Bahia Herradura

We decided to leave the Gulf of Nicoya and head SE once again. At 10:15 we pulled anchor and motor-sailed about 4 hours to Bahia Herradura which is located at the mouth of the Gulf of Nicoya. Enroute Jordan once again snagged a beautiful Dorado with a trailing line - more delicious fish to share with fellow cruisers!

As soon as we arrived at the bay, we went directly to the fuel dock at Los Suenos Marina They would not sell us any diesel until we showed them our Temporary Boat Import for Costa Rica which we've never been asked for at a fuel dock until now. But after filling our tanks, they were kind enough to let us rinse all the salt off Sea Turtle with their hose.

Prices at this marina are quite outrageous. Their current moorage rate is $3.25 per foot (which would be $113.75 per night for small Sea Turtle) and even if you are at anchor, they charge $50 per day to land your dinghy at their dock!!

Pretty...expensive

After we were done at the fuel dock, we anchored for free out in the bay (N09°38.857' W084°39.593') alongside MV Hobo who had arrived a few hours before us.

The beach area had breaking surf, was fouled with large rocks, and appeared to have dirty grey sand so we bypassed any dinghy landing.

But we jumped into the 30.2°C ocean for a wonderful swim as we bobbed in the swells. This is the warmest temperature so far for us in the ocean.

Much later around 19:30 it started to rain hard so we thought, "Why not?" We stripped and went outside, getting a drenching shower in the cool rain. What an exhilarating feeling - and my hair was so soft afterwards.