April 8, 2015 Happy Dance



We made it to Golfito, Costa Rica! Why such a big deal? Well, there is a reason for this spot being such a big deal to us.
After our 'challenging' month long crossing of the Atlantic and our knock-down/getting pooped off of Columbia we were getting discouraged. We had made a pact when we started that we would continue on our adventure as long as it was fun--after those two experiences, it was getting not so fun. Also, the journey from Panama to San Diego was almost 3,000 miles--roughly the same distance as each of the two oceans we had crossed. The Panama to California journey would be entirely uphill--wind, waves, and current against us. We would be motoring day and night, making multiple overnighters when the weather permitted. We would also have to face three big challenges--the Gulf of Papagayo, the Gulf of Tehuantepec, and the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula (the Baja Bash). These areas have high winds/high seas and unpredictable weather--dangerous. We were also facing the beginning of the Pacific Ocean hurricane season which starts May 15th. This passage would be rough on us as well as Serenity and all three of us are already bruised. We were resigned to our fate of a long slog up the west coast of the Americas--but we were not looking forward to it.
Our good friends from San Francisco, Kim and Sharon on their sailboat GeorgiaJ, started their circumnavigation one year after us. They caught up with us in Darwin Australia and continued up to Thailand with us. We actually shipped our boats on the same frieghter from Thailand to Turkey and continued together up through Greece. We then said our goodbyes as we stayed in the Med for another season and they boogied through the Med to Morroco. They crossed the Atlantic in January 2014 and arrived in Golfito in October 2014. Their plan was to leave the boat in Nicaragua until spring of 2015 and then take her up to California--at least that was what we thought. They told us that they had decided to ship their boat from Golfito to Ensenada, Mexico using the same company that we had shipped with before. We were stunned! You could ship your boat from Golfito to Ensenada? You could skip all of the nasty areas, uphill slog, and hurricane worries? We did not know that was even possible--but the more we thought of it, the more we kinda liked the idea.
When we got to Shelter Bay Marina on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal we had a crew meeting and decided that we would look into shipping Serenity from Golfito to Ensenada. We decided on a fee that we could afford (it is not cheap to use these yacht transfer vessels) and contacted Seven Star Shipping. When they came back with a fee lower than that which we had set, we agreed--no uphill slog for us.
When we arrived in Golfito we were so happy that we did our 'happy dance', high fiving, and cheering--we were going to be home in May! We do not expect anyone to know how we feel, but we have had a wonderful experience over the past six years. We have seen and visited interesting and beautiful places, met some awesome people who are still our friends, and honestly had an 'adventure every day'. These past six years have been a dream come true and our relationship with each other has become stronger than ever. But, we miss our family. We want to be there for every birthday, every soccer/baseball game, every family BBQ, every new tooth, every babysitting opportunity--in other words, we want to be with our kids and gkids. We have collected all the sea shells we want, have seen stunning sun rises and sets, and stars that fill the skies at night. But now, we are going home!