The Pacific!

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Today was a complete contrast to yesterday as we have cruised past the coast of Panama

and started our journey alongside Costa Rica. It was exceedingly hot today and we found

it hard to motivate ourselves to do anything much out of doors. We did our hour in gym

before breakfast and before it got too hot outside. We are only 8 degrees above the

equator and its 28 C now at nearly 10pm. We were well over 30 degrees at lunch and even

the sea temperature is 29 degrees C right now!

So we have little to report as we've dossed. Almost all day long. A trip to the

laundry this morning hardly counts as exciting! We have now learned that the pointy

birds are not actually Pterodactyls; they are Frigate birds. And the ship had a flock

of about 30 Boobies flying along with it today.

We went to a cocktail party with the Captain this evening - along with about 800 other

passengers who are also doing the grand world voyage. We've met some really nice people

on board so didn't have to make small talk with strangers. We just had a nice free

drink and a good gossip.

Tomorrow we land in Puntarenas in Costa Rica. It's a very early start for us: 7.15

meeting time and then we're off in to the countryside for a ride on the restored Pacific

Railroad train and then a boat ride on the Tarcoles River which is famed for its

tropical mangoes and oranges. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as the guidebook says

there is very little walking involved in the day other than 4 large steps to board the

train. Sounds like my kind of tourism!

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