Journal: 3-day kayak tour 24-26 feb

Sea kayaking journal – 24.- 26. February 2013

3-day kayak tour with camping

On this overnight kayaking tour we had a very different route than in the last one since the tide was the total opposite.  We had a nice and varied group with Bente and John Arild from Norway, Ann-Elin and Aldo from Norway and Costa Rica and at last Thomas and Anya from Switzerland.

Day 1 (20 km):
After a good breakfast and an hour of prepping and packing 5 of us were ready to set out on the beautiful calm gulf water. Thomas and Anya would join us later as they could not leave work so early in the morning. The stretch over to Playa Hacienda Vieja at Isla San Lucas was spent getting to know one another and just taking in the scenery of the Gulf of Nicoya. Just before we reached the island the northern wind came up so we decided to take little longer break there and have lunch on the beach instead of kayaking around the island to where the prison ruins are. Just as soon as it came the wind died down again and we could continue up to the fascinating small island in the channel between Isla San Lucas and the main land. These are bird islands with lots of nice caves and cactus.

We continued south again along shore and beached at Playa Blanca for another nice swim and could enjoy the beach party they had there for some minutes before we continued to the calmness on Isla Gitana (or Isla Muertos as it was previously named as it was a cemetery island for the villagers on the main land). Here we were met by the caretaker Edgar. He immediately advised us not to set up our hammock under certain palm trees due to some birds that came there to overnight. As this was the spot we thought was nicest we ignored his advise… thinking a little bit of bird song in the morning won’t harm us. Lesson learned: always listen to the locals! As it got dark a bunch of Great-tailed Grackles came flying in and as Edgar predicted landed in those particular palm trees and yes they are noisy.

At last we Thomas and Anya did not join us as they had an emergency with the water situation at the hotel Thomas owns and they had to stay behind to sort that out.

After enjoying a good barbeque meal Aldo, Ann-Elin and I went out for a little night kayaking tour. The light from the full moon gave the surroundings a beautiful silver shade. In some parts the biolumencese was quite strong as well and we started splashing around to move the water in order to see it.

Day 2 (15 km)

We started the day with a typical Norwegian breakfast before we explored the coast line across from Isla Gitana. The tide was nice and low so we could go ashore on the little tidal beach at Islas Pajaros when we got there. The morning was very calm and nice so it was nice with a refreshing dip in the water. We continued south to Playa Lorenzo where we split up with Ann-Elin and Aldo. They had to continue back to Bahia Rica as they had to catch the 2pm ferry back. Unfortunately Aldo could not get more time off from work.

Bente, John Arild and I continued into the Paquera mangroves and had lunch at the beach there before we floated up and down Rio Grande. Today the birds were numerous and floating down the river was like being in a bird zoo.

After a day filled with impressions and nice kayaking moments we beached at Isla Jesucita and set up our camp for the night. Alex and his wife made a nice Tico dinner for us and they even had some cold beer.

Day 3 (17 km)

We woke up to a nice and calm day and followed the current out to Isla San Pedro. We beached on the small tidal beach and got out our snorkeling gear. We swam in dense schools of sardines, and we spotted a big lobster, a moray eel and a lot of other fish.

We of course also had to visit Isla Nacital and the Spider Monkeys. We found them quite soon and as we continued kayaking along shore they followed us. Suddenly we realized that it was not them following us, but we them. They had discovered something up ahead and were moving very fast through the branches and over the steep cliff. It is amazing to watch these acrobatic animals.

At last we left the monkey and headed over to Isla Cedros and had lunch at Playa Langosta. The tide was coming in fast so we had to pull the kayaks up higher and higher on the beach.

On the way back to Bahia Rica in the afternoon we made a detour out to the small birdislands Islas Carretos.

We landed on the Bahia Rica beach after 3 days packed with impression and experiences. All in all we logged a bit more than 50 km.

To see more pictures from the 3-day kayak tour check our photo album on Facebook