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Friday-Saturday February 26-27, 2010

GPS POSITION 8° 55.036 N 79° 31.199W Flamingo Marina Panama

It's Friday and we are not completely allowed to be in Panama. Officials parade one after the other onto BD to work on the mounting pile of official paperwork. The port captain asked if we have our yellow fever vaccination. Well no, we did not know we needed one. When you offer the proper undocumented fee they suddenly stop with the yellow fever questions and fill out our papers asking for more copies than they could possibly need, so many copies that our printer-copier runs out of ink and there are only a few sheets of paper left. Deborah has black ink all over her fingers from using the cheaper fill the empty cartridge method instead of buying an expensive new cartridge. I am so glad she and John are like me, the ultimate cheapskate. We would rather spend the saved money on something else we want for BD.

About 9 AM we get a call from Tina, that her driver is here to collect our wash. Deborah and I are the only ones here. All the wash bags go on deck, here we go, it is about a quarter of a mile of decks to the cab/parking lot; oh great Don is coming back to BD, he can help. The three of us look like pack mules as we make our way to Tina's driver in the parking lot.

Afterwords we pack up our computers to the cafe on shore to get internet. This turns out to be quite a long session that runs through a burger lunch. In fact we take another call from Tina that the laundry is arriving with her driver.

Today is Saturday. You know some days you are the pigeon and some days you are the statue. Today we are the statue. It is a salmon day, you swim up stream and then you get had`. Our plan is to go shopping to provision for the canal. Donna, Nancy and the Messineo's are joining us tomorrow. However, the word on the dock during morning coffee is there has been an 8,8 earthquake in Chile and there is a tsunami coming our way. John calls for all hands on deck; he is going to the harbor master's office to get the best information and we are told to treat this as a drill and prepare BD and ourselves. Word is we have maybe an hour and a half before it will hit us. Thoughts of what happened in American Samoa last year when a tsunami whipped through the Pagopago anchorage run through our heads. Boats were destroyed and sailors died. We have no TV and the VHF is full of misinformation and excited cruisers. Forgetting we are on East Coast time I figure Donna should be waking in Reno; it is 5:45 AM her time and of course I woke her up. With Maddy licking her feet she checks TV news and internet for me. The situation is as grim as we have heard on the dock. John returns with the same news and word we have an hour to prepare and get off BD; there is not enough time to go to sea. To escape the expected size of the tsunami waves we must be in 3000 feet of water; the Bay of Panama is too shallow, we are 3 hours at full throttle from a 3000 foot depth.

It is amazing how fast and focused you can be when you have to be. With a backpack of essential medications, computers and cameras we say goodby to BD and go to a high point on shore, the little internet cafe, to watch whatever happens, God Bless Bella Donna.

From the internet cafe we can see the other anchorages and they are almost empty where they had been full yesterday. I guess these cruisers are taking their chances going to sea; maybe they got the word in time. You do not want to be at anchor in a tsunami as large as the one expected.

We sit and wait, then nothing at all happens. At 11 AM East Coast time we declare an end to our watch and rush back to BD to fetch our shopping bags for our provision run. We grab a friendly English speaking Panamanian cab driver, Mario, who we decide will handle all our travel while in Panama. He is 76 years old, but could pass for 50 and is very intelligent even if his fast driving and running red lights is a slight concern. The Albrook shopping mall is a 20 minute drive for normal people, 15 minutes for Mario.

It is Saturday and the mall is very crowded with Panamanian families shopping. This huge mall is the largest I have ever seen. A little train transports people from place to place as it is too far to walk from one end to the other. There are 3 separate food courts and a huge merry-go-round to entertain the kids. We remembered shopping in a large grocery store here last time we were here; we ask "Donde esta supper mercado?". Of course, it is a long way off. When we get there the line at the cash register is well over 100 people. Forget this we turn to the street for another cab; it is now 2 PM.

Our luck has run out; our next cab driver, a young man, does not speak a word of English. We tell him to take us to Rey a Panamanian grocery store chain we are familiar with. We can see a Rey near the airport, but we can not communicate with our driver; he darts off into an obviously dangerous area of Panama. Suddenly there is a floppy-thumpy sound; we have a flat tire. We pull over at a bus stop and pile out sit on a bench and watch the young cab driver change a tire like a NASCAR pit crew. In less than 5 minutes we are on our way we think. The driver makes a stop at a gas station as I notice an alarm is signaling dangerously low fuel. Finally we make it to a Rey in the worst part of town. We are the only gringos in sight; we make the most of it. John gets a cab back to BD to undo the tsunami preparation and begin the cleaning and maintenance.

The three of us manage to fill 2 shopping carts and still do not have all the shopping done when we stop because we have to somehow get it all to BD; we will finish the fruits and vegetables tomorrow. It takes 3 people almost half an hour to check us out. Even the store manager comes over to celebrate probably their largest sale in a very long time. Somehow we make it to the street and are told we will need 2 taxis, $20 special price, to get us back to Flaminco Marina; it's a good deal. Our driver speaks no English but we are able to speak in Spanish phrases that I understand. He tells me we are in a very bad area of town. At the Marina we unload all the bags onto the dock and arrange for a panga to take them to BD; the Marina has no dock carts.

John has arranged Mario to help him fetch Luci who flies in around 7 PM. Work done we decide we deserve a nice dinner so we try a very nice outdoor restaurant up the hill. First it is the traditional Tequila shots with Luci; now we are ready. We are tired. I can't wait to see Donna.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Monday-Thusday February 22-25, 2010

GPS POSITION 8° 55.036 N 79° 31.199W Flamingo Marina Panama

Rise up! One Costa Rican soldier is man down with food poisoning. We all had dinner at the Marina Bar and Grill last night. Bill Barcus had some shrimp and rice that must have been bad, mala.

Today we leave for Panama Canal, but we have a lot of preparation work plus fueling up before we leave. John has to finish changing the oil in BD's 4 diesel engines, 2 generators and 2 propellers. The engines are in cramped under deck compartments that are sweet boxes in this heat. John has spread the job over the days we have been in Costa Rica; each change is a major workout. Deborah is determined to finish the pile of wash and do the necessary cleaning after days of habitation by 5 typical dudes. Everyone gets involved in the moving and stowing of the toys, John's surf ski and my Hobie trimaran, Hobo. They live under the cockpit table during potentially rough legs of our passage.

We move BD to the fuel dock about noon and return to our overnight dock to finish our preparations. The Bills are leaving us. I think they need to find a nice air conditioned room to recover from the too short a visit with us. At about 2 PM we make a slow start back to the sea. Out to the Pacific Ocean and take a left. The seas are flat and the winds are light; we will be mostly motoring with a stay up at 30 degrees to the apparent wind. It is so calm we ride the stationary bike and lift weights in the gym.We spot many dolphins all around us. It's a beautiful sunset.

Tuesday morning, it is definitely hotter and more humid as we go south. The trade winds are blocked by Costa Rica, so except for land breeze at night and sea breeze in the afternoon, the prevailing wind is still. Thus our plan is to cruise just off shore. It is 7 AM and it is already 88 degrees in the salon and 72% humidity. BD's salon has only the cockpit doors open so there is little air flow and the rising sun is coming down on its sun screen covered windows. The air temperature is a little lower in the cockpit but the morning air is still and heavy even there. Up in the fly bridge the sun it beading down on the bimini an the air flow is insufficient to be cool. As the afternoon arrives the brisk sea breeze starts to blow and not only are we cooler but the Genoa is out and SOG is 8 to 9 knots. That's better.

At noon the salon temperature is 106 degrees, but the humidity has dropped to 47%. We are drinking water a litter at a time quite often. I went into our gym today and worked out but quickly I was sopping wet and exhausted. The shower did not help at all to drop my body temperature. I think we will turn the air conditioner on tonight.

Wednesday is a repeat of Tuesday, a carbon copy. The sea is flat and the winds are calm. The good news is we have a current pushing us between 8 and 9 knots with no sails up. We may make it to Panama Thursday instead of Friday. This morning the dolphins are jumping 8 to 10 feet out of the water. It is a lift to your spirits to see happy dolphins. We see huge swarms of fish with birds following them. I would love to fish but we are so close to shore and do not have the proper fishing license.

The night is so cool; it is a good thing because the air conditioning needs to be flushed; it is not working as good as opening a hatch. This is the best night of sleep I have had in days. I prefer fresh air but not hot humid fresh air.

Thursday, we are 50 miles from Panama. The prospect of a cold shower tied to a dock sounds good right now. We tie up only to hear we can not be totally checked in until tomorrow. We have our first sun downer in days in the cockpit with a cool breeze blowing talking to Tina our agent handling check-in and our schedule to transit the canal. She is a very high energy Latin woman that seems to be blackberry driven, Even though we called her this morning on the Iridium satellite phone to say we would be in about 2 PM, her blackberry said tomorrow so here we sit until tomorrow. She is a very interesting person and as we sip our wine she tells us all about what there is to do in Panama. When she finally leaves the BD we all agree she reminds us of Shaz, the third crew member we had in the Caribbean and East Coast 4 years ago.

We are all exhausted so off to the restaurant in the Flamingo Marina for dinner.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Saturday-Sunday February 20-21, 2010
GPS POSITION 10° 38.39 N 85° 39.19 W Papa Guyo Marina, Costa Rica

I forgot to mention the marina as well as all the hotel resorts on the Peninsula lost power late yesterday afternoon. The power company has no idea what is causing the loss. The resort hotels are throwing beach parties to entertain guests probably with lots of free booze to numb them to the humidity and heat; there is no air conditioning. Over night they found the problem, but they must bring special equipment from San Jose to fix it. They are estimating maybe 2 this afternoon. The real bummer is John and Deborah refuse to leave BD with the generator running and we can't shut down BD as she is fully provisioned with cold and frozen foods. I agree but it's a bummer because we are driving the two hours to Bill Barcus's restaurant bar on a mountain off a dirt road just past the end of the highway that heads south. We sadly leave John and Deborah behind; at least they do have air conditioning as we are running our generator. However, the cable to the TV does not work without power on the shore.

The Costa Ricans refer to themselves as ticos, tico for the male and tica for the female. Nicaraguans refer to themselves as nicos, nico for the male and nica for the female. The manual labor is mostly done by the nicos. The ticos are mostly well educated and take the skilled jobs.

On our way we are getting hungry so we start sorting through the tico restaurants in Nicoya. We do not want to eat the typical rice and black beans; it's good but we want something more substantial. We stumble upon one that cooks over a wood fire. Platanos at various stages of ripeness hang from wood posts that support the roof. The restaurant has no walls, just railings that prevent you from falling into the street if you have too much beer. The tico who waits on us explains he has some very special tender loin that he will cook for us and cut at the table in order to make sure it is juicy. Bill Barcus, who speaks tico fluently, explains we want a plate of chicken, pork and beef with the sides and 4 beers. When the meat arrives hot and juicy it is cut and served in front of us. The freshly cooked meat has taken on a pleasing flavor from the wood fire. We all agree the chicken is some of the best we have ever eaten.

Imperial Beer is made by the Costa Rican government as is all alcohol beverages made in country. They serve cold beer with a chilled glass with chipped block ice in the glass. This long lunch break is a home run, very pleasant. Customers include families and most pass on the beer and drink juiced fruit juice served in a little pitcher with the chilled iced glasses.

What seems a short drive you have the well manicured Hotel Rio Tempisque where we will spend the night. After checking in we walk the grounds to see the pool, bar and restaurant. As we walk you can't help but notice the huge lizards, iguanas, wandering the grounds. Our room is air conditioned and very clean. The beds are simply made with 2 sheets, one on top and one on the bottom. We hear from John and Deborah that the power is still not on, bummer.

A 20 minute drive further we reach the end of the major highway. At the end is the town of Carmona with its town square, catholic church and 3 downtown bar, one of which Bill owns. Through the town we take a dusty dirt-gravel road up the mountain. This road is the main road to the beach on the other side of the mountains.

A 15 minute drive latter we arrive at Bill's Bar. Las Brisas del Mar, Bar y Restaurante; The breezes of the ocean, bar and restaurant. The bar is 1700 feet above sea level which is cooler and breezy. The views of the sea are picture postcard breathtaking from almost every seat. Diego and his wife run and maintain the bar. They along with their 2 children live upstairs, bed and bath, plus a salon or family room, in a small building next door behind the bar. The family has a cute little parrot and a handsome black dog with white feet. The family is dealing with a recent diagnosis of Hodgkin cancer. Their 8 year old son must start chemo treatments and the doctors want the family to give away the pets to reduce infection of his weakened immune system. What a wonderful family.

The beer goes down easy and we try some tapas from the kitchen. The platano ceviche is the first I have ever had. The banana taste in what is usually a raw fish or shrimp dish cooked in lime juice is different. Diego comes over to show us a giant grass hopper looking creature about the size of an 8 to 10 inch banana. It's back legs are covered with sharp thorns that will draw blood if you get too close. Their head is about the size of the end of your finger. With their mandibles they can inflict a pretty nasty bloody bite. I would hate to run into a swarm of these creatures. Diego says he kills them and he demonstrates by slamming the thing to the ground. Our multilingual discussion turns to poisonous snakes; two of the most dangerous are found here in Costa Rica, the Bush Master is one; you can die in less than an hour. This is a good reason to use a good flash light at night.

Sunday we meet in the restaurant at our hotel for breakfast, eggs, toast and the familiar rice with black beans on the side. As we eat a 3 to 4 foot lizard, iguana, slides off the roof onto some netting protecting the guests sitting at tables having breakfast. I think the netting is a good idea.

On the way out of town we stop at one of the many locally named stores owned by WalMart. Some of these stores are every bit as stocked as a super WalMart in the US. They have names like Pali and Super Max. This is a smaller, right sized, store that has all the food and clothing, just less as this town is not that big.

Back on BD the power is on. John and Deborah exercised and watched some classic movies; at least they had air conditioning. John paddled down the little inlet and felt better for it. Along the way he paddled through a swarm of water snakes. A large salt water snake slithered out of the water and over his surf ski. When we identified the snake on the internet, you guessed it, the snake is very poisonous.

We all walked to the Marina Restaurant and Bar that had reopened with a new stock of food as the power outage ruined what they had. A large percentage of the crew on the few boats remaining in the Marina have the same idea. We had our last evening dinner in Costa Rica. Tomorrow we head to Panama.

On the way back to BD we stop to talk to switched on couple circumnavigating in a 50 foot Cantana catamaran. They are headed to Galapagos next so we provide information about the South Pacific. They visited the San Blas before transiting the canal so they give us tip on what is in store for us. She is a French venture capitalist and he works in a think tank in Washington DC. They work as they travel so they have some interesting communication gear. We try to learn as much as we can from them.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday-Friday February 18-19, 2010
GPS POSITION 10° 38.39 N 85° 39.19 W Papa Guyo Marina, Costa Rica

In the bed it is a very gentile night; my vision is bobbing in a panga
down some slow moving river. Unlike previous nights the trip to the
bathroom can be done with straight legs and without holding on to
anything. It's 5:30, rise up. I am already to go as my feet hit the
floor; it was warm last night as we could not open the hatch and I
slept on top of the bed in whatever I wore on watch last night; it was
too rough last night making a change of clothing difficult anyway.

As you ascend the steps you note that the wind is blowing like stink,
but the surface of the sea is flat. This is because of John's plan to
motor slow as close to shore as safely possible in the blackness of
night. The fetch or growth of the swells due to the wind blowing from
the shore is minimal close to shore; With the wind blowing a constant
30 to 40 knots the fetch grows the swell up to 15 feet off shore.

Up in the fly it is first light and John is ready to cross the last
bay in Nicaragua before the Papa Guyo Bay in Costa Rica where the Papa
Guyo Marina is located, our destination; the distance is about 30
nautical miles or 36 statute miles. This section is where the Papa
Guyo winds blow the hardest. They will blow all this week, but today
between 6 AM and noon they peak just as we are crossing. We would
normally wait until after noon, but we want to get to the Marina as
Bil Bailey and Bill Barcus are flying in at 12:30 PM today in Liberia,
a little local town 15 – 20 minutes from here, and driving to the
Marina. Bill Barcus is the expert on the area, speaks the local slang
and owns a bar in a small town south of here, Carmona Ramon area. We
do not have to do our usual blind man discovery of some place we have
never been to before.

It is not too bad as we start crossing the last Nicaraguan bay;
however as we reach the middle where the mountains no longer protect
us the wind starts. We experience winds of 40 to 55 knots. The swells
have built to only 4 or 5 feet; however there is the occasional rouge
wave that breaks at the top into a swirling foam that whips into the
air and blows across the sea making it look white at times; as this
happens on the windward side of BD even in the fly bridge we get
drenched. If is crests at BD she lurches sometimes plunging the bow
into the sea. John has relieved the autopilot and hand steers. The sea
is too confused for the poor overworked autopilot. We see no other
vessels; we are all alone.

We are in Costa Rica. Soon we have to execute a slight adjustment to
port to start a left turn into Papa Guya Bay. The turn is made
gradually because each degree puts the 50+ knot winds more on our
nose. At the current RPM our engines would propel BD with no wind,
swell and current to 7.5 knots. It is varying, but BD makes 2 knots in
these conditions. At this rate it will take us all day to get tied to
the dock. It seems to take forever but at 10 minutes before noon, we
are just off the sheltered inlet where the marina is located. The
winds are now topping out at 30 knots so we fly our stay sail and BD
happily responds hurrying along at over 9 knots. We or John and
Deborah have done it. I call my wife as my iPhone registers 5 bars of
network signal. I think of the Bills as they may be in a landing
pattern flying above us right now. We laugh about the cruiser's guide
that talks about a prominent rock at the entrance to the inlet that
closely resembles the head of King Kong down to his overhanging eye
brows. The rock is so big it deserves to be an island, Isla De King
Kong.

Much to our surprise the inlet is awash with white caps. As we
approach the marina it is apparent it is not the light air docking we
hoped for; BD does not have side thrusters like the big heavy power
boats. John radios the port captain to identify our dock position. As
we near the docks it is clear the 15 to 20 knot winds make an end tie
the only safe thing to do.

We are told we can't clear with customs and immigration until tomorrow
even though we have prearranged with authorities to clear today. The
officials just assumed that no vessels would be arriving today given
the Papa Guyo winds are peaking so they took the day off. We explained
that we had visitors flying in so suddenly a possibility their could
be something worked out. The Bills arrived but they had to stand on
the dock and talk to us. We could not drop down the boarding ladder to
the dock until the officials boarded to clear us in. The Bills
returned to the Marina Bar to wait for our clearing.

After clearing in and getting the Bills settled in it is sunset and we
are all tired and hungry. We take turns showering and mosey as we are
ready back to the Marina Bar. There is a gentile cooling breeze as we
sit in the open air bar and eat fresh catch and Angus steaks. We will
all sleep good tonight.

Friday morning and it is hot. By 9:30 you do not want to be in the
sun. Some of us go shopping around 10:30 to The Do It Center, owned by
Home Depo. Just up the road at the intersection of the main highway
the center includes a Citi Bank ATM and a Medico laboratory. We get
some American dollars and some Costa Rican calones. One thousand
calones is a red worth about $20, the largest currency used for local
purchases. If the price is in calones it is shocking.

Have you ever tried to get a blood test someplace where you do not
speak the language. I see a Medico in the center; this is a
combination drug store, laboratory, and urgent care clinic with a
doctor. I walk in to get a test to see how thin my blood is as I am on
Coumadin and should get it tested once a month. They understand I want
a blood test, but they do not ask what test I need and had me over to
the doctor for the test. After several failed attempts I am 80-90%
sure we agree what test I need, I just hope it is correct as I pay the
$43 for 2 tests; I do not know what the second one is for but they are
cheap enough.

Later we went to a tourist beach town, Tamarindo, to have lunch, do
some shopping and sightseeing. At the end of town is a little surfing
beach with a bar and grill. There are official looking guys that show
you where to park and expect to be paid to "watch your car"; this is a
public beach with free parking so there is no payment required. These
are just pan handlers looking to make a buck. We give them a little
bit of money as it is not a good idea to not pay something; we need
the car to get back to BD. We enjoy a long slow rolling lunch in the
shade of some large trees with the cool ocean sea breeze blowing over
us. Afterwords we walk the streets and buy a few things including a
wind chime that says "pura vida" meaning "life is good" or "hang
loose"; actually it is unique and does not translate in just a few
words.

In the evening we went to Ginger's, a great little tapas restaurant
near Playa Hermosa, Hermosa Beach, near BD. We enjoyed the slow roll
service and good food on a open deck under the stars. I wonder what
they do during the rainy season.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Tuesday-Wednesday February 16-17, 2010
GPS POSITION 11° 26.39 N 86° 07.68 W On the Road

We have had to deal with so many panga fishermen we now call it our
chimichanga in a panga; obviously we have way too much time on our
hands. This morning a panga with 3 aboard was crashing through to
waves across our starboard heading. In this situation they have the
right of way and we have to give way to them. It is the same at sea as
it is when 2 opposing cars stop at the same time at a 4 way stop; the
car on your right has the right of way. As we change heading to go
behind them, the panga stops and then heads right for us. They are
waving their arms and shouting. When we look confused they give us
what looks like an obscene gesture, an upward forearm gesture;
however, we do not speak the gesture language. They race ahead and
stop blocking our forward motion. We come to a stop; there is more arm
waving and language we have to get a dictionary to later fully
understand. Using 3 years of Latin in high school plus their pointing
to sea tells us they want us to follow them out. For 4 long miles, not
a direction in our plans, we follow them as they parallel a very long
fishing line that has the now familiar buoy pole with lights attached.
Finally we come to one with a flag on top, marking the end. The panga
stops and the fishermen make one last gesture. All three of them raise
their t-shirts and expose healthy looking brown bellies. I hope this
is a Guatemalan gesture of friendship and thanks. At least the boys
are making money and eating well.

In the afternoon the sea wind howls and with Main, Stay and Genoa
sails in a cutter configuration we are doing 9 to 10 knots. After
sunset we are flying just the Stay with still strong winds but only a
little better than 30 degrees off our nose. As darkness, blackness,
sets in the apparent wind is over 25 knots, but so much on our nose we
do between 7 and 8 knots. We can't believe there are still pangas out
here 12 miles off shore. We are now in El Salvador. We wave our
passports in the direction of shore, no stopping here.

During the night the seas turn ugly. A trip from bed to bathroom is
life threatening. It is on thing to ride a bull sitting down, how
about standing up. You have to bend your knees to keep your balance
and it is a very good idea to hold onto something secure. The pounding
waves do unwanted things like cause the garbage bin to open and the
dishwasher's door to suddenly swing open barfing dirty dishes onto the
galley floor. Gosh, things in the galley are even sea sick. Puff is
fluttering his little wings and nodding his head. The crew is
experienced enough to cope with any pangs of sea sickness and come
through the morning with little more than spilled coffee stains on
their clothing.

Latter the wind stops, the sea flattens out and the sun's heat and
humidity soar. There is a cone shaped mountain with a cloud streaming
down it's slope just ahead of us in Nicaragua. We have never seen
anything like it. There must be some strong, maybe catabatic, winds
causing the cloud to hug the mountains sides from the top to the sea
where it joins what looks like a marine layer of fog.

It is not until we reach the sea just out from the cone shapped
mountain that we get hit with 25+ knot winds. Once well past the cone
we look back and instantly realize the cone is an erupting volcano and
the cloud is vog not fog. Only then we notice the 2 or more huge steam
vents bellowing puffy white clouds of steam into the sky. The winds
are so strong they are blowing the ash and gases down the sides and
far out to sea.

A few miles later a panga passes us with three young Nicaraguan men in
it. They just do not look friendly to us. A few minutes we hear them
talking on the radio to someone about Americanos. A few minutes later
we see a Nicaraguan coast guard vessel headed our way. They stop short
of intercepting us, but they do parallel us and take a long look at
BD. We are glad it is the coast guard and not some kind of pirates up
to no good.

We are only 4 miles from Costa Rica waters now, but we have 155 miles
to go to our destination. The problem is the Papa Guyo winds are going
to blow 35+ knots on our nose with 9 to 12 steep swells unless we can
somehow get BD to do 9 knots so we can turn the corner before the
winds start.

We do well for a while but the winds are fluky and we fall short. The
winds then turn 30 degrees off our nose. For a while we sail with the
stay, but then the 25 knot winds move more to the nose; we go bare
pole. The Papa Guyo winds have started early. It will be a long night.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Monday February 15, 2010
GPS POSITION 13° 22 N 89° 42 W Nearing El Salvador

We must have wished too hard for little wind; we are still motoring with bare poll, no sails, and the heat and humidity are stifling. The steam baths are free, but last day and night. We have had our instruments just quit a few times; we suspect this is due to the heat.

By noon we will be in Guatemala waters, but we will have 35 knot winds Thursday morning when we are to arrive at the Papa Gayo Marina. Papa Gayo is the second most famous place along the coast to Panama for strong winds. We will not stop and wait for a weather window this time. What we get we will just have to deal with.

It feels like July or August in Houston, Texas, without a breeze or air conditioning. Thank God for the ice maker; it is having a hard time keeping up with our demands. We determined just this last year we could generate enough electric power with the 2 Yanmar engines to leave it on during passages. Deborah makes ice smoothies mid morning and yesterday we had our first attempt to make a better sugar free lactose free frappucino than Starbucks. The plan is to continue every afternoon until we, Deborah, succeed. However, once successful we do not plan to stop. We always have to be sure to make too much coffee in the morning to insure the primary ingredient. The thing is you want to always have a cold drink in your hands, sit in the shade and don't move. If you can find a breeze it is even better.

If you get tired of sitting you can move, but you will perspire. If you do exercise you want it to be as short a period as possible. In these calm seas you can go into the gym and ride the stationary bike like it was a rough riding horse. Just open the hatches to get some air flow. Don't make too much noise such that you wake the captain in the cabin next door. You better tone down your workout so not to get heat exhaustion. If you lift weights, reduce the weight of the weights as motion of the boat and the heat make it hard enough. In a short time you are done, wet and dehydrated. Better get some ice water and sit in the shade in a breeze.

In the late afternoons it starts to cool as the sun drops with it's fire and the sea breeze increases. We have raised the Main and the Genoa and are sailing along at 9 knots; the sea is relatively flat. We even catch a glimpse of a large blue whale as all 4 of us sit in the fly enjoying the cooler temps; the first we have seen on the passage.

Our sunset comes earlier and earlier each evening as we make our way more eastward each day. The sunset show starts just after the 6 PM watch starts. The big orange fire ball sinks into the still barely blue ocean. Looks like the sunsets I remember off of Hermosa Beach. John gives us his prep watch instructions and casually mentions that he hopes we are not boarded tonight by the Guatemalan military to inspect BD. There are reports of smugglers using the radar shadow of pleasure yachts to conceal themselves and the military has been boarding pleasure yachts to inspect and hassle.

It is a pitch black night, no moon, just bright stars; you can even see the milky way and thousands of other stars you usually can not see. Nothing on radar and just blackness outside the dim light of the dashboard instruments. What a perfect night to smuggle stuff in the darkness. Suddenly we spot a single light off starboard bow and then all hell breaks loose. There are flashes of light that look like small arms fire. We are thinking military event, CALL JOHN. John reaches the fly bridge awakened from his nap in his shorts. More lights are visible now. John says they are very close off our starboard side. Thinking we may be boarded John goes below to put his pants on. The lights are closer now just a few hundred yards off our starboard. With our trusty Fujion binoculars we can see that it is fishermen in little wooden pangas with, we assume, a long line stretched between floats equipped with strobe lights. The long line has hooks every so many feet with bait, usually chicken parts. We hit just such a line between 2 boats 4 miles apart on our Panama to Galapagos passage a couple of years ago. There is still no radar echo because these are small boats made of wood, even their lights are lost in the troth of a big swell and they only turn on their lights when we get close to save their batteries. You would think they would at least put a radar reflector somewhere. We are more than 12 miles off shore; you would not expect to see such small boats this far out at night. Later on John's watch we come up on a small boat while the fishermen are obviously sleeping. We come within 200 feet of their invisible panga before they wake up and start waving flashliights.

God Bless Bella Donna

post

Saturday-Sunday February 12-13, 2010
GPS POSITION 14° 59 N 93° 00 W Nearind El Salvador

Today we check on all the weather sources we know of. We are tied to a little dock just down a narrow creek that runs behind some houses under construction. Our dock lines were tugging at the cleats as the surge moved BD around and the force pulled a couple cleats out during the night. Poor John did not get a good sleep as he was up moving lines to pilings. With the tide changing constantly the lines had to be tended to often all night.

We grab our computers and mobile phones and head to the cruiser's club house. There we find John sipping his first morning Modelo Cerveza; he has a 2 separate coolers large enough for 1 can each. His computer laptop case is on the desk with his kitten, gato tigre or tiger cat, curled up asleep inside. We use our computers to access the weather info. It looks like the same 36 hour window we saw yesterday will open early tomorrow morning and close abruptly and dramatically shut when 35 knot winds return by Tuesday morning. Our plan quickly made; we sail tomorrow morning at first light. Its off to the supermarket, super mercado, to buy fresh vegetables, eggs and things; we did our big non spoil provisioning in Puerto Vallarta. We ask Modelo John and he says there are 2 markets in town, but he never goes to the big one because he says,"it puts him up tight" and he takes a large sip from his Modelo can. I ask if I could take a picture of him and his cat for my blog, he agreed and gave me a seaman's like pose. You should have the picture in my last post. Modelo John tells us we are lucky we did not dock further up the creek as last week a chap with the same draft as BD hit a big rock that must have come loose in an earthquake they had about 3 weeks ago. That's it Captain John asks the Port Captain to move to the end tie in the regular marina just vacated by a trimaran from Marina Del Ray.

A trip to the store opens up our awareness of the character of an inland village. While the coast is mostly tourism you see much more of the Mexican culture in their villages. We have the cab drop us off in a non tourist area; we get out with all our grocery bags and select a little sidewalk taco stand to eat lunch; very nice clean little place run by a happy Mexican family. There is no English on the menu. You are overwhelmed by these happy and friendly people. We are the only tourists or gringos in sight. There are women balancing large wicker baskets on their heads. Children driving a roving billboard made of bicycle parts. The whole family gets into serving us the children run across the street somewhere to fetch items for our lunch. We plan to return to the central area for a farewell dinner tonight. Every Mexican village will have a central area where people socialize especially on Friday and Saturday night. We will have to ask the cab driver where it is.

Back on BD our new end tie position allows us to access great internet; our stern points right into the marina office. This is why I was able to send pictures in the last post. We clean up and start walking to town hoping a cab will pick us up. About a mile down the road we finally catch a cab to El Centro. The village square is crowded with Mexican families. We shop and look for the perfect sidewalk restaurant. There are gringos like us but we are all far outnumbered by local village life. Everything blends together well. We succeed in getting back to BD at a reasonable hour for the next leg of our passage.

5:30 AM comes quickly; John has been up prepping BD for at least half an hour. I hear Mexican music coming from some cars in the parking lot. Mexican young people are looking for first light after partying Saturday night. It is pitch black but just before 6 AM there is enough light; we pull the dock lines aboard BD and begin cleaning up the lines and bumpers and putting them away before BD makes her way into the ocean which has been nasty outside the protection of the marina all night, but we hope just the residual swells remain. There are only a few of the other cruisers in Chahue Marina are up getting coffee. A few of them who elected to wait until at next Thurs are looking at us; I am thinking they think we are crazy. We try to be quiet until we are well outside the breakwater. We then put Willie Nelson's On the Road Again on at high volume. His words seem to exactly describe our feelings about cruising places; our spirits are lifted as he sings "facing whatever comes our way". This is just a leg but a long one that we have worked, or John has worked, very hard on because it is so dangerous. Once in the ocean it is a little bumpy but there is no strong wind. Once the way point is set we find we have a very strong current, 2 knots at least, going the exact direction we are going in. Even with 5 knots of headwind we are averaging 10 knots or more as we race to meet the dreaded winds and sea conditions.

Conditions hold except for the residual sea conditions from last night's big blow; the occasional rouge wave plunges our bow into the next rouge wave, they come in sets, bringing salt water spray to the fly bridge, making it dangerous if not impossible to stand much less walk on deck except between their attacks.

By noon we are to the top in the teeth of the dreaded blow except there is no wind and the sea is flat, perfect timing of the weather window. A 40 foot mono hull sailboat is passing us in the opposite direction. We radio them; it turns out the name of the boat is Digital, and it is a man and his wife are sailing to California from the Florida Keys. They tell us to be careful that this gulf is very dangerous. They got caught late in the afternoon yesterday in the worst of conditions, winds gusting up to 50 knots. They had to be rescued by the Mexican navy; the wife had to be air lifted to the naval base hospital with sever sea sickness and injuries from being thrown about their boat and the boat was towed to safety by the navy as the sails were destroyed. We try to help them to make their way up the coast – which cruisers to ask for advice from and where the sail makers are.

It is hard to believe but we are through the worst area and will be leaving Mexico for El Salvador soon. We have slowed down sometimes to 6 knots, because of the inevitable current in the wrong direction, but we are still averaging at least 7 knots. There is no wind to speak of and the sea is flat. We have dolphins, sting rays and turtles galore surrounding Bella Donna. All day and throughout the night we are surrounded by Mexican fishermen in everything from a big shrimp boat to a little wooden panga with no running lights. Like is GOOD, but it is very hot and humid. We are looking at a probable first light arrival in Costa Rica on Thursday morning.

God Bless Bella Donna

Post

Wednesday-Thursday February 10-11, 2010
GPS POSITION 15° 45.759 N 96° 07.314W Chahue

The correct pronunciation of Chahue is Chah-whoeh. Well we arrived and
circled until we are dizzy; the marina does not open until 8 AM. The
entrance is well hidden as well ; it takes maps and poking around
before we notice the red and green markings on the rock sides of the
narrow entrance channel. The Chahue Marina is between 2 towns that
reside on 2 adjacent bays. There is Santa Cruz to the west and
Tangolunda to the east; if you face the Pacific Ocien you are looking
south like in Panama. The big things about Santa Cruz is the cruise
ship dock, the shops, the beautiful beach, cantinas/restaurants, the
town square and the harbor full of fishing, party and panga boats for
the cruise ship passengers. We go for lunch and to do paper work to
clear out of Mexico if the weather window opens. We are highly sought
after as a cruise ship is not in town today. Speaking to locals their
Friday nights are special; there will be music and dancing in the town
square/park. We plan to return as we had so much fun in Ixtapa on a
Friday night last week.

After lunch we get our common urge for Starbucks; alas there is none,
but a cab driver says there an Italian coffee shop in Tangolunda. All
cab rides in the area are 20 to30 pesos or about 70 cents to a little
over a dollar. The highway there is wide and nice with a wide walkway
all the way. The few hills are covered with trees bare for the winter
they look more dead the weather hardly feels like winter; it feels
like August in Houston, Texas. Tangolunda is known for Club Med, the
Sheraton Hotel Resort with its beautiful 18 hole golf course, other
resorts and the Italian Coffee Company which turns out to be every bit
as good as a Starbucks.

The reason for the Chahue Marina is a storm hole that vessels can wait
in before crossing the dreaded Gulf of Tehuantepec just west of here.
It is so dreaded because of the narrow isthmus here in southern most
Mexico with no high mountains. The east to west trade winds coming
from the Caribbean Islands is funneled like through a shotgun barrel
over the isthmus with winds that can reach hurricane force with swells
up to 30 feet. In fact the natural nature of these funneled winds
favors counter clockwise cyclic motion. In fact all hurricanes on the
west coast of America are born in or off the Gulf of Tehuantepec.
Forecasters say the winds in the Caribbean are a great predictor of
future wind in the Gulf. The weather reports from the Caribbean are
that the trade winds are blowing a gale right now; not a good sign.
There is not a chance of a hurricane this time of year as the water
temperature is not high enough to trigger the deep low pressure, but
the high wind and poor sea conditions can make it as dangerous. Any
boat caught in these winds will be blown hundreds of miles to sea.

We walk around the marina talking to the boats headed south. There are
about 6 that plan to take the first available window. The word seems
to be maybe next Thursday. We talk to one couple who live in Hilo
Hawaii who are aboard a ketch that should not see any rough seas;
there is way too much stuff stowed on deck to take a heavy sea. There
is supposed to be a Gulf expert that works for the marina whose job it
was to give advice. However, the word is that he has been fired. It
makes one wonder if it had something to do with his advice. We hear he
still will give you advice in exchange for coconuts, code name for
pesos. We just happen to hear that a fellow named John is giving
advice in the "cruiser's club house", a little open air building that
used to be the marina office before the nice big new one was built. We
talk to John who is sipping a Modelo Cerveza, Mexican beer, his
information somewhat agrees with captain John's weather forecast that
Deborah got online. A break in the horrible weather is due to occur
late Saturday night the winds will be tolerable and the high seas will
drop to 6 foot swells for a period of 36 to maybe 48 hours, enough
time for BD to make the 250 miles to the other side of the bad
weather. Of course the window may shrink or the forecast may be wrong.
Sailing is never a perfectly planned thing, shit does happen. We
really do not want to wait a whole week only to find the same or worse
circumstances. Some of the cruisers here have been here going on their
second year looking for the guaranteed good weather for crossing.
Their boats have become floating condos they are reluctant to move.
This a beautiful, inexpensive but hot location. We are paying only a
little over $25 per day at a daily rate to tie BD up here.

Weather update tomorrow.

God Bless Bella Donna

--
Tom Johnson
5925 Lake Geneva Court
Reno, Nevada 89511
775-772-7006

www.google.com/profiles/popietom

POST

Wednesday-Thursday February 10-11, 2010
GPS POSITION 15° 45.759 N 96° 07.314W Chahue

Happy birthday Lauren. It was so good to hear Lauren's voice this morning, I miss all my grandchildren so much. I called at a time I thought she would be awake but not in a rush to go to school. I got her voice mail and sang Happy Birthday to her. She called back and it was wonderful.

Everyone is off doing their last minute things today. I am spending however long it takes to get the blog for our experience in Acapulco, Monday and Tuesday posted with pictures. I assume this will take a few hours.

At the appointed hour we release our dock lines and head out of Acapulco bay. We discuss how appropriate it is to scatter Hilda's ashes here, her wish just before dying. We have enough sun light to explore the 2 bays south that turn out to be a surprise; there is a whole new cluster of huge beach front hotels and perhaps Starbucks; it's a new Acapulco to be explored on the next trip. At sunset we set our first way point; we are on our way. The current is pushing us, the swell is with us and the wind is apparently blowing 11 to 12 knots in our direction; we raise the Genoa to pull us through the sea faster; we are doing a respectful 8 to 9 knots, speed over ground (SOG). Our plan is to arrive at Bahia De Chahue, we have trouble pronouncing the name so we call it Chubaca like the character in Star Wars. The passage is about 250 miles; a hard one to get a comfortable departure-arrival plan for. Our goal is leave Wednesday at sunset and arrive early Friday morning. We plan to stay there at least one day to take care of some maintenance things and then wait for a safe weather window to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Teh-wahn-teh-pehk). This part of Mexico is flat, no mountains, and this time of year has strong Christmas winds, trade winds, coming east to west across the Caribbean Sea are funneled by mountains north and south like a shotgun barrel into the sea we need to cross. The high winds extend 300 to 600 miles out on the Pacific Ocean. The forecast is for winds from 35 to 60 knots this weekend making it likely we will not attempt to cross. BD is large and strong enough to handle these sea conditions, but it would not be happy.

I knew it was too good to last; the wind drops soon after cool darkness descends upon us. The only good news is the current and swell are helping us along so we are averaging 7 to 8 knots.

Our watch starts Thursday morning at 6 AM and ends at 10 AM. The sea is totally flat; it looks like a bath tub. We are still doing over 7 knots. It is pretty warm and humid; when we are passaging there is no such thing as creature comfort like air conditioning. I slept well because I was bone tired, but I was hot.

The sun does not rise until 7 AM so we get the entire show from total blackness to bright sun in our face. First the crescent moon rises with the sun soon to follow there is bright sun light hitting the earth a few hundred miles to our east. If the conditions are just right you see a remarkable phenomenon, EARTH SHINE. First the crescent moon should be about 1.5 to 3 finger widths above the horizon, the sky and air must be clean, cloudless and clear (a condition never true near today's cities, you have to be at sea as we are or in a deserted desert), and the twilight of a sunrise or sunset has to be timed just right. What you will see is the bright crescent, but also the clear image of the dark portion of the moon. If really a good one you can even see the features of the dark moon's surface. Whats happening is sunlight hits the lit crescent and reflects to your eyes on earth. The light from the lit portion of the earth a few hundred miles to east at sunrise and to west at sun set reflects the dark area of the moon back into your eye, thus EARTH SHINE. Its as the earth is focusing a dim flashlight on the dark part of the moon. At 7 AM the big first blood red then orange ball pops out of the sea. It will be a hot one today. The big snow storms in the US are a far away reality.

What is that swarm of something in the water? In the early morning bright sunlight there is something churning and jumping out of the water. The mind starts to see different things trying to figure it out. Is it large tuna in a feeding frenzy? I still haven't gotten through the red tape to get a Mexican fishing license, darn. Wait a minute, the swarm has spotted BD and is heading right for us. Maybe it is a swarm of mad and crazy sea lions out for a morning shopping trip. As the swarm gets closer it turns out to be very small baby dolphins. Soon we are surrounded by happy smiling dolphins who jump and swim on their side next to us looking us right in the eye. They like Bella Donna and just hang with us for the next several miles. Deborah says they are actually adult dolphins as they are often smaller in the wild than in captivity. They are so beautiful and happy, the world is a good place.

The Celebrity Cruise ship from San Diego we saw in Acapulco yesterday just passed us on its way to Costa Rica on its way through the Panama Canal; it is traveling at 22 knots, a little faster than us.

The wind that has been on our nose all day has switched 180° and increased considerably; with only a Genoa ½ deployed, no main, we are doing 5 to 8 knots and surfing down the swells with the engines turned completely off, we must start our small generator to keep the refrigerator, ice maker and instruments from draining our batteries. I had forgotten the sounds the wood interior makes without the engine noise and the swells tossing us about. We are going too fast; we will arrive at Chahue in the dark, not desireable. The apparent wind on our stern is varying from 15 knots to 25 knots; the true wind speed is therefore 20 to 33 knots because we are running away from it. It is quite pleasant; the air temperature is t-shirt and swim suit.

We need to slow down; so we drop the Genoa and just drift the rest of the night at 4 to 5 knots, BD is her own sail with plenty of rudder to stay on course.

Tomorrow we will be in Chahue looking for the weather window to cross the Isthmus in the Gulf of Tehuantepec.

God Bless Bella Donna

Post

Monday-Tuesday February 8-9, 2010
GPS POSITION 16° 50.808 N 99° 53.000W Acapulco

It is warmer in Acapulco, about 80° F. Our passage has been a little
unpleasant. We had the 12-15 knot wind on our nose all the way. Also
with the wind a 4-6 foot swell produced an uphill downhill ride. We
put the stay sail up when we could catch a 30° medium good sailing
conditions. We made most of our 6° eastward on this passage meaning we
caught some of the trade wind on our nose. I expect we may see more of
this as we head southeast.

The entrance to Acapulco Bay is truly breathtaking. The day is bright
sunshine and blue sky. The cliffs and hills are covered with
buildings. You know you are entering a very large spread out city.
John says it reminds him of sailing into Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. We
turn left past the cruise ship dock on the north end of the hotel
tourist malecon on our right to the only small cruising ship marina in
town, the Acapulco Yate Club which is tucked into the hills in the
northwest corner of the bay. Most of the yachts are docked like they
do in Europe, stern to (Med mooring). We are so big we are assigned a
side tie; this makes John very happy as we can use our ladder and will
not have to drag out the passerel (gang plank).

There are few if any guest yachts in the marina; most yachts are
Mexican owned. You just feel a little like an intruder into a club
much like the snooty yacht clubs we encountered on Long Island New
York; however, once engaged you find the Mexican Yate (Yah-Teh) is
warm, helpful and friendly.

The first order of business is to check out the internet reception. We
are given the code for a router named MUELLE B (Moo-eh-ee-eh Beh)
which means DOCK B, which is where we are. The signal has 4 out of 5
bars but the connection lacks something; alas we can not connect. You
would think that with all I know about computers and networks I could
make it work, but no.

John is eager to get a hold of maps and I want to research the
internet so we go ashore. The club facilities are great there is a
large pool, open bar-restaurant and shaded classical music sitting
area outside the main Yate Club building. They have no maps in the
office; in a Mexican English mix we are told maybe the Pemex (gas)
station or a nearby hotel would have a map. Now we were told never to
walk outside the Yate Club at night and always ask the club security
to approve of any taxi you get into. We take off in our best power
walk fashion through the Pemex that has no map and into the poorest
squallier of a neighborhood. This is definitely a place one would not
want to be walking at night with iPhone and high end Nikon camera. We
pass a few seedy hotel and proceed to the high rise modern looking
hotel on the beach. We pass a beach crowed with Mexicans on holiday.
The air is heavy with the smells of grilled meat. The beach equipment
– surf boards, boats and belly boards are all old and over used. In a
Mexican middle class way it was a beautiful family vacation site. The
hotel we thought was lush and modern from a distance is very run down
but clean. The stucco is peeling off the walls and in places the
flooring needs to be renovated. This 20-30 story hotel on the beach
was probably the jet set in place to be 30-50 years ago. Once in the
lobby we communicate we want a Mapa (Mah-Pah), "No Mapa". Empty handed
we start walking in the general direction of The Yate Club which seems
highly desirable at this moment. Again John mentions how much Acapulco
reminds him of Brazil where he docked and was robbed at gunpoint in
the nearby streets.

Once inside the marina I find the internet will connect in the sitting
area listening to classical music. Later on BD we enjoy a glass of
wine and one of Deborah's healthy dinners in the fly bridge as we
viewed sunset and the city lights which flowed over the hills
surrounding the bay looking like a bright spotted carpet.

Just before bed I do my usual gathering all my stuff into a place
where I can find it in the morning. Where is my iPhone? In a
realization that grows hotter as I search all the likely spots it may
be, there just is not that many on BD unlike our home in Montreux. I
explode in the reality I have left it somewhere. The last time I used
it was to test for wifi strength, iPhone has an application for this,
in the classical music sitting area. We dash to shore to find only a
scrap of paper with the internet pass code on it next to my chair. I
remembered in a flash putting my iPhone on the paper when I unpacked
my computer. Well someone has found it; it is surely gone. After
locating the lost and found, you can only imagine the effort when no
English is spoken. My phone was found and placed in a sealed envelope
with details of the find on the bag. I was so appreciative I gave them
all the money I had in my pocket, 200 pesos. How is that for luck. I
have even more respect for the Mexican honesty. They really do have a
great culture.

Tuesday morning and John is talking about leaving a little early
because Acapulco looks too much like Rio De Janeiro. We ask security
for a cab to do a little shopping. WalMart is on the other side of the
city on the Malecon. As we pass the cruise ship dock the city suddenly
changes into a newer more vibrant middle class city. We spot out first
Starbucks, Home Depo and Office Max. Block by block our opinion of
Acapulco is changing. There are modern high rise hotels lining the
beach.

We do very limited shopping at WalMart and have lunch at a chain
restaurant, Sanborns, only found in Mexico to my knowledge. We were
the only gringos in the place. The lunch was not the traditional
Mexican food fair. In a read Mexican restaurant you have tacos and
fajitas but they are minor in a menu of ordinary dishes found in any
US cafeteria. Afterward we are off to Starbucks which is at least as
modern and clean as any in the US. Next its off to the beach just a
few blocks away. Even though the hotels look good from a distance they
appear in need of repair when viewed up close. I think Acapulco has
passed its prime.

Tonight we are going to watch the cliff divers which perform less than
a mile from The Yate Club. We are not walking though. The little time
we have before we go we browse the internet for tips on how and where
to go to see the divers. You can go to the cliff restaurant and sit on
a terrace for drinks and dinner. We had done this before with a cruise
ship tour. Tonight we take a few hundred steps to stand with Mexican
locals to view the divers up close. All I can say is wow; these guys
get my respect. They walk right through us to the viewing area where
we are and jump into the water and swim the narrow slit of water where
they will land. Then they climb the opposite cliff with grace and
ease. Reaching the top they pray and encourage each other. One by one
and then more than one they jump into the narrow slit more than a
hundred feet below. They have to wait for a big wave like the surfers
do and jump at the precise time the max swell is in position to catch
them over 120 feet, farther than from the top of Bella Donna's mast,
below where they hope the water is at least 9 feet deep, enough to
stop them before they hit the bottom.

Tomorrow we sail south.

God Bless Bella Donna

Post

Saturday-Sunday February 6-7, 2010

Wake up to a beautiful sunny cool breezy Saturday morning. A large
power boat is docked next to us. The owner is a businessman from
Mexico City. He and his wife have a condo near by and spend every
weekend and sometimes stay the week. His crew speaks English and we
chat every chance we get. They tell us about the big 10 foot crocodile
they saw next to BD last night. They say the crocs sleep under the
bridge during the day and at sunset they come out and hang out near or
under the docks. He says he always walks in the middle of the dock to
be safe. Recently a huge croc, Pedro, some 3 to 4 feet in diameter was
relocated. People were feeding him and he never attacked anyone, but
the marina feared he could be just waiting for a big meal.

Morning is spent trying to find a free wireless connection to send
yesterdays blog and taking pictures of the marina and golf course.
About 11 AM we leave on the day's adventure to Playa La Ropa the other
side of Zihuatanejo (Z) to experience the "party atmosphere" on the
beach for tomorrow, Super Bowl (SB) Sunday. We plan to checkout of
IXTAPA Marina around noon tomorrow and sail to this beach to party,
watch the SB and sail at sunset to Acapulco. We have no idea how to
get where we want to go; we just jump on a bus like the night before
that has Z on it. Somehow daylight make it seem a lot less dangerous.
Our philosophy is that buses are so cheap we can just keep catching
them to get where we are going and return home. There aren't very many
passengers who look like they speak English. We race at high speed
once we pass the last Ixtapa (X) bus stop where we got off last night.
We are sitting on the last row of the bus so that when the bus passes
over an imperfection in the road's surface, of which there are many,
we are airborne over our seats; it reminds me of my old school bus. In
minutes we enter a big city.

John is using his best Spanish plus hand signals to ask the bus driver
which stop should we use to get to the beach. We exit the bus in the
central business district, el centro, and the driver is pointing at
another smaller older bus a block away. In another leap of faith we
jump on this empty bus. The driver finally shows up and we think he
says we are going to Playa La Ropa. As we stop for more passengers
there are a good many older Americans and Canadians mixed with the
locals. A elderly bohemian like handicapped American sits with me and
confirms he is going for his usual walk on the beach. Soon we are at
the end of the line; the road traverses a sharp drop to limited
parking at a dead end near the beach.

We find ourselves following the old handicapped bohemian as he walked
down the beach. The bay where this beach is located is really the only
place a vessel can anchor in Z, there are no marinas. This looks to be
a great place to drop the hook for SB Sunday. Every section of the
beach is a cantina, restaurant or hotel beach party. There are 4 or 5
big parachutes and power boats ready to whisk you into the sky for a
dangerous birds eye view of the coast. Maybe you want to do the safer
jet ski thing; there are several rentals along the beach. Several
little Hobie catamarans are also for rent. The handicapped bohemian
tells us to walk less than ½ mile to the statue and then up a narrow
street to the main road where a bus will stop to take us back to town.
He then slows to talk to friends. The only problem for younger folks
is this whole beach is dominated by families and older, probably
retired, folks; it is too quiet! Where are the parties we heard so
much about? Maybe the SB will light a fire under this place.

We walk almost to the cliffs that abruptly ends the beach and locate a
cantina/restaurant that is having a SB party and decide to try it for
lunch. Don met the woman he was talking to on the bus; her son
graduated from Texas A&M in 1980. She comes over to talk to us about
the years she and her husband have been coming to X. A woman selling
the cutest thing; we decide we need Puffer for BD to scare away
crocodiles and eat bugs during the BLUE HOUR. Deborah also points out
the woman needed the money to feed her babies. This place will pass as
a SB alternative.

We never find the statue, but we do find a narrow street leading up
the hill. A bus will pick you up anywhere, just wave your arms.
However, we walk all the way back to where we were dropped at the end
of the line. You see we wanted the more thrilling seat in the rear of
the bus.

We arrive back at air conditioned BD just in time. We are severely
beaten up by the mid day heat, the beach walk and the bus ride. Its
time to slow our roll until just before sun down. We decide watch
locals and snack in X rather than eat on BD. We step out into the
cockpit and are assaulted by vigorous bugs, mostly mosquitoes and
biting flies; it is the BLUE HOUR. This is the time between sun
up/down and darkness, twilight, when these pests attack you. We have
our defense though; its a product called Autan which not only repels
the bug but takes the itch out of the bite if he has already nibbled
on you.

Downtown X ounce again did not disappoint, snacks (Ceviche, Fondido
and salad), coffee and sugar free raspberry-banana ice cream were
enjoyed. The little cafe brewed fresh coffee drinks that are different
and in some way better than Starbucks.

Sunday we all exercised and ran into X once more to say goodby. At the
hour appointed by the captain we departed for Playa La Ropa, but this
time by sea and not bus. The sea near shore is littered with
vegetation and trash washed out the rivers by last week's storms. BD
has to take a much wider than normal path down the coast. We do a day
anchor just off the beach where we spotted a SB party and had lunch.

John left us twice on the beach. The first time a rouge wave broke on
the dinghy farther from shore and through John into the surf. He had
to come in again to retrieve the washed up dinghy to make the second
successful attempt. I thought for a minute that we should swim out far
enough for the dinghy to get us when we decided to return to BD, but I
have my camera with me to take a picture of BD from shore.
The party is boring. The Latin channel on shore was broadcasting the
game but without US commercials. We call BD and make the perfect
escape. The game takes forever. We lift anchor at sunset and the game
is still just in the second quarter.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Thursday-Friday February 4-5, 2010

No clouds or rain, just bright sunshine and gentle winds. What a difference, waiting an extra day is absolutely the right thing to do. Bella Donna is fueling up as we prepare BD for the worst. Anything that may move about in rough seas is secured. We are ready at the time appointed by Captain John, 11 AM. Many other boats that have been waiting for days want our space at the fuel dock, Some real nice guys crewing a very large power boat, Last Chance, give us a hand with our dock lines so another large power boat can take our spot. You almost fell like you are being run out of town.

We negotiate the narrow channel as it threads its way by the hotel emptying us back into the sea. There is no Willie Nelson "On the Road Again" as this is just another leg of our 4,000 to 5,000 nautical mile passage to the British Virgin Islands. This leg is another short one, 215 miles, to a marina in IXTAPA (x-tah-pah) (we will just call it X marks the spot) which is right next to, 6 miles away from, ZIHUATANEJO (zee-whaht-ahn-eh-oh) call it Z. X is the big resort and hotel district and Z is where the real authentic Mexican town is. None of us have ever been to either place so it will be a complete adventure. This passage leg should take us about 25 to 26 hours, so we will be in tomorrow at noon or 1 PM, God willing.

A few hours into our journey and you can drop your guard; the seas are surprisingly flat and the wind is good (14 knots on starboard (right) beam), 3 more knots and it would be perfect. We decide to fly the Genoa only and leave the main in the bag as our speed is fast enough, over 8 knots, and we expect a change soon. Soon we change course a little and the wind swings around to our port (left) side; our apparent wind is 30 to 40 degrees off the nose so we try first the stay sail and then the Genoa in a cutter like arrangement without the main which needs at least 50 degrees to do much good. Some people, her name starts with an N, like us to put the main up to look good, but today we do not need to look good just go faster with less work; although, we should raise the main at some point to dump the accumulated rain water out of it, lessen the weight BD is carrying and dry out the main sail. Maybe tomorrow.

Darkness has fallen and once again we feel lonely racing on the wind in total blackness on a slightly rolling sea. Suddenly our SAT (satellite) antena dome on the port side makes a crashing sound and the antenna starts "wrapping", a high speed swinging, frantically looking for its signal. John and Deborah like a well practiced team of surgeons rushed over the fly bridge rail and removed the dome cover. The LNB had fallen off and the poor antenna so it has been executing a blind search. In minutes the antenna is happy again.

During the day the inland mountains get hotter than the sea and hot air rises creating a low pressure and the heaver higher pressure sea air rushes inland, thus the sea breeze. At night the sea is warmer than the mountains and the wind rushes to the sea but much less strongly. Our plan is to sail just off the coast using these winds and it works well.

We arrive on time at the GPS position near X. It takes some time and maps to find another very narrow channel into the marina which was once a swamp full of crocodiles. A sign in the marina warns you please do not go into the water; the locals have not been able to completely evict the crocodiles. A couple of years ago a sailor went overboard to clean his hull; he is finally able to walk somewhat following his 15^th operation. Once we dock and get information we learn that internet is not available so we sort through the various weak signals emanating from the hotels and condos surrounding the marina. I guess there is no pictures transmitted today, sorry.

Following our sun-downer/crocodile search party the boys exit the marina grab a bus and head for …, oh we do not know where we are going. Quickly we sort through the locals to find someone to talk to. Just in time we are told that unless we exit now at the last X spot we are going all the way to Z and will be dumped out in a neighborhood you do not want to be in at night. We find ourselves walking back to X stopping at the many restaurants and shops where locals and tourists alike are having a city square like Latin festival. Live bands are everywhere. People are Latin dancing. We are hungry and settle on Frank's Place a restaurant and bar that spills out to a little courtyard surrounded by shops. Frank is a young good looking Canadian? Why would a Canadian start a restaurant in X. He drops by our table with his good looking Mexican wife; here is the answer. Frank does a great job smoozing the guests while plugging his Super Bowl Party on Sunday.

After a couple of hours we return to the marina looking for a bus all the way; there are none. We rescue Deborah from her girls night in. We make plans for tomorrow's daytime excursion.

God Bless Bella Donna

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Wednesday February 3, 2010

The night is not good. John is up most of the night checking dock lines. The wind is constantly strong; we turned off all our electronic equipment including the wind speed instrument in case we are struck by lightning. Thus, we do not know how strong the wind is blowing. It is clear we will not be sailing today.

Everyone is feeling like they have a hangover; no one got a really good night's sleep. We do breakfast and coffee while listening to the conversations on the VHF radio. Several vessels are returning from the sea; you can hear the near panic in their voices as they describe the sea and wind conditions. On the net there are reports of constant wind up to 50 knots and gusts up to 70 knots. Lightning strikes are many but very widely spread. Our theory is the high mountains just behind our dock helped shield us. We are considering tying a line to the mountain and towing it to sea with us.

Most of the sailors who have been coming here for 5 years or more say the squalls and rain have never hit this time of year. Some are blaming el nin~o. The warm ocean water could be fueling the convection thunder storms in the winter that are usually seen only in the summer during the hurricane season.

As the clock ticks the day repeats like yesterday minus the high winds. It rains, rains and rains some more. We sail south

God Bless Bella Donna