Chill

We're still hanging out in Gulfo de Nicoyo. The charts and guidebooks have so many errors its taking a long time to sort things out for ourselves. We've been doing a lot of surveying and exploring, some of it is a bit nerve racking as we discover uncharted shoals.

Some people we met had their dinghy disappear in the middle of the night, most likely the work of some local sticky fingers. We went around talking to people about it and letting them know there's a reward for finding it. I hope something turns up because it's hard to get around without a "car" and it's even harder getting a new one. It's a real bummer but we're hopeful it will turn up.

Also we finally did some inland tours and saw the only active volcano in Central America, Arenal. We got some video of the rocks flying out of the top and down the mountain. At night we drove out into the jungle with a pizza and some beer and found a spot to watch the red hot lava ooze out and red rocks tumble down. And we found this hot springs under a bridge where the Ticos were swimming. We sat under a waterfall and let the hot water pour over us. I can't tell you how nice it was to take a break from working on the boat or dealing with medical crap and enjoy our trip to the volcano. When we have internet access again I'll try to post some photos.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:

http://www.sailmail.com

Exploring again

We managed to find room for 160 pounds of parts Sherrell brought down with her. I spent two days rebuilding our raw water pump which finally seems to be working normally. So now all our sails are working and so is the engine. We've been exploring the Nicoyo Gulf and charting some of the passages. We'll probably spend another 5 days or so in the gulf before heading further south.

The weather here is really strange for this time of year. Last night we had a thunderstorm and rain almost all night long. This is still supposed to be the dry season!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:

http://www.sailmail.com

Goodbye stone! Hello Sherrell!

What a relief!  Free (again)!  I’m saving the surprise that my kidney stone is gone for tomorrow when I pick Sherrell up at the airport (she never reads the Slog, so shhhh…).  A winter storm is predicted for the day when Sherrell leaves, so I hope she escapes the snow especially since I’m going to pick her up in a rental car – what a splurge.

 

I still can’t believe the stone is gone, it happened this morning.  I think this is a record for 5mm stone passing so fast.  I can’t complain, but I’ve also been unable to pin-point the root cause despite a bunch of tests.  Apparently there are a few things they can’t test for down here, so I’ve gotta keep looking for a lab that can do more tests.

 

Onward ho!