04 May2012; Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica.

 This place never fails to amaze as it looks like that the authorities have no concept of guest service. Last time we had to tender while a berth became available at 09:00. This time we arrived and the whole dock was free. Not a ship alongside but I still had to go to anchor. That was not looking good as a long low swell was running into the bay causing high waves to crash onto the breakwater and onto the Beach. So we stopped the ship and let it settle to see how much swell there would be running along the tender platforms. It was about two feet and that is way too much. Just imagine stepping in a moving elevator that you have to catch when it moves constantly two feet past the threshold. So I moved further up the anchorage where according to port control, the local experts, it was better. It was not. Coming closer to the shallows the swell only built up more. Thus I had to make the unpleasant announcement; cancel! It is too dangerous; I cannot guarantee your safety on the tender service. So the tenders where pulled back inside again and I turned the bow to open sea. Just when I was about to give a kick ahead to get to a better location while waiting for clearance, port control called, inviting us to come alongside. I wonder why the sudden change of mind; …………… anyway, 20 minutes later I was alongside the dock. 

All the tours could go as planned and although the ship was riding a little bit of swell, it was easily doable. So within 20 minutes we went from great disappointment to a very happy atmosphere. There was only one single cargo ship at the anchorage, which had to wait another day anyway, so why I could not dock straight away was beyond me. But then things in Puerto Caldera port are never straight forward and we just have to live with it. The good thing is the buses can park opposite the gangway and the guests only have to cross the dock to get on board. Police were there to keep the sometimes too eager cab drivers under control, there was somebody fussing around with a broom, all in all it was turning into a regular Middle American port day.

The sun kept shining until 3 pm when finally a rain cloud descended from the mountains and hosed the ship down. Unfortunately just when most of the buses were returning. But then in everybody’s life some rain must fall. By 4 pm all buses were supposed to be back and this was also confirmed by the tour operator. When the last bus was not there, I was advised “10 minutes more”. So today I learned something new. A Puerto Caldera minute contains 270 seconds. After those 10 local minutes the bus finally arrived. Something to do with mud slides along the way, probably caused by that rain cloud. Finally we could sail and I turned the ship out of the port, only having to wait for urgent medicines to arrive. The courier was “only 5 minutes” away, but I preferred to wait outside the port as the swell was getting heavier and heavier in the port. The medicines arrived by boat and where taken onboard by the famous bucket on a rope method. It would not be the first time that the precious parcel fell into the water when a hand-to-hand, hand over was tried from a bouncing pilot boat. Hence my insistence on using a “receptacle”.

Finally with everything on board we sailed away from the port entrance bucking a severe swell. At least 13 to 15 feet in height, but long running, so going at slow speed the ship could ride it comfortably until we came to deeper water where the swell slowly reduced. During the day the crew had started to gather all the Corinto donations from Guests, ship and crew alike in the provisions loading area. It is just mind boggling what we have accumulated, games, puzzles, clothing, chairs, obsolete hotel equipment, you name it, and it popped up in the provision break. We spent some money from the crew fund to buy last season’s T-shirts from the shops and did the same with a guest collection after we held a fund raiser “dunk the entertainer”. I will post some photos of that event when I get them.

Tomorrow we will be in Corinto Nicaragua, where we arrive at slack tide as there is normally a considerable current running in the port. I have not been there since 1979, when as a cadet on a containership we were marooned there in the middle of the revolution. Not that we minded, as due to lack of customers the prices were coming down in the local bars, and had as a poor cadet, my full approval.