Advertisement
Published: October 13th 2016
SOMBREROS
Beautiful array of local lids.Costa Rica leads the world in biodiversity and this is evident in the exceptional numbers of exotic wildlife. It has the largest percentage of protected land and sanctuaries and was among the first countries to offer ecotourism. With the demise of the coffee oligarchy and independence from Spain, Costa Rica set out on the path to establishing a democracy which granted right to work, minimum wage and maximum work hours for laborers. Now Costa Rica is probably the most stable of Latin American countries and has the highest standard of living.It has become a favorite retirement place for many North Americans.
We were scheduled to take our Virtuoso group on a tour of Carara National Park and the botanical garden of Pura Vida. Shortly after docking we set off in mini buses to the Guacalillo Estuary. In Costa Rica there are two seasons: the rainy season and the less rainy season. Because of all the precipitation the dirt roads leading to the estuary were a maze of pot holes which the drivers managed to navigate quite well. At the estuary we boarded a large pontoon boat to cruise up the Tarcoles River in search of the indigenous flora and fauna.
GINGER
Pura Vida Jardin bloom. Mangroves line the river and are home to a plethora of unique animals. We saw howler monkeys, bay crocodiles, numerous bird species and the Jesus Christ lizard. They are so named because they can walk on water. It was a lovely cruise up the river with the knowledgeable guides who used laser pointers to help us spot the wildlife along the banks of the river.
We had a nice lunch at Jardin Pura Vida and were entertained by a local troupe of dancers. Afterward we took a hike thru the gardens to view the tallest waterfalls in Costa Rica and the colorful floral displays. The rain held off until we were back on our buses returning to the Mariner. Lucky us!
As we approached the Gulf of Panama the ship had to slow to a crawl to avoid running into the whales that breed in the area. But that didn’t delay our entry into the Canal at sunrise to begin our all day transit. This is one of our favorite cruises because the history of this monumental engineering feat is so intriguing. Explorers had been dreaming of a waterborne shortcut for centuries and many failed attempting to link
EL CAPITAN
Handsome young Costa Rican boat driver led us thru the mangroves. the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The French engineer of the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps and his friend Gustave Eiffel went bankrupt in the process and were indicted by the French government for fraud and mismanagement. More than 25,000 workers died during the canal’s construction mostly due to malaria. Now with the Panama Canal Expansion project recently completed, the passage is a boon to worldwide shipping and commerce. Ships are lifted 85 feet through many sets of locks in order to pass over the Continental Divide. The cost for our ship is $165,000 and was paid a year ago in order to guarantee our date and time of passage. The whole process is amazing and all the passengers received a Certificate of Transit as a memento.
Visiting Cartagena, Colombia is like stepping into a Spanish village in Europe. She comes complete with castles, fortresses, convents and cathedrals, a walled city with cobblestone streets and colorful courtyards. There is a history of the brutal colonization of the area. Known for its abundance of gold, silver and emeralds, privateers and conquistadors marauded through the country for centuries. There are now museums in Cartagena explaining the impact of the inquisition and slave
WADER
One of 850 exotic bird species in Costa Rica. trade which occurred in Colombia.
We took a walking tour of the old walled town which is now filled with street artists and vendors, sculptures and statues. There are 11 kms of thick walls surrounding the city which now house souvenir shops filled with various local crafts and coffee products. The Colombian novelist, Gabriel Garcia Marquez had a home in Cartagena and is quite revered especially for his writing and journalistic efforts. My favorite book written by this Nobel Prize winner is set in Cartagena: “Love in the Time of Cholera."
We sailed out past the high-rises and beaches of Bocagrande as we departed South America heading through the Caribbean non-stop for the U.S.A.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.16s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 14; qc: 31; dbt: 0.1239s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
Malcolm Myers
non-member comment
great pics
i stay at the Red Rock one of your sponsors Great place