History & Adventure in Drake's Bay

This beautiful bay was so glassy and pristine when we arrived yesterday, we thought we were in paradise for sure. The surrounding jungle is at the edge of Parque Corcovado and the Oso Peninsula, probably the single best wilderness area in Costa Rica. Many guide books say that Francis Drake landed here in 1579, hence the name, but he actually anchored out at the Isla del Cano to do some maintenance on his ship, the Golden Hinde, after surprise attacking and stripping a boat named Nuestro Senora dela Concepcion, in Esmeralde, Ecuador. According to our guidebook, Drake sneaked up on the ship while disguised as a slow merchant vessel, dragging pots in the water under full sail, and the fight was over quickly. Queen Elizabeth scored a fortune in gold, worth 350,00 British pounds in 1580, about $140 million in today's dollars.

When coming into the bay we hailed Mandy on the VHF radio, and they were headed toward Matapalo and the Golfe Dulce; we will catch up with them in Golfito. Yesterday afternoon we took Worm into the small river with a dinghy dock owned by a beautiful eco lodge. We met some great people there, walked into the village on a ginger ladened path, found a nice restaurant and enjoyed some down time, finally. Unfortunately, this placid gorgeous bay is also known for it's rain storms and the skies unloaded. Typical of our adventures, we ran out of daylight and made our way back through the jungle by flashlight, said our good-byes to all at the lodge and found Worm full of water at the dock. Luckily we were able to bail out enough water and her engine started. We were extremely lucky once again to make our way across the sand bar at the river, only hitting the bottom two or three times and then got broadsided by some waves. We did make it back to Sidewinder and swore, once again, never to come back at night again. Sidewinder welcomed us with dry towels and warmth inside. The rain persisted into the night, but all is well. We will explore the area further today, hoping to catch the scarlet macaws we can hear and see some wildlife. It is so good to be back on our cruising journey. Love to all.