Monthly Archives: October 2018

Matt walking along the Reto Mae Hike

Reto MAE Hike

Liming the days away as landlubbers is hard for us.  We miss the water, we miss the motion of the ocean, and we miss our home.  As we try to resolve our lightning strike claim, we wait…and wait.  So, we try to pass the time with hikes like Reto Mae Hike.

One Sunday, Matt and I decided to go on a exploration.  We had a general idea of where we wanted to end up but we weren’t sure how to get there. We walked into town, behind the marina to a beautiful little park.  Don’t you love the free gym / exercise equipment?

Paradero Park

Paradero Park

We knew there was a trail that led to the beaches, but we did not know what it was called.  Later, found ourselves on the Reto MAE Hike.  We did not plan to take this hike, but we stumbled upon it and it seemed to go in the direction of the beach.

History of Reto MAE Hike

A couple of years ago, Manuel Antonio introduced a new extreme race to Costa Rica: The Reto MAE. The acronym ‘MAE’ stands for ‘Manuel Antonio Extreme’, and it quickly rose to become one of the country’s most challenging races.

The Retro MAE Hike is a 10-kilometer trail that winds along the dramatic coastline between Quepos and Manuel Antonio national park, snaking through the rain forest, over bluffs, along cliffs, and visiting seven beaches along the way

The hikers start the Reto Mae hike in Manuel Antonio and end up at the marina.   However, our route was the exact opposite as we started at the marina and ended up somewhere in Manuel Antonio.

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking trail

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking trail

The Trail:

The trail started on a small, single, dirt path and we quickly came upon a fallen tree that we scurried over.  Along the path we found some guides.  These two dogs stayed with us for several miles.

It was a lovely trail, albeit a bit muddy since it had rained a lot the night before.  Everything was green and glistening.    The trail had several overlooks to beaches below, but we could not find the paths down.

We continued on and caught the trail after losing it – we came to a river crossing and debated whether or not the trail crossed the river or went around it.  We went around the river to look for the trail as opposed to getting wet. Later found out that we should have gone through the river.

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking Trail

Reto Mae Extreme Hiking Trail

Ronnie’s Place for a Reward:

We ended up at Ronnie’s Place and ordered a beer and Fresca.  The beverages were expensive, but they had a “captured” market.

Several of the trees were shedding bark. I had never seen anything like it, so beautiful.  See above photo.

We were exhausted.  Even though we wanted to make it to Playa Biesanz we were going to have to do it another day.

Return to Reto MAE a Few Weeks Later:

Fast forward, we decided to try to make it all the way to Playa Biesanz.  We tried to do the Reto Mae hike and take it across the river this time.

These crazy beach goers were blocking our trail.

Cows blocking the Reto Mae tral

Cows blocking the Reto Mae tral

Shoe Surgery On the Run

We were able to go around them and continued up the hill, down a muddy path and POW – my flip flop exploded.  Bummer.  Luckily, we had some line with us so Matt was able to give me a temporary fix and we continued on.

Blown flip flop with repair

Blown flip flop with repair

We were not heading in the right direction, so we hopped off the cow path and headed up hill across the grassy field.  It led to a tall barb wire fence that stopped us cold.  We walked along the fence until we came upon an “opening” that we squeezed through.

Now, we are on a decent dirt trail, continuing up only to encounter a huge security fence with a young lady on the other side.  I decided the friendly route was the way to go.  We weren’t sure who was on the public side.

Trespassers

We discovered we were on private property owned by a rancher which explained the cows.  There was a small opening under the fence, that we belly crawled through.  We are now covered in dirt, mud, and leaves. But we carried on through a pretty resort called Tulemar Resort.

We cooled off for a bit, before hitting Howard trail where we encountered a small waterfall.  Sweet, a quick opportunity to clean up and cool off.

Water falls at Tulemar Resort

Water falls at Tulemar Resort

The Animals

The wildlife came out to greet us – we found an Agouti which is a cross between a rabbit and a squirrel and a few monkeys.

Agouti and Monkeys at Tulemar Resort

Agouti and Monkeys at Tulemar Resort

We hiked up and down hills, through fields, rivers, beaches, over trees and rocks, and under fences.  We finally made it to Manuel Antonio, but the elusive Playa Biesanz is still calling us – so maybe another time.  Our health app logged 5.2 miles and 144 flights!

Reto MAE Hike

Reto MAE Hike

Cold Beer, Pizza, and this Amazing View

We stopped for lunch at La Lambretta, mostly for the view, cold beverage and pizza.  They had a local IPA called Grizzly and Matt said it was the best IPA he has had all year.  I think it is the only one he has had, but either way he was happy.

La Lambretta Pizzeria

La Lambretta Pizzeria

Reto Mae Hike

We will have to come back to explore the beaches further, perhaps with a better map?  Or perhaps we will wonder again just to see if we can get lost.

Welcome to Cocal

Barrio El Cocal: Costa Rica

There is a peninsula just off of Quepos that we have wanted to visit for some time.  We ventured to Barrio Boca Vieja a few times where spotted the ferry that would take us across.  However, we just never made it to Barrio El Cocal located on the other side of the peninsula.

The small grid area is downtown Quepos and across from Sueno Tranquillo is the peninsula and Barrio El Cocal.

Barrio Cocal

Finally, we decided we were going to explore Barrio El Cocal and the peninsula, and took the ferry across for 300 colones (or $0.26 each).

It is not your average ferry.  They have these open ended boats powered by a small outboard to take you across.  Very uneventful and as an added bonus you really feel like a Tico.

Ferry to Cocal

Ferry across the river

We decided to have the ferry drop us off on the village side as opposed to the beach side.  We wanted to explore the small town – one road.

Welcome to Cocal

As you enter the town on the one road, you pass a few homes, a decent market, and a huge park area just off the beach.

As we continued down the road this town continued to surprise us.  We were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this spot.  On the left is the beach and on the right were small palm tree farms and banana plantations.

Cocal Plantations

We passed the local church

Church on Cocal

And kept walking. We passed some locals who seemed to think we were lost.  I take it they don’t get many gringos.

Cocal Beach:

We eventually decided to cut across to the beach so we could walk back toward the ferry dock.  It was a beautiful day on the beach with the blue sky reflecting on the water.

Beach at Cocal

Huge, beautiful trees and large ponds line the beach.

Beach at Cocal

We turned around after we had walked nearly 7 miles.  We were very tired and still had over 2 miles to go to get back to the apartment.  After rounding the tip, we hopped on a ferry, and rewarded ourselves with a cold beverage and an early dinner.

Hike to Barrio El Cocal

New Adventure:

  • Ferry across the ba
  • Visited a new town, Barrio El Cocal
  • Walked the entire peninsula
  • Almost hit 24k steps.
Marina Pez Vela

Sweetie Gets A Clean Bottom-Boat Chores

The yard at Marina Pez Vela is really nice.  However, as with most things that sit outside for an extended period of time, the boat gets really, really dirty.  So, in between managing our insurance claim, we have been busy working on lots boat chores.

Marina Pez Vela

Marina Pez Vela

Everything had to be removed from under our settees to enable the workers access to our house batteries, inverter/charger, COIs, and switches.  So, all of those items were moved to our master head.  In addition, the beds had to be opened up to get to the carts and bilge pumps, and cabinets had to be emptied to get to the fridge and freezer pumps.  All of that “stuff” plus our settee cushions that are normally stowed are now stuffed in other places.

It’s heartbreaking to see your home in such disarray.  So, we do what we can to keep it clean and organized as much as possible.

Before and After Photos

The salon photo below was taken “before” we put some nice artwork up behind the settees, but you get the general idea of how clean we keep our boat on a daily basis.  The bottom photo has all cushions removed, and our two sails (main and jib) in the salon.

Salon before and after photos

Salon before and after photos

The master cabin before photo was again taken before we put up our beautiful artwork.  The after shot has the bed folded up for easy access to equipment underneath.

Master cabin before and after

Master cabin before and after

I love our starboard master head because it is roomy, white, and breezy. Sometimes it is the coolest place inside the boat.  We keep it spotless because that is just how we are, but now it is stacked with stuff.

Master Head (Bathroom) before and after

Master Head (Bathroom) before and after

The port aft cabin is a office / cabin.  Typically we use this room as our “work room” so we may have some tools and our sewing projects out if we don’t have guests.  Now it is a bit of a disaster with stuff coming out of all areas.

Office / Cabin Before and After

Office / Cabin Before and After

The port forward cabin is full of our salon settee cushions

Port Forward Cabin After

Port Forward Cabin After

A few of the boat projects we have completed while on the hard….waiting.  Most of these chores or projects have been done two or three times due to the mold and constant mess from various workers.

All this work, on top of managing the insurance claim, three vendors, large budget, shipment of parts, visa renewals, extended cruising permit, Galapagos permit, and long stay visa for French Polynesia – good thing I’m a project manager.

Interior Chores:

  • Wiped down all surfaces to remove dirt, dust, mold
  • Cleaned all interior wood work and apply Howard Feed & Wax BeesWax
  • Removed mold with bleach and apply Concrobium Mold Control
  • Aired out all closets, cupboards, drawers
  • Removed silicone from ceiling panels and ceiling (access solar cables)
  • Cleaned and wipe down all bilges
  • Cleaned all areas of debris after workers left, daily

Mold grows within weeks of being clean as it rains every day here creating a great breeding environment.  So, you have to stay on top of it.

Exterior Chores:

  • Scrubbed teak hatches, sugar scoops, and swim ladder steps.  Then apply Star brite Teak Oil.
  • Restored all stainless steel by cleaning with ospho
  • Removed and replaced silicone around front & back bimini rails and around bimini port, back, starboard wood accents.
  • Cleaned up both props using muradic acid (smelly job) see photo below
Cleaning props with muradic acid

Cleaning props with muradic acid

  • Scrub both sides of all three sunshades that were covered in dirt and muck after a few months on the hard in the yard.  Had to do this twice due to the excessive dirt.
Cleaning the Sunshades

Chores: Cleaning the Sunshades

Scrubbed, sanded, and applied Star Brite Teak Oil on all exterior wood accents.

Wood accents chores

Wood accents chores

The bottom of the dinghy is always a challenge to clean.  Most cruisers will take her to a beach, flip her over and clean with sand and soapy water.  However, our outboard is so big and heavy that we cannot taker it off/on easily, so we cannot flip “Sweetie” over.

With the boat on the hard and the outboard on the stanchion, we could easily flip her over so I could clean her bottom.  This was not nearly as bad as many other dinghies we’ve seen, but this was bad for “Sweetie.”  Using a lot of elbow grease, soapy water, scrub brush and “On Off” on the fiberglass hull she came clean after 6 hours of hard labor.

Sweetie's Bottom job

Sweetie’s Bottom job

We left our helm seat cushions out for a comfortable place to sit and within a few weeks we had mold.  It rains here every day, for hours.  So, they had to be scrubbed clean before being stowed inside.  No more cushions outside.

Helm cushions moldy from rain.

Helm cushions moldy from rain.

Matt has been extremely busy as well.

  • Cleaning both engine rooms
  • Re-welded Starboard engine mount that holds alternator
  • Repaired leak in dinghy pontoon using Inland Marine’s Sealant Kit
  • Removed several ceiling panels to access solar panel wiring
  • Replaced big and small zincs on both props
  • Scrubbed down the topsides (over and over and over again)
  • Cleaned and lubed both props
  • Used ospho on stainless on the mast (since it is down and easy to reach and clean)
  • Cleaned out all storage areas.
  • Repaired two drain fittings that were leaking

Check out these clean props, freshly lubed and sporting new small and large zincs!

New Zincs on Both Props

New Zincs on Both Props

We removed our SSB plates to clean them.

Keel Coolers and SSB Plates Maintenance

Keel Coolers and SSB Plates Maintenance

Since we have been waiting to finish up this claim, we have had 5 months to do chores.  Since, I first wrote this post, we have completed more boat chores … at least we will be busy while we wait:

  • Created pattern to replace damaged ceiling panel in master state room
  • Cleaned and prepped ceiling area for new ceiling panels (three panels in master and 1 panel in office)
  • Applied VHB tape to ceiling panels and put them back up (4 months later)
  • Sewing projects: repaired wench covers, dinghy fuel tank cover, sail bag, hat.
  • Sewing project: created new sunbrella cockpit covers to keep the rain out
  • Cleaned wench handle holders
  • Repeated all projects above for Christine on Interior and Exterior before launch

New Boat Cards and Stickers

On the plus side, we did manage to create new boat cards and stickers.  We often trade boat cards with other cruisers so we can stay in touch as we travel.  These are much cleaner, with more information, and has a fabulous photo of us.

Sugar Shack Boat Cards

Sugar Shack Boat Cards

Matt created two designs for our boat stickers.  We ended up going with the top graphic with images.  Lots of places let you put your sticker up at their establishment which is fun to represent Texas.

Sugar Shack Stickers

Sugar Shack Stickers

Sugar Shack on the Hard in Marina Pez Vela.  Her boom lies across her bow, her mast is on the ground behind her and all her sails, rigging, sail bag, spreaders, etc…are down.   She desperately needs a new bottom job (even though her current one is less than 18 months young)…the elements will do that to your ablative paint.

Sugar Shack on the Hard MPV

Sugar Shack on the Hard MPV