Happy Birthday, Justin!

Since Alice was home in July, she decided to have a little birthday party for Justin, who turned 28 on July 11. Owen and Melinda came to the desert for the weekend and Eric and daughter Kaeli came over to help celebrate. Arlene had to work, unfortunately. Justin's friend Sandy Montez joined us, too! Football season is gearing up at Palm Desert High where Justin will again be one of the coaches, keeping a hectic schedule between there and Big Horn Country Club where he now works.

Panama - Part Two

After we left Costa Rica we took our time going to Panama the second time. Alice misunderstood the writeup on Coiba National Park, located on and around Isla Coiba. She thought the place we anchored was free- NOT. We had pulled in and dropped anchor at 3 AM, only to wake up and find a patrol boat bearing down on us, informing us that we must go to park headquarters and pay! (See photo above.) So Bill put the dinghy in the water and we took off to pay up- only to learn they wanted $60 a day for the boat, PLUS $20 a person! We didn't even have that much money on us, so we paid them what we had and promised to leave immediately~ We made sure the next anchorage was free!

An overnighter then took us on to Panama City, where we decided to anchor on the city side of Isla Flamenco rather than the canal side. It is calmer there, even if it is dirtier. We hooked back up with our faithful cabbie, Roosevelt, and managed to get checked in and do some provisioning before it was time for Alice to fly home, as she had fallen on the pilot house steps and wrenched her right shoulder. Poor Bill~ alone for two whole months.

Just before Alice left, we went to Punta Culebra, a lovely nature park within walking distance of our anchorage. It is run by the Smithsonian and was loaded with interesting flora and fauna, as well as educational displays. As we were viewing the shark exhibit the skies opened up and it POURED rain for about 40 minutes. We got to know the sharks and the park guide really well while waiting for the rain to stop! The starfish shown above was one of many breathtaking displays we saw there.

Costa Rica: Part Three

We arrived back in Costa Rica after a five day adventure traveling westward and stopping three places to anchor and rest along the Panamanian coast. We were able to visit with our friends Ray and Paddy before she flew to England for three weeks. In the time we spent here at their dock we were keeping a watchful eye on Ray and their place. Bill assembled and tried out our new, lightweight dinghy complete with beach wheels. He also painted the top of the boat and all the decks, so Grey Wolf looks mighty spiffy again! The salt air is a killer on anything on the boat's exterior, including paint. Rain is now a daily event here, if not two or three times in one day! The air temperature is rather moderate now and life would be wonderful here if not for the humidity. It could be worse, though!

Before Paddy left, she and Alice had the opportunity of visiting Bob Beatham's Finca (farm) in the highlands about an hour from Golfito. What a beautiful collection of plants he has and what a delight to listen to him describe their uses, both culinary and medicinal! The pink torch ginger shown above was photographed there. The birds turned out nicely and provided a marvelous opportunity for photos, too. One of the workers tried to direct our eyes to a long-tailed fowl in the top of the trees, but we missed it. Another day Alice saw a red-beaked toucan but she was without camera- darn...

By the time we were ready to head back to Panama Alice had developed some strange malady that affected her joints, especially in her shoulders and hands. In spite of the fact that she really did not want to leave Bill alone again, Bill insisted she book a flight home to get medical care. She will fly home from Panama City on June 24 and will be home two months. Bill will get to enjoy Islas Las Perlas without her, unfortunately. He will have to take lots of cool photos~

Between the Americas ~ Panama Pt One

We left Golfito the end of May, headed for Panama City non-stop. Fifty-one hours later we dropped anchor at La Playita, the bay in front of Isla Flamenco where the Flamenco Signal Station is located. ALL vessels approaching from the south or west must check in with the Signal Station to let them know they are coming into the Panama Canal Zone. Dozens of commercial ships lay on anchor west and east of the lighted buoys which lead a constant parade of vessels to the beginning of the Pacific canal entrance at the Miraflores Locks, past the Bridge of the Americas, shown above. For the next ten days we watched the comings and goings of freighters, tankers, cruise ships, and the occasional pleasure craft, dwarfed by the huge vessels! Years ago we really wanted to traverse the canal, but at this point we are happy just to observe.

We had been told that the port authority would contact us regarding checking in, but after two days of listening to the radio Bill took off in our dinghy, determined to get the skinny on what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to take our documents and go into the city to get checked in! Okay, we can do that, so after friends on a sailboat recommended an Engish speaking cabbie we called him and did the paperwork Cha Cha, as it is called... five stops later we were checked in!

There is a marina not far from our anchorage, so we were able to take the dinghy ashore and walk to where there were marine stores, restaurants, and an ATM. By Wednesday, May 6, we had checked it all out in preparation for meeting up with our daughter Margaret's in-laws, Rob and Mary Robinson. They were arriving on the Coral Princess cruise ship for the day! What a small world~ we scurried over to the terminal that morning and contacted an officer who confirmed they were still onboard. We visited and ate lunch. We pointed out Grey Wolf on anchor but did not have time to take them out as they had a city tour to take. Alice wound up going with them on the city tour, which was very enjoyable and went places most tourists would never go, even into the heart of the slums! Although Alice had purchased several molas earlier, she found some real steals on this trip and now she has a LOT to play with... these colorful fabric and thread pictures were originally made for clothing by the San Blas Indians but today are used to decorate many items. See above photo.

We are now anchored near an island in Islas Las Perlas, 30 miles south of the canal. We will spend about a week here before returning to Costa Rica for a month. Stay tuned for more from Panama in the summertime!

Golfito, Costa Rica~ Part Two

Bill had moved the boat to Golfito the week Alice flew home in March. Finally, on April 7, she returned via a rental car and three flights! Needless to say, she was dog-tired and slept a LOT the first few days. Needless to say, Bill was just happy to have her home! The area here truly is rainforest and there has been enough rain to prove it~ it is still the dry season, they say... We have met many nice people, mostly landlubbers and mostly Americans. Our friends Paddy and Ray have lived here since 1994, so they know a LOT of people. We have been to a party on the Isla de Golfito across from their home, and to several homes on the mainland where we have seen everything from toucans to crocodiles to orchids and waterfalls. We had hoped to meet a troop of 50 monkeys one afternoon, but they stood us up! The fruit is ripe in the forest, so they don't need the human handouts right now... We have been shopping more than once and Alice's feet are tired from the cobblestone sidewalks. A new pair of sandals is in order. We will make a short day trip to the Panama border this week and then will decide when we pull out for Panama on Grey Wolf. The above photos show our afternoon on the island at Larry's lovely palapa home!

Alice's Busyness!

While home, Alice took advantage of the opportunity to have Kaeli over each week while her mom and dad were at work. Grandma Rowland usually watches her, but she and Grandma Johnson had fun and she became very comfortable being there. The above photo shows Kaeli helping Grandma wash dishes. Her little blue apron from Costa Rica is barely visible. She became so used to wearing it that she reminded Alice one day that she did NOT have hers on!

Since the long arm quilting machine was just sitting there, waiting for use, Margaret called to ask her mom if she would be able to finish a quilt top and two pillow shams that she had just finished in Ohio. No promises were made, but when the box arrived and Alice saw the size of the quilt top, she despaired of ever getting done with it! The machine did not cooperate, the batting did not cooperate, but after an entire week of struggling with it, the project was done... not perfectly, mind you, but done nonetheless. Alice does not want to ever do a top that big again- 100 inches square! Not a great photo of Kaeli, but the Pioneer Braid pattern shows up well.

Little Miss Kaeli grows UP

Alice has had several opportunities to watch Kaeli while her parents had to work or run errands. At 28 months, she is very talkative and very mature. She is not at all shy and will strike up a conversation with a stranger, not unlike her Aunt Melinda. She does an amazing job of entertaining herself, playing with dolls or toys for extended periods of time. She and Grandma Johnson had fun in the kitchen, too! We colored and crafted and read and cooked and played and napped- whew! She made her first big car trip, going to Clovis for two of her cousins' birthdays. Dad Eric went along, too, and enjoyed seeing sister Alison and her family. He and Arlene will have to run FAST to catch up with this kid!! Family photo above.

Alice Takes Care of Busyness at Home!

Alice has been VERY busy this past month. She flew home from Costa Rica on March 4 and will return on April 7. Between doing taxes, seeing doctors, family and friends, as well as opening a zillion pieces of mail and processing the important ones, she is closing in on being ready to catch up with Capt. Bill in Golfito, C.R., were he took the boat shortly after she left. We have friends there and it will be nice to get together with them, as well as take in some more of the land before we head on to Panama in May.

Above you will see a couple of interesting family photos. Margaret and Jeff flew from Ohio to Fresno for her birthday. Alice drove up and brought Jeff's parents, too. We all met at Alison and Rod's home. We had a whirlwind weekend, but a fun one as well. Son-in-law Rod had just had double knee surgery, so he was NOT having fun. The above picture shows Jeff, Margaret, Rob and Mary. The other unusual photo is at the Shoot-out in Indio Hills! Melinda and Owen (center) came to the desert one weekend with friends of theirs. It worked out for them to go shooting with both of Alice's sons, Justin and Eric, on left. They were surprised that Alice went along, doing most of her shooting with her camera, but they insisted she take a turn with the guns, too. She shot a round with a pistol and one shot with the SKS! Why not??? That is her mantra these days~

Tourist Heaven~ Costa Rica Part One

After a week in Nicaragua and making all the needed repairs, we headed for Costa Rica. Two sailboats we knew had taken off the day before, so we were not surprised to find them on anchor in Bahia Santa Elena when we pulled in from a 24 hour overnighter. The weather looked pretty good the next morning so we took off ahead of them to travel to Playa del Coco- our point of entry for Costa Rica. We did encounter our share of wind and waves, but nothing compared to what we have been in. We arrived mid-afternoon and anchored in the large bay where at least fifty other boats were anchored, some sailboats, some power boats, many fishing boats and ONE gigantic commercial sailboat, complete with shore tenders and four huge sails- See above. She is a unique version of a cruise ship!

The next day found us ashore and working to get all the needed paperwork filled out with the port captain, immigration and customs. It took most of the day, since customs is NOT located in Coco, but rather at the airport in Liberia, some 20 miles inland. Bill made the trip there while Alice kept an eye on our dinghy, ate lunch, and did some gawking and shopping. This town is VERY touristy, with more tourists on the streets than locals! Most prices in stores were in U.S. dollars, not colones.

We then headed south around the Nicoyan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Nicoya. There were good anchorages on both the east and west coasts, and we decided to head to the eastern anchorage of Bahia Herredura where Los Suenos Marina is located. We knew from reading that it was pricey, but nearly fell over when we called to see how much it would be to take our dinghy to the dock there: $40 U.S. dollars per day!!! The next day we pulled anchor and left.

Traveling north to Puntarenas, we experienced the shallow water that surrounds this peninsula. The "Backside" is where the marina is and our guide book indicated very shallow water there at low tide. By the time we were into 13 feet of water and still quite a distance from shore Bill thought better of it and hung a U and headed south again, skirting the numerous islands in this gulf. See above photo Alice took when she flew to the capital.

We wound up anchoring in Bahia Ballena, on the west coast, for a week, going ashore numerous times and locating a place to buy a puddlejumper ticket so Alice could travel to San Jose and on home on March 4. We met an expat New Yorker who runs a small restaurant. He was very helpful and even took us to the airstrip (no airport) when March 4 rolled around. While in Bahia Ballena we had the pleasure of visiting with people on three sailboats we had met earlier. We also got to know a couple from Vancouver, B.C. who have been circum- navigating the world for the past six years. They expect to be home again in 2010! Amazing~ After Alice left, Bill got word that our friends Ray and Paddy were home from the U.S., so he did an overnighter, arriving in Golfito on March 7. He reports it is beautiful there~ Alice will return April 7.

Nicaragua ~ A Hidden Paradise

We are usually anxious to relax after a trip on the water, but this time there was no rest. On top of the water in bilges, two of the three pumps were not working, so that required bailing and hand pumping LOTS of water. Bill also discovered a drain hole that was clogged... and later the cause of the pump failures- burned out wires! Electricity and water REALLY do not go together. After two days of hard, hard work on Bill's part and Alice doing wet bedding and clothes from a porthole leak and helping Bill as she could, we finally began to have time to relax and enjoy our beautfiul surroundings! The marina is adjacent to a lovely hotel (above) and has a spectacular view of Volcan Viejo, still active (top). We visited some with the boaters we had followed in and wound up making a day trip together to Chinandega, the nearest city 20 miles away, half on dirt road that is full of detours as the road will soon be paved. The marina has a once a week van trip, not free, to help boaters get provisions. Of course, Bill was looking for repair items for his list of problems! Although the countryside seems a bit greener and the animals a bit fatter, some of the homes are the poorest we have seen, including a cardboard 'city' just off the main road. We are told some workers only earn a dollar or two a day.
Alice had envisioned us being able to go on an inland road trip, but the repair situation and upcoming windy weather shelved that idea for this time. February is one of the windiest months, so we will have to plan our transit to Costa Rica around the upcoming weather window.