Nicaragua
12 August 2009 | San Juan del Sur(f)
We left Bahia, crossed over the always treacherous sandbar, and were in open ocean again, continuing our journey South. We passaged overnight to southern El Salvador and found a great right point with the sunrise. So of course, we stopped, surfed and then made our way into Fonseco Bay, a huge island strewn bay that separates El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua. We spent a week enjoying the secluded anchorages, hiking the hillsides, and picking mangoes & coconuts right off the trees.
After another overnight passage, we entered Nicaragua in Puerto Corinto, an industrial port town. When we set out from here, we learned what the Papagayo winds are all about. Steady 20-35 knot winds on the forward beam that kick up the seas to an uncomfortable level. To top it off, we got blasted by an innocent looking squall that sent us running with 45 knot winds, sharp rain & bigger seas. Fully reefed mainsail & staysail helped us make slow progress. In this period of about 30 hours, we crossed most of Nicaragua and sought shelter in a little bay, El Astillero.
Since Astillero, we've hugged the coast and anchored nightly in incredible little bays, most with great surf due to the constant offshore winds. We are in San Juan del Sur(f), enjoying this surf town, reprovisioning, and resting before we cross the last of the Papagayo section and enter Costa Rica.