Goofing Off In Golfito

After a tough day in Golfito

Well not entirely “goofing off”.  We do some  boat project every day, maybe two. This may take an entire half hour of semi-intensive labor. Sometimes I actually break into a sweat. Like a couple days ago I rewired the electrical connections for the pressure water pump. This involved scrunching down under the galley sink, replacing four wire terminals and installing a new terminal block. It was hot. It was tight under there. I’ve been resting up ever since. But this morning I cleaned accumulated dirt off the dodger window canvas covers and then cleaned and wiped down the trusty Okuma Titus TG50W2 deep sea fishing reel I haven’t used this year. Note that these labors are usually accomplished in the early AM hours before temperatures begin to rise. 

On the dock at Fish Hook Marina

By mid-afternoon, with a little luck,  the morning cumulus has built into moderate thunderstorms that rain heavily and cool things down just right for a little nap. We usually take a morning walk, Janet wants to get in her 10,000 steps per day, and sometimes afternoons as well. Some afternoons we celebrate by having a big chocolate/vanila ice cream sunday between the two of us. This will hold us until at least 1700 when we decide that dinner must come with at least one ice cold Pilsen or Imperial beer.  And one of the many things the Fish Hook Marina does quite well is serve a hearty meal and a very cold beer. Tonight we’ll watch at least the first innings of the World Series before hitting the sack. Have we been up later than 2130 since we arrived? I think not.

R&R at Fish Hook

All in all life around here is very good. There are a couple extremely scuzzy ex-pat bars but we haven’t been tempted that direction yet. We may be a little bored at times but we have plenty to read thanks to our Kindles. Its quiet but we have have nice boat neighbors who are either fellow cruisers or professional sport fishermen.   The marina staff is very friendly and efficient. Golfito is a center for heavy duty offshore sport fishing with the emphasis on Marlin  and Rooster Fish. The ubiquitous Mahi Mahi and Yellow Fin Tuna are for eating. The other game fishing is almost entirely no-kill.

Our buddy Flocca, the Great Egret

The town itself was once the headquarters for United Fruit Company in Costa Rica and they provided everything from employment to the hospital to schools, etc. When they pulled out in 1985 Golfito had big problems but the sport fishing industry has filled in some of the economic blank spaces. Its a third world place but nice third world. People are exceptionally friendly and there are few security problems. The two main marinas, Banana Bay and Fish Hook,  are very professional.

Flocca and friends fishing

We have wild but almost tame Brown Pelicans and a Great Egret named Flocca that hang around  the boat all day feeding off the Blue Runners that exist in large schools at the docks. That’s always entertaining. There are Scarlet Macaws and Howler Monkeys in the trees. A few days ago we took a very rough road up into the mountains above  Golfito and went zip lining through the forest canopy 120 feet aloft, ten stages of zip lines for over 3000 meters with Squirrel Monkeys, White Faced Monkeys and lots of birds.

Gear down, Janet on short final,  zip lining

 The next big plan is spend a few days at the very highly recommended Bosque del Cabo Lodge  at the tip of the Osa Peninsula, the wildest part of Costa Rica, and hopefully have a some great wildlife viewing. If we can get lucky maybe Jaguar and Ocelot but certainly lots of great birds and beautiful country. There’s no tv at this lodge and no cell coverage and little internet but we will be back on the 8th to watch the election results. Can’t miss all that fun!

Love to all,
Bill & Janet
SV Airstream