Isla del Coco, Costa Rica

On the way to Ecuador aboard the Leonore we stopped at Isla del Coco which is a Costa Rican island 300 miles offshore. A national park, Cocos is 4 miles long and it's only inhabitants are park rangers and volunteers. They recieve very few visitors every year and most of them are off dive boats. Cocos is know for it's verdant waterfalls and wonderful diving. Mark and I had the pleasure of seeing tons of wildlife, from cocos geckos to hammerhead sharks (swimming under us while snorkeling). Truly one of the coolest place either of us has ever been. We stayed three days and then we were back on our way for 4 more days to our destination Salinas, Ecuador.




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Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala

The last segment of our trip to Guatemala was a two day stay a Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan covers 128 square kilometers is surrounded by 3 volcanos. There are about a dozen little villages peppered around the lake. After a busy couple of days we were ready to relax and that we did. Casa del Mundo was magical. Kind of like a huge stone treehouse, Casa del Mundo had adorable rooms and lush landscaping. The dinners were family style and that was perfect as we ran into other cruiser friends of ours who happen to be in the two rooms next door. It seems we were all on the same Lonely Planet trail.

Chichicastenango...easy for you to say

Chichi was our next stop after Antigua and is a beautiful little city in the Guatemalan Highlands. Best known for it's huge market of Mayan crafts, we spent the day here wandering the stalls and even got to view some of their ceremonial rituals. I did quite a bit of shopping, only curbed by the fact that I live on a boat and have no more room as it is. We spent the day with our friends from Rosebud and had a great lunch comparing all the fun stuff we had aquired.

Antigua, Guatemala

Of our 5 days in Guatemala we spent 2 nights in Antigua, a lovely conlonial town that dates back to the 1500s. Surrounded by volcanos, Antigua is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Central America. Here are the photos to support that claim.

Where are we?

This a question I have been asking a lot. The answer today is Puesta del Sol Marina. We just arrived home (Scholarship) after a two week trip to Ecuador and Isla del Coco in Costa Rica. In the past month we have been in five countries and each new experience amazes me.
Just as we arrived in Nicaragua (the first time) and I was getting ready to post a blog entry about our wonderful trip to Guatemala, our plans changed. In El Salvador we met a couple from NY who own a luxurious 80ft. sailing yacht by the name of Leonore. Little did we know that two weeks later we would be invited aboard to help sail Leonore down to Salinas, Ecuador. Just 3 days after arriving in Nicaragua we set sail again. This time as crew. But let me back up.... Here are a few pictures from Puesta del Sol. It is a little paradise with two pools one of which is a short hike for the marina and overlooks the ocean. The one on the right is Mark in the pool (with Leonore in the background). Puesta del Sol will be our last stop before we head into Costa Rica. But before all that tune in for the next entry... all about Guatemala. Because I have to do this thing in order.....L.

Coconuts

We don't work in foreign countries as that would be illegal. What we do do is trade for coconuts. So far I have repaired canvas and done a few dental cleanings for coconuts. And after seeing coconuts going out at a sometimes alarming rate its nice to see a few come in now and then. The highlight was this young man Ian, whose family we have shared a few anchorages and marinas with over the last few months This was his first visit to a dentist and he did great. Imagine telling your friends that your first experience with the Dentist was on a sailboat 9 miles up a river in El Salvador...... Mark

Barillas Marina....El Salvador

I am a little behind on the blog, but we have been busy in paradise since we arrived on May 2nd. After 500+ miles and 96 hours we arrived safe and really tired at our mooring 10 miles up a jungle river in El Salvador. What a wonderful place! An 80 mooring marina with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, wired palapas and clubhouse serving the best watermelon smoothies in the world. The second day we took a mile walk down the road to see Pancho and his babes. All of which are spider monkeys. There are 16 living in among the banana trees in a Salvadorian family's backyard. The day we went for a visit a little girl of about seven called for Pancho and we waited with bananas in hand as the monkeys swung down from the trees. They were amazing and adorable. They took the bananas right from our hands, peeled them, ate them and threw the peels down with disdain. Below are a few pictures of these photogenic creatures. Also a few pictures of Barillas and some of the friends old and new that we have been hanging out with here. Last week we had an Asian themed potluck. Mark even made hand-written fortune cookies for everyone.