This was a pretty mellow passage. We made one stop in Marina Flamingo for fuel and mostly motored down the coast to Uvita.
Marina Flamingo is an upscale resort Hotel with upscale shops along the waterfront. This is part of the coast known for its resorts full of gringos and beautiful beaches. Tamarindo, an example of one of the resort areas.
We passed the Gulf of Nicoya, which was on our list of anchorages to visit but we had a date with our good friends the McDermotts in Uvita so we headed straight there.
Now I had heard different comments online about restrictions on anchoring near the Whale Tail but finding anything definitive was elusive. The Whale Tail is the distinctive geological feature of this area. It is a reef shaped just like a whale’s tail at low tide. At high tide most of the reef is awash so if you walk out on the tail and the tide rises you might end up wading back to town. There is a big tidal swing and the beach has little slope so if you beach your dinghy at high tide, you may be carting your dinghy 100 yards back down to the water. We came to shore the first afternoon after arrival and parked the dinghy by the tree line which at low tide was 100 yards behind us. As we got out of the dinghy we saw a dozen people wading through the surf. They had fallen victim to being a little too ambivalent about the rising tide. So we joined them for the trek down the beach which was knee deep in water(waist deep at river crossings). We really didn’t know where the trail to town was so we were counting on the not too tide-savvy beachcombers to know where they were going. After following them for a quarter mile through the surf we came to our senses and returned to our dinghy for an attempt in more reasonable conditions the next day. Watching from the boat the next morning we could observe the activity on the beach and see where people were popping out onto the beach which by now was a beautiful wide beach a mile long. The show on the beach was interesting. A tractor with big tires was rolling pangas on trailers down to the waters edge to launch them. All were tour boats to take the tourists on excursions to snorkeling, surfing, or scenic spots. 12 or 15 would launch then wait out by us for their group to arrive on the beach. Then they would head back in through the breakers for them. Poor outboards gunning back out through the sandy break to deeper water. Those outboards take a beating. After an hour all had returned to normal on the beach. It was now safe to head in.
We parked the dinghy above the high tide line after rolling it the hundred yards from the water’s edge. We walked down the trail past howler monkeys, palm trees, and crabs running all around. The trail ended at the park entrance, where the town of Uvita begins. I hate to be a broken record about the good ol’ days but the little funky village of hostels, hippies and dirt roads had given way to inns, eco resorts, restaurants, and a beautiful paved highway. The beaurocrats had decided this would be a great place for a National Park. So to protect the area they built infrastructure which increased the population and tourist load 10-fold. The biggest factor by far was the highway. It had been a kidney-rattling potholed ride that would take most of the day to reach San Jose. Now it’s just three hours over a really nice road. Build it and they will come! There was even the Envision Festival(art, yoga and music) that attracted 10,000 visitors. We explored town the first day. Had a good lunch, hit the panadería and did some beachcombing in the afternoon.
The next day I dropped Susanna off at a beach break a 1/4 mile away and explored the coast in the dinghy while she was surfing. We realized that every time we went to town, to get back to the boat would cost us $6 to enter the park to get back to the boat unless you walked a mile down the beach to a trail through the jungle. The second happened the afternoon of the second day as we were pulling the dinghy up the beach. The guy that was at the ticket booth(maybe a ranger) met us and said we could not anchor in the park. We argued but he called his supervisor. We said we would leave as soon as we dropped of our laundry. He said now or we would be fined. We were kind of in a pickle. Guests arriving the next morning and we didn’t know of any nearby anchorages. When we got back to the boat we did a little research and found Dominicalito anchorage 15-20 min. north on the highway. They said it could be rolly but we didn’t really have a choice. It’s not far as the crow flies but it’s a hour motor just to get out of this non-anchorage. Well we got the hook down before dark and really liked this anchorage more. Quite more secluded and less rolly. Only issue, we need a taxi to get back to Uvita.
We met the McDermotts at Catarata Uvita, a waterfall up behind a restaurant just outside of town. They had developed it with walkways and ladders to climb the falls. We all had fun, especially Syd. She of course was the first one to climb up and slide off the falls. And as soon as she had got us all up and off the falls she had to climb even higher for some cliff jumping. After a good lunch we all walked out to the Whale’s Tail for a beach day. It is beautiful out there.
HOMEPAGE Adventures with Dr. John 