s/v Charabia

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Bureaucratic Hell Part II

19 January 2018 | Marina Papagayo
Helen
Up early and headed to the marine office to pick up our rental car at 8. Headed to Playas de Coco to the Port Captain's office for check out papers. First we had to fill in paperwork. Then we had to pay $20 service fee, but we could only do that by going to a bank. Drove to the bank. I waited in the car. Mark went in and waited in line only to find that he didn't take his passport which was required for some reason. The $20 had a bank service fee of $5. So, Mark gives them $25 cash but that needed a photo id. I finally went in and to see what was taking so long. They had two doors with a red and green light. You could only go thru one at a time and wait for the green light. Then I was told to remove my cap. I guess for the cameras. Mark said he gave the lady all the required documents and the lady took his passport and walked back into their offices. Not sure why it took so long. I had time to shop at the store next door. The next step was driving out to the airport to visit customs. This time we again went to their empty office a block from the airport. So, back to the airport. Mark gave the customs agent his passport and had to fill out more documents. The lady took them back into the airport and after an hour, she came back with a form to give to the port captain, which ends our temporary permit for our boat being in Costa Rica. Then we drove to the Immigration office just as the only officer was locking up the office. He gave Mark three forms to fill out, one for the boat, one for him and one for me. Then he produced one form for the port captain and stamped our passports. Then back to the Port Captain's office in Playa de Coco. We were there just before noon. We waited for one other person. The port captain took all the other forms, had Mark fill out additional forms and then issued the International Zarpe. He also told us we need to be out of the country by 21:00 today. Decided to go to the Lookout Restaurant for lunch as our marina manager highly recommended it. It was quite the drive up hill to get there. We finally found it and drove up to the door only to find that we needed to park down below. Mark had to back down our Toyota Yaris. Then we climbed a very steep hill only to find that they don't open until 4 pm. So, we took some pictures instead and headed back to the restaurant that made such a great pizza. We get there and they are not making pizza today. So, we grabbed some fast food instead. Then Mark promised a trip to the casino. The one we went was two stories with slot machines and tables that only open at night. So, we each played some. My machine was up $5 so I wanted to cash out. There was something sounding like an alarm and eventually a lady came over and filled out a form which I had to sign. Then she went away and came back with my money. Mark gave them $5 so we got to play and break even. Stopped at a different grocery store and picked up a small amount as we really didn't need anything other than fresh fruits and veggies. Got back to the marina and asked about some beaches, but we had already driven past the suggested ones so we decided we had enough. Checked out of the marina as the manager told us that we have until tomorrow to leave. He also supplied us with four free drink tickets. One of the marina employees drove us back to our boat on his elongated golf cart as we had stopped at one of the fruit stands and picked up a watermelon and pineapple as well. Got into our swim suits and enjoyed a cold swim for our last time. Then back to the boat. Had a light dinner, which was yesterday's leftovers plus some extra veggies. Then came to the restaurant/bar and I'm having a Pina Colada and Mark is having a Passion Fruit Mohito. Yum on both!! We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here at Papagayo Marina. Last night we met several of the crew of the mega yacht in the cruiser's lounge. Our wifi wasn't working well so we walked up. Talked to one of the tour boat captains who was New Smyrna, Florida. He took a group of local investors out on the 65 foot Fountaine Pajot Catamaran and said they saw a pod of 5 Humpback Whales. So, tomorrow we will be back on the Pacific Ocean on a 3-4 day sail to Mexico! Hope we get to see those whales!
Comments
Vessel Name: Charabia
Vessel Make/Model: Fountaine Pajot / Athena
Hailing Port: Jacksonville, FL
Crew: Mark &Helen
About:
We are both computer folks that were live aboard cruisers back in the 90s. We settled in Jacksonville Florida after escaping the great white north and cruising the Bahamas, T&C, DR and points south down to Trinidad. [...]
Extra: Charabia is a French slang word for nonsense or gibberish. It derives from Arabic "sharab" which means alcohol.When you drink (too much) alcohol, you start talking Charabia. The original owners named her and Mark liked the name so it stuck.
Charabia's Photos - Main
Photos 1 to 20 of 20
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Nov 2017 trip south from Jacksonville
9 Photos
Created 23 August 2018
Upgrades and maintenance to Charabia
79 Photos
Created 27 June 2017
72 Photos
Created 16 May 2015
46 Photos
Created 15 May 2015
72 Photos
Created 7 April 2015
95 Photos
Created 4 April 2015
106 Photos
Created 31 March 2015
Get the boat ready to cruise.
10 Photos
Created 14 March 2015