Limon, Costa Rica

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26^thJanuary 2014 Limon, Costa Rica



Limon is on the east side of Costa Rica, and as it’s on the Caribbean Sea tends to be hot & humid. We arrived fairly early and were followed into port by another cruise ship, the Celebrity Equinox with 4000 passengers on board (we currently have 1900 aboard), so it’s going to be a busy day.



Our trip today was titled ‘ Trains, Canals & Countryside’.



Today’s cultural lesson.



Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces of which we are visiting two, Limon and Puntarenas. Puntarenas is on the West Coast and we visit there after the transit of the Panama Canal.



Costa Rica is a third world country, is an active member of the United Nations and is also a member of many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy. It has no armed forces and puts most of the saved funding into education and health care.



Costa Rica’s main income is from Electronics, Bananas, Tourism & Coffee in that order. Intel’s microprocessor plant is responsible for 20%!o(MISSING)f Costa Rica’s income, whilst Tourism is set to become second in line in the near future



"Pura Vida" is the most recognizable phrase attached to Costa Ricans, and it reflects the Costa Rican way of life. Often, people walking down the streets, or buying food at shops say hello by saying "Pura Vida", which means pure life, or good life. It can be phrased as a question or as an acknowledgement of one's presence.



In contrast child prostitution and drugs are a problem in some areas.



Limon, where we are visiting today is not considered a ‘touristy’ city; in fact, it is a very poor area with most houses surrounded by window bars and in some cases razor wire fences.



We headed out to catch a train that would take us into one of the national parks where we would see Sloths & Monkeys. One of Costa Rica’s main exports on this side is bananas and we certainly saw bananas!! Mile after mile of plantations before a coach ride to the canal, through the countryside past more banana plantations.



The boat ride on the canal, showed the diverse flora & fauna in this tropical area with its Mangrove swamps. Saw no crocodiles but plenty of iguanas.



Back to the ship with temps still in the high 80° F for a typical Caribbean sailaway



Next: Transit of the Panama Canal

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