About a week ago we pulled into the lovely and calm estuary in front of the little town of Golfito. Finally a calm anchorage! Costa Rica is lush and beautiful, but it is not very friendly to cruising sailboats. After that very first anchorage of Santa Elena, almost every other anchorage has been rolly and choppy. The few marinas down here are exorbitantly expensive ($150 per night and up), and food prices are about 2x U.S. prices for anything other than rice and beans (which are still 2x more expensive than Mexico or El Salvador). Costa Rica has the highest per capita income of all of Central America, but I have to wonder how much is eaten up with the higher cost of living.
The rainy season is here with a vengeance. We have gotten at least a couple of big downpours a day, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Lightning is the big worry down here, if it hits your boat it can fry all electronic gear on board, and even possibly blow a hole in the boat!! We personally know of at least two boats hit here (does this make our statistical odds better :-) The rain though does make the rain forest lush and green. Over 25% of Costa Rica is designated a national park or reserve which makes for abundant wildlife. On just about any walk ashore we’ve seen howler monkeys, macaws and other parrots, lizards, lots of colorful birds, frogs, etc.
Howler Monkeys:
Exploring a little river by dingy:
What are you looking at?
2-toed sloth (it's there, really):
Little green frog:
Quiet Golfito:
LandSea, the cruiser’s hangout in Golfito:
We’ll be here a few more days then onto Panama. Looking at the cruising guides, there are only a few secure anchorages so we’re not sure how long we will take getting to Panama City. Our autopilot has died so hopefully we can get it repaired or replaced in Panama City. Without an autopilot, the passages will be very tiring, oh well; cruising is defined as “fixing your boat in exotic ports” :-)
Cheers,
Carolynn & Tom
