Day 9 - Costa Rica
1.14.11 - It's Friday. Can't believe we've been on the ship for a week and we only have 1 more week to go. Time sure does fly!
Today we pulled into Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I guess there isn't a lot to "do" in this area, so many of the excursions are full-day events. We have a "short" one at 5 to 6 hours! We have a very early start to our morning (7:15 a.m. meeting time), but I'm guessing it is to help with the heat!
We took the Skywalk in the Forest tour, which is about an hour drive to the rain forest area. Our guide, Ronald, was great. We first stopped at a placed called Santa Lucia. I honestly don't know if that was the name of the hotel there, or the town/community/geographic area. But it was gorgeous. It had not only a hotel, but a little "town square" that had some shops, a cantina (where they gave us fresh fruit ... yummm), a chapel and a gazebo. It was so pretty. It was nestled at the bottom of the hills and filled with lush green foliage and tons of gorgeous flowers! Sure beat the snow we left behind! :)
After spending some time there, we drove to the top of the hill to do our "Skywalk." I guess I didn't picture the rain forest being in the hills/mountains, but thankfully we started at the TOP and walked DOWN! Ronald knew a lot about the local plants and animals. He even picked fresh anise leaves and had us "guess the smell." Yours truly guessed it first! :)
We also, as part of the walk, walked across 3 suspension bridges hanging in the tops of the trees. That was quite interesting. They really swung back and forth and felt quite wobbly. But they were metal, and mostly felt quite secure, so no worries.
It was very interesting, but VERY hot and humid by the end. I was glad to get back on the air conditioned bus! I'm just a wimpy northerner! :)
On our drive, we also crossed the Tarcoles River, which is full of ... AMERICAN crocodiles! We couldn't stop, but in the picture I took from the moving bus, I managed to catch a few! The other thing that struck me on our drive was all the fruit stands on the roadside. They were everywhere!
After arriving back to a quiet ship (most people were still on their longer excursions), we grabbed lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet and then I took a quick dip in the Quiet Cove Pool (for adults only!). It felt good!
Tonight we got a picture with the "gang" and then headed to dinner at Parrot Cay for the "Around the World" menu. We both tried the South African Pear Salad (with field greens and pumpkin seeds) ... pears were slightly cinnamony tasting ... and I tried the spicy beef empanada appetizer from Argentina (finely chopped meat wrapped in a flaky crust). For dinner we both had the chicken breast "kiev" from Russia (stuffed chicken breast with parsley and garlic butter coated with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
The show tonight was a hypnotist, Ricky Kalmon. The show itself was totally hilarious (what idiotic things people will do on stage), but I SO don't believe it was real!
Tonight's towel animal was a stingray.
Tomorrow: at sea.
Today we pulled into Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I guess there isn't a lot to "do" in this area, so many of the excursions are full-day events. We have a "short" one at 5 to 6 hours! We have a very early start to our morning (7:15 a.m. meeting time), but I'm guessing it is to help with the heat!
We took the Skywalk in the Forest tour, which is about an hour drive to the rain forest area. Our guide, Ronald, was great. We first stopped at a placed called Santa Lucia. I honestly don't know if that was the name of the hotel there, or the town/community/geographic area. But it was gorgeous. It had not only a hotel, but a little "town square" that had some shops, a cantina (where they gave us fresh fruit ... yummm), a chapel and a gazebo. It was so pretty. It was nestled at the bottom of the hills and filled with lush green foliage and tons of gorgeous flowers! Sure beat the snow we left behind! :)
After spending some time there, we drove to the top of the hill to do our "Skywalk." I guess I didn't picture the rain forest being in the hills/mountains, but thankfully we started at the TOP and walked DOWN! Ronald knew a lot about the local plants and animals. He even picked fresh anise leaves and had us "guess the smell." Yours truly guessed it first! :)
We also, as part of the walk, walked across 3 suspension bridges hanging in the tops of the trees. That was quite interesting. They really swung back and forth and felt quite wobbly. But they were metal, and mostly felt quite secure, so no worries.
It was very interesting, but VERY hot and humid by the end. I was glad to get back on the air conditioned bus! I'm just a wimpy northerner! :)
On our drive, we also crossed the Tarcoles River, which is full of ... AMERICAN crocodiles! We couldn't stop, but in the picture I took from the moving bus, I managed to catch a few! The other thing that struck me on our drive was all the fruit stands on the roadside. They were everywhere!
After arriving back to a quiet ship (most people were still on their longer excursions), we grabbed lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet and then I took a quick dip in the Quiet Cove Pool (for adults only!). It felt good!
Tonight we got a picture with the "gang" and then headed to dinner at Parrot Cay for the "Around the World" menu. We both tried the South African Pear Salad (with field greens and pumpkin seeds) ... pears were slightly cinnamony tasting ... and I tried the spicy beef empanada appetizer from Argentina (finely chopped meat wrapped in a flaky crust). For dinner we both had the chicken breast "kiev" from Russia (stuffed chicken breast with parsley and garlic butter coated with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
The show tonight was a hypnotist, Ricky Kalmon. The show itself was totally hilarious (what idiotic things people will do on stage), but I SO don't believe it was real!
Tonight's towel animal was a stingray.
Tomorrow: at sea.