SAILING CAMELOT

No, we’re not running from the law… And we’re in no hurry, either. We’re just enjoying our “freedom from the docks”, taking short trips down the Costa Rican Coast and stopping anywhere we please along the way.  Sometimes just for the night, other times for a few days if we like the place.

Since leaving Marina Papagayo we stopped at seven anchorages.

Playa Conchal in Bahia Flamingo was our first stop, if only for a night.

Next was Bahia Samara, a gorgeous and secluded little bay hidden behind the small island of Isla Chora.

Despite the beauty of our surroundings, after two nights rolling like pigs in the mud we decided we had enough and moved on.

Seven hours later we plopped anchor in Bahia Ballena –the official entrance of the Golfo de Nicoya, smack in the center of Costa Rica.

Not much happening here and the lagoon-green water did not look inviting, but it was a nice, flat-calm place to spend a restful night.

At this point I was wondering when and if we’d ever find nice blue waters to swim in.

I got my answer just a few hours later: Islas Tortugas.  

These two small islands, Isla Tolinga and Isla Alcatraz, are called Turtle Islands after the turtles that used to come here in droves to give birth. Somehow, that’s not happening anymore, but the name remained.

Clear blue waters, lots of little bays perfect for kayak excursions, and even a nice white sand beach lined with palm trees! Paradise found.

We anchored off Isla Alcatraz and soon were in our kayaks, paddling to the inviting beach of Isla Tolinga. We found a fully-blown touristic operation ashore. Neatly lined-up beach chairs available for rent, along with kayaks, jet-skis and all the toys needed to enhance your day at the beach. A little too developed, but still wonderful.

A huge catamaran brought big groups of tourists most every day, but the island never felt crowded. They were kept busy with snorkeling trips, horse-back excursions, banana-boat rides and would leave the island by mid-afternoon.

We befriended a few of the really nice guys working there and Tom invited them on Camelot for after-work cocktails. Adonis, Ernesto and Marlon came by kayak, easily covering the half-mile distance between our boat and the beach.

They were such great company, it was only fair to have them stay for dinner… They were very appreciative and happy to be on the boat, saying that in nine years of working there no visiting boaters ever invited them. I guess they’ll remember us for a long time…

We stayed three days in this enchanted place, got up close and personal with some of the local fauna and even managed to take a horse-back tour of the island.

Man, it’s been ten years since I last rode a horse… I should do it more often, it’s so much fun!!

The night before departing our friends came aboard again for a farewell dinner. But this time they brought two big fish and rice cooked two different ways, to let us sample their local cuisine.

Ernesto got busy in the galley, showing me hot to fillet a fish. I now have a new skill!

We had great food and a great time; I was really impressed by the fact that these guys, after a long and hard working day, came to our boat and cooked us dinner. I guess we’ll remember them for a long time, too…

It was not easy to leave Islas Tortugas, but we had high hopes of finding some other beautiful island to explore.

So we went further up in the Golfo de Nicoya and stopped at Isla Muertos, an ancient burial site. The anchorage is pretty, but it’s another calm lagoon with muddy green water. There was nothing we wanted to see on the island itself, so we left the next morning.

Thankfully, all these islands are pretty close to each other, so our little trips never lasted more than two hours at most.

Tom was intrigued by Isla San Lucas -a penal colony that operated from 1873 until 1991- and wanted to visit the prison if possible. So off to San Lucas we went.

The weather was overcast and the water still muddy green, so I wasn’t impressed by San Lucas either.

 A short dinghy trip to shore and we were on correctional facility grounds.

We met a ground keeper and asked for permission to walk around. His reply was unclear and there was a feeble attempt at asking for a “fee”. I shrugged and opened my arms in the international gesture for “whatever, dude, name a price” without saying a word. He shook his head and told us to walk around all we wanted. No fees.

It didn’t take long to tour the facilities or what’s left of them.

Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get off that island, it gave me the creeps. Tom instead, maybe because of his law-enforcement background, was totally curious about the place.

There’s some interrupted attempt at restoring some buildings, although the jungle is slowly but surely reclaiming the land.

Nowadays the only occupants of San Lucas are the howler monkeys feasting on the many mango and coconut trees.

We hightailed it out of there the next morning.

It’s time to get out of the Golfo de Nicoya and continue down the coast of Costa Rica.

We had a five-hour trip ahead of us to get to out next destination, Bahia Herradura.

About half an hour into our trip we noticed a strong vibration shaking Camelot’s aft end like a leaf in the wind.

Not willing to continue motoring – possibly creating some bigger problem – we decided to anchor briefly in front of the town of Puntarenas so that Tom could quickly dive and check out what was wrong.

Sure enough, he quickly found the cause of the tremors: the propeller caught a long twine, spun it around and around weaving it tightly around its blades.

It didn’t take long to free the propeller, the worst of the ordeal being the 2.5 knots current that Tom had to fight while working under the boat.

We soon resumed our way. Relief! No more vibrations and a smooth trip.

Bahia Herradura, a well known sport fishing center, was home for one night.

Pretty, but not pretty enough to stay any longer than that.

Early the next morning we left for Quepos, a location of much interest for its proximity to the Manuel Antonio National Park –possibly the best natural  park of Costa Rica. It was listed by Forbes among the world’s 12 most beautiful national parks, so I MUST see it…

Six hours later we finally arrived at the Marina Pez Vela (Sailfish) in Quepos, yet another luxury Marina.

We plan on staying here at least three days, should be just enough time to re-provision, visit the Park and catch up with a few chores.

Also, slowing down a little would seem like a good idea… You know, just to catch our breath.