b.c.bound

We arrived into Bahia del coco at about 8.00 a.m and got into clearout mode. The process started with the port captain, who was very nice and helpful. Next stop, the bank to pay our exit fee( $20.00 ). We drew number 61 and at that time 53 was lit up over the tellers. Half an hour sitting in the air conditioning.
It could be worse. Immigration next but our timing was bad. The lady was having her coffee break which included food which meant a thorough dental cleaning afterwards. So half an hour watching her clean and floss plus another half for the work that needed doing and we were back to see the port captain again, who carefully typed out our international zarpe on a machine I hadn't seen the likes of for a while. Just managed to finish the procedure before he was off to lunch. Not bad. About 3 hours. Our turn to eat, then internet, to catch up on email and weather. It all looked good. Maybe 20 to 25 knots at the most so we departed for Nicaragua early next morning. About half way across the Golfo de Papagayo the wind filled in. We started with a reefed main and staysail and. as we had practiced the other day, began to reduce canvas as things heated up. By the time we were on the far side, we were down to a double reef in the main with gusts to 30 knots. Definitely need to wait this out before going any further. Picked our spot, which 'the book' said, was a good place to do this. We could see a huge amount of wind between us and it so, while we were in the shadow of an island, dropped all sail and motored ahead. We got slammed with 40+ knots on the beam knocking us over about 20 degrees! The anchorage provided nice protection. We tucked in as far as we dared, put out all the chain in 20 feet of water. Thankfully the anchor was holding despite gusts coming at us from all angles. It was amazing to see and hear the power of the wind. Spindrift being whipped up and tossed around like autumn leaves. Jet engines roaring at full power for a few seconds then complete calm until the next blast arrived. We kept thinking that the wind would abate. We waited 4 days with no real change. Finally, after listening to a weather report on the s.w. radio, we realized that we were sitting in a wind tunnel and needed to move or risk being there forever. Around 9.00 a.m. on Friday the 13th the wind slackened a little and we made our move. Everything was battened down, storm jib hanked on and ready to go. The wind was down to 25kts as we poked our nose around the corner of Cabo Santa Elena. Motor sailed for half an hour to get a feel for the conditions. The wind gradually started to ease and we were able to sail with a double reefed main and staysail. Turned out to be a lovely trip, the wind settled at around 15 kts. Nice sunset, half moon. We made good time and arrived off Puesta del Sol around 7.00 the following morning. Huge swells were creating massive breakers all around the entrance to the river mouth we had to enter. The pilot arrived to guide us over the bar. We stuck to him like glue, not looking at the breaking waves on either side of us. We were barely moving over the ground doing over 5 kts through the water as the tide was ebbing. Eventually the current slowed and we moved slowly into the estuary towards the marina. First order of business was fresh water all over the boat and sails which were covered in a layer of salt which would have done Siberia proud. Next, up to the pool and a couple of cold 'Victoria's'