies, fruit and meat. Also met some new cruising boats and saw a few people passing thru we had not seen since Mexico cruising grounds. So, now it is almost time to travel on. If the weather holds we'll head out early Tuesday morning (today is Sat, I think). Randy and Gail on Otter, friends from our first year in Mexico, are planning to be at Isla Del Cano and we will be meeting them there. It is only 12 miles off shore from Bahia Drake so we are not talking a long passage. If the weather holds we can stay at the island for a few days. The snorkeling/diving is supposedly world class. Makes me wish we had an underwater type camera. Then it will be off for a longer journey, about 70 miles, to Gulfito in Gulfo Dulce. Gulfo Dulce has a few different areas to explore so we hope to be there for a while, as well.

Life is good and we wish you all could see this beautiful place. Maybe we can find a more sophisticated and robust internet cafe in Gulfito. I'll write more soon. In the meantime, sending all of you joyful greetings and much love
from the yin side

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Well, I tried ...

Greetings all from the Yang side.

Spent over an hour today trying to upload photos and another posting to this blog. But photos were taking 10 minutes each if they worked at all. Only one got loaded in all that time. Pages were taking 5 minutes to refresh if they could. Other sites (google, yahoo, banking, etc) were working relatively well, but rather than get more frustrated I gave up and went outside to look a two beautiful red macaws in the trees. Red was just one of the many colors ... just too beautiful. How can a computer and the internet compare? Regained balance just looking up at them.

Then went back in with the hammer ...

We're going on a tour tomorrow to a huge mangrove forest that we'll get to kayak through. Do you all remember the incredibly colored frogs that Hope gave out as gifts? They have a 'Poison Dart Frog Tour' here where apparently we'd get to see the real things. We're going to ask. How could we not?

We did manage to do our good deed for the week by 'saving' a couple of kayakers whose plastic sit-on-top kayak was sinking near us. They were on their honeymoon from Chicago. We took them back to their lodge in our dinghy after getting them aboard and rested and sort of dried off.

One new feature in our cruising life is that we're regularly using the chairs Hope got in the US to sit on the foredeck and watch the sun go down and the stars come out with our evening drinks. We're calling it drinks on the Lido Deck using a joke Hope's daughters created when the visited a year ago in Zihuatanejo. The best part is having the most intoxicating perfume drift over us sometimes from the flowers in one part of the jungle.

So we're still enjoying the good life and especially Costa Rica. Even though we had to skip the northernmost part due to the Papagayo winds. We'll rethink this blog thing because the internet connections where we're going (and where we've been) just haven't been up to the task. We'll keep posting here, just not many pictures.

And to catch up on a few stop-overs for http://maps.google.com

Bahia Drake: 08.697167N ,083.668400W (national parks all around)
Bahia Heradura: 09.642750N, 084.657750W (big resort & mega yachts with helicopters)
Bahia Ballena: 09.717567N, 085.011767W (waterfalls & howler monkeys)
Isla Muertos: 09.886183N, 084.928550W (hiding out from Papagayo winds)
Isla Cedros: 09.897150N, 084.870317W (where we fouled our chain with an unmarked net)
Islas Tortugas: 09.775993N, 084.895683W (great water, hundreds of tourists, no protection)
Playas del Coco: 10.558650N, 085.695583W (port of entry into Costa Rica, nice resort)
San Juan del Sur: 11.256350N, 085.879200W (water taxi, lots of backpackers)
Puerto Sandino: 12.182600N, 086.785683W (moorings, 12-foot dock at night ... look inland)
Puesta del Sol: 12.625100N, 087.342100W (nice marina, first stop after Mexico)

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