Day Hopping

The last couple of nights we have been day hopping down the coastline. We have been up early and try to get in and set by 4pm just to make sure we don’t get caught in any bad weather. The hops have been from 30 to 60 miles. The thunderheads have been looking quite intimidating and seem to be quite consistent as they form every day. We didn’t get into any of the downbursts, but it wouldn’t have been too difficult to get caught by one. Leaving in the calm of the morning means we don’t have wind. We fire up Roger(the detroit wind) and he pushes us along instead. There hasn’t been enough breeze in the afternoon to hold the sails out, so we just motor. Oh well. There will be more in the Caribbean!
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Quepos (KAY-pohs) - Sat April 12 - This first stop is a busy little bay. It’s noisy because they are in the midst of some major upgrades. There are 3 huge cranes in the harbor doing dredging, setting pilings (which is a really rattly job), and something was making a racket like a landslide every 10 minutes. They must have been dumping riprock somewhere I couldn’t see. This went on till fairly late in the night, and when they did stop, they left their huge construction lights on all night. When they get done with this place, it should be a busy new port. From the water we could hear a really loud dance club rocking away most of the night.
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Bahia Drake- Sun April 13 - Cutting straight across a notch of coastline brings us to Drake. It is almost a private looking anchorage that is surrounded by just a handful of modestly sized retreats tucked into the trees. The cruising guide mention there are some eco-adventure lodges in there too. It looks like a good place for something like that. The two mountain peaks visible behind Bahia Drake are supposedly the rainiest places in Costa Rica. They register 220 inches annually.

There are a few sportfishers on moorings and pongas zipping around in support. It’s alot quieter here, but again, we hear the beat of music drifting across the water carrying the entertainment for the evening. Sunday must be karioke night. Yep- it’s pretty obvious.

Just before getting in this afternoon, we hooked up with another spotted mackerel. I just had enough time to strip it down to fillets and wash down the deck before the anchor dance made things more complicated. Excellent timing. We had burgers already set to grill this evening, so the fish will keep for another night. Yes, the burgers were really tasty.
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Puerto Jimenez (he-MAY-nayz) - Mon April 14 - Getting around the Oso Peninsula and up into Golfo Dulce took us most of the day. We go into a bit of chop going around the bottom end of the point, and had a build of wind but it was on the nose. We can’t get this sailing thing right. Another spotted mack threw himself onto the hook, and we were glad to put the extra fillets in the fridge. Now I guess we can have some friends over! Did I mention how tasty that fish is?

The port is on the edge of Corcovado National Park. There is a frequent line of ferry boats from Golfito and what seems consistent timing of turbo-props landing at the airstrip carrying backpackers and eco-touristas. Since it is just a quick ferry ride right across from where we will be for a while, We can easily get back here to check this place out for sure.

The marina in Golfito is expecting us in today [Tues 15], so we will up the anchor shortly to make sure we get the tide for the entrance.