We are currently at Marina Puesta Del Sol and have the following information.

Entrance

About 2 miles offshore is a vertically striped 12-foot tall “Approach Buoy”, located at about 12.36.N and 88.22.4W. When we entered it appeared to be about .25 nm off station.

The Channel entrance to the Marina is well marked with large red and green buoys, although some lights do not work. All buoys display well on radar. We came in at a -1.25 tide and were surprised to find most of the channel into the marina was between 20-35 feet deep. At one point the channel dropped to about 12 feet for less than 100 meters, again at a very low tide, which rises/falls about 8 feet.

The marina website also lists current waypoints of the approach to the channel and Sea Buoy.

The Marina Office monitors Channel 16 and can be contracted with questions. The Harbor Master and Marina Owners speak English.

Clearance

On arrival, the Marina will ask for Passports, Zarpe and Crewlist and hold them until government officials arrive. The Marina will then contact Naval and Immigration Officials, who will respond from Corinto, Nicaragua (About 1.5 hours drive away). Nicaragua, at least here, has no official Port Captain and the Navy handles the ship’s paperwork.

The current fees upon entry are:

Boat Import – $25.00 US

VISA – $12.50 US each person

Exiting the country here… It appears the officials are charging two different fees:

Most boats are paying $25 US for a ZARPE only, while another was charged an additional immigration fee of $29 to exit for two persons. One Navy Inspector has twice solicited $10 US in bribes from other boats.

The Marina

Marina Puesta Del Sol is well maintained and is owned by former cruisers. The owners of the facility live on their boat in the marina and frequently socialize with guests.

With you dock fees (See below) you are allowed full hotel privileges, including two pools, restaurant, and tennis courts. The Marina also has a fuel dock, Free Wi-Fi, metered 30/50 amp electrical and potable water. Roving security guards patrol the docks.

The Hotel currently has 20 rooms, with plans to expand in the near future, including an airport, golf course, and condos.

The hotel also provides a van to take you to the town of Chinandega for provisioning or sightseeing. The town has several supermarkets and a large market area with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. We shopped at the La Colinia Supermarket, which had a large selection of American products and of course incredible Nicaraguan Beef!

Current Dock fees (4/2012): $1.25 US per foot the first two days $1.00 US per foot each additional day

The higher first two day charges pay for Navy and Customs to come to marina and process you.

We would highly recommend this location, especially as a place to do inland tours of Nicaragua.

The marina’s website is: www.marinapuestadelsol.com

Tom Jeremiason