Monkey in Manuel Antonio Park
November 20, 2011

Goodbye Costa Rica
Suenos to Quepos was a quick, six hour, uncomfortable run, which made it seem much longer. Motoring in a steep swell, on our beam, never makes for a comfortable ride. The boat rocks back and forth, beam to beam, and every dish, glass, can, pan, bottle, and toiletry is tossed within its' compartment making a loud crashing noise. But, as awful as it sounds it doesn't create the anxiety it used to with us because we know what's going on and we're not afraid. I have complete trust in the "sea worthiness" of our vessel, but what I don't trust are long liner fishing boats!

We are 12-14 miles off shore, and there are these thin sticks sticking up in the water now and then, with a small black triangle hanging sideways simulating a flag. Sometimes we get excited when we see one with two black flags ..."Does that mean it's the end of the line?" But I'm talking tiny, people! You could so easily miss this tiny black dot in the ocean and not realize that you're running into a trap, miles and miles of fishing line, an inch or so under the surface, that has fishing hooks hanging off of it to try and catch fish...or birds...or turtles...or sharks? These hooks are very indiscriminant. We try, we stand on deck, we look through our binoculars, trying to figure out the web they have spun and which way we can go without getting caught up and wrapping one around our prop, therefore making us a sitting duck. We stop the boat, we back up, we turn left or right, we proceed with great caution. But all of this leaves us with a very sour feeling in our stomach. This is ridiculous. Who has the right to do this? I'm not talking 40 or 50 feet, I'm talking miles. And they're out here at night too, in the pitch black. I'm really, really tired of this. It just seems like the water around Costa Rica is dead. We have not seen a dolphin, whale, or turtle, nor has Ben caught a fish. It's kind of eerie. We know that Costa Rica has sold out to the Chinese and is allowing them to rape and pillage off their shores, so is this what the locals are having to resort to get something to eat? (Please read Ben's article on shark finning for more on this subject)

We pulled into the new, sort of completed marina in Quepos and paid for two nights, almost $400. Even though it is nothing to write home about the staff was really nice. It is just nice to be tied up to a dock sometimes and stop the motion of the ocean, if you know what I mean. We were super excited to do a tour of the Manuel Antonio National Park and it did not disappoint. Hiking around felt really good on our sea locked legs, and the animals were everywhere. Ironically, we actually saw the most animals in the busiest areas of the park where the most people were. Monkeys, sloths, raccoons, pesoti's, and deer. The monkeys and raccoons were stealing peoples backpacks as they rested on one of the many beautiful beaches, people were hand feeding them, it was kind of sad. It did not seem natural at all and we wondered, where are the park officials and why is no one monitoring this? I have to say it was kind of weird.

We pulled out the next morning at 0600 heading for a safe anchorage called Drakes Bay for the night, as we continue to work our way to Panama. We are trying to only travel during the day so we have better visibility for those, "you knows". Then on to Golfito, our last stop in Costa Rica.

More long liners, more stopping in the middle of the ocean, exasperated. This time we were traveling around 3-4 miles off the coast thinking we might avoid them. Nope. Only this time we were determined to just take our boat hook, pull the line up and cut it with a knife. However, this time we could always see a panga off in the distance, and we would just aim our boat at them (probably scaring them to death!) getting as close as we could and raise our arms as if asking the question,"Where should we go?" They would nicely guide us, or point us in a safe direction. I still felt like my blood was boiling.

Golfito is our last stop in CR. This is where we will officially check out of the country and get our International Zarpe. It's kind of a cool stop. VERY wet. We made several hikes up into the rainforest, seeing titi's, apparently the smallest monkey in CR, and toucans! Very cool. And, something I had been dreaming about for a long time, a tour of the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary by Carol who runs the center. We were picked up in a panga and driven around the peninsula for about 45 minutes to this stunningly beautiful little bay where she lives and nurtures various wildlife that is brought to her. These animals have either been injured in some way and hopefully rehabilitated and released, or have been confiscated from people who have kept them illegally therefore rarely being able to be released due to the emotional trauma that often accompanies the captivity. We loved every minute of our tour and instantly connected with Carol. Kudos to you Carol, for devoting your life to these animals in need. You are awesome!

Bruce, the owner of Banana Bay Marina where we anchored in front of, was so helpful and nice. We really appreciated him. Check out was a breeze, and we were on our way at 0415 the next morning...in the pitch black...rain...fog...with Larry standing on the bow with a flashlight, giving me direction on where to go through our headsets, as I steer blind. One way or another, Panama...here we come!

For pictures go to "Goodbye Costa Rica" in gallery