Costa Rica
Feb 5 - Mar 12

Our month in Costa Rica was many things ....
As you can imagine, Costa Rica is beautiful and we finally found our green paradise with squaking scarlet Macaws.
Our first anchorage was Bahia Santa Elena. With it's perfectly flat water it was much appreciated after the very windy and bumpy passage from San Juan del Sur.
We enjoyed several peaceful anchorages as we made our way to the very busy Playa del Coco. Here, we officially entered the country after a 6-hour check-in process. Oddly, the only fee was a $60 taxi ride that we shared with s/v Eternal Bliss and s/v BlueJacket. But, that's where the free ride came to a sreaching halt in Costa Rica !! Most everything else has inflated prices making California and Canadian prices seem reasonable.
At 'Rich Coast' Diving we met Brenda and Martin who sold us a BCD for Savannah's 8th birthday. With limited time in Coco, they joined us that evening on Endorfin for a happy hour and we enjoyed refreshing cocktails as well as 'dive' conversation.

After Playa del Coco, we anchored in Tamarindo (nicknamed Tama-gringo) and enjoyed a very affordable, and not surprisingly, delicious lunch - thanks to the recommendation from Amber on s/v Rockstar. For $5 we filled our bellies with chicken, rice, beans and fresh green salad. Homemade ice tea was included as well. That was our first 'good deal' in Costa Rica.

Traveling the 40 miles from the Tamarindo anchorage to Bahia Samara was some of the most enjoyable miles so far. My third fish for the day was a sailfish, which of course got away - and, with my white lure and all the line on my reel.
We encountered tons of dolphins, turtles and even a Mama and baby humpback !!

We made a quick stop at Bahia Ballena only to find the 'yacht club' has been closed for several years and the Saturday morning organic market is a thing of the past. The 'cruising guide' is proving to be inaccurate in many ways. I guess we need the updates !! ☺

Our next favorite anchorage was at Isla Torguga where Savannah made her first scuba dive !! She was a natural and enjoyed breathing underwater and blowing bubbles with Mama !! She'll be ready for the certification course by the time she is 10, but for now, she is happy with being a PADI 'Bubble Maker"!!

While lounging on chairs in the shade of palm trees, we met the owner of the island !! Mario invited us to join him under his palm for oysters, scallops, tortilla de patata and cold beers !! This was another most amazing and memorable experience. I learned how to clean and prepare these tasty treats.

After the tide came in and almost washed our chairs into the sea, we made our way back to the boats for more swimming and lounging.
At midnight, our tranquil anchorage turned ugly on us and we had to make a quick departure if we didn't want to end up on the beach.
Shea (flying in for a week on s/v Eternal Bliss) would be waiting in Quepos, so an early departure would guarantee that we wouldn't miss his arrival.
Our midnight run was uneventful (I think) and by morning we were anchored outside the new Pez Vela Marina in Quepos.