SAILING CAMELOT

We leave El Salvador as smoothly as we entered it. The Bar crossing is barely noticeable, no doubt thanks to Tom superior boat handling skills – or high tide and a very calm sea.

Crossing the bar exiting Bahia del Sol. Easy!

About an hour out at sea we find some decent wind and manage to sail for about 5 hours.

All in all it’s a pretty quiet trip, if I don’t mention the lightning cracking over my head for hours or the huge floating log that crossed our path…

Ok, here’s the truth. There is so much lightning that to calm myself down during my watch I have to heavily dip into my anti-anxiety medication of choice: Nutella. It works wonders for my nervous system, but as I raise yet another spoonful to my mouth I can’t help wondering “does a spoon attract lightning?”… Really, Lori… How about that 65 feet mast sticking out of the water. I am relieved when Tom takes over and I can go hide in my bed.

Around 1:30 I get abruptly awakened by a loud “thunk” on the hull, followed by the engine slowing down to idle. Before I’m even conscious I’m already flying up to the cockpit to see what’s happening.

Tom yells “we hit something, go check the bilges!”  I do and thankfully they’re dry, we’re not taking in water, no holes in the hull, but my heart is now beating in my throat at unhealthy speeds.

Instead of idly wonder what we hit, Tom reverses course and goes hunting for the culprit. I’m feebly protesting, but he’s right. What if we hit a panga, what if we injured someone, what if, what if, what if…

With me driving and Tom on the bow scanning the sea with a powerful flashlight we find the object of our obsession, ending the guessing game within five minutes. It’s a gigantic semi-submersed log, complete with branches sticking out and birds sitting on them. 

Satisfied we haven’t injured or killed anyone and that Camelot is still sailing dry, we resume our trip. It takes Tom a good half hour to relax enough to sleep. Me? Let’s just say I inflicted some significant damage to that Nutella jar for the rest of the night…

Approaching Marina Puesta del Sol

... And there it is!

Thankfully nothing else happens and we arrive in Nicaragua without fanfare, tying up at Marina Puesta del Sol at 9 on Easter morning.

We are welcomed to Nicaragua by Dorian, the Harbormaster.

The Docks at Marina Puesta del Sol. We're the second mast on the right.

View from the Restaurant Palapa, overlooking the Entrance Channel

Puesta del Sol  is a beautiful vacation resort, very well designed and with all the amenities you could wish for.

It’s the brainchild of Robert and Maria Laura Membreno, former cruisers who spent eight years at sea before settling down. 

Even though this is a port of entry, there are no immigration facilities on site. However, the Harbormaster calls both Immigration and Navy to report arrivals and departures and the officials come to the Marina to check you in or out. This is a great service, considering that the officials drive the 20 miles from Corinto specifically to avoid YOU the inconvenience.

We didn’t think anyone would come out on Easter Sunday, but they sure did!

Thirty minutes and $49 later, we’re legally visitors of Nicaragua.

For today, I’m just going to be happy visiting the closest pool…

The Pool close to the Docks.

We can even check out new arrivals while splashing in the pool!