BOATBUMMS LOG: BACK IN AND ON PARADISE IN COSTA RICA

Most memory of our trip the basket ride down hill in Funchal Madeira

So sorry for the long wait for an update. Imagine when we returned from out Europe trip, I was unable to access my Blog, it kept saying we were in Europe and I have to agree to their cookie terms and need to start a new blog. I didn’t even bring my computer with me, just accessed my blog once from Mom’s computer, crazy. Well it took a couple of weeks before they realized we are NOT in Europe so here is our update:

Wellllll, seems like the black cloud is still hovering over us, ever since we left Panama. It’s like something tried to preventing us going to Europe, but now seems like to Mexico. The broken engine sure slowed us down, especially ordering the wrong part, but then the broken down fridge, plus knowing we still had to battle the strong Papagallo winds in Northern Costa that can blow hard all the way to Guatemala until middle of March. Not to leave out the even bigger threat of the feared Tehuantepec with unpredictable high winds. Our window was closing in on us and we came to the harsh realization that we did not have enough time to make it all the way to Puerto Vallarta for our flight to Florida and cruise to Europe. Just imagine another breakdown as there is not much of possibilities between Costa Rica and Mexico.

At least the Golfito Marina Village is a brand new marina and run by an incredible crew and great security we decided it was best to stay here and fly to Florida from here. We weren’t too jazzed about the rainy season here but can’t be much worse than the Portobelo area in Panama. I canceled our PV to Miami flights, but of course the insurance we bought for “cancelations, no questions ask” was refused twice they said they have no such clause about small sailboats not getting to destination on time. They wanted a doctor’s note, what happened cancellation not questions ask. I think even if you have a doctor’s note they will find a way not to pay. Stay away from AIG flight insurance, they are a fraud. I read on the Internet that the AIG agents get a bonus for rejecting an insurance claim, I believe it.

The marina gave us a great rate when we told them we would keep Paradise here. Actually the rate was better than at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama. We did hear rumors that the marina had some financial problems, so checked out the other marinas for a possibility. In mean time we were told, no worries the marina will not close. When the talk was not a rumor any more, I wrote a letter to the investors of the marina and one responded right away, not to worry, all was fine. A week later I met Pedro and Carlos at the Marina. (In the mean time we found out that Pedro is not an investor, but works the San Jose office for El Hacienda Dorado, which runs the marina. Carlos took over as GM for Maikol and BTW has absolutely no boating or managing skills.) Both assure us that this will not happen and in worst case scenario, our boat will be safe, that the bank would run the marina as usual. They added that by Costa Rican Law the employees can NOT be fired (the employees assured us that as well).

Maikol the ex-manager who now is back at Banana Bay Marina recommended to leave our boat in GMV that the boat will be perfectly safe there, so guess we were OK.

Every country has different immigration laws. In Costa Rica we get a 90 day visa for each, us and the boat. After the 90 days you have to leave the country including the boat. In our case leaving the boat here while we are gone for 3 months, requires a government bond, which means the boat is under the care of the Costa Rican Government and is not allowed to leave the marina. Allthought we have access to the boat.

The bond has to be for 90 days plus, whereas the boat is treated like it is out of the country, so when we come back the boat we will get another 90 visa as we do. I have to add that Golfito is the only place that gets the 90 day deal, which is free of charge. Anywhere else in Costa Rica you have to get a 2 year bond, costing as much as 800 dollars and up, and even thought you can take the boat out of the marina with permission, you have to pay a marina every month for 2 years.

Also in order to get a bond you need to have a current documentation paper and since ours ran out end of August we were due back on the 16^th of August, so we decided to renew ours just to be on the safe side. We did that on Feb 15^th an easy process online and it’ll take 2 weeks processing time and it’s in the mail. Wellllll….. Didn’t quite happen like this. Why should that even surprise us, nothing else ever just turns out with no problems LOL.

So I placed the ordered online then it told me to allow 2 weeks before checking the statues online. No worries, no sweat but we had one bad thing against us the worry of another Government Shutdown. So far so good no shutdown but after 2 weeks I could not access the Statues inquiry, the website was somehow blocked. Week three I called the number that was given, but it just takes you around a circle, it’s impossible to talk to a person. Does that all sound familiar? After searching for a while I found an email address and wrote about our statues. The reply said: in processing, in just these 2 words. OK. Week 5 we still had no proof that it was processed, so week 6 I wrote again and OMG, the respond was that it just had mailed to our address. Incredible. Our mail forwarding service DHL it to the marina here but DHL San Jose neglected to call the marina to notify them that there was a letter in main office to get the OK to send it onward to marina. In mean time I kept asking the office here if it had arrived until I received an email from our mail forwarding office that DHL let them know they need a phone number to contact the marina otherwise they will send it back to FL. NOOOOOOO, well the phone number was included, a big screw up by DHL and luckily they received the phone number again or noticed their mistake, on time. 2 days later we finally had our new Documentation Papers. And you think cruising is just all nothing but fun!!!

Now the next hurdle. We had a slight problem with getting the bond at GMV as Maikol had left and no one else was in charge of the bonding. So we checked into the other marinas, then GMV told us that Maikol was still the representative for bonding until the end of the month to check with him. Sure enough he was able to bond us and was happy to do that for us. At the same time at Customs they assured us that in case the marina has no bonding agent by the time we get back there would be no problem for us to lift the bond (it could be a long battled needing an attorney). Carlos assured us that as well saying he is working right now on getting the permit himself. Great, no problem, done deal and we had the bond for our Paradise, that was 2 weeks before our trip. 2 days later the armed security guard company quit as the marina had not paid them in a while. The weird thing was all the security guards showed up for work in plain cloths, that marina hired them away from the Security Company. That should give you a clue who we are dealing with.

The day before we left, we were told the marina was done it was just a matter of when. Carlos and Pedro said that they already have another buyer, so not to worry. We ran to Maikol so we could move the boat into his marina that day. But he told us that he had no room at the moment but not to worry in worst case scenario he will tow our boat into his marina. Not to worry they can’t fire the employees and there will be 24/7 security guards.

Only 1 months in to our trip I received a letter from the office manager, saying that Carlos had just handed each employee their notice Friday 2^nd of June that as of Monday June 4^th there will be no more employment at the marina. At the time we were in Norway and immediately contacted Maikol to move out boat into his marina. He sent us paperwork to sign and two days later he said Golfito customs gave the OK to move our boat and will be moved the following day a 10 am, wonderful. But that never happened. Eventually Sid had to return to Costa Rica but on that later, he found out that the Customs office in San Jose didn’t allow it as the marina had no person in charge of bonds, (after our return we found out that Maikol did not want to move it to his marina, so all lies) and so our boat was forced to stay in an abandoned marina. Although we were told there are 2 security guards during day time and 2 at night it still was a chance of boat getting burglarized, in the meantime all the other boats had left to Banana Bay Marina (all fishing boats and buddies of Maikol) there was only Bob’s little new boat and a mega yacht both under a 2 year bond and us. Talking about unneeded stress, everything we own is on our boat. About two weeks after we found out that the marina went bankrupt, Ariel, a former employee, luckily was keeping an eye on our boat, wrote us that the AC broke. Shoot that is definitely not a good thing. In the tropical humidity during rainy season. With no AC the boat will be nothing but fur and mold on the inside when we return. It could get so bad that even upholstery would need to be replace. Not to mention all the electronics taking a beating and and…. We looked online where they sell our little 5000 BTU AC but the only ones they sell in Costa Rica are the new ones that are inside a room. Shipping would have taken weeks not to mention 67% import tax, yikes. So we decided Sid would fly to Miami, buy the AC there (he researched if it can be checked on the airline and nowhere did it say it is hazmat) and at same time check the marina’s situation. Can’t believe we missed his flight out of Zürich by mixing up the times with his Miami to San Joe time, expensive mistake, lost that ticket. When he checked into his flight to Costa Rica he was told he cannot check the AC but also that he needed a return ticket or he will not board the flight and loose his ticket. He showed them the signed document from Costa Rican Customs stating that our boat was in bond in Golfito and we can return to the country. United Airlines did not accept the letter, so Sid requested a supervisor. From the get go the supervisor had a hard on and just told him he cannot read Spanish, therefore he will not accept it . You’re kidding me right, Miami Airport does not have 1 Spanish speaking person working for United Airlines???

I was at the time in a restaurant with my Mom and her sister when Sid called if I could get him a return ticket. I had such a horrible time on Internet as all Swiss search engines took over and I could not get to anywhere at all. I called Sid and finally the ladies at the United counter helped him to get a flight. Sid managed to catch the flight at the last minute, had to leave the AC in hold at 8 bucks a day, in the hope our friends could pick it up sell or use it. I don’t understand either why an AC cannot be checked, the whole frigging plane is a giant Air conditioner?!!! As far as we know the AC is still at the airport, any buyers?!!!

Poor Sid arrives in San Jose and no reservation was found for his rental, hmmm. Then his 5 hour drive to Golfito turned into an 8 hour nightmare with roads closed to accidents plus rush hour. To make it worse his Waze nor Map would work until he figured out phone was still on airplane mode. Not a good day for him. He found the boat in good condition, hot inside but no mold yet, but all the vinegar bowls were empty. We leave several bowls filled with vinegar inside every stateroom which helps to keep mildew down. But then he found the head full of water, luckily it had not gone over yet. In the 6 days he was there, he could not find the reason why, then when he closed the boat up to head to the airport the valve broke. Ariel promised he will keep a close eye on it. While he was underway to Costa Rica I gave heads up to Sally, also mentioned the AC deal. She wrote back for Sid to get in touch with her, that someone had left an AC behind and we can have it. Thank you Sally, the AC worked like a charm. Not then, but now, we can laugh about the free AC costing us over 2500 dollar, ouch.

Anyway when we left San Jose for our trip, we had 5 hour drive through beautiful country sides it was a breathtaking drive. The only thing, high speed is 60 kmh and through towns 40 kmh we drove the speed of snails. Closer to San Jose on the bigger HWYs now and then we were allowed to drive 80 LOL. Then of course just as we were about 2 miles away from car rental place the data went out and maps could not give us direction anymore. It took us about 20 minutes to find it.

By the way, this is a new law that just started. They have road inspections not with tow vehicles ready to take your car right there and then if it fails a smog test, a light or two are out, broken mirror or anything else they can find and you will walk home from there. Even funnier they have a smokers task force here, a team of 2 agents visit public places like restaurant, gas stations, etc., sniffing for cigarette smoke and fining the establishments.

When the shuttle at the car rental drove us to the Airport Hotel which is only 3 km away from the airport we wrinkled our noses with OMG where is he taking us, must be a dump as we were in the middle of a horrible looking filthy industrial neighborhood. But then the gate opened and we entered a beautiful tropical oasis with many mango trees with mangoes the size of this;

The restaurant had wonderful food

and the room was spacious with comfy beds, it was a winner and best 2 minute complimentary shuttle to the airport, although it was too early and missed breakfast. It had a beautiful pool bur the weather was a bit nippy.

In Miami our friends Jerry and Mimi greeted us at the airport and we spend a fun 4 days with them, shopping (yeah I got bathing suits and bras again) and eating incredible good food. My favorite place where Mimi used to work. OMG we feasted.

On May 3^rd Jerry dropped us of at a Diner where Adrienne already waited. Yes the Adrienne from Isla Contadora, she was with her daughter for 2 weeks. We had a great time catching up before she sent us off at the Emerald Princess.

Wow what an enormous ship and our home for 15 days.

The reason for the trip was 2 weddings, my niece Tiffany June 27^th in Switzerland and Nephew Michele in southern Italy August 4^th. In short, we had an incredible and unforgettable 3 ½ months adventure through parts of Europe. First with a 15 day Cruise on the Emerald Princess via Azores, Madeira, Casablanca, Cadiz, Malaga and Barcelona. We flew back to Malaga spent a week with my friend Rita. From there onward to Norway staying 8 days with my cousin Gaby, it was freezing cold at 3 C. From there to Zürich spending 1 ½ months with my mom. Enjoyed a beautiful wedding, Tyffany looked beautiful and her Leo was crying at the ceremony, so was the rest of us. 1 months later took the train to Milano from where we started our 3 week wild car trip through Italy to the heel of Italy, Galatina. A lavish wedding of my nephew Micheles and wify Miriam’s in Cotrufiano. 3 days later we returned the rental car in Milan (we drove over 5500 km in the 3 weeks), from there train back to Zürich for one last week.

Tiffany and Leo

Miriam and Michele

And flew via Miami back to Costa Rica. Ariel had given us a website where you can create a fake ticket with an actual flight that is good for 48 hours. So we tried it but the agent at American Airline was a fart smeller, ah sorry smart feller and figured out it was not a real ticket and we were forced to buy another 2 tickets at 1140 dollar one way out of Costa Rica each which we could cancel within 24 hours. It took only 1 week before they returned our money but cost us 90 bucks for the insurance. Go figure not one agent in Costa Rica asked us if we had a return ticket. The drive back to the boat was a loooong 5 ½ hours but it was so good after all these months to be back in and on Paradise. We found the boat all green including all the canvas. The inside was all good, did not find one bit of mold. When Sid turned the freezer and fridge on, neither one would work. He also noticed that the fan of the Battery charger was not working. He reset the whole system. Fan is still not working Freezer and fridge did, but fridge gave up the ghost after a while running. For at least 2 weeks we had been dealing with that, buying ice daily which is not fun in the tropical, humid heat to run to the 10 minute away store. Sid finally found the motor was toast. Maikol suggested a mechanic and 2 days later it was fixed. Maikol is the guy to go too, he has all the info and connections. Fridge is working at first just manually but not through the system, a loose wire is tripping it, that took a while to find, but still the same, so Sid separated the fridge from the whole system and it seems to work like a champ now. Something that needs to be addressed further down the track. We had our hands full to clean the boat and to get out of here.

Plan is to head up along the Coast of Costa Rica visiting some friends on the way, but once checked out in Cocos, we will bypass Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala and shoot straight for Chiapas on the southern Mexican Border. Well that is the plan for now, plans are still written in sand at low tide. In the mean I will work on our Europe trip and share that with you on our next Blogs. Until then, we hope our WhatsApp will work to keep in touch with everyone.

BTW: sorry for a short blog but we need to get out of here. The defunct marina managers Carlos and Pedro that had told us that all will be fine, are trying to extort money from us, so it’s been a very stressful time dealing with that situation plus getting the boat ready to bail. When we post this we will be out of the Golfito area, probably not out of the country yet but at least out of this corrupt town. More info on this once we are out of Costa Rica. I will post our Europe trip then as well. My guess you will see the next post around November, until then stay safe and healthy.

We do use WhatsApp which works when SMS don’t work, we cruisers depend on it and it hasn’t let us down yet. So for those of you that use WhatsApp and want to be in contact with us, send us please your phone number and we will add you to our phone address book. We still use the AOL address.

A few photos from our trip: