During the last 2 days, we have visited 2 cities that looked very similar in the itinerary description. Our experience was very different:
San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
There is very little to do on this sandy peninsula where we docked, so we took a tour to the Spanish colonial city of Grenada.
A recent hurricane had created so many potholes that the oncoming traffic looked like watching skiers slalom towards you. When you combine this with the fact that we too were doing slalom on the same potholed road, the result was somewhere between frightening and exciting.
Our bus was a new Mercedes, but the seating was inspired by the stature of the local Mayas. When in my seat, I was immobile, and could feel the knees of the person behind me in my back.
After a 2 hour ride, we were left for 45 minutes in the town square. and then rushed through a 30 minute guided tour of the town. We missed many of the points of interest that were on our own intended self guided walking tour. The guide was pleasant, but not experienced. He should have clearly told us of his tour route, and ETA at each stop, so we could catch up if lost or side-tracked. Only the seasoned travellers in this group prevented someone form missing the ship.
The results were that we got one hour of touring this great colonial city out of 6 total hours on the trip.
The high spot of the day came after we returned to the ship. At the pier, we shopped for nicely crafted, low price trinkets and crafts from pleasant vendors covering about a quarter mile of beachfront under the palm trees. The non shoppers found a home at a thatched bar at the end of the market, where delicious $1 cold beers and a great view of the ship speeded our relaxation.
The lesson learned here was that schedules mean little in a third world country, and that any tour chosen must have enough time on the ground to allow for transportation mess-ups. Princess and the tour operator should upgrade guide training.
Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
Although there is no city at Puerto Quetzal, it is a main shipping center for landlocked Guatemala City. Thousands of containers are stacked at the port, which can also handle cruise ships.
We decided to see the UNESCO rated colonial city of Antigua, which is about 1/2 hour inland at 4500 feet. The divided paved highway made us forget that we were still in the third world as we whizzed through cane fields (some burning). Suddenly, about a mile in front of us, a thick dark cloud of smoke mushroomed in the center of the road. After waiting at a dead stop for about an hour, news came back to us that a fuel tank-truck had explode, and that the road would be closed until it burned out. After about 1/2 hour, an ambulance and fire truck rushed up the other side of the highway, and soon after, we made a U turn. Almost back to the ship, our bus broke down, and we had to wait another half hour for a new bus to be sent out, and for he bus drivers to plan an alternate route. Our very pleasant bus driver did his best, but could not communicate because English was not one of the requirements for his job. Our tour was "Antigua on your own".
Almost back to the dock, we turned right through the city's streets and back alleys. It was like playing Space Invaders as the bus driver wove through flocks of "Alien" vehicles like bicycles, oxcarts, dogs, horses, tricycle taxis, cows herded by kids on bikes, Kids on BMX's with 50 pound packs of wood for tonight's cooking, Pedestrians with immense loads on their heads, etc..
After surviving this gauntlet, we arrived at 1:00 PM. Superhuman effort by our driver kept us to only 1.5 hours lost. Upon arriving at the city, we were given a map with the central square, major tourist sites, and out bus departure site.
A delicious "Plato Typico" at a restaurant just off the square for only $12.50 settled us down, and we began our self guided walking tour. Although there were plenty of licensed guides to take you on a wanking tour for only $10, Patti and I had to go into overdrive to catch all of the points of interest on our list by ourselves.
Between 2 and 4 O:clock, we breezes through 8 sites, many of which were in a state of ruin. The Spaniards chose a great location for rainfall and temperature by locating in a bowl between several volcanoes, but were unaware of the seismic activity below their feet. Most existing churches and buildings have been rebuilt several times. Even today, there is a lack of multi-story buildings in this great city.
The last laugh has evidently gone to the diminutive surviving Indians. Very few Spanish types are seen on the streets, while sub-5-foot brown people are everywhere. I realized that they would fit perfectly in the bus seats that we had to endure the day before.
Our tour completed, the bus returned to the ship just in front of a commuter bus. We had a lot of fun watching the people waiting at the bus stops, and imagining how their day had gone. After whizzing by the remains of the burned tanker that had screwed up or schedule, we threaded by hundreds of trucks waiting for ships to arrive at the container port and reached the ship.
After watching the departure from our balcony, a quick shower, a dinner centered on Chicken Kiev, and watching a dance contest, we found our energy gages on empty and retired for a deep sleep.
Today we are in Huatalco, Mexico before ending our cruise in Acapulco tomorrow. We rented a boat, and toured the five bays that front this goverment-engineered tourist area. We'll add details on this and Acapulco when we reach Vermont.
Thanks for taking this trip with us. We'll be adding more content, so come visit us again.
San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
There is very little to do on this sandy peninsula where we docked, so we took a tour to the Spanish colonial city of Grenada.
A recent hurricane had created so many potholes that the oncoming traffic looked like watching skiers slalom towards you. When you combine this with the fact that we too were doing slalom on the same potholed road, the result was somewhere between frightening and exciting.
Our bus was a new Mercedes, but the seating was inspired by the stature of the local Mayas. When in my seat, I was immobile, and could feel the knees of the person behind me in my back.
After a 2 hour ride, we were left for 45 minutes in the town square. and then rushed through a 30 minute guided tour of the town. We missed many of the points of interest that were on our own intended self guided walking tour. The guide was pleasant, but not experienced. He should have clearly told us of his tour route, and ETA at each stop, so we could catch up if lost or side-tracked. Only the seasoned travellers in this group prevented someone form missing the ship.
The results were that we got one hour of touring this great colonial city out of 6 total hours on the trip.
The high spot of the day came after we returned to the ship. At the pier, we shopped for nicely crafted, low price trinkets and crafts from pleasant vendors covering about a quarter mile of beachfront under the palm trees. The non shoppers found a home at a thatched bar at the end of the market, where delicious $1 cold beers and a great view of the ship speeded our relaxation.
The lesson learned here was that schedules mean little in a third world country, and that any tour chosen must have enough time on the ground to allow for transportation mess-ups. Princess and the tour operator should upgrade guide training.
Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
Although there is no city at Puerto Quetzal, it is a main shipping center for landlocked Guatemala City. Thousands of containers are stacked at the port, which can also handle cruise ships.
We decided to see the UNESCO rated colonial city of Antigua, which is about 1/2 hour inland at 4500 feet. The divided paved highway made us forget that we were still in the third world as we whizzed through cane fields (some burning). Suddenly, about a mile in front of us, a thick dark cloud of smoke mushroomed in the center of the road. After waiting at a dead stop for about an hour, news came back to us that a fuel tank-truck had explode, and that the road would be closed until it burned out. After about 1/2 hour, an ambulance and fire truck rushed up the other side of the highway, and soon after, we made a U turn. Almost back to the ship, our bus broke down, and we had to wait another half hour for a new bus to be sent out, and for he bus drivers to plan an alternate route. Our very pleasant bus driver did his best, but could not communicate because English was not one of the requirements for his job. Our tour was "Antigua on your own".
Almost back to the dock, we turned right through the city's streets and back alleys. It was like playing Space Invaders as the bus driver wove through flocks of "Alien" vehicles like bicycles, oxcarts, dogs, horses, tricycle taxis, cows herded by kids on bikes, Kids on BMX's with 50 pound packs of wood for tonight's cooking, Pedestrians with immense loads on their heads, etc..
After surviving this gauntlet, we arrived at 1:00 PM. Superhuman effort by our driver kept us to only 1.5 hours lost. Upon arriving at the city, we were given a map with the central square, major tourist sites, and out bus departure site.
A delicious "Plato Typico" at a restaurant just off the square for only $12.50 settled us down, and we began our self guided walking tour. Although there were plenty of licensed guides to take you on a wanking tour for only $10, Patti and I had to go into overdrive to catch all of the points of interest on our list by ourselves.
Between 2 and 4 O:clock, we breezes through 8 sites, many of which were in a state of ruin. The Spaniards chose a great location for rainfall and temperature by locating in a bowl between several volcanoes, but were unaware of the seismic activity below their feet. Most existing churches and buildings have been rebuilt several times. Even today, there is a lack of multi-story buildings in this great city.
The last laugh has evidently gone to the diminutive surviving Indians. Very few Spanish types are seen on the streets, while sub-5-foot brown people are everywhere. I realized that they would fit perfectly in the bus seats that we had to endure the day before.
Our tour completed, the bus returned to the ship just in front of a commuter bus. We had a lot of fun watching the people waiting at the bus stops, and imagining how their day had gone. After whizzing by the remains of the burned tanker that had screwed up or schedule, we threaded by hundreds of trucks waiting for ships to arrive at the container port and reached the ship.
After watching the departure from our balcony, a quick shower, a dinner centered on Chicken Kiev, and watching a dance contest, we found our energy gages on empty and retired for a deep sleep.
Today we are in Huatalco, Mexico before ending our cruise in Acapulco tomorrow. We rented a boat, and toured the five bays that front this goverment-engineered tourist area. We'll add details on this and Acapulco when we reach Vermont.
Thanks for taking this trip with us. We'll be adding more content, so come visit us again.
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