| August 10, 2003 Our box of boat parts finally arrived at Barillas Marina in El Salvador on Thursday, July 10. Phil was able to fix the Honda outboard motor to our dinghy. After officially checking out of El Salvador Saturday afternoon, we departed Barillas Sunday morning for Costa Rica. At 6:45 a.m. on July 13th the port captain came onboard our boat to sign our International Zarpe with departure time noted, and then at 7 a.m. the Barillas Marina panga guide started our escort out the bay. We timed our departure to coincide with the ebb current. Just like with our arrival seven weeks earlier, the trip out the bay took two hours. At the entrance to the bay we were met with 8-foot swells, but once across the seas were mostly calm. With that, our panga guide waved goodbye and we headed southeast down the coast. The trip to Costa Rica took two days. Unfortunately, for most the journey when we did have wind, it almost always came �right down the nose� 12 to 15 knots. Fortunately, though, the seas were relatively calm. So, except for a few hours Monday morning when we were unable to beat into the seas, we were able to motor into the wind. At times the wind veered slightly, and we were even able to motorsail and sometimes, just sail. Also, during this passage there were occasions when we had a � knot current setting against us. Like other passages, we saw quite a few dolphins and occasionally marine turtles. Early in the evening our first night out along the Nicaragua coast, we were hit by quite a few squalls, complete with lightning and thunder. We were able to track them on our radar. The last and biggest squall seemed to hover directly overhead for almost half an hour. The thunder was most deafening! Once all the squall activity passed, though, the rest of the night was just gorgeous with the full moon shining through brightly. Our second night out, a seabird became a fixture on our pulpit, beautifully silhouetted by the full moon, taking a stance as if it was there specifically to guide us to Costa Rica. It must have sat on our pulpit most the night. It wasn�t until our actual arrival at Bahia Santa Elena in the northern tip of Costa Rica around 6 a.m., Tuesday, July 15, that the bird finally departed. Bahia Santa Elena was a beautiful, peaceful, and protected anchorage. The waters were emerald green, and as the bay was part of Santa Rosa National Park it was totally undeveloped. It was here that we saw our first olive ridley turtle - an amazing sight with its humped shell making it look like a huge rock floating in the water. We were also treated to an abundance of bird sounds - truly a bird watcher�s paradise. We spent 5 days at this anchorage. The only drawback, if any, was at times gusts of 20 to 25 knots would blow down off the hills into the bay. |
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| Anchored Bahia Santa Elina |
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