On Feb. 13th we did our Canal Crossing. It was uneventful and delightful until the last lock when we had to react quickly to the error of a line handler on the boat we were to tie to, this fellow attached our line and then promptly took it off and dropped it into the water! This made our boat head right toward the wall on the other side of the lock. The water is very turbulent in the lock, even though it may seem calm. Mike and our crew were fabulous, in getting us re-attached to the power boat we were to tie to, although we went through backwards! Mike also skillfully turned the boat around within the lock for us to leave. Happily, this was the last lock down into the bay at Colon and we gratefully dropped anchor for the night in the small boat anchorage. Our advisor was very complimentary at how we handled the boat, but it remains to be seen if we get charged any extra fee for delaying the operation of the locks. It actually was the fault of the other boat, so we hope it's vivid enough in our advisor's memory that he will speak for us.

The photos here were taken by Diana. She and Steve, our friends from Ukiah helped us through the canal, along with cruisers Jeff and Stephanie. We had a great time. Also, Steve and Diana were treated to a "howler" monkey symphony during a walk we took the next day near Shelter Bay Marina. Finisterre will head out of Shelter Bay in a few days for the San Blas Islands and Cartagena, Colombia.

We returned to Costa Rica from Western Panama for the Holidays, 2007. Hilary came to visit and her photos illustrate our adventures during this time. Our base was Golfito, Costa Rica which is located on the Golfo Dulce across from the town of Puerto Jiminez and the Matapalo area on the Oso Peninsula, which is near the Corcovada National Park. The whole area is wild country, some towns and occupied rural areas and some fincas or ranches. The area gets the most rain in all of Costa Rica, and probably the most rain in all of Central America. In December, we experienced the end of the rainy season, and although we did have a number of heavy duty squalls, it was beautiful, sunny and in the 80’s. We anchored off Land & Sea, which caters to cruising boats and had some fun get-togethers with other folks including dinner Christmas Eve in which we all pitched in to prepare and enjoy. Golfito was a banana shipping area developed by Chiquita Banana with many old wooden buildings from that time. Bananas aren’t shipped out of here much anymore, but palm oil is. Great lumbering diesel tanker trucks come to the docks and pump the oil into tanks which is later transferred to ships. It’s a busy town with a sizeable “duty free” zone that is packed with people buying all kinds of produscts, etc. The town is home to many fishermen, locals in dugouts and larger wooden boats, as well as deep sea charter outfits which take people out into the gulf and the ocean beyond. We have often caught many tuna and dorado while entering the gulf, as it is one of the richest fishing areas of the Pacific Coast.

We visited Puerto Jiminez and took a hiking tour of the Matapalo area. Our guide had grown up in the area and without him we would never have seen all the wildlife we saw. We actually got to see over 25 different creatures in the span of just a few hours! Matapalo means “kill tree” –actually the strangler fig tree which grows around an existing tree and eventually kills the original tree. The area is all along the coastline and does not go very high in elevation, but the forest is pretty dense, some primary forest and some secondary. This area is not in the national park but is probably more bio-diverse in a smaller geographic area and you can hike it within a day. We tried to take photos of all the animals, but in looking at them, we often would capture only the habitat of the animal because it would completely blend in and couldn’t be picked out in the photo. The hike was phenomenal with sightings of animals and birds happening every few steps and even though the hike was all day, we saw most everything within the first three hours during their active morning time.

In the Golfo Dulce, we also visited an Orchid Farm and a Wildlife Sanctuary. Both were fabulous places only accessible by water. A National Geographic sponsored tour on the Pacific Explorer cruise ship (small ship carrying only around 100 people) was at the Orchid Farm when we arrived, but we did not find the grounds crowded. The wildlife sanctuary is an official sanctuary identified by the Costa Rican government and their function is to release animals back to the wilds if at all possible. Some of the creatures they have were treated so poorly when young that they would not be able to function with their wild cousins, so these animals are kept there. The re-entry process is so difficult that some of the animals they work with are not shown to the public, such as the wild cats. We saw monkeys, sloths, toucans and macaws here. The guides were extremely knowledgeable about the animals. One of the most interesting things we learned is that the poachers who capture and sell these animals on the world market have been brought into the effort and have found work at the sanctuary and that these local people have practical knowledge about the animals which has make them good employees who now help return the animals to the wild. This, of course, is not a universal situation, and many rainforest animals of Costa Rica are in danger of extinction, largely due to poaching, dogs and loss of habitat.

The Golfo Dulce or sweet gulf is indeed a lovely place with towering clouds, blue skies and clear water. Surf spots on both sides of the gulf are some of the most famous in the world. Mike got some rare waves at Pavones to celebrate his birthday! Get a video of the late 1960s surf movie “Endless Summer” and you will see the fabulous surf spot of Pavones.

After saying “see you this summer!” to Hilary as she boarded the Sansa puddle jumper airplane for San Jose airport, we readied Finisterre for our trip south to the islands of Panama and Panama City. We visited some of our favorite islands along the way and had a good passage around Punta Malo. We left at 0700 and arrived in the Perlas Island of San Jose at 2230. That is a great passage time.

We are now in Panama City and will transit the canal February 13 (could change if the Canal Authority wants to send us on another day). Watch for pictures! We are excited about the trip, looking forward to exploring the San Blas islands on the way to Cartagena, Columbia.