Gallivanting Grandma

Wednesday – December 14, 2016

The ship’s clocks were advanced another hour this morning as we traveled southeast.  There was a gentle breeze and the sky was mostly cloudy with passing showers – 78 degrees.

Today was rest and relaxation after a couple days of excursions ashore.  We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, then we saw another presentation of Hooray for Hollywood in the theater.  This time it was “Classic Comedies.”  Roy Short does a good job of collecting and showing clips from old movies which we remember from years past.

It’s amazing that on a ship filled with 2,000 people we could find quiet corners.  I don’t know where the crowds were, but there seemed to be few people out and about. We relaxed in comfortable lounge chairs on the deck and listened to recorded books.

One excellent feature of this ship is that it has about eight laundry rooms on multiple floors.  This is great because travelers don’t have to pack as much clothes.  I always travel everywhere with one “carry-on” size suitcase regardless of how long I’m traveling.  This trip was no exception, although it was a challenge with ‘formal nights.’  The disadvantage to packing light is I have to “do laundry” as I go, so today was a laundry day for me.

In the afternoon we saw a re-run of David McCullough’s excellent 1987 Nova program about the Panama Canal.  While it might be a bit dated, the information and historical photos and films were very instructive.  The film provided an introduction to our crossing tomorrow.  

We saw a growing number of commercial ships on the horizon as the day continued. So we knew we were approaching the Panama Canal.  Incredible!  Very exciting!!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016    Mostly cloudy, humid  83 degrees 

Another pre-dawn arrival and the Island Princess was tied to a long cement pier when I awoke about eight o’clock.

The town of Puntarenas, or “sand point” in Spanish, is actually a protected harbor and narrow peninsula of sand jutting out into the Gulf of Nicoya, near the Pacific Ocean.  About a hundred thousand people live in the immediate area and Puntarenas is the closest coastal town to the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. 

Although Puntarenas was discovered in 1522, it was not developed until 1840 when coffee production grew.  We walked off the ship and down the long pier to see the town.  Stalls were arranged along the brown-sand beach with vendors selling Costa Rican souvenirs.  

We took pictures and walked to the end of the public area. Daytime temperatures range from 86 to 95 degrees with high tropical humidity.  We rested in a plaza which was decorated with cannons and we happily discovered free wifi.  I quickly sent emails home and then we returned to the ship to prepare for our group excursion from Puntarenas to Caldera.

Our guide, “Yonathan,” was a young Costa Rican man sporting long dreadlocks.  We boarded a bus for an hour-long ride to the jungle crocodile safari boat along the Rio Grande de Tarcoles or Tarcoles River.  Although it is “the most contaminated river in Costa Rica,” the Tarcoles was a habitat for American crocodiles, large iguanas, and abundant waterfowl and wading birds.  

As Jeff and I boarded the open boat in the sweltering heat, the African Queen came to mind and I felt like Hepburn and Bogart embarking on an adventure.  The scenery was the same as in the movie!

Yonathan handed out a birding guide as we settled into our seats and the vessel slowly glided through murky waters. The skipper, Jose, was good at finding wildlife along the shore and pulled the boat as close to shore as he could, toward a variety of birds, crocodiles, and lizards.

After we returned to shore without feeding ten-foot long crocodiles, we cooled off in the air-conditioned bus on our way to a restored historic train.  Coffee production, which began in Costa Rica in 1779, played a key role in the history and economy of the country.  The provence of Puntarenas continues to be one of the largest coffee growing regions of Costa Rica.

The coffee plantation system grew after the government offered farmers plots of land to grow and harvest the plants.  In 1845 oxcarts and horses were used to transport coffee beans from the interior to the port of Puntarenas.  

As coffee production increased, the first rails were laid in 1854.  At first, mules pulled carts along the narrow gauge railroad called “el burrocarril.”  The rail system was not successful because they were unable to compete with the oxcart drivers who charged lower prices and traveled from coffee farms directly to the port.  It was not until 1890, when a railroad line was completed which could carry coffee from the interior to Puerto Caldera in Puntarenas province to be shipped oversea.    

It was a fun to ride through the countryside from Tarcoles to Caldera following the trail of the original coffee bean transport lines.  We passed modest houses and large farms with Del Monte signs.  The refurbished coach was decorated with streamers in the colors of the Costa Rican flag: red, white, and blue.  

It was only a twenty minute bus ride back to the ship from Caldera.  We dressed up for dinner in the Bordeaux Dining Room and enjoyed a celebratory feast.  Jeff had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and I had baked salmon with grilled veggies.  It had been an interesting and fun day!

Monday, December 12, 2016     Overcast with Showers and a ‘Fresh Breeze’ – 84 degrees

I was awakened to the sound of machines lowering the tenders into the water of the bay. We had arrived in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua some time during the early hours and the ship dropped anchors off shore.  

I opened the curtains expecting to see a bright sunny day but everything was overcast and gray.  I stepped out onto the balcony to watch as a tender moved toward the green shore.  It was raining lightly.

We waited until eleven to take one of the tenders ashore to walk around the horseshoe shaped harbor.  Vendors lined the main street selling crafts to the tourists.  There were several local youths dressed in bright red costumes dancing to lively Nicaraguan music.

One of the hotels on the street is famous because Mark Twain stayed there when he visited Nicaragua.  It was newly painted in bright whitewash. The bright pink building pictured below is La Cantina, a Mexican restaurant.

San Juan del Sur has a population of about 15,600 people most of whom make a living by fishing or tourism.  A large statue of the Mirador del Cristo de la Misericordia stands on a hill above the town.  It is one of the largest statues of Jesus in the world and is a tourist attraction.  The woman in the photo below was asking tourists for donations “to feed her black-face monkeys.”

The small building below is the oldest house in San Juan del Sur and was built in 1912 using “rustic” building materials and old methods of construction  popular a hundred years ago.

We walked back to the terminal to meet a local guide named, Bismar, and we board a brightly colored bus to visit the city of Rivas, Nicaragua.  On the way, Besmar told us about the history of Nicaragua, the development of San Juan del Sur during the 1849 “Gold Rush, the recent political climate, and the current plan to build a canal across Nicaragua by a Chinese company.  

Rivas is located between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean.  According to a guide, the city is full of Spanish colonial architecture.  The bus stopped at the cathedral (sorry I don’t have better photos of the exterior because it was drizzling) and we filed inside.  

The original church was built in 1607 but has been renovated several times through the centuries. The most striking features of the building were the beautiful wooden ceiling and hand painted dome.

We drove along the shore of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America.  There are two islands just off shore which contain active volcanoes, unfortunately visibility was limited.  We passed miles of wind turbines which successfully provide electricity to the region because of strong winds over the lake.

We stopped at Amayo Farm which is supposed to be owned by the niece of Violeta Chamorro, the former president of Nicaragua.  It was a very beautiful tropical property which sloped gently down to the lake.  There were chickens and livestock outside a rambling lovely house. 

Our group sat on a large veranda and were treated to soft drinks and fresh fruit.  We were entertained by musicians and local dancers in bright costumes.  

We walked down to the volcanic sand beach but it was drizzling and visibility was too poor to see the tops of the volcanoes.  It was a twenty minute ride back to the ship and we were lucky that heavy rain held off until the end of our tour.  It was fun to see the towns of Nicaragua and drive through the tropical countryside.  

Back on the Island Princess we were treated to a jazz performance by Pavlova & Yakeo playing piano and saxophone. Later we watched Lorenzo Clark’s act of “Amazing Comedy & Funny Magic” in the theater.  It had been a busy day.

Sunday – December 11, 2016   Sunny with a ‘Fresh Breeze’ –  83 degrees

I slept peacefully last night. The ocean was calmer this morning with a bright hot sun casting sparkles on the deep blue water.  There must have been a squall last night with strong winds.  I thought the stabilizers were working well because the ship doesn’t roll very much.  When it’s windy, there’s just an occasional shudder and the walls creak a little.   

We had another “Day at Sea” today so we started with a leisurely breakfast in the Provence Dining Room.  It was nice to be served but breakfast choices were more limited to traditional morning options than at the Horizon Court.  I prefer yogurt, fruit, and granola to eggs, etc.  We met three more couples during breakfast who were from Tucson Arizona, Kansas, and Phoenix, Arizona.  The older woman from Kansas dominated the conversation with her non-stop bragging but she and her husband had taken 62 cruises, mostly with Princess!  

After breakfast, we went to the theater to hear a presentation called “Hooray for Hollywood Romantic Comedies” given by Roy Short.  He commented on ten “Rom-Coms” and showed clips from the films.  It was well done and entertaining.

Jeff and I tried a challenging trivia quiz but didn’t do very well.  We got 3 1/2 right out of 15 questions but the best score was 8 out of 15 so maybe our score wasn’t so bad. 

We walked around the promenade deck, had an Indian themed lunch at the Horizon, and returned to the theater to hear a presentation about Puntarenas, Costa Rica which will our port of call in a couple of days.  

We went to another trivia quiz later in the afternoon and did much better: 15 right out of 20!  It was a much easier quiz.  We don’t do well on recent pop-culture questions.  Later, we had good iced coffee drinks in the atrium while we people-watched and listened to a classical guitarist.

After a German-themed dinner, we watched a light-hearted musical performance in the theater.  All in all it was a relaxing and easy day.