We took the dinghy into the Crocodile Bay Lodge dock, located just off our stern, most of the 30 or 40 small sportfishing boats having already departed for the day’s fight.  After some discussion between security at the dock and the front desk, we were allowed ashore to the lodge.
The Crocodile Lodge has a worldwide reputation as a center for sport fishing, with dorado, marlin, roosterfish, sailfish, snook, tuna, wahoo, and cubera snapper all in play here.  They also have a nice spa.  The facilities are simple, yet elegant, and you too can have a room starting at about $500 a night. 
I had originally hoped we could arrange a day trip into Corcovado, but finding the nearest departure point was Golfito, across the bay, and wanting to spend some time in Panama, we were forced to leave.  The Lodge staff were kind enough to let us use their internet service before we left.
So, we motored the 12 miles east, across the Golfo Dolce to Golfito.

Entering Golfito
Golfito once served as a bustling banana exporting port.  However, disease struck much of the local crop in the mid-1900s, and the vitality of the area never returned.  There is a small trade free zone established by the government to help fill some of the economic gap.
What strikes you upon entering Golfito are the steep hills that surround the area.  In fact, Captain Bryan remarked that he felt he was back in the US Northwest.  As you draw closer, however, you realize that the growth is not evergreen, but tropical.  Golfito sits in a small bay, with a sandy spit on the right side of the entrance, populated with huts, and a higher hill to the left.
The Capitania de Puerto is located straight in front of you, at the head of a large commercial dock.  So, we anchored and Bill dropped me off at a small, deserted boatyard nearby.  Of course the Capitania de Puerto was not in his office when I arrived.  So I waited about an hour until he appeared.  He then wrote out a list of all the various documents and steps involved in leaving the country, and suggested he call a knowledgeable taxi driver to help me through the process.
He arrived and we were off… first to a copy store to make 3 copies of everything, then to the bank to pay our $50 exit fee, followed by immigration to check the crew out, next to customs, and finally back to the Capitania de Puerto.  Did I previously mention that the first of the rainy season has appeared in Costa Rica?  Yes, all accomplished in pouring down rain.
Having completed all of our tasks, and paid the taxi driver $25, I arrived back at the Capitania de Puerto’s office to finish the paperwork, but find him just taking a break for an hour.  He asked that I come back at 3:00.  No problemo, I’ll go to a local internet storefront so that I can check email and upload pictures.  Problemo.  The electric company has announced, at least in advance this time, that power will be out at 2:15 for two hours.  One of the guys at the internet café says to me, “Welcome to my country!”
So, I made a second trip to the supermarcado (supermarket), returned to the Capitania to pick up our exit “zarpe” document, hailed Allura via portable VHF to pick me up in the dinghy, we prepared the boat for sea, and departed a little before 4:00.  Since, we’ve motored the 16 miles out the Golfo Dulce and are now headed a about 100 miles more to a small set of islands inside the border of Panama.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 20th, 2007 at 23:00 and is filed under John's Log. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.