10/19/2005 - San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

We´re happy to report that we made it to San Juan del Sur on Monday morning! It took us 2 days and 2 nights and the trip was fairly uneventful... well, not entirely. We picked up anchor around 11am on Saturday morning in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador. Our hearts were pumping as the toughest part of our trip was going to be the first hour. It had been 6 months since we arrived in El Salvador and if you go back to the entry around April 13th you will read all about how we surfed a wave into the estuary that we called home for the summer. On Saturday we prepared for the reverse crossing and getting over the breaking surf to continue our journey south. The entrance was fairly flat the day we left so all systems were a go. Jake fired up both 9.9 Nissan 4 stroke outboards and gave them full throttle. As we neared the breaking surf we all gave the green light. A set of 4 foot waves had just finished breaking and with full throttle ahead we should be able to push our 5 ton surfboard over the bar entrance and make our way out of the estuary and into the wide open sea. Then it happened. Again.... just like 6 months ago... at the worst possible moment... the starboard engined ceased to work.... Our speed diminished from 6 knots to 3 knots... we knew that we no longer were going to hit the breaking surf in between the sets of waves but instead dead into the breaking surf. Not only one set, but three sets of ugly, green curlers roared over our bows, giving the boat a saltwater bath and pumping our adrenaline to an all time high. With each hit of the breakers our boat was lifted into the air at least 6 feet or more. It was beautiful how the boat responded and gently returned to flat water. Our worst dread was of being tossed sideways and it never happened. Instead, Captain Jake kept the bow straight into each wave and after what seemed forever we rose over the last breaking wave and saw open, flat ocean. OH, what a f-g relief!!!! We had blue sky most of the day and spent the first night watching the full moon rise. Around midnight a small but torrential downpour lasted for 3 hours or more with plenty of that nasty lightning, but we woke to a beautiful morning and a second wonderful day of sailing. We saw sea turtles, flying fish, and our friends the dolphins joined us once again at our bow. Each of us took a 3 hour shift watching the helm so there was plenty of rest to be had by all. Conditions were a little bit rough with 3-6 foot swell the first day and none of us had our sea legs after spending so much time on land the last 6 months. The second day/night was much calmer. Not much wind so motor sailing was in order and we arrived in San Juan del Sur Monday morning around 10 am. After we anchored the Navy came aboard and inspected our boat and requested our paperwork from El Salvador. Everything was in order. They asked us if we had guns on board. The answer is ¨no¨ and they wanted us to raise our courtesy flag of Nicaragua which we had not done yet because we had raised the quarantine flag first according to procedures. They then instructed us on how to catch a water taxi into shore and that we would have to proceed to immigration at Penas Blanca at the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, about a 45 minutes taxi ride away. The taxi ride was exciting too... since we had just arrived in Nicaragua and got to see the beautiful country side on the way to the border. We had a lovely view most of the way of Lake Nicaragua and the Ometepe Volcano. After paying $36 in entry fees for the boat and 3 crew, we made the return trip to San Juan del Sur for much needed food, cervezas and rest. Our friend, Eric Blackburn, lives here and has been showing us around. Eric is almost done publishing his cruising guide to Central America. His website is under construction: http://www.cruisingcentralamerica.com

We will be here for at least another 5 days pending the weather, of course. More later. - Cathy

Click here for a map of Nicaragua: nicaragua.jpg