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.

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

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'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

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

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