Bahia del Coco and Papagayos Winds

So after 3 days of light winds out of Puerto Chiapas, we hit the Papagayos. For 48 hours we were close hauled against 25-35 knots of wind under two reefs and a storm jib/working jib. The last day, 50 miles out of Bahia del Coco, I walked around the deck to check the shrouds and found the port rear lower plate had a decent crack in it. But this ended up being no problem, as a welder in del Coco repaired it in an hour and it looks great.

In addition to the plate, we ripped the working jib, so we sewed that up today. I also sealed up the engine so hopefully it no longer leaks. If all goes to plan, I should be out of here enroute to Panama by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, planning on getting in to Panama mid-week the following week.

I'm really excited to see my family, my grandparents and Thomas Toan in Panama! See you guys in two weeks!

We had a dragonfly enter the boat right before we entered the Papagayos, but he didn't make it to Bahia del Coco. We hope he made it to shore ok...

On the way to customs to check Sundowner into Costa Rica. Both Jackie and I were incredibly surprised by how dry everything is here! Most of Central America is in a dry season right now, but they still had a tropical feel. The area around Bahia del Coco feels more like California in the middle of the summer. Very dry heat, with fairly cool nights that make sleeping much nicer than in Chiapas.

Anchorage in Bahia del Coco. Very nice black sand beach. Jackie met a family that lived on a large ketch in the bay and took tourist out on it to make ends meet. There is also a Pearson Triton anchored here owned by the same family. That brings back some wonderful memories from my old Triton, "Fjordia."

Traditional Costa Rican fare, meat skewer from a street vendor. Very tender meat with an amazing marinade, but not quite as cheap as Mexico. Still, really really good food.

Engine Problems, Plans Change

So some of you may have noticed we haven't moved. We are indeed still in Puerto Chiapas because of overheating engine issues. However, after troubleshooting the entire raw water system and most of the fresh water system, I found a blockage in the fresh water pump intake. Fixed that this morning, but the gasket on the intake was torn so I had to improvise a new one that works more or less. It should hold for a bit, maybe in Panama I can do a better job.

The new plan is to stop for a few days in Costa Rica, where sadly Jackie will take her leave of Sundowner. She has been offered an awesome opportunity to work for a new school in Puerto Chiapas starting in June and decided that it was exactly what she wanted. She will be teaching English and Music to local children in grades 1st through 12th. While it is sad to her leave, I know that this was the opportunity she came down her to find. She is moving on, and I sincerely wish her the best of luck.

As for me, I will be continuing to Texas solo, going through the canal to the San Blas islands, Jamaica, Cayman Brac and finishing around late May or early June in Freeport, TX. I've been looking forward to a few solo trips, so now I get an awesome chance to see what singlehanded cruising is like.

The best burger I have had since a Barney's burger in November in Berkeley. Bacon, salsa, avocado, really good tomatoes and onions, all on a great bun. But boy will it cost you. 150 pesos, or about 5 meals in town...

But this is worth every penny. Nutella Flan. Let me let that sink in. Yup, Nutella Flan.

The toads at the marina are ridiculously large. This one was as big as my head.

Byron, Jackie and me at the Mayan ruins, which of course have a small zoo attached to it.

Myself, Paty and Jackie in Paty's house in Reu, Guatemala. Thanks again Paty, Byron, and Carlos for your great hospitality! Staying at your house was an incredibly pleasant week. I can't wait til I return!

Luci, Nashlly, and Jackie on Sundowner in Marina Chiapas. So many thanks to Luci and her husband Issac for driving us to Champerico and all the way back from Reu to Puerto Chiapas! And for some amazing food!

Goodbye to Mexico, Hello Costa Rica

After an exceedingly wonderful time in Guatemala and meeting some incredibly wonderful people we are back in Puerto Chiapas. The bottom of the boat is cleaned, we have water and fuel and the engine hopefully will be working better after the heat exchanger was expertly cleaned. We will be staying one more night in Puerto Chiapas then leaving tomorrow morning for Golfito, Costa Rica, hopefully making it there in 8 or 9 days. The internet here is reminiscent of the bygone dial up days, but I tried to upload a few photos.

Jackie get a piercing at a very legit street vendor. It actually was surprisingly legit, new needles, gloves and everything. But he was still sticking pieces of metal into strangers on the side of the street.

As everyone knows, Chinese food comes with white bread and french fries!

At Xocomil, the premier waterpark in Guatemala. It was literally one of the coolest places I have been. From traditional slides to one where you get in a pod and the bottom drops you 30 feet down before you go into a loop, the park was definitely a highlight of the trip. And thanks to Paty, we got in for free!

The 8 lane, 50 meter pool in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. For 5 quetzal (about $0.80) you can use this beautiful pool. And the best part? No one is ever here. Ever. The only downside was I haven't done a swim workout in almost three months so after swimming 2000m, my arms feel off. I'm sure I'll still be able to sail the boat though.

Walking up to the ziplines, we crossed many bridges that were in varying degrees of disrepair. But none broke, so I guess they are good for another 10 years.

What we were all thinking was our last picture ever. From the left, Jackie, myself, Byron (Paty's son) and Benjamin (Luci's son)

Goofing off after hours at Xocomil. Jackie, me and Byron.

Yea, these ziplines were even more safe than the bridges to get up there. I'm sure they used a CAD program to design this exquisite piece of engineering. But hey, it worked!

At Xocomil, in front of the coolest old school slides ever! From the right, Paty, Byron, Jackie and some bodybuilder who wanted in on the photo.

The resemblance is uncanny I guess. Every single person we have met in both Mexico and Guatemala has instantly connected me with Bieber. I don't know how I feel about it.

Pizza Hut in Xela. Xela is one of the coolest cities in Guatemala. It has the climate of Lake Tahoe in the summer, about 60-70F and about 50% humidity year around. It does have a rainy season that lasts 4 months in the summer, but the rest of the year is amazing. Oh and there's a huge volcano to climb 5 miles outside of town. Too bad we didn't have more time...

Yea, you didn't realize Pizza Hut is a classy establishment? We were put on the list and had to wait 25 minutes for a table at lunch! All to pay the most for any meal yet this trip (including a steak dinner in Zihuatanejo). It cost Q170, or about $25.

Jackie the model, before a night out in Xela.

Nick the model

This was before we went out, we found this awesome car in the main park area. From the left, Byron, Byron's girlfriend, Jackie. By the way, in Xela, there are clubs where you can get all you can drink beer for Q60, or about $8. Not a bad deal, especially when only one person of your group needs to get a wristband.

The aforementioned Pizza Hut, but with horchata, or course. Is there anything else to drink with Pizza Hut?

A random Roman ruin in Xela. We never did figure out why it was built or what it was for, but it sure was awesome. This was on the walk back to the bus to Retalhuleu at 6 am the day after we went out, which was needless to say, very fun.

A very nice dinner cooked by Luci's friend on our way back to Puerto Chiapas. Pork chops and mashed potatoes, guatemalan style!

So many birds! They also had two cockatiels in addition to the roosters.

Luci's friend's family raises rooster for fights and has nearly 100 prize winning roosters. And they are loud. Really really loud.

Guatemala!

After checking into the marina in Chiapas (which is beautiful by the way), Jackie and I took the bus ride to the border town of Hidalgo, walked across the border, then took a bus from Tecun to Retalhuleu, Guatemala. Jackie's uncle's friend Patty and her son, Byron, have taken us in with open arms and we are staying here until Sunday. The town is beautiful and the weather is much cooler than Puerto Chiapas, being higher in the mountains.  Once we get back to Chiapas on Sunday I will be able to upload more photos, but here are some pictures from Chiapas, the bus trip and our trips here so far:

At the end of the trail!

Some very cool hieroglyphics. In addition, there were many statues of Mayan gods that, depending on their orientation, meant vastly different things. For example, a frog facing the setting sun was representative of the god of fertility, while a frog facing the rising sun was a god of water. Or the other way around, it was all fairly confusing.

The entrance to Guatemala! The crossing was easy and the walk across the bridge was really cool.

UC Berkeley excavated a large portion of the ruins in 1976. Go Bears!