Leaving Bahia Ballenas

It was 7 in the morning, Matt was not feeling a lot better, but we needed to leave. There is one more factor to consider when getting or leaving some of the anchorages/ports; the tide levels and cycles.

The level; to get to Puntaarenas we had to make entrance to the channel at almost high tide. It is a very shallow channel. If we run aground, as the tide comes up the boat will be picked up, if we enter at high tide and run aground then we are…. SCRE.. out of Luck! The cycle; the office opens at 7 AM

Motor on, we are leaving, zigzagging our way out through the logs, lots of them. BANG, BOOM, ZUMP.. its hard to see them all. The motor alarm goes off! Matt’s level of stress goes up, I see the fumes, but I can almost understand it. I have so much faith that God would not give us challenges we can’t handle and that Matt is so capable to solve it, I remained calm. We turned off the motor, let the boat float while Matt checked the filters. Cleaned one of the filters and it seemed to be solved. It was a difficult decision, do we keep going? Do we turn around and make sure the problem is solved missing our chance to get to Punta Arenas on time? We risked it! We kept going. We made it to Isla San Lucas, where we would spend the night, an hour sail to Punta Arenas.

Matt has Bronchitis

We were supposed to leave this morning, but Matt feels and looks in need of medical attention. He will take a bus to Cobano (a town about 30 km away) to see the doctor and get a proper diagnose and treatment. When he got there, the doctor was out, so they took him in an ambulance to another town called “Mal País”. About three hours later he is back with a complete cocktail of drugs (I should be the one taking the drugs!). I don’t get why when people are sick they get so hard to deal with, there is lots of anger, harshness, abuse? How are we supposed to give them the love they need, the tender care, the right dosage of medicine and not an overdose? (Matt was smart.. he took those on his own). Of course, Honey, that’s not you.. that is in general, other women’s husbands.

One more day...

I must go to Cobano to get another medicine, Samantha and Matt stay. Trini and I took the day just for us. We walked to the bus. To make the wait interesting: we elaborated paper boats that we then put in the water streams. Once in Cobano, we stopped for a juice and snack at a bakery, then went to the pharmacy, the grocery store and to the pet store where they had little chickens for sale. So tempting! One little yellow chicken hanging around on deck with the girls or going to the beach.. NO WAY! I remember growing up we used to buy chickens at the farmers market, they were such a disposable pet, they would only last a couple of days and usually the dog would put a quick end to our fun or who knows maybe we squeeze them to hard.. I only remember them being gone after just a few days.... In summary, Trini and I had a wonderful day, got the medicines and a few other items and headed back to the boat.

Trip to Montezuma

Matt is still pretty ill, he will take it easy today and will stay onboard. The girls and I took a bus at 11 AM to the town of the waterfall; Montezuma. We rode for 45 min in the bus, pretty comfortably and enjoying the view and the action inside and outside the bus; little kids in uniform, younger than Samantha, with their backpacks, riding the public bus to and from school, people chasing chickens out of their property, men riding their bicycles to work, women walking out of the “pulperias” (convenience stores) etc. We got off the bus just hoping the waterfall would be easy to find and that there wouldn’t be too much hiking involved (the limitations of parenting and more yet… single parenting).

Finding the waterfall was easy, seeing the water FALL was impossible the trail had been washed out in parts and it has become mortally dangerous. However, not all was lost! Right above our heads they were; the White-headed Capuchin, waiting for suckers like us to give away our snacks. They had quite a buffet; peanuts, raisins, macadamias, almonds and granola bars! It was such a successful menu, that the group of 3 monkeys multiplied to more than 20.



There was another family already enjoying the display when we got there; Mom; Lara, dad; Alex and 2 girls (8 and 4). It couldn’t have been more perfect! The girls paired up immediately and while Samantha and the 8 year studied the monkeys’ behavior, Trini and the 4 year old discussed the world, sitting on a log under a tree. I was really interested on what Mom and Dad had to share regarding their travels. It was a short time spent together, I wish we had more. We had to rush out to catch the last bus back to Tambor.

There was a sense of satisfaction coming back home, the day was a SUPER day!!!

The people of Playa Tambor

Wonderful! The weight of this experience in my heart surpasses my expectations. I may sound like a typical tourist enchanted with the beauty of the country saying that everything is wonderful, but Costa Ricans for the most part make the term “PURA VIDA” a true statement of their way of being, specially here in Playa Tambor.

After a while in our “explorative-walk” we decided to take a little break. Samantha then announces she has a surprise for us; she had packed a chocolate bar to split. Then she decides that she would rather share it with a local girl who was looking at us. I thought it was a good idea, not only for the interaction they were about to have, but the calories I was about to give up. We asked the girl if she would like a piece, but she gave us a skeptical look and didn’t respond. I thought it would be more appropriate to ask her mother who was in a house a few steps ahead. After a few exchange of words Samantha and Trinidad were sharing the chocolate with a lot of other children and I was invited into the house. They offered me a sit, but before I sat they laid a clean sheet on a piece of foam just for me.

Two sisters; Yexi and Cindy, their Mom; Felice and their children, a couple of dogs, a parrot and us, all sitting under the porch of a small house with tin walls, dirt floors, a couple of well organized bedrooms and stairs to the porch; built with little pieces of wood thrown together in a hurry. I had to take steps with caution and make sure my overprotected children were safe. These are the kind of experiences my children should never forget. Life in the US is pretty unique; the simplest things we had back home, in most other countries are luxuries. I got the feeling Trinidad felt very curious about their living arrangements when she sat next to me to ask me a question in secret; she puts her hand on the side of her mouth, so no one could read her lips, and said “How do you say in Spanish: May I have a tour?” I should be glad she is not fluent.

Their good spirit not only shows through their hospitality, but their generosity. They showered us with presents; shells, earrings for the girls, toys and coral. It was so much, that even Samantha wasn’t sure how to deal with it. She would tell me: “Mom I don’t want to take this away from them” She had to learn to just say “Thank you” and take note of their generosity. How could they, having less than what we have, give away the little they have? That night Samantha and Trinidad had fun making bags for the kids with Polly pockets, candy and other little toys.

Its 5 o’clock, about time to start heading back to the boat. Matt came to meet us. We walked back together, got in the dinghy and retired to the boat. We are all on board and not a minute has passed the rain starts and it gets harder and harder and torrential. We made it just in time!

Entered Bahia Ballenas

“One of the cruisers favorite destinations”… really? Not in June! I must admit it is pretty and at times of the year it must be quite an attraction. Between December and March is when the whales come to care for their young and the water is cobalt blue. During rainy season, there are not “ballenas” (whales), but an incredible amount of logs and the water is muddy brown due to the heavy rains.

We dropped the anchor and Matt suggested/commanded that the rest of the crew go to shore and explore, he was desperate for a nap. We rowed to shore just to discover that we did need a dinghy anchor to avoid being sucked under the pier. Exactly what the Cruising Guide recommended. We rowed back, got the anchor and got the assistance of a local young man who sympathized with us. He helped us with the operation of getting the dinghy situated and the kids and myself onto the dock. Once on top, we manage to o through and over the fishing nets, the puddles of fish blood, the fishermen filleting the fish, the fish heads, the hooks, the looks of the local and the so unforgettable smell.

The name of this beach is “Playa Tambor”; one narrow dirt road with little houses and shacks, jungle and beach. It has been raining, the smell, much different from the pier, is refreshing. It’s the wet jungle! The temperature is perfect, not too cold to wear excess clothing, but not to warm to be soaking in perspiration. It’s a great time to explore and the kids are all up for it.

To avoid the so unpleasant complains of “ I am thirsty” and “I am hungry” I invited the girls for a little drink and snack at a bar at the end of the peer; The Yacht Club. The place that will let us hang out for a couple of days and make use of their wireless connection. There we experienced the “Patacones” another Costa Rican dish; fried plantain with beans and guacamole. We all liked it.

Arrived in Playa Samara

Found the exact same spot or way point marked in the Guide Book to Costa Rica and dropped the anchor. In this part of the world we are not fighting any other cruisers for the perfect spot. Its sad for me, I miss having people around, I miss meeting other cruiser, the sounds of their stories and the wisdom they carry in them. I miss the confidence I felt when having more of us around. If something were to go wrong, there would be someone who can witness the event or who could help or contribute with ideas. I miss being able to tell my own stories to someone new, rather than to torture Matt and my kids with the same-o’ same-o’.

    Matt has not been feeling very good for the last few days, he is about to collapse, lack of sleep, serious caught, exhaustion, stomachache a wife nagging and two little girls poking each other. He is not enjoying this today, I get the feeling he would rather be in his garage running the saw. I guess we all get strike with depression in different forms and unexplainable circumstances. The anchorage is not helping! It rolls, and rolls, the clouds are loaded with water and approaching and the lightning coming from 2 different directions. We must get ready for the pour down, the leaks and the threatening strikes.

I am not sure what happened, but when I woke up this morning we were moving. Matt says he left at 2 in the morning because he couldn’t sleep. I did hear the chain go up, but I was clueless as to what time it was. I just thought: “too early for the Queen”..hehe.

I didn’t really plan to explore much of Samara, but my observations were that it is not very cruiser’s friendly. There is an extensive area of reef; the breaks are all over the bay and in many different directions. I did go for a circular kayaking adventure around the boat and took pictures in all different angles. I thought the compositions with the water, the dark clouds, the green and the boat were magnificent.

Anchored at Bahia Ballenas

(more to be posted)