SailingKnitter

It's done! The size 34-35" vest made from leftover Lopi wool yarns is completed. I was really sweating it (literally) over whether I would have enough yarn to make a whole vest and the answer is "yes". Whew!

And the two different "second" socks for the new sock book have been reknit too and are on their way to the states. How? Well, I used the most trusted package transit system available - a fellow cruiser. Here's Jerry with the important package. This is the safest way to get mail or small packages from Central America to the states. When I have more details on the book I'll share it here of course.

Another knitting project this past week was a little sweater for old "Cujo". She's one of the doggies here at Land Sea Cruiser central and she actually gets COLD when the temperatures drop after a thunderstorm. She loves her sweaters! So I knit her a lightweight one with some eyelet hole rounds from leftover sock yarn.

And then there are the "mystery" projects. Yep. Cruiser Jerry (photo above) made a suggestion for a knitted article. Ooooooo....needles and yarn started clicking and after a false start - too small - a prototype was completed. Sorry - this pattern will not be available until sometime in September when we start the 2009 Holiday Mystery Gifts Knitalong. Some things just have to stay a mystery. And then...another potential mystery project fell into my lap yesterday when a local barkeeper requested help with a vintage knitted object. Oooooooo again.

So...last week we joined up with fellow cruisers Jerry and Darby and took the water taxi over to Puerto Jimenez on the other side of the gulf. The boat was really nothing more than a fishing panga with a roof and seats. Inside it was packed FULL of people too. Right before we left for the 20-minute ride a woman came onboard selling baggies with frozen fluids inside - mysterious, scary frozen stuff. Folks would chew open a hole in a corner of the baggie and suck on the frozen concoctions.

Puerto Jimenez, a dusty little village, was alive with gold mining back in the 1960's but is now a quiet place visited by a few of the tourists from eco-lodges on the Osa Penninsula. We went over there to see the wild Scarlet Macaws who hang out in the trees. Yep. We found them - couldn't miss them. They are great big red, yellow and blue parrot sized birds and are so noisy! I tried to get a photo, but just couldn't. So I took a short video with sound. You can sorta see a few birds up in the right corner. Listen to this...

After an imitation-mexican meal at a local restaurant (Costa Rican food is so bland), and some excellent coffee ice cream at a little cafe we headed back to the water taxi for the ride back to Golfito. Sitting in the boat, I found that I could actually stick my arm out the window and dangle my fingers in the water. Low-rider for sure! The afternoon winds had come up and were whipping up sharp windwaves out in the open seas of the gulf. While the ride to the penninsula in the morning was smooth, this return trip was rough. At one point we suddenly rolled over to one side from a big wave. Everyone was scared - except for the driver who never slowed down, and his associates who seemed to enjoy dodging the waves coming up over the boat. Here's a little video I shot inside the boat. I thought that maybe it would be my swan-song video recording the end of our lives.

We've been here in Golfito quite a while now - it's just so dang comfortable. But it is time now to get headed on down/over to Panama. So next Wednesday we will hoist the sails and explore the islands of Western Panama.