The day started with some underwater searching. A small piece of metal had fallen off one of the saucepans while Helen had been washing it around dawn. We’d sunk a large bottle shortly after thinking that it would make a good marker. John, Ben and I all searched for both the bottle and\/or metal band but the only things found were a clothes peg and something unmentionable.<\/p>\n

We had around 10 knots of wind for our trip to Puntarenas but guess what, it was on the nose again. We could have tacked our way but that would have taken a lot longer and time is precious with the family here on limited time.<\/p>\n

We again had lines out to see if we could catch something. Closing in on Puntarenas we came upon a patch of sea with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of birds either sitting in the water or circling above. There was a lot of fish activity which in turn was attracting the birds. I circled Dignity through and around a few concentrations of activity and we picked up a fish on one of the lines. Sadly, it got away as Ben was hauling it in. It did look like a Spanish Mackeral from the distance.<\/p>\n

Arriving at the west end of Puntarnas just past the ferry dock we contacted the Costa Rica Yacht Club who advised us to wait til 12:30 when the tide would be higher and a panga would come to show us in. We had lunch while waiting and around 1:15 the panga came. As we progressed further up the estuary the heat and humidity rose higher and higher. We had been expecting a mooring ball but were given a dock on the far side of the river from the club. We weren’t quite ready to make the dock the first time as we had to change our lines quickly. The current was nearly two knots so I had to turn and swing in again so we could tie up.<\/p>\n

The kids had to get off the boat quickly as we were all pouring with sweat. They called the panga over and headed off while Helen and I got on with finalizing our plans for the next few days and some boat chores. We both eventually went ashore too. After exploring the club for a short while we went out on the road and started walking towards town.<\/p>\n

We saw the kids board a bus in the distance and decided to do the same. It gave them a surprise in town when we appeared right in front of them crossing the road. We wandered around town for a while checking out supermarkets for our later provisioning before returning by bus to the yacht club.<\/p>\n

We all returned to the boat for our shower gear and headed back to the club. The kids used the pool and showers while I sorted out the rental car which had just arrived. Helen arrived later on. We had a beer by the pool before going to the club house for dinner.<\/p>\n

We’ll be off soon. We’ve rearranged our itinerary a little. We’ll drive to Monteverde and stay there for three days before heading off for one night at Arenel. We’re all looking forward to this not least for the coolness of the mountains.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, this is the furthest north we will be for years. Also, look back at the last couple of blog entries for new pictures.<\/p>\n