Our
final destination in the Gulfo De Nicoya was to be Puntarenas. This is
the location to refuel, re-provision, live it up, and check out of
Costa Rica for a planned voyage to Panama. But, we decided to make a
few more stops in the gulf first. After leaving our mark in Bahia
Ballena with Carrie's ceviche we
quickly and quietly departed for Isla San Lucas. Actually, we asked a
few other boats to join us but they declined. Hummmm....... Then on to
Playa Naranja, then finally Puntarenas.Left: Isla San Lucas is another very pretty little bay and home to a now closed prison. There are only a few caretakers left. The entrance to the prison is this pier. Terra Firma is anchored up in the far right corner of this picture. So you ask: Incarcerated on a beautiful tropical island. Sounds kinda nice to me. How do I sign up. Well, not all is as it appears! We behaved ourselves while there.
Below Left: The caretakers on the island graciously allowed us to tour the old prison (well for a price). Inside we found the walls covered with some very interesting drawings, many too explicit for our g-rated website.
Below Right: As the story goes, paints and other items necessary for expression were hard to come by. This bikini clad woman's bikini was painted using blood.
Left:
Courtyard area of the old prison surrounded by the dormitories
(cells?). Note the raised area with the hole in the center. More on
this later.Below Left: If one misbehaved while in prison the punishment was to be placed down this hole for a few days or longer. What's so bad about that you ask? Well, during every high tide the hole would fill half way up with sea water. No toilets and half immersed in sea water. Now you know why we behaved!
Below Right: After the interesting but grim visit to the prison we needed something cheery. So we sailed a short distance to Playa Naranja. There is a small resort here that is cruiser friendly. Below we find our dinghy (the family truckster) tied to the resorts pier. Terra Firma anchored off in the distance. We were the only boat there. SWEET.......
Below:After a few enjoyable nights we finally sail into Puntarenas. Puntarenas is located in a river estuary. The Costa Rican Yacht Club is located a few miles up river. After picking up our mooring, relaxing with a cold beer Carrie screams: "Hey, something BIG is swimming up river. Get the camera. Well, as you can see salt water crocks are for real. This eight footer looked hungry. Wanna go for a swim?????
