Road Trip

After our ordeal with the car, we loaded our few bags in a Toyota Yaris and proceeded with the plan to get to the city of La Fortuna on the skirt of Volcán Arenal. Taking a road trip its always an exiting event, especially when there is no rush to get somewhere. We get to stop when we are hungry, when someone needs to stretch, when a bathroom is required, when a scolding is necessary, when a picture is a must or when a sight lure us into stopping. We get to play our own music and sing our own songs at our own volume and we get to put our feet up against the window, plus and best of all we get to snack all the way to our destination. Our favorite snack: nuts! The girls have their books, colors, papers, personal music and video player and, of course, each other to torture. The trip was very pleasant in spite of the typical “when are we going to be there” “are we there yet” “how much longer”.

I hate rental car companies

Scammers! Is there one that doesn’t operate on the basis of “ripping us softly and kindly”… well not too kindly. I had such a great day the day before, everything was going according to plan. The search for a car was successful; cheap and easy. Saturday I went to pick the car from Thrifty and they just dind’t quite mention that the car was $90 a week, but the mandatory insurance was an additional $140…. My mind blocked, I wanted to hang onto the neck of the clerk. Anything he said sounded as he was ripping me a little more. I stepped out, frustrated to tears. Matt was waiting outside sick, the kids wanted my attention. Trinidad was asking me why I was so mad?.. At that point, I only wanted my mama… really! I MISS HER, she would have let me crawl and cry!! I guess the car wasn’t the only issue driving me to tears, but it was the detonator. At the end, not having another option, I went back to ripper and humbly said..”OoooKkkay, I will taaake it”. He did try to make it up to me by not charging me extra for adding the spouse as a driver… I guess he didn’t think I would read in the contract that spouses are added free of charge… ok! I know.. I hated the service.

A hot shower at last

This was the idea!
We checked into the hotel room in the same marina, not much luxury there, pretty run down, but there were two beds, a floor that didn’t move and a hot shower, something we haven’t experienced since we were in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico. We were exited to get all cleaned up, after scraping all the algae from the bottom of the boat, and ready to treat ourselves with an extended use of water. The shower looked suspicious; electric cables going up to the head and a heat regulator on it. I adjusted it to the right temperature and pushed the girls in. The water did not smell right, plastic was burning somewhere, it was pretty obvious when smoke started coming down the shower head. Ok! I guess hot showers are another perk of being in the US and one more to look forward when we return.

 

Taking the boat out

Our plan was to take Endurance out of the water to do some repairs and leave it out while we do some “dry sailing” (Inland exploring by car). Taking it out is an exiting operation; to see your home being lift up, see all its parts and curves up in the air is a strange feeling. Once the boat was out, the bottom was sparkle cleaned by the whole crew, even the ones thought to be useless in the maintenance department… hehe. 

Other projects to be accomplished were to repair a small crack on the haul and to replace the cutlass bearing… a thing that makes things happen… an important part of the propeller. To accomplish this task, he had to take the rudder off. He was into the job when he realized there was not enough room between the boat and the ground, he had two options: a-have the crane lift up the boat higher (very costly) or b- dig a hole under the boat (very hot). He went for b. Today the projects are mostly done. Matt and our brother-in-law Richard worked very hard on it for the last 3 days. Now we are ready to go!

We run out of water

Endurance has two water tanks; a 40 gall and a 50 gall, we also carry jerry jugs for drinking water, they are all empty. It’s a good thing there is a water facet next to us, but really bad to find out it doesn’t work. Matt has to go in a panga to fill some jars. To get to the working facet he had to go over a grassy area full of mosquitoes. Given the circumstances and the risk, he only got a few gallons just to do dishes that night and the next morning. We will be out by the afternoon. These sort of hoops is what we all think about when we brush our teeth and decides to keep the water running as we brush, not to mention that running out of water in the middle of the oceans could be fatal.

Puntarenas

Saturday, arrived with the right tide, no running aground for Endurance. It took several calls to the Yacht Club office until someone finally acknowledged our approach. They were supposed to send a yellow panga to meet us and guide us through the channel… right…maybe next time! We are here! We get tied up to a floating dock for two, very strange feeling to think that even thou you have a dock you cant go far, ten steps either way you are in the water. It makes me a little nervous to have the girls on the dock, at times when the tide is going out the current is ferocious, not to mention that the river is full of crocodiles as they say.

Isla San Lucas

It was the Alcatraz of Costa Rica. The worst criminals were sent to the island. It was operational until 1991 and now it is considered cultural patrimony. We were told by the Park Ranger that at the end of its time the prisoners were given some land in the island and were allowed to stay with their families for a while. Today no one lives there, but the Park Ranger, a few cats, bats, mosquitoes, monkeys and a few ghosts.

I wonder what it is that we find fascinating on being in places like this, must be the huge amount of energy you find here, generated by all the drama, sadness, darkness and sickness. I can almost see and hear what went on and I can only say, Its good to be good, its good to be FREE.

The anchorage here was a sailors dream, not a roll, not a ripple in the water.. (a few, but it sounds more romantic the other way). It has been a while since we had it this good. Matt tells me: “this is what I picture when I dreamed about this trip”