Golfito
As we were entering the bay a Swallow came and flew in circles around and around our boat while singing to us. Then a lot of his friends joined him flying around and also landing on the jib lines and the foredeck. What a great welcoming party to the bay of Golfito! The bay is large and very protected as it is almost surrounded by mountains. The small town is situated on a narrow, flat strip of land between the mountains and the water. The mountains are covered in lush, green tropical vegetation. There are several small marinas and we anchored off the Land Sea marina. Tim makes all cruisers feel very welcome at his Land Sea marina. For $5 we can tie up the dinghy to his dock, use the shower, get drinks at the honor bar, use the wifi, and relax in the cruisers lounge. What a great place! Tim made a cute houseboat that is tied up to the dock and is his "refuge". Many cruisers paint their names and boat name on the wall of the lounge and we found Gijima (Tim, Tracy, Sean, and Alex Sowell) painted on the wall. Our good friends from Newport Beach had spent some time here 2 years ago and it was fun to find their name on the wall. One evening while we ate at the Banana Marina next door, people got up from their tables to feed a sea turtle. So, we got up to watch. Evidently this sea turtle has been hanging around here getting fed for a number of years now.
We took a taxi to the border of Costa Rica and Panama (about an hour away) and took another taxi to the town of David, Panama (another hour). The ride through Costa Rica was pretty, with tropical vegetation and rivers, and many mountains. Many people cross the border to go to David for shopping because it's a big town and has many things. It's also very inexpensive. We stayed in a nice hotel for $25.00 and Ed got a haircut for $3.00!