Playa Azul

We left Bluefield on a windy morning after spending an hour trying to figure out why our Speed/Wind/Depth/GPS instruments were not working.  We isolated the issue to a failed speed display.  The speed display was apparently not letting power get to the other instruments.  When we took it out of the loop, our other instruments all came back to life.  Of those four instruments, it was the least important.  I guess we get to go shopping online and shipping internationally again.  Gotta love the boating life.

From our calm anchorage at Bluefield, we were going to try to anchor at Isla Zapitilla #1 (there are two islands, #1 and #2, clever).  The weather was not cooperating,  so we went a little further to the much more protected Playa Azul.

Day one.  The Playa Azul anchorage is surrounded by reefs.  It’s interesting and a bit unnerving to sail our home in and around a bunch of reefs.  Our first night, it rained.  Just a little bit.  Then again, and again, and again.  Turns out our boat leaks in the tropics.  We put a tarp over our deck to slow down the water intrusion.

Day two.  On shore is a little hotel, Azul Paradise.  We took our dinghy in to visit the hotel the next morning.  The hotel is only accessible by boat.  They have little huts over the water for guests and two restaurants for anyone who shows up.  Our friends, Don & Roz, sailed in so we went in later for dinner.  Three of us had seared ahi tuna while the fourth enjoyed filet mignon.  Boat life.

Day three.  We went on a tour to the local village and jungle.  The village was settled by two people over 60 years ago.  Today there are 1000.  It’s a USAID village.  There are no roads.  You get here by boat and a short hike.  In the jungle, we saw sloths, night monkeys, huge spiders, alligators, a dangerous tiny red frog, and a few mosquitos.