A relaxing day at sea:
I used this sea day as a "battery charger" for my body. Reading books on the balcony while watching passing dolphins and seabirds flying 20 feet away is a wonderful way to catch up on sleep and energy.
I did take time to attend a cooking demonstration by the ship's chef and maitre d'. They showed us how simple it can be to prepare several gourmet meals from scratch. After the tour, we toured the main galley of the ship as it cranked up for the night's dining. The surprisingly small area is so stainless and spotless that it looks dull. When the bright foods and aromas start filling the galley, it transforms into a wondrous visual and aromatic kaleidoscope.
Puntarenas Costa Rica
We woke this morning alongside a pier on this long peninsula. At 6 AM we went to Deck 14 for a quick breakfast.
Our tour bus drove right out on the pier to pick us up for our tours. After a scenic drive along the shore, we boarded an antique train at the mouth of a river, and passed through many squatter shanties as we climbed up the river valley into the interior.
Beside the reality of poverty and squalor in a 3rd world country, we also saw living fences for the first time. Barbed wire is strung on widely spaced posts, and suckers from a local tree are driven into the ground. With humidities of about 100%, the sticks root themselves into a impenetrable living fence in a year or two. Unfortunately these tall thick fences are the bane of tourist trying to get pictures of the beautiful green fields and livestock. Speaking of tourists, the tree used for these fences has a red bark that often peels away from the trunk in the tropical sunshine. The local name for these trees is "Touristas" (tourists).
When we reached the end of the tracks, we transfered to a bus which took us to the mouth of a river, where a pontoon boat was ready to take us deep into the interior of a mangrove swamp. Great viewing was had by all, with the following species accounted for:
Raccoon
Transparent fish
Vulture
Ibis
Night Heron
Spoonbill Heron
Other herons
King Fisher
Swallow
Macaw
Toucan
Swallow
Alligator
Monkey
After returning to the ship, Patti shopped the 500 meter long market at the dock, while I downed a very respectable local beer with an Ex-Pat from Houston. He was explaining how beautiful and inexpensive it was to live here. I stopped at one beer before I started to think whether booking cruises from here would work.
Because the next 2 cities that we are visiting are similar on the shore excursion forms, we'll write them up together.
I used this sea day as a "battery charger" for my body. Reading books on the balcony while watching passing dolphins and seabirds flying 20 feet away is a wonderful way to catch up on sleep and energy.
I did take time to attend a cooking demonstration by the ship's chef and maitre d'. They showed us how simple it can be to prepare several gourmet meals from scratch. After the tour, we toured the main galley of the ship as it cranked up for the night's dining. The surprisingly small area is so stainless and spotless that it looks dull. When the bright foods and aromas start filling the galley, it transforms into a wondrous visual and aromatic kaleidoscope.
Puntarenas Costa Rica
We woke this morning alongside a pier on this long peninsula. At 6 AM we went to Deck 14 for a quick breakfast.
Our tour bus drove right out on the pier to pick us up for our tours. After a scenic drive along the shore, we boarded an antique train at the mouth of a river, and passed through many squatter shanties as we climbed up the river valley into the interior.
Beside the reality of poverty and squalor in a 3rd world country, we also saw living fences for the first time. Barbed wire is strung on widely spaced posts, and suckers from a local tree are driven into the ground. With humidities of about 100%, the sticks root themselves into a impenetrable living fence in a year or two. Unfortunately these tall thick fences are the bane of tourist trying to get pictures of the beautiful green fields and livestock. Speaking of tourists, the tree used for these fences has a red bark that often peels away from the trunk in the tropical sunshine. The local name for these trees is "Touristas" (tourists).
When we reached the end of the tracks, we transfered to a bus which took us to the mouth of a river, where a pontoon boat was ready to take us deep into the interior of a mangrove swamp. Great viewing was had by all, with the following species accounted for:
Raccoon
Transparent fish
Vulture
Ibis
Night Heron
Spoonbill Heron
Other herons
King Fisher
Swallow
Macaw
Toucan
Swallow
Alligator
Monkey
After returning to the ship, Patti shopped the 500 meter long market at the dock, while I downed a very respectable local beer with an Ex-Pat from Houston. He was explaining how beautiful and inexpensive it was to live here. I stopped at one beer before I started to think whether booking cruises from here would work.
Because the next 2 cities that we are visiting are similar on the shore excursion forms, we'll write them up together.
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