Having had enough of Bahia Ballena we left early for Islas Tortugas. We had reasonable winds starting around 15 knots though gradually waning in strength as we approached Islas Tortugas. We had to tack our way upwind as the wind was from the north east. With the wind dying on us we motor sailed the last couple of miles.
Islas Tortugas are a popular day trip destination. Advertisements for trips out here are advertised all around the tourist areas such as Jaco. As expected, when we arrived there were plenty of tourist boats out around the snorkeling areas and up by the beach on the south-eastern island.
We picked a place away from the crowds to first go snorkeling. The attraction was a rock arch we could swim through. The visibility was fair but we did see a lot of fish. We then decided to go for a second snorkel around where the tourist boats were. There were abundant fish as well as abundant day-trippers in the water. The fish seemed very tame so my guess was they were being fed by the tour operators.
We spent the afternoon waiting out the day-trippers who eventually departed the nearby beach. Around 4pm we went ashore to look around. The beach itself was picturesque but was spoiled by the deck chairs and empty cook areas. There was also a demarcation line behind which some folks lived and was deemed private. We explored the length of the beach taking pictures before heading back to Dignity for the evening. On the way back to the boat we stopped to say Hello to the couple on a motor cruiser, Emma Jo, who had showed up in the afternoon. At first we wondered if the boat was Navigator with whom we transited the canal back in January. Turned out we’d seen the boat before in Golfito when it had been crewed by friends of theirs. The couple had moved back aboard in Punternhas recently and are now on their way up to Seattle.
Today is our last full day with Ella aboard. Our plan is to head around the corner to Islas Jesuita/Cedros and then on to Puntarenhas tomorrow to drop her and John off. We’ll meet up with John again on Friday back down in Bahia Herradura when he should be accompanied with Jess and Ben who are due to arrive at the airport just before Ella leaves.