Underway – halfway to Ecuador The 1st 2 days from Costa Rica to Ecuador were fine – 6/5 was glorious all day & nite – max. 15 kt., broad reach; partly cloudy day, starry night. Then a low pressure system nobody forecast, arose on 6/6. Life got breezy & very bouncy – max.25kt. from S/SSW,…
Underway – Costa Rica to Ecuador 5.June, 1500Z position (0900, Central time): 06deg.44'N/082deg.50'W – about 110 mi. south of Costa Rica/Panama border. Entering the InterTropical Convergence Zone. West wind 5-9 kt., seas 5'-7' w/ 1'-2' chop, skies overcast w/ intermittent squalls, cabin temp=85F. Meaning, hot, muggy, rolly. But all's well & the sailing's easy. Dodging…
Golfito. Spent only 3 days, not much done except provision/fuel/check-out, E-Z check-out, only took 1.5 hrs. w/ all officials. Golfito reminds me of La Paz's El Mogote – except flatter water, fewer boats, nicer view. Golfo Dulce anchorages are all pretty & nice at least in late May/early June. Wish we'd had more time but…
Slowed The Fox down to less than 5 kt. so as to stay well offshore Golfo Dulce entrance until sunrise. Still 20 mi. offshore when we encountered a couple of local fishing boats: wood, ~45', unlit or with non-regulation lights, not picked up by radar. No mishaps. Sunrise: entered Golfo Dulce, anchored off Puerto Jimenez…
28.May2010. Left Marina Papagayo, northern Costa Rica, 0615. Wet & squally to 1500. Winds SE to SW 7-17 kt. w/ gusts to 22 kt., & visibility 1/2 mi. to 2 mi., depending on location of squalls. Seas SW 7' at 7 sec., rolly & choppy. Late pm, winds steadied to SW 7-12 kt as low…
It's not difficult or expensive to travel by public transportation around Nicaragua, just logistically demanding. It happens that there is no single bus taking a direct route inland from Chinandega (the town nearest to Marina Puesta del Sol on the NW coast where we stopped in April) to León or Granada, two popular tourist destinations.…
One reason for visiting Marina Puesta del Sol in Nicaragua is that it's a secure place to keep your boat while traveling inland for a bit of turismo. Nicaragua's about the size of New York state, so travel from the coast to the big city takes only a few hours, even via public transportation. We…
17.-18. April 2010 Said goodbye to an excellent shell beach at Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua. Hoped for a dawn departure on 17.April but port & immigration officials did not arrive from Corinto to clear us out of Nicaragua until 1130, coincidentally at low tide. Day was hot & windless, left after lunch, no problems exiting…
It was time to say farewell to El Salvador. What better day than April 1, for cruising fools like us? On Marina Barillas manager Heriberto Pineda's advice, we planned our departure for an outgoing tide, intending to reach the estuary's entrance and long sand bar about midway between high and low tide. It was fine…
During our whirlwind road trip around El Salvador in March, we saw lots of cool things. Things like volcanoes, Mayan ruins…and fresh pupusas like these, made with your choice of either corn or rice flour (my advice: try both). The best deal we found for pupusas was at one roadside stand we stopped at for…