Costa Rica is the one place that we have traveled to that will see lots of visitors on Companion - especially since we will be here for almost 5 months …
With the arrival of Danylle and Andy we began the next leg of the journey - a 150-mile jaunt to our most northern destination - Golfo de Papagayo. Tina still on board and I am sure she was looking forward to having some “young and hip” comrades to hang with!!
Chillin’ on the trampoline
The channel that is the home to the Costa Rica Yacht Club is only navigational during the high tide - due to sand bars and low water during low tide - we had an extra night’s stay in Puntarenas to make sure we wouldn’t hit bottom …. So Sunday early afternoon we took off, down the channel and across the Gulf … only about a 10-mile sail to this great little bay that offered us protection and a quiet night.
So in the channel we see:
The pelicans got a rest on one of the buoys.
Fisherman work constantly - everyday - all day.
The sunken ship that we saw in the morning at the low tide was a real treat - good thing we have a great chart and knew exactly where not to anchor!!
Beside the sunken ship - a little restaurant … not sure if anybody really knows it is there.
Sailing out the next morning was a breeze - of course Dale likes to get going early - 6:30 am … the main sail goes half way up before we even think about pulling the anchor up … actually it does make my life easier - I just have to give him a hard time about the hour in which we start!!
As usual we are so lucky because the dolphins, sting rays, and turtles are our companions on this voyage - I wish you could see them … we have asked ourselves over and over again - why do the sting rays jump and flip … can the dolphins really see or hear us as we stand on the trampoline … of course when we have gotten to a place where we can “google” the questions - there are no answers and nobody seems to know ….
We did have one sort of “shallow” excursion thru a very narrow passage - we only had about 2 feet between the tip of our keel and the top of the coral heads … all hands on deck watching the waters below as Dale navigated ahead …. Only after we got to the 6 foot clearance mark did we all breathe!
Danylle and Andy all smiles after that passage!
Fishing has taken on a new meaning with the gift of the “Ugly Stick” (it really is the brand name for this fishing rod) - Dale wants to have fish in the freezer and Andy and Tina were right there with him - putting it in the water soon after shoving off in the mornings…
After several hits and no luck we were just hanging out, when all of a sudden the fishing line started humming and taking off like a bat out of hell …. Andy jumps up and holds on and I mean holds on … the pole bent almost at a 45 degree angle and had taken out over half of the line. Then we saw it - this fish took a jump about 4 feet in the air and we knew Andy had hooked a “big one”!! Dale slowed down the boat - Tina gave good advice from her Alaska fishing days on how to bring in a BIG fish - Danylle furled the jib - Andy took his time to reel her in - after 25 minutes … WE (really Andy) had her at the back of the boat - Tina gaffed her in the gills, Dale helped pull the 35 pounder - 52 inch Dorado on board …. Danylle poured a little bit of our cheap rum in her (the fish’s) mouth to sedate the beast …. Oh what great fish stories we now have!!
Andy with his "catch" of the day and fish, too
Dorado, Mahi Mahi or Dolphin are the names this fish can go by..
Danylle informed us that “she does not fillet fish only people” - so with that said - Dale took charge of filleting and got two huge slabs of meat - about 28” x 8” from each side - Danylle was instructing Dale with terms like “find the plain Dad, no blood that way” - “use the tip of the knife - smoother cleaner cuts” - you know - doctor talk …..
I think she had enough of the watching and got into the act by cleaning all of the meat off the skin - what I observed - she lost no meat in the process …thank goodness for all of that education - we had enough fish for 6 meals plus some fish spread!!
I only have one word to say - CEVICHE!! Absolutely outstanding!!
(Thanks Zeph for the quick response to the SOS text for the recipe!!)
The next morning - our Tina was heading ashore to continue with the rest of her trip - leaving Companion she was to meet up with some friends to surf and explore the interior of Costa Rica …. We so enjoyed having her with us for 3.5 weeks….
Dinghying away to Playa Garza
It is always good to see Danylle and Andy relax when they come to Companion … it is almost like a drug …. No need to do anything … just be … in the moment … whether reading or just watching the waters - it is good!
Makes my heart sing ... all this is worth it when that happens!!
Danylle another new member of the Companion Embroidery & Knitting Guild!
Forgot to tell you that Andy saw a huge whale splash sighting … hopefully we will see more!
Playa Conchell - our next destination - a fun evening with Chuck and Peg - we had a million dollar view of the stars and a table fit for the royals!
Thanks for a super evening!
Just for the record - Chuck had his first Sushi, Ceviche and Fish Tacos -
the world is his oyster (well maybe next time he can try those!)
One more day of sailing to Marina Papagayo - we experienced for short intervals wind gusts of the “Papagayos” - sometimes as much as 28 to 32 knots of wind … to say the least I was happy when we tied up to the dock in the marina … our new boat home for the next two months.
Companion gets a bath of “sweet water” - scrub her down …
what you can’t see is Andy really doing all of the work
We had a day to spare before Danylle and Andy had to leave - so a land excursion car trip to the volcano for a hike, pizza in a “canopy” bar, zip line, monkeys following us on the hanging bridges and a water tube ride - what a great day!
Andy just flying down the water tube! Not once but twice!!
Always good to have our kids with us!
A gift of the Costa Rica flag - now officially in the country!
