After several lovely stops throughout Costa Rica,
Drake’s Bay, Costa Rica
Giant bamboo
seeing all types of creatures,
Crocodile swimming by our dinghy
Squirrels with skunk stripes
Howler monkeys
The wild Costa Rican Puma
spending too much money (their currency is strikingly beautiful, which is a good thing because you are going to need a lot of it),
Costa Rican Colones currency
and with the rainy season starting in earnest,
Here comes the rain again
rain gear for all crew members
we ready ourselves for our final stop in the country: the town of Golfito, which is not known for its, shall we say, hospitality. Countless tales of crime from fellow cruisers and locals left us less than excited about going there, but it was necessary, as it is the last port where you can check out of the country.
First impression coming into the Golfo Dulce…looks promising
Fishermen use these black flags to mark long lines and nets. The worst color ever to see against a dark sea. How about a nice neon orange?
This once thriving town has fallen on hard times since the departure of the United Fruit Company and now depends mainly on a duty-free zone and robbing cruisers (just kidding…I think). Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t pick it over a trip to Maui, but for our fellow cruisers you’ll most likely have to be here and it was not as awful as we were led to expect. The bay is well protected and even with the biblical rains we experienced it was always calm. And clearing out of the country is easy and only costs $20.
Goflito town
Freshly shaved Captain and his faithful first mutt
We moored at Land Sea where the owners, ex-cruisers Tim and Katie, and their many pups provided a safe haven and welcomed us, including Lucy. Land Sea has a few moorings and a wonderfully funky cruiser’s lounge. For our land-based friends, let me explain what cruisers want in life; good weather, cheap beer, clean laundry, easy land access and free reliable wi-fi. And we got 4 out of 5 of those things at Land Sea. The rain was by the buckets everyday.
Land Sea deck
Honor bar at Land Sea
My new buddy Vinny. Tim adopted Vinny from an Italian cargo ship where Vinny was a stow away.
Cruisers leave their mark on the walls of Land Sea. Can you spot Neko?
Here comes another storm
Tim regaled us with wild stories from the many years he has lived in Golfito and recommended local restaurants and field trips to fill up the week we were there.
This salty gal celebrated her 46th birthday.
One of our best field trips was to Casa Orquideas, only 5nm but a whole world away from Golfito. These are meticulously maintained gardens owned by an American couple, Ron and Trudy, who have lived here for almost 40 years. 
Trudy, coconut opening expert
Trudy is the sweet woman who gave us a botanical education, taught us how to open a coconut, and sent us off with many of her home grown fruits and herbs.
miniature pineapple
Shampoo ginger . When you squeeze it a sweet smelling liquid comes out that you can use for shampoo.
Lucy enjoying some lemon grass
Water lilies
Wild macaws. Wish the photo showed their brilliant colors
We were just going to go over to this bay for the afternoon, but ended up staying 2 days. It was a delightfully tranquil spot perfect for kayaking, swimming and dreaming of our next stop – Panama.
Nappin’ Captain
Sailing on Neko 
Happy Belated Birthday Mary! Clean shaven Peter! Lookin’ good. I’m so glad you are ‘paving’ the way for us down the Pacific side of the Central American coast. Miss you much.
Great as usual! Love to hear for you, & hope that we can catch up (literally/physically) one of these days!
This was a great post Mary! Love reading about your trip.