COSTA RICA AND THE MARINER

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COSTA RICA

The Captain announced that we had made such good time since leaving the Panama Canal, we would put in to Puntarenas nine hours ahead of schedule. So we plowed through a driving rainstorm to the pier. On our way in we saw a caiman (a type of crocodile) floating belly up. It looked to be about 8 feet long. Perhaps it was hit by a boat or maybe just died of old age. Puntarenas is a small coastal fishing village jutting out on a black sand beach peninsula, sitting in the shadow of several towering volcanos. It is a very picturesque port. The beaches were packed with holiday revelers. This is a favorite stop for the crew since there is a Filipino restaurant in town which serves some of the traditional favorites like pork adobo and lumpia. There is a steady stream of crew members heading from the ship seeking a taste of home.

We spent the next morning working with Wayne, the computer instructor. He is an absolute genius and probably the most patient man around. He walked us through all the steps necessary to set up our travel blog—everything from posting the text, to imbedding pictures and captioning the photos. We consider ourselves to be somewhat computer literate, but a blog can be a tricky thing so it was very helpful having an expert guide us through the process.

Another great perk of cruising on Regent with Captain Dag is that he has open bridge hours on sea days. It is so interesting to be able to visit the bridge, check out the navigation and weather charts and talk with the watch officers. Plus the view from the bridge is quite spectacular. Freddie, the ship’s navigator, told us that we are like part of the family since we have been on so many cruises with him. That afternoon Freddie was plotting our timing for cruising up the river into Saigon in March. He has to take many factors into account such as tides and currents in order to put us at the pier on schedule. In looking at a weather chart, we noticed a huge storm developing in the Gulf of Alaska. It is heading south towards the California coast. I’m sure we will feel some of its impact as we cruise into San Francisco.

Midday we met up with our sister ship, the Mariner. There was music and water cannons and signs and cheering as the two ships danced around each other. The railings were lined with passengers and crew, with everyone searching out familiar faces. Our cruising friends, Dick and Becky and Marx and Belle were hard to pick out in the crowd. With a final salute from the ships’ horns we continued our trip northward while the Mariner headed to the Panama Canal. When we meet again in Ft Lauderdale on April 30, the Mariner will have circled South American and the Voyager will have circumnavigated the world.

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Comments

[Alysia]

This is Fantastic
Wow, this is one of the best travel blogs I have seen yet. Great photos and country information. I love it :)