Well, Costa Rica is a very pretty place. It is a rather rich country, compared to the places we have mostly been for the last couple of years, which although it slams our budget does provide some positives with regards to infrastructure. I think if we were coming from somewhere else, it would be much higher up the list for us, but after spending 6 months in Panama, it has been kind of a let-down.
Costa Rica is far more developed than Panama so it means that the landscape has much less of a natural feel to it. A large part of that development has been wealthy American ex-pats. What that means for us cruisers is that we are often not welcome to be certain places and often cannot afford to do basic things. For example, we were fairly close to Corcovado National Park. It would have been a cool place to visit to go hiking. But, with entrance fees and mandatory guide (they don’t let anyone enter without a guide), it would have cost us $600 to go hiking. I cannot imagine any hike being worth $600, so we definitely didn’t go. We did sail all around the southern shore of the park, and it was a pretty expanse of beach, but that is about as close as we came.
Roadsteads
We stopped at a few roadstead anchorages while making our way west through Costa Rica. These are the motel 6s of sailing. You stop for the night, and then wake up and get going first thing in the morning. They might have more to offer, but we can’t spend time at every single place or we would never get anywhere. The main reason for these stops is to give us rest. We have certainly done many overnight sails on the Hoss, but it is exhausting since we have to stay awake in shifts all night. So stopping and getting rest is usually preferable if there is somewhere to safely stop.
Pavones
Our first stop in the country was off a surfing beach on the way to Golfito. We were greeted on our way in by a handful of big dolphins who swam in our bow wake for 20 minutes or so. It was our best encounter with dolphins so far. The beach was very pretty and the rocks along the shore kind of reminded me of a miniature version of The Baths in the BVIs.
Quepos
OK, back story. When Grete and her sister Inge were little kids, they liked getting things in the mail, as most people do. So, they used to fill out all of the requests for free information on the postcards in magazines, etc. To add to the fun, since they were kids, they used silly names in the requests. Grete was Marsha Tootwoman, or perhaps Tootbottom, there is some uncertainty. Inge was John Balls.
When we were plotting our path out to Quepos I saw that a boat was anchored there. The man on the boat is named John Baals. What are the odds. So, when we anchored I dropped the dinghy so we could go swim at the beach and on the way to shore we swung by and introduced ourselves. He is from Colorado and turned out to be a nice guy.
The beach landing was a bit sketchy so we anchored out and swam in the waves for a bit. We saw the biggest sloth we’ve ever seen on shore and chatted with a family that is in Costa Rica on vacation. The dad is from Salinas, Puerto Rico, one of our favorite stops ever, and the son is 18 and headed to Navy bootcamp this summer. So, we had plenty to chat about.
Bahia Samara
Rolly-polly swell, and tons of little mothlike bugs that look like, but luckily are not, mosquitoes. That is basically all we got out of this place. It was pretty and we got underway right at sunrise the next morning.
Golfito
Clearing in to Costa Rica was the worst clearance process to date. It took all day starting at 11, and also a couple of more hours the next day. It cost us about $150 and I had to walk seven miles from office to office.
In my walks, I did get to see a small farm that had some huge round boulders that are a well-known historical artifact of earlier civilizations in the area.
The most expensive part was that an agriculture inspector comes out to the boat to check for pork, chicken, and animals aboard. Since we don’t check our cats in, we had to hide them in the bathroom while the inspector was aboard. Chicken from the US is prohibited and pork from Panama is prohibited due to disease of the livestock in those places. We had some pork from Panama that got confiscated, and I imagine subsequently eaten, by the inspector.
The running and walking was easy since the town was mostly flat and any time there is a secure dinghy dock we can get to shore with dry feet and not have to worry about the Sea Pug. Grete and I went ashore for a few run/walks while in town.
Since we were doing a good job exercising, we figured why not throw the effort out the window by having some ice cream rolls. We have never gotten them before and they were a neat experience though the ice cream wasn’t my favorite.
The marina we parked the dinghy at has some decorations up for Valentine’s Day so we took a family photo.
And my Shessimo made me the sweetest card. I’m glad I had made one for her as well.
Puerto Jimenez
We got ashore for a couple of walks, meals, milkshakes and even a decent run. Google Maps led me astray so I went a bit further than anticipated, but it was pretty and not very trafficked, which was better than across the bay in Golfito. When we got back to the dinghy one time, we found a cute little mangrove shepherd enjoying a bit of shade under our dinghy.
The town was much nicer, a bit more rustic and less hectic, than Golfito. It is a bit hipster-ish which tends to be good for us because we got gluten free pizza and were able to buy some gluten free bread and donuts at the grocery store :)
One night while we were anchored here, we heard strange sounds topside. We went up to see what was going on, it almost sounding like there was a fountain surrounding our boat, or possibly boiling water. Turns out it was hundreds of fish feeding on bugs, etc. all around our boat. It was really strange, and so cool. They stuck around for a few hours just gurgling away. That has never happened to us before and I tried to get the sound on video, but it doesn’t capture it well.
Bahia Drake
I really liked Drake. It had a dinghy dock (I love dinghy docks) and we went for a couple of pretty hikes on the most well-maintained trails we’ve seen in a really long time. The trails went up and over hills in the jungle and along several pristine beaches without a soul around.
We got to see some scarlet macaws, white-faced capuchins, and some kind of iguana we’ve never seen before.
I was very impressed by the area and wanted an excuse to stick around an extra day. I know Grete wishes she were riding horses every day, but it had been quite a long time so I arranged a horseback trip for us all to a waterfall nearby. The ride in town was soooooo hot, but then we rode the horses in a river that was at times up to my shins (the horse was almost having to start swimming). That kept us and the horses nice and cool.
The waterfall was more impressive than expected given that it is the dry season, but at about 220 inches per year, this area is the wettest spot in Costa Rica so I guess that is enough.
Bahia Herradura
This bay was a bit strange. It wasn’t too bad as far as comfort goes on its own. But, there is an uber-rich sportfishing marina in the same bay and there were fishing tournaments two out of the four days we were there. Those big fishing boats go in and out at high speed and throw a wake that is 3+ feet high. It slams us around like crazy. And, since there are 100+ boats, it means hours of that slamming when they are all heading out, and hours of it around sunset when they come back.
On the day we left there was another tournament, and I had just seen an article that Michael Jordan had arrived in Costa Rica because he is big into fishing tournaments. The article had a picture of his private jet and said that his boat is named Catch 23.
As we were crossing the path taken by the fishing boats, we could hear the crews each calling away the number of people aboard. Catch 23 called away twenty something people and then steered just a little bit away from our stern. After a minute or two of trying to figure out if it was his boat, I noted that the paint job was almost the exact same as the paint on the jet from the article. I snapped a picture and looked it up shortly after. Sure enough, that was his boat and from what I saw in the pictures I could find online, the guy facing aft on the lower deck is in Mike’s seat, so it is probably him in the pic. So that was exciting even though I’m not a basketball fan.
Monteverde
One of the only things we really knew about Costa Rica before we were planning to visit was the cloudforest of Monteverde. We rented a car and drove the 2.5 hours up from the anchorage and it was an amazingly beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky, so we kinda missed out on the cloud forest feel of the place, but the views of Golfo Nicoya, the mountains, and the volcano were breathtaking.
We decided to go zip-lining in Monteverde since we haven’t done it since the Dominican Republic. Again, the weather was great, so we enjoyed it quite a bit. Dublin and I were a bit cold since the area is just over a mile in elevation so it is kind of chilly.
The kids had a great time and even got along. Some of the zip-lines required more weight or something, so the kids got put together a couple of times and Grete and I each got paired off with them once too.
We all laughed at Grete always zooming in to the end really crazy. The kids found it extraordinarily funny.
Comin’ in hot!!
After the zip-lines, we had hot beverages while we waited to do the challenge course.
That turned out to be really neat and we were the only ones who did it so we had the climbing, and bridges all to ourselves. That was good because Fira is quite scared of heights so one of the guides had to escort her through the whole way and she had to get slowly lowered instead of doing the free-fall jump we all did. There were high-wire bicycles and a Tarzan swing as well. It was cool and at the end we were exhausted.
When we got back to the car to get in, a white-nosed coati jumped inside the car and we had to chase it out. Everyone in the parking lot was watching and laughing. Clearly too many tourists are feeding the wildlife.
To top off the great day, I got to drive 2.5 hours back in the dark :) It is worth noting that some other cruisers in the anchorage, who turned out to be friends of friends, dropped us off on the beach and picked us up. It was really nice of them since we weren’t comfortable with leaving the dinghy on the beach all day, and honestly we would have had a hard time getting out through the surf in the dark at the end of the day.
Bahia Potrero
We were finally headed up to Playa del Cocos on the side side of Papagayo Bay. The Papagayos are reinforced Caribbean trade winds that blow across the lake in Nicaragua and make for rather windy, and extremely gusty sailing when departing Costa Rica. So, we were headed to Playa del Cocos to clear out and wait for a lull in the Papagayos.
The wind hasn’t been very good since leaving Panama and we have been almost exclusively motoring. We had a little bit of wind early on in this passage so we sailed a bit, and then the wind went. After another hour or so the wind returned and shortly thereafter our over-temp alarm on our motor went off. I immediately shut down the engine and went below to investigate. The belt for the alternator (and coolant pump) had fallen off. That made sense for why the engine overheated, but it wasn’t clear how in the world the belt fell off. I remounted the belt and had Grete fire up the engine.
The belt started working its way off the front of the coolant pump pulley so I had her shut it right back down. I started checking every little thing and noticed that the shaft on the pump was jiggly. Turns out the coolant pump bearings are shot and we need a new pump.
So, I checked the charts and found an alternate anchorage that wasn’t so far away so that we could arrive in daylight. Bahia Potrero fit the bill and even has a marine hardware store which I figured might come in handy while trying to get necessary parts.
I re-mounted the belt and figured we could run the engine for a few minutes when we get into the anchorage. As we approached the anchorage, a few miles out the wind died completely and we were drifting toward a large rocky island near the mouth of the bay. So, I lowered the dinghy and tied up to the side of the boat. We spent the next hour or so with me getting splashed and bouncing off the side of the boat while towing it in to port with the Sea Pug.
Right when we approached the anchorage, I put the Pug behind the boat again and started the main engine for the final approach and setting of the anchor. All’s well that ends well, and now we have a little more confidence in our abilities to deal with extra ‘fun’.
The engine
I contacted the Volvo dealer in San Jose immediately after our arrival to find out about a new pump. They replied and said it would be $2,000 and would arrive in 2-3 weeks. I looked online and found a freight forwarding service and an aftermarket pump. That pump and shipping came to about $200, guess which option I went for.
The pump arrived about two weeks after our arrival. While waiting, I took care of other boat projects that have been sitting on the back burner in an effort to not go crazy with worry. I serviced our winches (and accidentally dropped a part overboard (: so that will need replacement soon too). I replaced our fuel gauge since it just always showed full. I did a couple of small sewing projects, it all kept me busy enough.
Additionally, we found a nice walking/running route so every other day we went ashore for some exercise and nice views of the waves at the surfing beach and the surrounding bays as seen from the hilltops.
The town was quaint and had a good grocery store with lots of gluten free options, which made our 5 weeks here nice and comfortable. It was not very pedestrian friendly and the prices in Costa Rica are atrocious.
The sunsets in the bay were pretty, and the day charter tourism industry there is crazy so at sunset about 20 or so sailboats would return with their guests adding to the beauty of the place.
Those boats, plus fishing charters, occasional sea swell and wind waves from the Papagayos made the anchorage generally not calm, but it was also never very uncomfortable, so we were pretty well set up for our time here.
Now, back to business. The pump arrived after about 3 weeks in town. We rented a car so we could drive to Liberia and pick it up. We coupled it with shopping at PriceSmart and Walmart as well as filling our propane tank in a town another 30 minutes or so away. I didn’t want the day with a car to be all errands, so we also drove to a waterfall and took a nice refreshing swim at the bottom. A good way to beat the heat but we were definitely not the only people with that idea.
Now, pump in hand it was time to replace it. Boat engines are the worst thing in the world. Nothing is easy to get to, even if it weren’t on a rolly boat with no room to get to anything. So, to replace the pump I had to remove about 1/2 of the engine, including everything associated with the timing system.
The timing system on a diesel is very important and must be exact or the cylinders will not fire correctly. In order to keep the components in place while the timing belt is removed, there are two spots on the engine that you need to put metal stops into to keep them from rotating out of sync. I had a drill bit in one and an Allen key in the other. I removed all of the pulleys, etc and then the coolant pump. I installed the new pump (which has a small leak, severity TBD) and all of the pulleys and belts. I removed the stops and attempted to restart the engine. It would not start. Turns out that one of the pulleys spins freely once the belt is off and the key that holds it in place can rotate 180 degrees so that it looks correct when it isn’t. I found that out and turned it as needed.
Then we tried to start the engine again. It started but was not smooth at all, so the timing had gotten off by a couple of teeth of the pulleys. I put the stops in and adjusted the belt a little. We tried again. It seemed a little better, but not quite there. Did it all again a couple of times getting ever closer and then… I tried to restart the engine without removing the Allen key from the flywheel. The engine made a loud, strange sound and obviously did not start. I went below to try to figure out the issue and that’s when I saw that the Allen key had been pulled almost entirely inside the flywheel housing and was preventing the crankshaft from turning at all.
It was the biggest “oh shit” moment to date on our boat. I could barely breath, was physically dizzy, and had tears in my eyes. I cannot recall the last time I have felt so defeated and hopeless. It wasn’t clear how to remove the Allen key but it was very clear that we had zero engine capability until we did. My instinct was to try to turn the crankshaft backwards and attempt to extract the Allen key. It wouldn’t budge. I went to a nearby marina and started asking around to try to find a mechanic because we were in a bad way. I found a boat broker named Will (https://www.ricaboats.com/) who could see how distraught I was and vowed to help in any way he could.
Will came out to the boat a couple of days later with a mechanic to look at the situation. He said he was hopeful because Allen keys are made of very soft metal that we could get it out if only we could manage to turn the crankshaft backwards. He tried, as I had to turn it back but it would not budge and was clear that trying to use the mounting bolts would cause further damage. Over the weekend Will found a welder who made a metal piece with a nut welded on and loaned him a huge breaker bar in order to turn the crankshaft pulley without using the mounting points and to have a huge lever arm with the breaker bar and a piece of pipe.
So, Will came back to our boat and was able to back-turn the engine while I pulled out the Allen key. The key was mangled but in tact, even in now shaped like a question mark, and Will said he was pretty sure that everything would be fine once the timing was tuned in.
About a week later, he was able to get a great mechanic named Klaus out to our boat to fine-tune our timing, help us deal with a couple of blown fuses, and get the engine running more smoothly than I can ever recall. I had tears in my eyes again, but these ones felt really, really good.
So, we were watching for a weather window out of Costa Rica across the Papagayos. We had a window less than a week out and decided we would go for it. The next day Grete (and Fat Pawsy) heard a strange sound from the bilge. I looked into it and realized that the bilge pump had rust all around the motor housing and stuff stuck in the strainer. I cleaned it all up, took out our spare bilge pump and got ready to wire it in. Well, the wire was corroded. So I cut back a few inches. Still corroded. I cut back a foot, two feet, all corroded; we just can’t catch a break.
We have a manual bilge pump as well as a backup high-water pump but I really like to know that our safety systems are up to snuff so I found a place that could order new wiring for us. It arrived in a few days and I got the new wire pulled and the new pump wired in. All systems go and weather window two days out.
At this point we moved the boat about 15 miles as a test that everything works as expected and also to get closer to the harbor master for clearing out of the country. Everything went smoothly and the next day we cleared out of Playas del Coco (we finally made it 5 weeks late).
And now, after two months in Costa Rica we continue our trek north. We gobbled up a lot of time dealing with the issues so we will not get to spend as much time along the way, but we will manage.
One last note: on the sail across to Nicaragua, we saw tons of violent splashing in the distance. It kept getting closer and closer until we saw that it was dozens and dozens of dolphins, likely 50-100, jumping, eating and playing. We were welcomed to Costa Rica two months ago by dolphins and now they were seeing us off like midwesterners in the driveway. Good bye Costa Rica.