It took almost all day yesterday, but we did get all the paperwork done to get the final sheet of paper, our International Zarpe. That is the paper that allows us to travel from one country to another on our boat. We started out the day hunting for the Immigration office in Puntarenas. We were directed to various sites and finally found the correct office. There they got all our paperwork organized and the official called around to find exactly what steps were need to get that important Zarpe. He stamped our passports out of the country.
Next step was a bank window at the municipal offices to pay the Coast Guard fees ($20.00 US). Bill waited in two lines to get that accomplished… one for the paperwork and one to pay the fee. Then it was on to the national bank and its long lines to pay for the Zarpe itself ($20.00 US). The post office was next as we needed two stamps to glue onto the Zarpe to make it official ($0.21 US). Somewhere in there we had stopped at a grocery store to pick up snacks for our passages. We got on a bus to the hospital – reported to be near the Aduana’s office and the next stop.
I got off the bus at the marina with the purchases and ferried them to the boat; Bill continued on the bus. Bill got off the bus at the hospital and eventually found the Aduana’s office a short walk away. From there he caught a taxi ($10.00 US) to the Port Captain’s, located in Caldera at the big shipping port. Armed with the all important Zarpe he returned to the Yacht club (by taxi, $20 US) and I met him in the bar with books to read and short pants in his shower bag. He had to wear long pants to the officials offices. We enjoyed dinner and many beers before returning to Lanikai.
Today we made an early morning run into town to stock up Lanikai with fresh vegetables. I got a nice large bag of salad ingredients and even a cabbage that will last some time in the refrigerator. We returned to the boat and Bill worked diligently on getting a publishable copy of his FotoScrap Album program ready before we leave our good internet access in the late morning tomorrow.
Friday Bill and I went into the “big” city of Puntarenas to do a little more shopping, take a relaxing walk along the waterfront and to enjoy a nice lunch. We went to the central market to pick up fresh vegetables. That is the best place in town for the fresh goodies. They were quite fresh and plentiful. I only wanted to purchased enough to keep us to the beginning of the week, but some of it looked so good – so, of course, I overbought. We have enjoyed sweet melons, bananas and several fresh salads with the purchases. We walked along the area of the market and discovered several other nice markets. Bill purchased a super large package of Top Raman-type noodles. When we got home it turned out to be a solid brick of the noodles amounting to about 10 of the smaller packages. I took a hammer and a knife to them and broke them apart into reasonable size bricks, catapulting small pieces of the noodles all over the cabin.
On Tuesday – when we transferred the full gas jug to the aft deck - it knocked the propane box and we discovered another rotten section. I have spent the last two mornings replacing the rotten wood core with layers of glass. I think that this is the last section of the box itself that has not had its core replaced with glass layers.
Today is a nice warm sunny day and the humidity increased this afternoon. So Bill and I moved ashore to the restaurant where we can sit under a fan with our computers and we can enjoy cold beers while we surf the web.
The last two days have been busy for us on the boat. Tuesday I got the two jibs hanked on and cleaned the foredeck. Actually I have cleaned it almost every morning since we have been back into the water, but the dew each morning seems to bring more dirt down the rigging. Bill made three runs to the fuel dock and our tanks are again topped off with diesel and the dinghy gas jugs are full too.
Yesterday I got busy early and washed our bed sheets so that they had lots of sunny time to dry. Then I serviced the three two-speed winches on Lanikai. The one-speed winches on the masts will wait until they are all not being used; right now the dinghy is hanging off the side of Lanikai occupying one. Late in the afternoon Bill started the engine to check up on various possible leaks. He discovered a leak on one of the fittings to the (newly repaired) salt-water engine pump and when he tried to tighten it we got a big oil leak where the pump is attached to the engine. This morning he removed the pump and the leaky fittings, then replaced the fittings using lots of Teflon tape, then reinstalled the pump with new gaskets (and lots of sealing goo) after cleaning the seat on the engine. We ran the engine and all seems well now, well maybe there is still a bit of a saltwater drip.
It is a tight squeeze, but Bill can still get into the engine room to work on the engine, which is under him in this photo.
Lanikai is now ready to go but we have not gotten the paperwork started for leaving Costa Rica, as the projects have taken longer than we had hoped. Looks like we will be heading out in a week with a mid-day high tide after we do the paperwork on Monday and Tuesday. Bill will enjoy having the extra time on the internet as he has just about finished an other major improvement to FotoScrap Album and wants to get it up on our blog before we leave.
Today we got to work on getting Lanikai ready again to head offshore. I spent much time cleaning while Bill stayed out of the way typing on his computer. After lunch (and we ate on the boat today!) Bill got me two bags of water so that I can continue the cleaning tomorrow. Today it was the cockpit that got cleaned. The cushion covers were quite impregnated with dust and grime, and I managed to get all four of them cleaned and dried before we headed into shore in the early afternoon. In the city today, we made a grocery run, another bank run and a last stop at the pharmacy. We did find time to stop at the ice cream restaurant that we have found along the waterfront. Bill enjoyed a nice big Sundae and I enjoyed a small one. When we returned to the YC, Bill took our purchases out to Lanikai and returned with the computers and our shower bags. Today I have the camera with me so I can post photos of the launch last Saturday.
It is sure nice to be back in the water and today there was a nice breeze that kept it pleasant until we closed up to go ashore.
We also are anchored in a very pretty location and late at night, when the traffic is gone from the sand spit (the main road), you can hear the surf breaking on the other side of the spit, while we sit in the calm estuary.
Yesterday afternoon about 2:45 Lanikai was lifted with the travel lift and moved to the well which was filling with water due to the raising tide. They moved the boat to the very end of the well (the deep end) before lowering her into the water. Bill and I climbed onboard and by the time Bill got the engine’s salt water cooling system bled she was floating and slowly moving out into the estero. We got the engine started and easily moved out to the buoys that we had sat on when we first arrived. They are not so close to the restaurant and club as most of the buoys here, but are along the mangroves with a nice view and with shorebirds to enjoy. We have moved back onboard – as the guards were glad to hear when they brought us to shore last evening for dinner. Lanikai is a ways out and they feel better with us onboard. Costa Rica has a big problem with petty theft (and sometimes not so petty).
We spent the day on the boat today and have come ashore to enjoy a shower, some cold beers, and a nice dinner. I left the camera on the boat so the photos of the launch will have to wait for another day. I used the wash down pump to rinse off much of the dust from the haul out, and did a bucket full on laundry, but most of the day has been spent relaxing on our newly floating home.
