Thursday, June 17, 2010

SHARKS



After leaving Drakes Bay we thought we should take a little detour to Isla Del Cano, a famous diving island. This area is infamous for having a large population of sharks so I ran the idea of snorkeling at the island by the kids. We read that the reef sharks are non-aggressive and as a family we decided to risk the sharks for the beautiful snorkeling, hoping that the guide books were indeed correct about the sharks.
The guide books were wrong about one thing. We didn’t see a single shark. Not that I was sad about the missing sharp toothed fish, and it was definitely nice to have made it out of there with all my limbs attached. I did keep a good look out for them though, left, right, behind my back, kind of manically. What we did get to swim with were graceful turtles, lobsters, brain coral, parrotfish, clown fish, and all of Nemo’s other friends. The reef was amazing and active with colorful schools of fish.
I am glad in the end that we didn’t let our shark fears get the best of us and that we were able to explore the beautiful reefs of Isla Del Cano. This trip was about seeing the world on and off land and this island was an important part of the journey. So, we are reminded every day why you look past your fears and embrace the incredible life that you have been given.

-Brady


PMS ALERT

I know many of you have expressed concerns for the close quarters that we live in and the affects that it can have on a relationship. Well, I have to admit the certain times of the month can be quite challenging to say the least, but I am so lucky to have a wonderful, understanding husband. The tip of the week- if you are ever sailing on a boat with PMS, a patient spouse is a must.

-the less sane spouse of the week

Monday, June 14, 2010

Drakes Bay



We have started heading south and have found ourselves in the prettiest part of Costa Rica, Drakes Bay on the Osa Peninsula. If you come to Costa Rica this is a must visit spot. This area is filled with scarlet macaws soaring over head, hiking trails with the most fragrant flowers, wildlife peaking out of the rainforest, beautiful beaches, and friendly folks. The town isn’t huge, but the houses are adorable stilt houses with views of the gorgeous bay. This is the Costa Rica that I had envisioned before we came down here. I am just sorry that none of our visitors got to see this amazingly unique area. -Brady

Ditto, on all of that. We heard that this was the place to see and so far, we have not been disappointed. After my mom left, we did some grocery shopping and headed south. The trip here took about 18 hours and we managed to avoid every thunderstorm that surrounded us. The water at the anchorage is crystal clear, the houses are beautiful, the beach is long and sandy, the trails leading to and through the Corcovado National Park are seemingly endless, and all in all a paradise. We are going to take the dinghy up a local river to check out the wildlife and then head to Isla del Cano for some snorkeling. Supposedly, this is second only to the likes of the Galapagos and Isla del Coco for snorkeling on the Pacific. Then it is off to the Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) to clear out of the country and head for Panama. We can’t wait to see my dad and little sister, who are coming for their second visit in July. This will hopefully be followed by Suzi’s (Brady’s mom) second visit in as many months. We are truly thankful to our wonderful families for their love and (sometimes reluctant :) support and their continued efforts to visit us in tropical paradise.

-Troy-

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Ahhh...Boat life!

Shortly after the last blog entry, we left for Isla Cedros in the rain for a change of scenery. The trip was a wet one with intermittent rain squalls, but we made it safe and sound to a very quiet anchorage. During the rain of the past week, it has come to our attention that several hatches are not exactly watertight and need re-bedding (remove, clean, recaulk, replace). This left lots of tools wet and rusting along with a bit of a damp bed for Ashley. Ahhh...the little joys of living on a boat. While in Bahia Ballena, there was a lot of leaves and trash in the water and it kept clogging our refrigerator cooling line. Ordinarily, this is no big deal because I just remove the line from the through hull (fitting that lets water into the boat for various reasons), clean it and replace it. Well, today was a little different. As I was removing the line, the entire shut off valve broke loose releasing a steady stream of water INTO the boat with no immediate way of shutting it off. I’m sure you all can imagine my intial expletive laden response. Apparently we would have no refrigerator for awhile, not to mention a HOLE IN THE BOAT! While I plugged the hole with my finger, Brady trimmed a cork to the appropriate size so I could temporarily stop the leak. The copper fitting that the valve was attached to sheared off leaving about 1/2 inch to work with. Fortunately, I had some plastic tubing that was the right size and with a few hose clamps and salvaged parts, I stopped the leak and was able to keep the refrigerator going. A proper repair will have to wait until we haul the boat out in Panama for bottom paint. The rain has since stopped and I was able to re-bed the leaking hatches. With all crises averted for the moment, we moved again and anchored near playa Naranjo in the Gulf of Nicoya. We were hoping for a town, but found only a ferry dock with a bar/restaurant. Brady and two of the girls did manage to find a quaint little village about 30 minutes walk from the ferry dock. After three days we headed back to the Costa Rica Yacht Club for some time at the pool and Sam’s B-day.