Computer glitches ...

No postings for awhile for a variety of reasons.

We were frantically getting ready to leave Panama for the passage to Ecuador (the wind/seas window keeps getting more adverse with each passing week) and made no time to get to an internet cafe or write emails. Left Panama on Wednesday the 17th only to get 50 miles and discover the battery bank had crapped out (sorry for the 'tech speak'). Turned around and in 8 hours returned the distance it took us 18 hours to cover going out. (Were we going the wrong way?) A day of tests and wishful workarounds to confirm the obvious solution: time for a new battery bank. Purchased, delivered, installed on Friday (that's 360+ pounds of batteries in and out of a boat in a rolly anchorage by yours truly), and out again to Ecuador on Saturday the 20th. So having checked out of Panama on Tuesday the 16th, we were running around as (technically) illegal aliens.

Once out at sea, the connection between the computer and radio 'crapped out'. Today (the 27th) finally had time and conditions to figure out the problem (well, one never really figures out computer problems, one simply works around them or makes them go away).

We'll have been at sea for 8 days (not counting the false start) when we pull into Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. Cross the equator tonight. It has been a challenging passage (many more postings on that aspect later), but all is well, and we once again learned that we have skills and patience we didn't think we had, that ceilidh has strengths and abilities we didn't know she had, that we keep loving each other more and more, that we can learn new things and skills all the time.

enough for now, back to the bashing

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Catch up and photos!

OK. Now where were we? Literally and figuratively. Jan and Ken did fly off to Costa Rica and we did have a most wonderful visit with them. While they were here we visited the Mira Flores Locks, the first set of locks here on the Panama City side for the Panama Canal. The museum was ever so impressive and informative. The exhibits were visual feasts and extremely informative. All four of us came away feeling as though it was a class act. One of the exhibits was a replica of a large ship (container or otherwise) pilot house. Looking out the forward, port and starboard windows you saw the canal entrance and first set of locks as if you were standing in the pilot house. Let me tell you, as a little sailboat navigator it is eye opening to see how much these big ships can't see right around them due to deck/freight obstructions. The simulator even rumbled realistically so you experienced both visual and audio input. Way cool. This was Jan's favorite bit. Jan and Ken treated us at the fancy restaurant overlooking the locks so we feasted on delectable treats and watched ships transit back and forth from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. We also saw our friends on She Wolf, a Tayana 42, pass thru on their way to Colon. We waved and took photos like crazy.

Ah, the perfect segway into the photo bit. Today I made it to the internet cafe, with our computer, and succeeded in uploading the photos that have been accumulating for ever so long. Even entered descriptions on all but the Canal album. I'll try and go back and enter some for it at another time. So, the link is
http://public.fotki.com/svceilidh/
and there you go. I'll be taking more photos in Panama and continue as we travel in Ecuador. Yes, we are still heading in that direction. Were tempted briefly to slip thru to the Atlantic side but decided to stick with the Ecuador plan. Should be on our way in a week if all goes well. I did miss out on two photos because the camera was not with me. One night as we were walking back to our dingy after a mango gathering expedition (yes, there are mango trees just asking to be picked!) we saw an armadillo scurry across the road and into a fenced off area. I have never seen a live armadillo before - only road kill models. On another walk we saw a sloth hanging from the fence. He s l o w l y reached down and scratched his hind leg and then just stayed in the scratch position for a good 5 min or so before moving this front leg back to the "hang on" position. We walked all over the jungle in Costa Rica looking for a sloth and found one in the parking lot in Panama. Go figure.

The clouds are building again and the thunder is booming so guess I'll shut the computer down for now and start getting ready for the rain. Love to you all
from the yin side

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"Getting Stuff" mode in Panama

Friends Jan and Ken are off to a Costa Rican adventure before flying back to SF and we are in full tilt GETTING STUFF mode. While our friends were here we went to the locks to watch boats transit the Mira Flores locks - only 2 of the 6 sets of locks that comprise the Panama Canal. The museum at the Mira Flores facility is wonderful. Both informative and beautiful, it contains history about the building of the canal and displays birds, insects and reptiles of the area - some live and others mounted. To give Jan and Ken a "cruising" type experience we sailed for the Perlas Islands and visited five in the limited time available. Did some great snorkeling and actually did some decent sailing, as well. Would have spent more time snorkeling but found large, beautiful jelly fish in some of the anchorages. Truly beautiful but not something I want to play with up close and personal.

So, back in La Playitta anchorage just off the approach to the Panama Canal and scurrying around each day to collect the items we need before traveling on to Ecuador. Many of the boats in the anchorage have departed already for Ecuador or the Marquesas and new boats have come to fill the anchorage from the Atlantic side of the Canal. There are flags of so many countries flying from the rigging. Boats from France, Belgium, England... very different than Mexico.

Sending this over the air waves this morning before heading off to town to hunt down new oars for the dingy, varnish for Ecuador projects and retrieve our laundry. The photos WILL be coming soon. Love to all
from the yin side.

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Noise

Greetings again from the Yang side ...

We've arrived and are anchored off Isla Flamenco in Panama which is the control island for the Panama Canal on the Pacific side. We decided to go around the main anchorage where (I'd guess) 50 or more ships wait at anchor to transit the Canal. Most cruisers seem to think they need to go through the anchorage and up the main channel, but we figured: Who needs the extra stress? So we went around.

But we're anchored off a roadway. Miles away, the ships have huge generators or work on their main engines. Some get ready to come to the Canal entrance. Many smaller boats are moving about and through the anchorage here ... local pleasure craft and work boats. There's a major airport. The skyline for Panama City is a huge long line of skyscrapers along a waterfront that would do any major American city proud. We even saw a layer of smog over the city coming in. Of course the ships are going by (up to 960 feet long by 116 feet wide) with their tugs, pilot ships, and their own sub-audible rumble. You sense those big ships, or smell their exhaust, but you don't 'hear' them in the normal sense. But they still intrude.

And all this makes 'noise'.

In San Francisco, Oakland, and Silicon Valley, I didn't realize how accustomed I was to background noise until I lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the big-city hub-bub I would use more noise (I liked) to cover up unavoidable noise (I didn't like and wasn't even really aware of). And now I'm just discovering how accustomed I've become to quiet at remote anchorages in 2nd & 3rd world countries.

The roar of our engine while underway or when we get desperate for electricity is something we've learned to hate but put up with. It still gets under our skin and sets our nerves on edge and makes us less than pleasant sometimes to each other. It's much better to sail and just have the sound of the wind and water. Plus we got all the solar and a quiet wind generator to avoid using engines. But we can tolerate ceilidh's engine for 'the greater benefit' we're receiving in trade for the noise.

But here at the entrance to the Panama Canal is that undercurrent of noise that we forgot existed. I realize now how much that background noise sapped energy and balance when I was back in the States. All unconsciously. I know it's worse elsewhere, but thank the gods I'm not 'elsewhere'.

Unless it is to get back out to a quiet anchorage. See you there I hope.

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Panama and more sharks?

Not as close as the other shark spotted snorkeling at Isla Coiba but a large shark kept pace with Ceilidh while rounding Punta Mala to enter the Gulf of Panama. Didn't know they swam on the surface with their scary back fin out of the water. Ugh. Must admit it gave me the creeps. No way am I jumping off the boat while underway. I had thought about it and actually asked Rich if I could sometime - while we were going slow and me tag along on a line. Now, no way no way. We set out from Benao about the same time as 2 other boats - Wander and Clare de Lune. Clare de Lune was quite a bit further off shore than us and going slower. They called on the radio and reported a large hammer head shark circling them. Ugh. Who would have figured? Didn't know that Panama had so many resident sharks.

So, we are now anchored on the south side of Contadora in the Perlas archipelago. Only 38 miles into Balboa, Panama City and the canal. We pulled in yesterday afternoon and slept. The trip around Punta Mala was a breeze. We were able to sail the entire way and it was actually pleasant. All the way around and into the Gulf of Panama we experienced a negative 1.7 knot current and that was actually lucky. There are times that it is a 3 knot negative current and that would just suck. So, we sailed most of the day and then the wind got too light to sail against the current and we started the engine - making slow going but heading in the right direction. Thought there would be more tanker traffic from the canal but no tankers where we were - a blessing. I had prepared a stew the day before we left for our underway dinner. I heated that and was just finishing the dishes when the wind started picking up. This is around 6:30pm or so. We turned off the engine, put out the genoa, and away we went. Then the wind built, and built some more. At 20 knots we pulled in the genoa, put up the staysail and put a reef in the main. It continued to build and stayed between 18 and 25 knots for the rest of the night and the next morning. I think it finally lightened up around 3am. While it was blowing a consistent 22/23 knots the wind waves were bunching up on the current and swell and made for some really spectacular seas. This is the first time the diesel jerry cans tied on our deck were jostled about by boarding waves and pushed down flat on the deck. They couldn't fly off but they did get pushed around. Rich plans on purchasing additional line and tying them even more securely when we get to Panama City. Ceilidh did fine and so did we, all thru the wild ride. Good news is that we were able to sail all thru this windy night and early morning at 6 + knots (with staysail and reefed main!) and even make headway on our intended path. How cool is that? So all is well and Ceilidh rocks!

Happy to be anchored and getting rested again. After sleeping most of yesterday afternoon and all last night I woke up this morning with happy energy. Good thing, too, because Ceilidh was one huge salt crystal. Rich helped and we desalted the darling all morning. She is looking spiffy again and we'll be go exploring on the island this afternoon when it gets a bit cooler. I think I'll talk Rich into having dinner out tonight! Besides, we are out of lettuce, beer, rum and very low on vodka. A breeze just started up and feels ever so refreshing. Oh, it was sadly a fish free passage. Had the lines out the entire time but none took our offered lures. Better luck between here and Panama City I hope. Take care all and love to each...

from the yin side

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Yikes! Sharkes!

Yes, SHARKS! We anchored off Isla Coiba in western Panama for a few days. Lovely spot with areas of crystal clear warm water to snorkel and colourful fish. Sounds ever so wonderful, eh? We went snorkeling with friends from s/v Wanderer, Paul and Joanne, and set out to swim around a lovely island in the group of Islas Cocos. One quarter of the way around the western side we we all marveling at some of the larger fish when Rich started yelling at me and pointing downward. I looked in that direction just in time to see a 4 foot white tipped shark circling me as it spiraled upwards. I made some large splashes as I moved closer to Rich and the shark moved lazily towards the bottom. We thought, just a coincidence, right? Not. A few minuets later the shark was back circling again and getting closer. We held a brief conference between the four of us and decided that perhaps snorkeling on the other side of the island would be ever so more enjoyable. We all swam back the way we came and went to the eastern side of the same island. About 200 feet or so into our new adventure I started getting stung by string of pearls big time. Ouch ouch ouch! Should have worn my dive skins. I bailed and went back to wait in squishy while the other three adventurers continued. I enjoyed the quiet and scenery for a while and then upped the anchor and motored towards the group so they would not have so far to backtrack. Suddenly, they were all swimming towards me at a rapid pace. I cut the motor and dropped anchor. All three swam up and hopped into squishy - one, two, three. Paul had dived down to the bottom to investigate a cave and came face to face with an even larger white tip. Hummm. Good time to bail. Lends it's self to a good story with no sad bits - the very best kind.

So now we are anchored in Punta Benao, which is just west of Punta Mala. Translated from spanish that means "bad point", and that appears to be true. We left Playa Naranja at 2am this morning and sailed and motor sailed towards this point. The seas were extremely confused with swells/wind waves 6 to 8 feet and the wind gusts to 30 knots and the predominant direction of the wind was on our nose. That does not work well for sailing vessels. So tack, tack again, and then tack again with waves breaking over the bows. Funny, today was not so bad. That is a good sign for me. I actually enjoyed it. Good thing, because the next part of the journey is a two day sail to get past the really ugly "Punta Mala" and thru the major tanker thru fare from the Panama Canal and onto the Perlas Islands. Wish us luck! More in route or when we arrive. Love to you all
from the Yin side

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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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New plan - surprise?

He he. Life is but an ongoing adventure so there you go. We are anchored in Bahia Herradura and now have full diesel tank and jerry cans. We WILL NOT be taking our dingy into the dingy dock at the marina because they want $40 US for the privilege. Find that hard to believe but it is a true fact. The wind picked up today in the anchorage and we are taking a day of rest. Rumors are that Quepos, our proposed next stop is way rolly now and that the lovely Manuel Antonio nature park has a hour wait to get in? OK. We are not stopping in Quepos after all. Onward to Bahia Drake. Will be an overnight sail and that is just fine. So tomorrow we'll time it so we'll leave with light from here and arrive in Bahia Drake with light for landfall.

Another book recommendation: "Zenzele, A letter for my daughter" by J. Nozipo Maraire. It is more of a collection of letters or a journal from a Zimbabwean mother to her daughter who is in the US attending Harvard. I laughed, cried and thought deep thoughts. Also littles, you were much on my mind during the entire read.

There are HUGE mega yachts here (200 feet +) in the marina and anchored out in Bahia Herradura. Wow. Complete with powerboats onboard the size of Ceilidh as well as helicopters. Makes us feel like a toy boat. The weather changed radically today. The wind started up to 15 knots or so and the clouds rolled in big and dark. Rich us said it looks like rain coming our way. Wouldn't mind at all. Fantastic way to painlessly remove the salt and dirt that miraculously appears on Ceilidh girl. We are happy campers (opps, sailors) and enjoying life eversomuch. While sitting in the cockpit eating a delicious lunch of tomatoes on fresh mozzarella cheese with olive oil, herbs and basalmic with lovely whole wheat bread for dipping and glasses of red wine, we commented on what a lovely life this is we lead. Thank you goddess and wish all of you similar bliss tuned to your own particular desires.

May this find you all happy and well
missive from the yin side (still in Costa Rica)

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Bye bye Bahia Ballena

Today is Feb 24th. Very hard to believe that we have been in this area for a month but we have! Arrived on Jan 25th so there you go. All in all a wonderful stay, meeting cruisers and locals, having fun adventures. We never did get to Puntarenas. Did get back to Montazuma and saw a second waterfall. We actually walked along the coast all the way, a 4 1/2 hour walk with a short snack break and water play in the small pool beneath the waterfall. The adventure was filled with beautiful sights of tropical GREEN forests on one side and beautiful shades of blue ocean and craggy rocks on the other. Some of the trek involved rock climbing and picking a path back down to the beach. Must say I did much better than I thought possible, enjoyed myself immensely and had minimal pain and agony the next day. Think I'll try doing that type of fun more often. David, our friend on s/v Incantation went along as well. Ever so much fun. Tried to use the internet cafe here in Tambour to upload photos but could not get our wireless card to talk to theirs. Also, our cd drive wasn't functioning but Rich has now solved that - it was a software rather than hardware issue (we hope). So when we get to the next stop I'll upload some photos to past blog postings and to the photo site. There are quite a few stacking up at this point.

Tomorrow we are off after the organic vegi mart at the yacht club. I'll take the camera in and get a few snaps. Once the booty is stored we'll up anchor and cross the Gulf of Nicoya to visit the Marina Suenos fuel dock. Probably spend the night anchored off the marina and head down to Quepos the next morning - only 35 miles south east. Not sure if we'll be able to anchor there or not. If it is not too rolly (an exposed anchorage) it is THE best place to leave the boat for a bus ride into the Manuel Antonio National Park. I would so love to spend the day walking around the jungle and seeing the birds and animals that are protected in this preserve.

So many wonderful sights and friendly people come to my mind in colourful array - Costa Rico is a beautiful place. Looking forward to the next adventure and some fun sailing!

Love to all from the yin side

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Time is slippery

Just looked back in the outbox and it appears that my last blog entry was Feb 1st? Could that be possible with today being (according to the computer) the 18th of Feb? My goodness but time is ever so slippery. Ah yes, we did the waterfalls and then some small provisioning trips to the nearby town of Cobano and then big winds were forecasted (30/35knots) and we wanted to see other areas within the Gulfo de Nicoya and traveled up - a wonderful 4.5 hr sail - to Isla Muertos (yes, island of the dead?). Perfectly protected area between the mainland and island. Ever so picturesque but with icky water. Tides rip in the anchorage and are dramatically changeable - 8 to 14 feet. We met some ever so interesting cruiser type boats and also had quiet time on Ceilidh. The wind did get up to the 30knot range but no wind waves/fetch so not a problem. We ventured forth from there yesterday morning and traveled on to Islas Tortuga, two islands much more exposed to the beautiful Pacific. The water clarity was incredible comparatively but the tourist herds had also discovered this paradise. We'll be posting some photos as proof soon. Just about 5pm all the tourists trundled onto their charter boats and we had the anchorage to ourselves. Took off in trusty squishy (aka floating car) and did a snorkel tour. Ahhhhhh! Swimming with the fishes again. Lovely. Next time, however, I'll wear my lycra suit as I collected multiple stingy memorabilia.

So, back on Ceilidh and ready to settle down to a quiet night? Oh no no. The wind picked up and built and built and the seas got fairly exuberant and it stayed that way all thru the night and into the morning. Not a whole lot of sleep but no danger, either. Spent quality time with Mama Luna and the southern cross. So we left this morning and headed back to Bahia Ballena for a few days to reprovision and do the trip we didn't do to Puntarenas via bus/ferry. Did a down wind sail with jib only doing 6 to 7 knots. Lovely. The wind stayed up in the anchorage here but no fetch so all is good. Tomorrow is bottom cleaning day (Ceilidh's - not ours) and then provisioning and the trip to Puntarenas. Think I'll stop here and write more in the next day or two. Take care and love to you all!

from the yin side
afloat in Costa Rica

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Waterfalls are cool

Went on another adventure yesterday. We, along with Bill and Doreen from s/v Lanikai, took a bus from the town of Tambour. Tambour is the small village/resort area we are anchored off here in Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica. as an aside, and since I can't get to an internet cafe and upload more photos for a while yet, you can check out the web site of the beautiful little hotel where we had lunch the other day. IF we were anchored here when they took the photos you would see Ceilidh floating in the bay just off the hotel. The web site is www.tambortropical.com.

From Tambor, the bus took us along roads - some paved, some dirt and washboardy - to the resort town of Montezuma. Not much there except tourism. Eco resorts, small cabanas for rent, tours by car, boat, horse... you name it. Also a surfers paradise which is why we did not anchor nearby. The bus trip took about 45 minutes - passing thru one other small town named Coban, and wound around hills and valleys keeping mostly insight of the ocean shore. Wow. I love the green of the jungle and interesting plants/flowers that abound in this verdant land. Once in Montezuma we walked along the coast to the outskirt of the inhabited area, over a bridge and up into the jungle. Following a well traveled dirt path between trees and shrubs we wound along the stream bed of a small river. The howler monkeys and insects in the trees made me feel as though I was in a Tarzan movie. We'll have to work on a way to share the sounds as well as the colours with you. Before too long we came to the first small set of falls - really not more than a very pretty set of rapids. Keep in mind this is the dry season and the amount of water flowing is minimal compared to what one would see in the rainy season. Still, it was a beautiful scene with rock ledges and slopes providing gentle slides for the water to play on as it traveled down towards the town and sea.

We continued along the stream some of the time and the path where passable and in 30 min or so found the larger waterfall. It drops from about approximately 100 feet above, cascading into a deep pool about 50 feet across. (hey, one of the spanish words for waterfall is la cascada!) We jumped in and swam in the cool, clean water. Played behind and in the sparkling water as it danced into the pool, tried diving thru it and found that the waterfall pushed us flat - belly flop city. We started out on this journey at 7:30am so we were among the first visitors to the falls. As we played and splashed more and more people showed up. It think there were about 15 or so when we decided to head back to town.

Once we arrived back in Montezuma we had a lovely lunch at one of the restaurants and then caught the bus back to Tambor and Ceilidh. There are more waterfalls in the area which we might visit but this will always remain special because it was the first! Tomorrow we'll catch the bus again back to the small town of Coban. There is an ATM and grocery - just what we need and in that order. Well, time to get on with boat type tasks so all for now. Love to all

from the yin side.

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Monkeys!

Today is our third day here at anchor here in Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica. The evening we anchored the wind howled and the sea built and the following day the same. Yesterday was lovely and today so far as well. Think we'll stay for a while. Yesterday, was the "Organic Vegetable Market" morning. WOW! Vegies I have not seen the likes of since my last visit to Whole Foods. Fresh vegies and greens of every description along with fresh herbs, roots, tofu and breads. Rich said he has not seen me so happy in many a day. We had a lovely vegie tofu stir fry over rice last night and I have left overs for later. To say nothing of all the delicious items left in my frig. This morning we walked from the pier on shore to the beginning of the bite for Bahia Ballena along a path that follows the sea shore. The path meanders thru jungle and clearings with sections that lead you along the beach and rocks as well. The smell of plants! Green living things! Ok. I was in the Sea of Cortez and desert way too long. AND WE SAW MONKEYS IN THE TREES! They were small with white faces and sooooo cute. They swung by their tails and almost flew from tree to tree. Don't know if any of the photos will really show them well but I SAW THEM. Also saw an iguana climbing a tree, great numbers of interesting lizards, beautiful butterflies, many huge spiders in intricate webs.... way cool. And, we were tired, footsore and ready to sack out for a while when we came back to Ceilidh a mere 3 1/2 hours later. Definitely time for us to do some more hiking and build up our landlubber type muscles. There are numerous national parks along the coast of Costa Rica and we will visit as many as possible. Not sure about trying to apply for permits to visit the two off laying islands, Isla Cano and Isla Del Coco. It might be worth it but sounds spendy and a hassle. Has any of you heard anything about them?

So, tomorrow or the next day I'll have more to report. Bus rides to town and waterfalls and such. We'll look for a likely internet cafe and see how it goes to upload photos. In the mean time, I'll try to be descriptive. Love to you all and more with the next adventure.

from the yin side.

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Out of the Papagayos

We arrived in Bahia de Ballena on the Nicoya peninsula, Costa Rica just before noon today. Did a 24 hour passage from Cocos, Costa Rica and escaped from the dreaded papagayo winds. Ugh. Howling wind in the rigging and salt spray everywhere gets old after a while. It looks lovely here but have yet to go ashore. Have had our anchor beers and a bite of lunch and now Rich is putting the sail covers on and I am doing this email. After a nap we'll put the dingy together and check out the surroundings. The water temp is 85F and the air temp 89F. And good news, the humidity is only 62%! Just went out on deck and helped Rich with the sail cover and the air smells like flowers. Yumm. So far I like Costa Rica even more than Nicaragua. While we were in Cocos (our first port in Costa Rica) I even found avocados and mangoes in the grocery. Life is looking up. Have heard from many other cruisers that there is an organic vegetable vender here in this anchorage on Saturday morning. I am so looking forward to Saturday. In the meantime there is resting, swimming, playing Sarafina and chilling out for a while. There are so many islands in this area that we'll stay for a while and do some exploring. Seems like we have been moving and evading crazy strong winds for way too long now.

Small world story. There is only one other cruising sailboat here in this anchorage and we know them from Alameda. We are anchored next to Moon Song with Jerry and Nola. Actually, we heard from Jan (aka fairy sister) that they were here so it was not a huge surprise. Well, nap time is calling me and there are just a few pages left in the Da Vinci Code. Yes, everyone who said "Hope, you HAVE to read this book" was correct. Wow, what a story! So off to dream land for a while and I'll write more tomorrow.

Love to all
from the yin side

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Waiting for the wind

to let up and provide a window in which we can make our way to Bahia Del Coco, Costa Rica. Thought we would be leaving tonight but now the weather fax says no no no - 30 knots plus will be rolling in within a short period. OK. New strategy. We'll look for a longer weather window and plan a shorter journey - just across the boarder to northern Costa Rica and duck into Bahia Santa Elena. It would be easier to time the weather and our departure if we did not have to first pay a visit via bus to the Nicaraguan frontier. That is where the immigration office is and where we have to report to receive our exit papers. Apparently it is about 45 minuets away via car if you know where you are going but we'll be traveling via bus - one from San Juan Del Sur and then connecting with another some where between here and Rivas, that will take us to the "frontier". Hummm. I figure the whole process will take most of a day. Once we have checked out we MUST leave within 24 hours. Therefore all the deliberation as to when to initiate this check out process.

This is an interesting small town with a bay that offers good anchoring if the wind is blowing from the north east. Thankfully the wind has been blowing from the north east. Unfortunately it is blowing in the 20 to 35knot range. Yes, the famed papagayo winds are here and they are blowing. The port would rather you take the small tug, aka water taxi, to and from your boat and the shore. It is a cute little thing covered with fenders. Carlos, the captain, is a fantastic boat handler. Thank goodness because he snuggles the tug up to Ceilidh in 20 + knots of wind so we can jump onto or off of the roof of the tug. I'll get a photo of him before we leave. The town is filled with young tourists from many countries. I counted five different largish buildings with "spanish speaking school" signs. Many smaller hotels and hostels supply the young adventurers with places to stay. We found the mercado and purchased vegetables, fruits, bread and eggs. All the food is a bit spendy so I bet most people catch the bus into Rivas for major shopping. If we are waiting here for long we will probably take the bus to Rivas as well just to see the town. Today we plan to flag down the water taxi and take a long walk along the beach.

Taking some time and enjoying what we have each day is a good thing. Sarafina is out of her case and I am playing throughout the day. Rich is resting and reading. We celebrated our wedding anniversary on the full moon last week. A quiet day with each other and time to think of all the changes since we married 7 years ago. Wow. Will sign off for now and write again as new adventures unfold. If the wind allows we may make it into the internet cafe with our computer and upload some new photos. Check back and see!

Love to all from the yin side

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Yippie-eye-oh-ki-yay

(yang posting #3 � The Papagayos)

Captain John Rains recently published a magazine article entitled 'The Two Terrors of the Pacific Coast'. He was referring to the Gulfo de Tehuantepec with its famed northers (aka, Tehuanta-peckers) and the Gulfo de Papagayo with its famed Papagayos (aka, second-hand Caribbean trade winds). The title probably sold a bunch of magazines, and put a few people off going any further south than Zihuatanejo. While both areas, at times, can have storm-force winds in excess of 50 knots, both are well understood weather and geographic phenomena and, therefore, predictable and avoidable. In theory.

Option 1: Don't go near them between November and April. Of course the rest of the year between May and October you have the East Pacific hurricane season. What's a cruiser to do?

Option 2: Wait for lulls in the winds and dart across the affected areas! While the Tehuantepec can be staged and the most dangerous section darted across in a mere 24 hour window (lull), the Papagayos have been described not so much as a weather phenomenon, but rather a way of life. But we'll get to that later.

Option 3: Ignore the whole thing. There are plenty of cruisers (mostly those from countries fronting the North Sea) who just cross the Tehuantepec without regard for the wind or sea conditions. If I'd learned to sail in the North Sea, I suppose I'd think of 40-50 knot winds and 20+ foot seas as minor annoyances as well.

Well, we're option 2 sort of cruisers, so we caught a 5-day window for the Tehuantepec. Ended up motoring the last half (2nd day) in glassy seas. OK, one down, one to go.

Fortunately for us, the Papagayos were starting up late this year. Once they start they don't quit. They are the Caribbean Trade Winds having crossed the Caribbean (providing Heather and Zack a component of their lovely BVI vacation) and ended up on the East shore of Central America. But because Nicaragua is basically flat and has a huge lake (lakes also tend to be very flat geographically, have you noticed?), the Trade Winds just keep on going across into the Pacific.

We got to beautiful and serene Marina Puesta del Sol on a Sunday. The Papagayos were expected to be quiet until Friday night. So we first planned to leave on Thursday morning with some new friends. But we weren't quite rested and had 'a bad feeling' about the window, so we passed on that departure date.

WRONG! Our feelings let us down. Would have been a great passage. But we had a great time in the marina and made some new friends and saw an extra part of Nicaragua. So we started watching the weather closely looking for the next lull. According to www.weatherbuoy.com, the next lull would come on Monday into Tuesday. 10-15 knot winds coming directly off the land. Ahhh, visions of a fast beam-reach or close reach danced in our heads. So we checked out and departed early Monday morning. All morning was beautiful as predicted. Virtually flat waters with 12 knot beam winds. Ahhh (again), this is the cruising life! Then 15. Then 18. 22. 25. 28. And finally 32-35 sustained. But not beam or close reaching, virtually on the nose which meant that we were bashing nose first into 6-foot rolling seas. Ceilidh's bow rising up on one wave, then crashing down onto the next peak, or sometimes crashing down in front of the next peak and burying her nose in the wave. Both options bringing our forward motion to a virtual stop.

The normal auto pilot couldn't adjust fast enough to avoid getting us all turned around in the conditions. So we hand steered for an hour or so and then tried the wind vane (wind direction) option on the auto pilot and found that it kept us going in the right direction 95% of the time.

Near sunset we were nearing Puerto Sandino and some friends told us about some mooring balls they'd hooked onto for a couple of days with the Port Captain's approval. Puerto Sandino is named Puerto Somosa on the official charts, but the dictator(s) Somosa has officially been declared a bad guy so he's now losing those delightful dictatorial perks (like naming parts of the country after yourself) collected while he was alive. Sandino was an early 20th century revolutionary from whom the Sandinistas take their name, but the revolutionary and the political party existed decades apart and never had a connection. We hooked up to a mooring ball and breathed a sigh of relief. The Port Captain then calls and asks if there is a problem: No, we're just looking for a night's rest. Is it OK? Next thing we know, a panga comes along side and we're boarded by the Port Captain, Immigration, and the Navy with a semi-automatic rifle. No problem ... you're no one down here unless your entourage has at least one semi-automatic weapon or sawed-off shotgun. You get used to it. I think receptionists need to bring theirs along on the initial job interview as well.

He explains that he's taking us into the port. Would we please follow the panga? Sure. (?) In the now dark. Hope, with her magical ways, managed to convince the semi-automatic guy to shoulder the weapon and hold a flashlight on the 3M reflective tape on the panga driver's life jacket. All I had to do was follow the bouncing panga ball in the darkness. We have a keel depth of 6.5 feet. At times in the marked channel I saw 6.6 feet on the depth sounder. Once inside: please approach that 12-foot tall solid concrete wall (wharf), unlit, and put ceilidh along side in the shadows. Hell, I could barely see the bow pulpit let alone the wall. And don't plan to swing smoothly along the wall, there's a steel tug 6 feet in front of where you have to stop and an anchored panga 10 feet behind. So just steer in at an almost 90 degree angle and turn at the appropriate last moment.

All I can say is, thank the gods for adrenalin. The concrete wall didn't suffer a scratch, neither did the tug, and neither did ceilidh. I couldn't fall asleep for a few hours, but that's OK.

We got checked in. They moved us off the wall to be tied next to the tug ... all the boats tied at the wharf were protected by at least a dozen very large tires (for very good reason) and, damn, we forgot our tires! What were we thinking back in San Francisco? They were very helpful, concerned, and mindful of our situation.

And please, no photographs? asked the guard politely with the ever so polite semi-automatic rifle cradled in his arm.

The next morning we get checked out and were told we could use the mooring ball for a day or two. Told by the Port Captain (this is an important detail). We followed the tug out the channel, which was a good thing because the tug draws 6.5 feet and the captain knew where the REAL channel was, not just the panga shortcuts. But as we picked up the mooring, the Harbor Master (note the title change?) called: What are you doing? When are you leaving? You're already checked out!

Seems the tug with the Port Captain was going out to check in an oil tanker anchored off shore and the mooring balls were going to be used by barges to offload the oil. We were in the way. Puerto Sandino may not be much, but it is home to an electrical generating plant of which there are not enough in Nicaragua. So off we go to face another day of Papagayos after mentally making plans to not be moving another inch.

The morning wasn't too bad and friends encouraged us to keep on going to the 'No Name' anchorage rather than less desirable intermediate anchorages. So we pushed the throttle ahead by a couple of hundred rpm's and burned a few extra dinosaurs. We got in just after dark and did our first nighttime-in-a-strange anchorage anchoring. Then collapsed.

One boat left the next morning for the next destination, San Juan del Sur. They had 20 to 40 knots of those delightful Papagayos. We left the next morning, lulled by friends who said it looked like it would be 10-15 to them. WRONG! and they weren't using weatherbuoy.com.

So we're finally here in San Juan del Sur. Great little resort town. Lots of international gringos (we were speaking Spanish to a French cruiser to communicate, weird). Friendly locals. The Papagayos are still blowing, but who cares? It's a way of life for us ... now ... almost. We may even miss them when we get to the middle of Costa Rica. (NOT!)

One good piece of news? Our wind generator was designed and built in Trinidad specifically for the Trade Winds. It must recognize the Caribbean air as it is keeping us charged up all night long, every night. A first since we've started cruising.

Another piece of good news? Ceilidh is even stronger than we've come to know, better handling in conditions we haven't experienced, and we have more reserves and strength than we thought. It's all about learning out here.

Last piece of news: We met a cruiser who has settled in San Juan del Sur and is writing a cruising guide on Central America. To his knowledge we're the first cruising boat ever to be allowed into Puerto Sandino.

maps.google.com fun ...

Marina Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua
12.625100N, 087.342100W

Puerto Sandino, Nicaragua
12.182600N, 086.785683W (mooring ball)
12.201267N, 086.764600W (12-foot wall)

No Name Anchorage, Nicaragua (the cruiser name for the place)
11.505233N, 086.174267W

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
11.256350N, 085.879200W

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