Costa Rica & Panama Canal 2020

I have to say that staying in the Western Hemisphere is a nice change from being 10-12 hours ahead (or behind)....arriving late at night is always interesting....what you think is outside your window may not be the same view in the morning......Hotel Gran De Oro is absolutely delightful...tiny meandering halls leading up and down and around...restaurant is in a center courtyard...massive stained glass windows.....huge potted plants...and the food is wonderful...why eat anywhere else me thinks!  Hotel is slightly off the main thoroughfare so walking is easy...visited the Central Market....always a crazy mishmash of food stalls...restaurants ...pots….pans…..pharmacies ..love to watch the people..sights and sounds...wandered the main pedestrian street....shops...street music that ranges from harp music to a tiny ukulele...to a group of older mariachis...throw in music blaring from many shops...all this while the crowd of people march across the few streets that cut through allowing vehicles..no one obeys the cross walk signs..which are quite funny...they start off as a green man walking but as the time gets shorter to cross the street the little man starts running...I keep an eye on that little guy…..the newly opened Museo del Oro Precolombino was a marvel from the building itself to the unbelievably ornate objects within....there was plenty of gold in them thar hills and the natives weren’t afraid to adorn themselves with it...I cringed at the size of some of the nose, lip and ear jewelry……how lovely to have the windows open to a pleasant breeze and then hear people at a near by church singing...it made for the perfect afternoon.

Sunday morning very breezy.....the farmers market/flea market was in full swing...singers vying with vendors for your attention...beautiful fruits and vegetables ...more types of bananas than you can imagine...wandered through a nearby cemetery...intriguing tombs all above ground....ginger ...poinsettias ...lilies and iris all seem to grow wild.....tiny ferns  attached themselves to many of the tombs and headstones....headed over to the La Sabana Park....huge place...... like a sport oriented Central Park..tennis courts..soccer fields as well as the national soccer stadium...roller skaters gliding around joggers and children on bikes...picnic tables scattered under the trees....thousands of people....some flying kites...felt like a holiday for everyone...temps in the mid 70’s...perfect.

Departed San Jose...headed to Puerto Caldera to meet the ship...since I stayed at a different hotel than the one the ship recommended..I had a driver take me to the port...a tiny moment of concern when he asked what hotel I was going to...but I gamely said Puerto Caldera not a hotel ....ok ok ok he says...I can see his GPS and am convinced we are heading the right way although my sense was he didn’t leave the city much.....scenery is gorgeous very forested and quite rural once you leave the city....after a curious series of toll roads and cloverleafs we finally see a sign for Caldera...from the back seat I see the GPS make a funny upside down V ....I can see cargo ships behind us but the driver is flummoxed...I finally point to the ships and convince him to make a U turn...happily settled in my cabin.  The ship is only 6 months old ...lovely interiors in a variety of sand tones...think I will be happy here for 10 days.

My travel companions on the ship are a nice mix of Europeans ...Australians and Americans... Americans seem to be the majority but not by much......ship and crew are all French...a short trip across a huge bay to Curu Wildlife Refuge....at anchor at night which is always nice...woke up surrounded by islands.....dreaded zodiac to island but thankfully island is very close by…..hiked up to a bluff overlooking the bay....nice panorama...howler monkeys ...tiny deer...some type of raccoon....and a furry version of an anteater...tons of iguanas....they sound enormous rustling through the underbrush.....woodpeckers.....staggered back to the zodiac...dripping sweat....sailed overnight to the Manuel Antonio National Park....jaw dropping scenery...we arrived on the beach just as the park opened...felt a little like Robinson Caruso landing on an absolutely deserted beach......rather than dropping the life jackets in the sand....you hang them in a tree....looks very curious when there a 100 or so hanging there.....little white faced  capuchin monkeys darting through the trees...trying to steal anything and everything they can...I missed seeing a sloth but did a great hike around a small promontory and saw several agoutis ( looks like a huge guinea pig) ..they creep through the underbrush without a sound...small town very near by which must be like living in West Yellowstone...always inundated with tourists.
I was very hot and tired (we had to get up at 5am today) and gritty...peeled off my clothes ..thankfully threw on a robe and was sprawled across the bed when the door opens....there was a couple sounding confused as to why I was in their room..I was dazed as to who was trying to come into my room......good grief...the doors weigh about 40 lbs and I must not have firmly closed my door when I came in....I did get up and lock the door and then happily took a nap.  
Every afternoon there is a briefing ...small recap of the day and more importantly explains what is on schedule for the next day.....well tonite...extensive explanation of sloths.....their breeding habits etc etc...from one of the naturalists....then another starts giving us a detailed overview of Costa Rica ..its economy population etc...there was a definite undertone of killing time...exhibition leader Raphael NO WHERE to be seen and this his big moment of the each day....finally economic lecture  cut short... thankfully....Raphael announces that we will be doing a major shift in itinerary for tomorrow...coastal regulations had changed in the last week so the crew had to come up with an alternative plan for the day....while this is the nature of expedition cruises it still makes for a logistical nightmare for the crew.

Woke up at 6:30 this morning....already 84 degrees....off we go to the beach for a little swim before we head further into the Gulfo Dulce....gorgeous beach that happened to be in front of a small farm...we had permission to tour the farm....but it was basically an invasion....did wander a bit...flowers galore...group of scarlet macaws ...the birders were excited beyond belief ...tanagers..woodpeckers..several types of doves…..the further back from the beach you got the warmer and more humid it became...hiking in a bathing suit has never been a favorite activity of mine.,,,,because of the change of locations/plans and activities today....the poor crew had to unload the zodiacs twice...certainly can’t be high on their wish list.  This afternoon split into two groups and took all the zodiacs up a river...mangroves line the river...egrets..ibis…..ospreys....the further back we went the larger the trees became...finally mangroves gave way to coconuts ..huge ferns...fern trees..bamboo groves...primordial...so many variations of green...sitting in a zodiac for and hour and a half is not ideal but scenery was amazing....while disembarking the zodiac... my phone fell out of my pocket and quickly sank to the bottom of the gulf....a moment of shock…..anger..separation anxiety....but so complete in it’s finality...that I just had to take a deep breath .....AURGH.......will work on surviving the next 19 days without a phone.,,,,tomorrow we enter Panama.

Our final stop in Puerto Jimenez CR.....skipped the cocoa plantation tour but did the afternoon excursion to Casa Orquideas....SPECTACULAR...saw a dozen or so toucans......rowdy group of them came to raid the papaya trees...hawks and dozens of other birds all around the plantation....I think everyone single one of us would happily have stayed here for several days...tiny house tucked under towering trees...everything has to come in by boat...since further back from the beach area the jungle is steep and largely  impenetrable....huge groves of 60-70 ft tall bamboo ....vines covered with flowers cascading from the massive trees......paths wind through a extensive variety of orchids...some tiny others huge…..one aptly named the Spider orchid....the colors of the flowers and birds against the vibrant green backdrop were stunning....a group of flying fish were right outside my window as we left...there is an observatory below the water line but I have yet to see anything swim by the windows.

Sailed all night to Cebaco Island...a very remote island off the west coast of Panama.....dolphins chasing us as we come into anchor....they suddenly all disappear when crossing some invisible line only they can see....skipped the snorkeling but decided to take the hike into the jungle on the the main island....knowing full well that it is in the heat of the afternoon but 75 + of us decided to try it....trail lead into the jungle then followed a dry river bed...leaves covered the rocky riverbed..making walking a bit of a challenge...we came to the point in the hike that people could return to the beach or go up to the top....couldn’t be far ...so thought I would attempt it.....climbing on all four....over trees.....under vines...trail so overgrown that in places you couldn’t see your feet..naturally that is where a vine crossed the trail so we crashed through the foliage ...some people carrying cameras with huge lens although there was nothing to see...no birds..no flowers...just green and brown...sweat dripping from my hair..dripping from my nose..eyebrows....ears….face bright red....hot humid.///.humid and hot ...only consolation being that I might allow myself dessert as a reward...25 of us intrepid folks made it to the top of the trail.....the only plus of the zodiac ride that day was that it was cooler…..sailed all night…...will land at Playa Muerto which is on the edge of the Darien National Park.

The beach is gorgeous ....the village has sent a guide to get us to shore....the Emberas Amerindians wear loin cloths or sarongs....I will say if you happened to be sitting in the front of the zodiac....a bare buttocks is very up close and personal......there is a welcoming  dance ceremony...children grab your hands as we stroll along the beach ...the people are beautiful and in their full finery for the day.....it was like a painting by Gauguin.....hiked up a small hill for a spectacular view of both beaches...mountains in the distance...palm trees line the beach....it is magical and you feel like you have gone back in time.

Sailed all night and woke up the sound of the anchor dropping just at the entrance to the Panama Canal...tug boat..pilot boat all descend upon us....huge cargo ships queued up awaiting their appointed entry time.....will be in the Atlantic late afternoon.

The Panama Canal is interesting ....busy and hot...many people on board only booked this trip because it included the canal crossing...so they would dart from side to side..snapping pictures and admiring the locks...it gave you pause when we would pass within a 100 ft of a huge cargo container....nice to have a day without a dreaded zodiac ride....the captain announced that we could expect rough seas once we entered the Atlantic....no sooner had we gotten into open water when the ship started rolling and pitching...walking around the ship was a challenge....14 ft waves and a stiff wind made for an interesting night...arrived early morning at Holandes Cayes...this is  part of the San Blas archipelago...slightly less rough water as we were behind two tiny islands....one look at the waves crashing over the landing platform and I decided that sitting by the pool was perfect….sea is refusing to cooperate and continued with big swells...so we stay at anchor over night and in the morning a quick trip to Dog Island ....still part of the archipelago....hundreds of islands dot the water around us...some tiny with a handful of palm trees and a thatched hut...others have a few huts that you can rent and perhaps a questionable restaurant/bar....shipwrecks and numerous harbors filled with sailboats and catamarans ....water still causing the zodiacs to be an exciting trip to the beach with waves crashing over the landing marina and occasionally drenching the passengers...I am happily staying put....leave the ship in Colon....a busy port at the entrance to the Canal...dozens of Gantry cranes line the harbor like giant metal herons.... tomorrow morning drive to Panamá City for flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico....the drive was interesting as it took us through the interior of Panama...jungle quickly replaced houses along the way.....Panama City airport crazy busy bustling....

Arrived in San Juan Puerto Rico....big city feel... buildings all close to together......traffic...stayed in the lovely O:live Boutique Hotel.....met some friends for dinner... the next morning raced off to explore Fiestas de la Calle San Sabastian....a wild combination of art festival..street fair and carnival....fun exploring the old part of San Juan...tripping along the blue cobble stone streets....headed to the airport for quick flight to St Marteen....hotel is quite near the airport...you could  watch planes come in for landing while sitting on the beach....needless to say exciting approach....will leave shortly for second cruise on a sailing ship...should be fun....