Scream
Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador (Puerto Amistad)
I really wanted to like Ecuador. But for the average cruiser, there's a lot to deal with in order to get here and stay here, and the advantages are really few and far between. Quito We had a 7 day upwind slog to get here, and we were luckier than most since we actually sailed […]
Galapagos Cruising Permit / Autografo
[Last updated March 2010] There are all kinds of rumours circulating about the rules governing private vessels visiting the Galapagos islands. Vessels may visit the Galapagos under two different regimes: Any foreign flagged vessel arriving from a foreign port may visit either Puerto Ayora or Puerto Basquierizo Moreno in the Galapagos in order to "provision". […]
Review of Explore Central America!
Boaters in first world countries enjoy many amenities that are unavailable elsewhere. One of the most important differences is the lack of official publications describing the waters. While Latin American countries do make their own, high-quality charts, these charts are unavailable to the cruising yachtsman. I, and others I know, have tried to no avail […]
Getting to Ecuador
On November 4th, Scream left Golfito, Costa Rica for Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. We planned this trip excessively. The passage profile is uninviting, even at the ideal time of year, November through March. The trades here blow consistently out of the SW, shifting closer to S as the coast of South America is approached. This […]
Bahia Rincon
Bahia Rincon is the quiet, sheltered bay at the head of Golfo Dulce. The jungle encloses the bay on all sides. We saw all kinds of birds, that we can't identify. It rained steadily the two days before we arrived and the first two days of our stay, so the water was murky so we […]
Volcan Arenal
Like Monteverde, there are about a bazillion tours available in La Fortuna, mostly visits to Volcan Arenal. We opted to simply take the one suggested by our hostel. It was $40 USD per person, and included transportation to the volcano, a small hike, a dusk volcano viewing, a trip to a local hot springs, dinner […]
Volcano Arenal and Back Again
We took a six day, five night trip inland from Golfito. The exciting and good parts of this trip are in the next post. This post is the tale of our misadventures. We started and ended the trip with the 7 hour ride on the Tracopa Bus to San Jose ($10 per person each way). […]
Golfito
Golfito is a strange beast - as its name suggests, it's a little gulf in the bigger Golfo Dulce, a very sheltered anchorage on the east side of the bay. There is room for many many boats at anchor, and the facilities for cruising boats are as good as we have seen them anywhere. There […]
South to Gulfo Dulce
We had a rolly and uncomfortable trip from the Gulf of Nicoya to Gulfo Dulce. We started out with a quick trip from Punta Leona, where we were comfortable and happy, to Bahia Herradura. Despite the barrier island and deep bay, Herradura is a rolly anchorage. We were not impressed and left after one night. […]