There are two scourges for the sailor
going down the coast of Central America: The Gulf of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, and the Papagayo winds, coming off Lake Nicaragua, just north of the Costa Rican border. The first scourge we came through unscathed, the second, m-m-m-m, not so much. We had decided head offshore, thinking that the predicted winds would come from behind us and push us right to our waypoint in the early morning. Instead, we were faced with 30-knot winds on our nose, and huge, very confused seas, which we slogged through at 2-3 knots for 20 hours. When we finally reached our anchorage, we were wet, exhausted, salty and grumpy. Nature can be a very strict and unapologetic teacher. Jim said I was to blame, since I was so cavalier about our Tehuantepec crossing in my last web update. I knew this was going to be my fault, somehow. Jim kept grumbling throughout our ordeal that he wasn’t supposed to be beating to weather – he was cruising. It reminded me of Tom Hanks as a women’s baseball coach: “Crying? There’s no crying in baseball!”
Our boat is fitting us like a favorite pair of shoes; not old shoes, but those shoes that are the first ones you reach for when you are going to be using your feet all day, and need comfort and support. We have tweaked it here and there, and added little improvements to make our lives easier. She has proven herself to be lively and capable on all points of sail, and in some pretty nasty weather. We feel very glad to have Ruby Slippers carry us across the ocean.
We stopped in a little bay called El Coco, and we fortunate enough to be there for the last day of a 4-day celebration called “The March of the Horses”. The highlight of that final night of celebrating was a bull-riding demonstration and amusement rides at the local fairgrounds. After a long and loud introduction of all the cowboys, a big Brahma bull came leaping out of a stall with a wiry bull-rider on top. The guy had both hands in the air, didn’t touch the bull at all, and stayed on until the bell rang. We though that was pretty amazing, until two cowboys came dashing into the ring to rope the bull and take him back to his stall. These guys were so impressive, as were the horses who carried them. They would ride around the ring, and get the bull positioned how they liked him, then one roper would start swinging his lasso around his head, get his horse going full speed, ride just past the bull, and swing his lasso up and back behind him and the rope would land neatly around the bull’s neck. This is a very small ring, mind you, so the horses were galloping at full speed in a circle, then coming to a dead stop as soon as the bull was harnessed. We stayed for a long time, mostly to watch those two cowboys and their roping abilities. I kept thinking how good they would be on a boat; they could hook a line onto a cleat from a long way away. The rest of the fair was just like it is anywhere in the states – cotton candy, scary-looking rides, food on a stick, and young people glad to be away from their parents for a couple of hours. The music we heard was good, solid ‘80s American music.
We are currently in a bay called Herradura, which boasts having the only marina in all of Costa Rica. Unfortunately, it is chock full and we can’t get a slip, so we are anchored out in a rolly nook close to the marina. There is a huge Marriott Hotel on the beach, and we are hopeful of finding a laundry (lavenderia) and good grocery store. Our crew mate, Jim, who has been with us since Puerto Vallarta, will be leaving tomorrow. It’s been great having him on board. Get this – he loves to do dishes! He is also great on night watches, and loves to play games. It’s been fun having him with us.
We want to find a good spot in this part of Costa Rica, where we can do some inland exploring and take surfing lessons. We have about two weeks before we need to head toward the Galapagos Islands. Thanks to all who have sent us greetings – our e-mail system seems to be working a lot better now.
There should be new pix in the media gallery - Jeanna