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!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
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.
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!
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
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
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
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