Friday, July 31, 2009

Suzi Philosophizes

Everywhere we go, it seems like the sensational sunrises and sunsets set the stage and return us to the essence of life. Spectacular sunrises heartily welcome a new day, refreshing our mindful intent of experiencing all there is and then going beyond with a spirit of wonder; the incredible sunsets calm the senses, dissolve any frustrations, anxieties, and faulty expectations the ego chooses to embrace during the day, and help us revive any lost sense of just being. Cruising gives me the additional time to remember, but it is still amazing how little distractions temporarily throw away the sense of balance.

David has gone by taxi, bus, and ferry to Puntarennas, and I am sitting on Sidewinder in this pristine bay keeping watch and hanging out. I believe the day will include doing some postures, meditating, cleaning, getting free water from the dock, hiking to the point and finding the monkeys I hear each morning and evening, reading, and writing, all with focus on relaxation. What a wonderful luxury just to Be. Love to all.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Bahia Ballena w/ Lynn & Brad










Photos: Taking Lynnie and Brad surfing in Malpais and Heart´s Bay in Bahia Ballena (#4 & 6), including our trip up the estuary with Brad and Lynnie (#1 & 2). Some very fun days and evenings!

We just walked into the little town of Tambor and found this cute little boutique with computers upstairs. The bay is very pretty, and the beach across from where we have Sidewinder anchored is beautiful, with white sand, palm trees, and clear water. We look forward to meeting the couple who own the land and have been here for thirty years. He is the inventor of the Heart Inverter we have in our boat, and she is a mid-wife and organic gardener who has delivered all the babies in this vicinity and has organized organic farmers all over this area of the peninsula.

We found Lynnie and Brad after waiting with our dinghy for a couple of hours, and it was quite a scene getting our stuff and them out to the boat that afternoon. That morning before they arrived, a really friendly local came out to us in his panga and offered to help us out with whatever we needed, so luckily we had Max available in the late afternoon. By then, though, the tide was going out, and the waves were coming back up. It was quite a scene getting Worm back out through the waves, but we succeeded, and Max brought Lynnie and Brad with all the bags, including three of their own. They were able to leave their rental car with Max´s family, and hopefully it was there when they got back on Tuesday afternoon. Lynnie got seasick shortly after their arrival and was wasted all that night. [Editor's Note: Lynn would like it to be known that she recovered the next day.] There was a storm on the way down to Bahia Samara, and the seas were quite mixed up that next day. We would not have stayed there that night had we not been meeting Lynnie and Brad. The next day was beautiful, and we headed down the coast to look for surf, but it was pretty mixed up and somewhat inaccessible by boat in most places. If the waves had been primo, we would have made the effort to stop. We journeyed all the way down the coast and by the time we got to Malpais, we figured we should continue around the point and up to Bahia Ballena, which was our next destination anyway. We stopped for an hour surf session, and David, Brad, and Lynnie went out. Luckily Brad caught a few waves, and it was a good sunset. Unfortunately there was never enough wind to just sail at a reasonable pace, so we motor-sailed and finally entered Bahia Ballena around 10 P.M. It has been quite a week. We were disappointed not to see Daniel´s friend in Tamarindo because we ran out of time.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bahia Guacamaya, C.R.





What an awesome bay! Incredible sunset last night and woke up to see the anchor, lying in the sand 20 feet below me with colorful fish swimming all around us. WOW! Went snorkeling and are going to clean Sidewinder's bottom, which we can totally see. Off to Bahia Brasilito this afternoon and maybe will be able to get connected to the internet one last time. -S.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Lots of Photos




















Here are some photos from San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua to Bahias Guacalito and Santa Elena in Costa Rica. The green boat is Mandy. The very short-haired people in these photos are the infamous Richard and Virginia, of whom much has been written. Below is an update from Suzi. -K.

We are anchored in Bahia Coco, which you may have visited long ago. It is calm and glassy, and we are checking into Costa Rica with Richard and Virginia today. It may be our last day with them, but hopefully not. They have some good friends arriving tomorrow who are staying here for a week with someone who teaches English here, and I'm sure they will have a much better impression of this town than we do after the week is over. They are also going south, so I imagine we will find each other again; we have had so much fun with them. They are going through the canal, so someday we will truly part, but I look forward to exploring Panama with them.

Reprovisioning today could be quite a challenge with the dinghy on the beach, but I am sure we will figure it all out. We will be going to Bahia Guacamaya tomorrow, just a few miles down, with hopes of snorkling and cleaning Sidewinder's bottom, and then we probably will move down to Bahia Potrero or Bahia Brasilito for the night. Brasilito is also supposed to be really clean, clear water and great snorkling. Tamarindo is next ......YIKES! Not sure I am ready for that beach scene but I am sure I might need a few more supplies before we hook up with Lynnie and Brad. We might catch them there, or make the 60 mile trip south to Bahia Samara and meet them somehow there. Summertime is not a good time to anchor near Playa Guiones, even in Bahia Garza, but if the weather is right, it is a possibility; the swell is another issue to consider. We look forward to the adventure of finding them, and it could be quite interesting. -Suzi

Monday, July 20, 2009

A Blurb Each from S & D

We just sailed around the corner from Bahia Santa Elena and got hit by some fairly high winds. So much so that Ollie's Point (surf spot in Costa Rica made famous by Oliver North while he was smuggling arms into Nicaruaga) was so blown out we could hardly get into the bay itself. I always wanted to surf there; it's a fairly easy right hander that goes forever, and to be so close but unable to stop was frustrating, to say the least. We ended up going all the way to the Playa Coco area and anchored behind the Huevos Islands with Mandy. They thought they had got rid of us but not so! We are now in Bahia Hermosa and I'm stealing a Wifi signal from one of the hotels. Pretty cool. Later today we will motor over to Playa Coco and do our official check-in for Costa Rica on Tuesday since they aren't open for business on Mondays? Whatever . . . hard keeping up with the hours that some of these guys work (or don't work ). - David

Just trying to coordinate with Lynnie about finding them at the end of the week. (Lynn Smith and her boyfriend, Brad, are on a Costa Rican holiday.) We cannot anchor very close to where they will be, but somehow we will get together. She definitely needs to be in the forest for a few days anyway before boarding Sidewinder. The Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre Ostional looks like a wonderful park, and I hope I, too, will be able to explore there. It is one of two nesting areas for the olive ridley sea turtle, and the Playa Nosara is where they lay their eggs at night; hundreds and sometimes thousands arrive, usually on the dark nights before the new moon. Wouldn't it be fun to witness!

Time to take Worm over to a nearby deserted beach to do our exercises and a little swim before the winds kick in and the day gets away from us. We are moving later on to Playa Coco, and I am sure we will at least find an internet cafe there. -Suzi

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday's Sailmail

Leaving for Key Point and Islas Murcielagos today, then to Bahia Potrero Grande (to catch waves at Ollie's Point), checking out Roca Bruja (Witch's Rock) and then onward to Playa Del Coco where we have to officially check into the country. LOVE to ALL! Suzi and David

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Bahia Elena, Costa Rica

We are in a gorgeous bay, enjoying everything: hiking, snorkeling, swimming in waterfall pools, exploring, watching monkeys and parrots, fishing, and playing with Richard and Virginia. Life is good. We are planning to leave this paradise on Friday or Saturday to make our way down to Playa Coco in time to meet Lynnie and Brad, stopping at surf spots on the way down and probably leaving Mandy here to take in a few more days of awesome peace and tranquility. We have had some wonderful days, with the only sounds from the nearby forests are parrots chattering in the late afternoons. So nice!

Via Sailmail from CR

Sorry that the pictures did not get to you; we will send them from Costa Rica when we can. Pretty cool that they play sand volleyball here, eh? And the girls were good. After a yummy meal with Scott our last night, we rose early to prepare Worm (dinghy) and Sidewinder for departure and pulled the anchor. Mandy and Sidewinder were ready for new adventures.

We immediately raised the sails to greet the surprisingly strong 20+ knot winds around the eastern point: very gusty, a bit scary, and quite invigorating after a week of security. The intense, gusty winds carried both Sidewinder and Mandy toward our destination and the race was on! Without a staysail, we partially pulled out the headsail and reefed the main, and Sidewinder felt fairly balanced. There were quite a few tense moments during gusts up to 28+ knots, but she seems to like wind; David and I are both a bit on edge after having blown out the staysail.

As Mandy hit her first great gust and Richard was adjusting his headsail, I do believe his toes got a bit wet as her rail went under water for a second; pretty exciting, eh? (He may have a different story and I know he will write about it!) Our first destination was a small clover-shaped bay about 20 miles down the coast, and here we are, in Bahia Guacalito. Having won the first leg of the race (:)), although I do not know what our handicap is, Sidewinder spotted the bay and dropped anchor in the North leaf cove; we took a deep breath. The high, wind-swept reddish-auburn cliffs, lush green on green dotted with wild plumeria jungle, smooth tan flat rocks, a stunning white sand beach, and crystal clear emerald blue-green water embraced us. The afternoon breezes sometimes clocked 34+ knots, but most often there was incredible peace as the wind laid down.

Diving into the refreshingly cool (but warm) water was a delight and with mask, snorkel, and fins, I ventured to shore. The tiny sea crabs and brilliant bluish-purple, red, black with orange faces land crabs greeted me shyly, hiding at first, then peaking out to see; their faces look like smiley faces painted on black pumpkins. Sailing heightens one's awareness of color, and it was everywhere. Every hue of smooth rocks and shells littered the soft pearl sand. Doing yoga postures and meditating was magical. My swim out along the rock shelf brought more colors of fish and even some coral. I love Nicaragua. What an amazing, lush, seemingly untouched country this is, and I will someday return to explore her more thoroughly. We leave late this morning for Santa Elena Bay, our first stop in Costa Rica. This is the essence of cruising.
Love you, Suz

We are now in Bahia Santa Elena which is even more secluded and pristine than Guacalito, much bigger but just Mandy and us to soak it all in. Parrots and monkeys in the shore line trees and fish waiting to be caught and eaten. Very cool place! But the sailmail reception is lousy so we haven't been able to send this message. Will try again right now. See ya, David

Friday, July 10, 2009

Last Day in Nicaragua


Once again I feel like I am running out of time for writing, downloading pictures from our hike, last day of buying fresh produce at the mercado, and still wanting to go out to Playa Madera for the last of the exploring. We checked out with the Puerto Capitan and immigration this morning and have plans to have dinner with Virginia and Richard, and Scott, the friend of Conor's we ran into, and to listen to some very cool Nicaraguan music. My, how busy life can be when you have the opportunity to play!

This is a very special country and is quite unspoiled by development as of yet. There definitely still are many pockets of very poor neighborhoods along the edges of this quite touristy, Laguna Beach-type town, and I'm sad that I have not had the opportunity to venture inland to the lake and the island volcanoes that are supposed to be spectacular. The cities of Leone and Granada are also wonderful and deserve our attention.

The people are proud to be Nicaraguans and I truly hope they will continue to realize the dreams they had when they began the revolution against Samoza long ago. I remember teaching passionately about the Sandinista Revolution and about Reagan's Contras trying to desperately take back control for the powerful U S interests. I am quite surprised the people still embrace us and welcome us so wholeheartedly. It feels really safe here, and someday I will return to explore the land more fully. I hope they develop with wisdom because the land is so beautiful and they have so much. The green rolling hills provide homes to an incredible diverse eco-system, and it is really nice to not see golf courses and hotels anywhere. The development here is very low-key so far, and I do hope they will have the opportunity to grow with deep love for their land. This week has flown by, and onward we go. The next sailmail I send will be from Bahia St Elena [Costa Rica]. Wish us fair weather! Love to all, Suzi and David

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Surfin' Safari (Sort of)

We took Sidewinder down the coast and checked out all the surf places suggested. They were all beautiful but seemed to have marginal waves. We dropped anchor in one area, outside of the surf break obviously, checked out the surfers who had paddled out and watched for awhile as we ate lunch. The waves seemed to be walling up and not many guys caught waves, so we decided to stay put and read. I think that most of the waves along this coast are beach breaks and are a bit gnarly right now.

Tomorrow we might take the boards and catch the shuttle up to Playa Madera, the most famous of the breaks here. There are two other beaches up there within walking distance, so maybe we'll find something. The beaches are beautiful, and the water is clear because it has not been raining much. We are checking out on Friday and leaving either Friday or Saturday for St. Elena Bay, the first place we will stop in Costa Rica. There are no waves, but it is supposed to be well protected and really beautiful with macaws in the trees and aqua clear water. Once again, we get to travel with Mandy, and that is way cool!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Another Day in Paradise

We had a lovely dinner with Richard, Virginia, Jo, Julia, and Rick; we had happy hour margueritas, shots of tequila for David, of course, and pizza for dinner. It's so nice to have our friends back! They had a wonderful adventure on the lake and the volcanic islands, and we were very happy that Mandy behaved herself during the windstorm.

We are going down the coast in Sidewinder today to look for waves and explore like the other cruiser/surfers do. We will drop anchor and surf for a few hours, and then return to the bay this afternoon. It is such a beautiful day today! I will try to take a picture; the water is so pristine and different shades of light green, very much like 9th Street on those amazing offshore days.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Suzi Checks In



We have been on Sidewinder for days and have finally broken free. The wind was intense, and we never left her yesterday, for fear that she would break loose and fly away into the reef. The winds clocked up to 40 knots, but that was not very often. This is the most wind we have had so far and it is supposed to dissipate tonight. Richard, Virginia, sister Jo and Julia went inland on a short trip to the inland lake and the volcano and we have been in charge of watching Mandy. Luckily little Mandy behaved herself so we did not have to panic. What would we have done if she had broken loose? I am certainly learning an awful lot about the weather in a very short time!

Tell Daniel it is not the time to go to the South Pacific, but I agree wholeheartedly: let's get out to the clear water, beautiful reefs and gentle trade winds! Unfortunately we now have to wait for next February to head out to the South Pacific. It has something to do with cyclone season and the trade-winds. Lord knows I have an awful lot to learn! The weather here is beginning to calm down, and I know in the next few days we will be able to explore the surfing beaches northwest of here, which are supposed to be beautiful. The water here is clear green and feels wonderful when I swim in it. Just outside of this bay, the water is crystal clear and blue. It really is beautiful. There are many small green parrots in the trees, and I do look forward to doing a bit of hiking. It has been strange being stranded on the boat when I so want to move!

Suzi Checks In

We have been on Sidewinder for days and have finally broken free. The wind was intense, and we never left her yesterday, for fear that she would break loose and fly away into the reef. The winds clocked up to 40 knots, but that was not very often. This is the most wind we have had so far and it is supposed to dissipate tonight. Richard, Virginia, sister Jo and Julia went inland on a short trip to the inland lake and the volcano and we have been in charge of watching Mandy. Luckily little Mandy behaved herself so we did not have to panic. What would we have done if she had broken loose? I am certainly learning an awful lot about the weather in a very short time!

Tell Daniel it is not the time to go to the South Pacific, but I agree wholeheartedly: let's get out to the clear water, beautiful reefs and gentle trade winds! Unfortunately we now have to wait for next February to head out to the South Pacific. It has something to do with cyclone season and the trade-winds. Lord knows I have an awful lot to learn! The weather here is beginning to calm down, and I know in the next few days we will be able to explore the surfing beaches northwest of here, which are supposed to be beautiful. The water here is clear green and feels wonderful when I swim in it. Just outside of this bay, the water is crystal clear and blue. It really is beautiful. There are many small green parrots in the trees, and I do look forward to doing a bit of hiking. It has been strange being stranded on the boat when I so want to move!

David's Letter to Yokum

I know, I didn't email you for months and now you get two in one day: don't complain and just enjoy it. After spending most of the day emailing, shopping and cruising town ( including a couple of beers), Suzi and I were heading back to the boat, walking along the boardwalk when we came upon a bunch of locals playing baseball on the beach. I started watching of course and was enjoying the hell out of it.

The bats were aluminum, the ball was covered in sand, and the bases were huge holes in the sand. But they could play fairly well, and I watched some guy hit one to left field that must've gone 320 ft. at least. The next batter then stepped up, and on the first pitch he hit a high pop up behind home plate where I, along with about 25 other locals, were standing and watching. Well I reacted, dropped the bag I was holding, forgot about the backpack I had on and started chasing it down. After my first step I looked down and saw a bike lying in my way so I side-stepped and kept tracking the ball. It started curving back towards the beach, and I started back-peddling. What's the first thing you're taught about catching a high ball? I don't remember either, but I'll bet you it's not to back-peddle. But here I was back-peddling fast, trying to get under it and damn if I didn't kick that bike! I started down the same time the ball got to me, and it hit me right in the hands but bounced out straight up in the air. Just before I hit the ground, back first I might add, I reached up and grabbed that sand-covered ball with one hand and then landed on my butt and back.

I was a little dazed, and my butt hurt, but I was too proud to show it, so I scrambled to my feet and held that ball over my head to the roar of the crowd the likes of which I haven't heard since college football. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces with their arms raised in the air, even the guys on the field. I threw the ball back to the pitcher, it landed about 20 ft. short and my arm was still attached to it. My shoulder still hurts!

About that time Suzi walked up, smiling and telling me what a great catch I'd made and that she hoped I didn't hurt the computer! Oh, did I forget to tell you that we had our computer in the backpack I landed on? But it was a happy ending. After getting back to the boat, we found no harm to the computer and only a small hole in the backpack. Thus it was just another day at the beach. And I loved every second of it.... Sobo

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Suzi from SJdS

Greetings from San Juan del Sur! We had some amazing intense thunder and lightning storms on our way here in the middle of the night, which took sailing at night during the rainy season in Central America to a new level. We kept in contact with Serg on Kolea and Rick on Evenstar, and Rick asked me to remind him why he is doing this. It was not really scary or very windy, but it was definitely eerie. When the lightning bolts struck close by, I felt very lucky to be alive; the night sky became day, and the light in my eyes remained after the darkness reappeared, as if there was a giant camera out there taking pictures with a flash. Last week, Tarazed, Murray and Collette's boat in Bahia del Sol, got hit by lightning, right next to the yacht club where we all drank beers. Crazy!

Sidewinder had a wonderful sail along the coast of Nicaragua right into Bahia San Juan del Sur on Wednesday, and we arrived early enough to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine and a swim next to Mandy. It is great to see our friends again and catch up on many stories. This morning we visited with Richard & Virginia, and then drove Worm to the dinghy dock with the intention of checking in with the Port Captain and then going on into town. Rick, David, and I were sent back to our boats for that process, and when we returned, a fierce storm blew through, Rick's anchor began to drag, and the rain and wind forced us all to be on high alert. Once again, how fortunate we were; Evenstar could be long gone, on the reef close by or far out at sea. What a life this is!

The storm appears to be almost over, and we will venture back out this afternoon. This place is lovely, and I look forward to the next exploration. We will find an internet connection, and I will soon send more pix. Love you, Suz

Safe and Sound

I just received an e-mail from Richard on Mandy saying that Sidewinder and friends had arrived safely in San Juan del Sur. I'm sure we'll hear from S&D soon. - Kris