Puntarenas to Pura Vida

Costa Rica was the port we most happily anticipated visiting.  Everyone I know who has visited there has loved, loved, loved it.   Our first stop was a tropical forest in the hills, and the path included three long suspension bridges that hovered over the dense forest below.   It is now the end of the dry season there and the hills were dry, so the flora was a bit subdued.  But we had a wonderful guide, Erik, who was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and eager to explain to us everything from photosynthesis to the Costa Rican education system.

Bromeliads

Suspension bridge

Scores of termite nests in all kinds of trees.

Our next stop was Pura Vida Gardens.  Pura vida translates as "pure life" and is the aloha of Costa Rica.  It's a greeting, thanks,  and all around expression of good will and wishes.

Note:

 More pictures to follow later this week as the shipboard Internet has ground to a halt.  I've tried to load pictures the last 3 days with no luck.  Will finish up early next week when I arrive home and have a reliable connection.

Transit day!  We got up on the top deck in time to see the approach to the first lock.   We would be transiting the passage with the Norwegian Pearl, seen here on the left entering the first lock.   

The Pearl has only 2 foot clearance on each side within the lock.  

The ship ahead of us has exited, the gates are about to open to let us in, and then will close behind us and fill to bring the ship up to the level of Lake Gatun.   Here's the view behind us to as we exit the first lock.

And then we enter Lake Gatun, where we travel at a very leisurely pace.  It will take 9 hours to travel the 50 miles cut across the continent. 

And it is hot.   And humid.  Very uncomfortable and for the first couple of hours, I would go back into air conditioned comfort every 10-15 minutes to cool off.  About 11 AM, we found a corner of the ship with a breeze and shade and soon were treated to a tropical downpour that substantially lowered the temperature and humidity.  

One of the biggest obstacles in the completion of the Canal is the Culebra Cut,  the artificial path cut across the Continental Divide.

You can't pass through this engineering marvel without acknowledging and honoring the tens of thousands who died constructing the Canal.   I was chatting with another passenger who said the transit  was especially meaningful to her because it was a chance to experience history, not just looking at  another historical point of interest.  We were able to see the marvel in action: the locks moving, the continuing dredging, the evidence of the prior engineering innovations.

Pins on the map

I have to admit it, pinning new destinations I've visited  on my tripadvisor map gives me pleasure.  And pinning Cartagena is not only my first visit to South America, but my second to a Cartagena in just 13 months.

We sailed into the bay between the two sections of the city.  Our tour is in the old section of town in the foreground.  For those who are interested in current news about Cartagena, Hotel Caribe,  is in the new section of town (the highrises on the pennisula).  Hotel Caribe is the site of the recent Secret Service Scandal.

Our tour guide, Luis, meets us  and we proceed through the morning rush hour to La Popa Monastery, where we took the panoramic picture of Cartagena above.  It's a madhouse up there, lots of tourists but the views are pretty good and we decide Luis is a retired sciences teacher, because we are learning alot about the natural resources of Columbia.  

Our next stop is the Spanish Fortress, built a long time ago:)  to protect Cartagena from pirates.  As we pull to a stop, the guide announces we have all of ten minutes to take a look.  I'm disappointed because it looks like a very interesting place, but perhaps I'll return someday for a second look. 

A short drive later, the bus driver lets us off in front of the walled portion of Old Town Cartagena, and we head off for our first stop, the Palace of Inquisition, imported from Spain in the   There's a rack, where they stretched the "heretics" to bring them closer to God.

 The Heretic's Fork.

The second floor was a cultural museum with loads of dioramas

And this rather angry looking gent.

The old town of Cartagena was lovely and I could have easily spent a couple more hours wandering around.  But the ship was leaving at 1 PM. so all aboard for the Panama Canal transit!

Rough going

We've had a rocky time at sea the last 24 hours.  We've been lucky, neither of us has gotten sea sick and only have taken ginger pills to ward off distress.    The rolling has been punctuated with an occasional boom!  a loud smacking wave followed by an up and down motion.   A few crashes could be heard in the kitchen while we were at dinner, but they didn't close the kitchen, and all stationery objects seem to be groaning or creaking.

Caymans and the Cali

I've read that all the beauty in Grand Cayman is under the sea.  Or is that Aruba?   Sailing into the port town of Georgetown was a little like driving into a strip mall.  The main street from the port, like so many others, is lined with T-shirt and souveneir shops, dive shacks and restaurants,  but all  in an nondescript architectural style.   There were a few exceptions, like this cute place offering conch where the exterior decor matched Rich's outfit.

But we were there to snorkel.  Our tour was to go to 2 different stops.   We load the boat (slowly.....as we are among the youngest folks on board) pull away from the pier and in about 6 minutes, stop, between the Disney Fantasy and the Crown Princess.  We were hoping to get a little further around the island, maybe a view of the famed Seven Mile Beach, but no.  The snorkeling was pretty good however, we saw the usual--parrotfish, tangs, angelfish and a couple of tarpons, a shark look alike.  

A half hour later we head to the second spot, a ship wreck.   Once again, we motor for a few minutes and find ourselves within swimming distance of shore.   This is the wreck of the Cali, driven ashore in bad winds,  put aground by the Captain to save it, only to be undone by its cargo, rice.  Which reportedly expanded and blew the hull wide open.  Here's a pic I stole from  a flickr account because we don't have an underwater camera:)

Sorry we didn't get to see more of the island.  That's a downside to cruising.  It's hard to get an informed impression of a place in such a short visit.

Sea day

Probably every Sunday for the past forty odd weeks, we've spent our first waking moments together daydreaming about today, the first sea day of the cruise.  About room service.  And unstructured time.  Discovering the nooks and crannies of the ship.   And here we are, living the dream.

After breakfast al fresco, we plopped ourselves on a couple of chairs  and spent the next 3 hours reading, observing and commenting on our fellow passengers and deck activities, and making occasional forays a bit further afield.     You can find us in the shade with 50 SPF smeared on.

Next up is lunch, and one option is a fresh fish barbeque served on the pool deck.  I guess this is when I should let you know you won't find any pictures here of the delicious food we are enjoying.   Twenty odd years ago, on our first cruise, we thought it was absolutely hilarious that people would take pictures of food.   The midnight buffet was then a very popular feature, and passengers were let in at 11:30 to take photos of the food.   We agreed then that there were many more interesting things to photograph on our travels and with very few exceptions ( I couldn't resist the eponymous Casoncellis we came across in Bergamo, Italy), we've honored that agreement.

Delicious anticipation

Less than 2 weeks after returning home from our Transatlantic cruise last spring, Rich and I committed to the only known remedy for post vacation depression - we booked another trip.

This time we are cruising for 17 nights, departing from Fort Lauderdale this  Saturday, stopping in the Grand Caymans and Colombia before we transit the canal.   On the Pacific side, we will stop in Costa Rica and then 4 Mexican ports and San Diego as we cruise  our way  home to San Francisco.  We're looking forward to snorkeling, hiking, river rafting and "skywalking" on shore, and at sea,  lots of time to read, relax and  gaze at the horizon.

We're on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator, and you can see by the picture it's not your typical mega ship.  The Navigator was built to serve as a Soviet research vessel, then purchased by Regent, retrofitted completely,  and now carries a maximum of 495 passengers.