Golfito, Costa Rica

Leaving Quepos!

A final parting shot of Quepos (Que POS?) One thing that we did see in Quepos was the legendary "green flash" on one very clear sunset. It was witnessed by Ron and the Admiral and was not Margarita induced and so was not likely to have been a Fig Newton of my imagination.
I think that the confusion arises in the word "flash" as I didn't think it was as dramatic as that, merely a subtle shade of deep aquamarine for a fraction of a second as the sun disappears below the horizon.
We did some shopping for provisions again yesterday and the transmission job is complete and motor runs in forward and reverse with no bad vibrations. Test run today when we get fuel.
I have to do the paperwork cha-cha to check out of Costa Rica with Van this morning. It would appear that el dentisto has turned into Marianna la denstista and I have an appointment at 1600H with her for a little bit of drill, fill and bill.
Hopefully, not too much pain will be involved and the problem is due to a broken filling rather than something worse.
All being well, we are off with the tide at dawn tomorrow

schoolyard, Golfito

Golfito at low tide
Main drag, Golfito doesn't really look as bad as this.

view of the bay from Tierra y Mar "clubhouse"

cemetery, Golfito

Battery store on Callisto. This was a lot of work-taking 12 heavy deep cycle batteries from the shore by dinghy, removing the old batteries and replacing them with the new ones and then taking the old ones ashore
Much sweating and cursing but all done now.

Golfito, Costa Rica

We made it to Golfito with no further excitement. We mostly sailed and motorsailed down and even though it was a dark and damp night it was infinitely better than being trapped in Quepos and rolling about all night.

Golfito 08degrees 37minutes North, 083 degrees 09 minutes West

The bay in Golfoto is flat calm with no ocean swell and all slept well last night. We have been madly busy changing out the battery bank and getting the transmission work done today.

We also visited the duty free store and now will have rum until we get to New Zealand. Van and Marsh are here and we will probably leave on Tuesday evening or Wednesday, weather and chores permitting.

I have developed some toothache and will have to see el dentisto in the morning. ouch!

Further bulletin tomorrow and photos if we have the time.

Quepos, Costa Rica

The Volvo dudes did finally show up today and I now have a happy engine. They were nice kids actually and neither of them spoke any English but we managed to get by. The job only took about 45 minutes once they got started and they replaced two small fuel sensors and miracle upon miracles, Mr Volvo started right up. They said that the lightening strike could easily have caused the problem.
One of the guys, after spending half an hour in the hot engine room with the boat rolling as she does in this anchorage went white as a sheet. He was directed to the leeward rail and promptly lost his breakfast. Just as well they sent two of them.
The company charged like the Light Brigade and the bill for the two small parts was outrageous, though not too bad for labour and considering that they came all the way from San Jose (isn't there a song about that?)
We are free to now escape from this Kafkaesque location and it's on to Golfito at 1400H and we should be in at dawn tomorrow.

Quepos, Costa Rica

Well, the saga continues. It would appear that there will be no service from Volvo today. I got an email from a new, new friend called Carlos as Roberto is sick (sick of being pestered by me more like it).
Carlos informed me first of the good news, that the parts they have been waiting for have arrived in Costa Rica but the the bad news is that they were held up in Customs and they will not be able to liberate them until tomorrow. The next appointment they gave me for service was Friday at 1100H with a technician who has no English, which could be amusing but so long as he can speak Volvo that will be fine with me.
So, another 48 hours of rolling around at anchor to look forward to.
Ron arrived last evening to share in the joy but alas, his checked in bags did not. They contain more spare parts and they should catch up with us some time today.
We will spend the days shopping for food, cleaning and polishing and maybe change the oil in the genset.
Van and Marsha will be in Golfito tomorrow and if they get my engine started we will be there on Saturday. We have lots to do there and I think that our departure to Galapagos will be delayed a day or two at least.

Quepos, Costa Rica

In case any of you are wondering where Quepos is. Here is the location

It's a nice clear morning in beautiful,downtown Quepos today and I have had a change in attitude. Not much point in being angry and irritable due to the non-service from Volvo and it's time to enjoy the surroundings and go with the flow. After all, we could be butt deep in snow like the US northeast or freezing in Europe. Also, Medicare didn't cut my fees by 22% because there haven't been any, so no more whining.

Mi amigo Roberto from Volvo will get here when he does, hopefully on Wednesday.

There is plenty to do. Fiberglass and stainless steel always need polishing and even though I'm not too keen on that particular endeavor, now is a good opportunity to get it done. Rust and oxidation never sleep.

I'm also going to get all the books and programs on celestial navigation and the trusty sextant out and attempt to relearn this arcane process. I can feel the headache coming on already but it will be a worthy effort.

No other disasters to report except that the pump that supplies seawater to the refrigeration condensers decided to go tango/uniform yesterday and leak all over the engine room. I doubt that this was related to the lightening strike, just nearly three years of continuous service.

Fortunately, I noticed it wasn't working before the freezer defrosted and ruined the contents therein. I have two spare pumps, so switching it out was quite simple. My batteries are getting worse and worse and I have to run the genset quite frequently to keep them happy.

The sooner I get to replace them the better.

Ron will join us in Quepos on Tuesday and we hope to meet Van and Marsha in Golfito on Thursday. Roberto permitting.

.The new Marina Pez Vela (sailfish) promises to be a first class facility. Unfortunately, it's not open yet. Had it been, it would have made our time here much more comfortable

Town of Quepos from the boat. The domed structure is the Hotel Kamuk, the source of our internet signal

Quepos sunset from the afterdeck. Life could be much, much worse.

Quepos, Costa Rica

I just got off the sat phone with my newest, best friend, one Roberto Gutierrez from Volvo in San Jose who casually informed me that the parts we have been impatiently waiting for will be delayed until next Wedesday. I don't think there will be any chance of any service before then. So it looks like another few days in this very rolly anchorage as I have very little option at this point.
We have been getting supplies in and once we get to Golfito we can do the tranmission work and get going within a few days. One bit of good news is that the new batteries I ordered from the US have arrived in Golfito, so we have to go down there to get them, otherwise, I guess we could have left from here.
My friend Roberto also sent an invoice. The labor and service charges are quite fair but the price of Volvo parts for this job will make a grown man cry.
Ah the joys of cruising, it can only get better, I think.

Quepos, Costa Rica

Well, we are still here! No response from Volvo In San Jose and they say they are waiting for parts, coming from where? Even if it was Sweden, I would have thought they would have been here by now. We've had no new electrical problems, except that I am concerned about the reliability of the watermaker in the future. It is a vital piece of gear.
We have been doing some provisioning over the last few days in order to decrease the amount of stuff to do once we get to Golfito. I had expected to be there by now and I certainly hope we do get there by March 8/9 to pick up Ron and also Van and Marsha Hughes, our crew for the Pacific crossing.
We also have to switch out the battery bank and get some transmission work done prior to departure.
We have a neighbor in the bay in Quepos, a 47' Lagoon hybrid catamaran called Dignity,with an English couple , Steve and Helen Southwood aboard.
Steve, an ex-IT guy, has been very helpful trouble shooting problems with my GPS since the lightening strike. Also, the cruising sun downer ritual has been far more prolonged since their arrival. It's very good to have the company.
We have also had some interesting dinghy drills while going into town to do our chores. The tidal current int he estuary is quite fierce especially at the time of the full moon and my little 5hp outboard at full throttle barely gives us forward progress once we are loaded with supplies.
Much excitement!
We will see what the day brings