January 23, The Seat Belt Sign is On

We did stop in Acapulco, but we value our lives, so we stayed aboard ship.  The Cruise Director told us that the company hadn't called in Acapulco for some time because of the dangerous nature of the place and he was surprised that it's back on the list.  There were no reported incidents, so maybe things have improved.

San Diego greeted us with weather that's almost unheard of.  The old song about it doesn't rain in California, it Pours?  Correct.  We did get to spend the afternoon with cousin David and his wife Mary Kate, so that really helped cheer us up.  We had an overnight at San Diego since it was the end of the first segment.  Some people left, new folks joined, and the ship was fully occupied.  490 pax and 367 crew.

So Customs has a new game called zero something or other.  The game is that all the passengers have to get off the ship by a particular time, or else someone pays a fine.  So our instruction sheet said "if you are not planning to go ashore, go ashore by nine a.m.".  What?  The zero game was cancelled, however.  We figured that they got a good look at the gang on this ship and decided that making us all get off would result in at least half a dozen silver alerts.

Fast forward to today.  Enroute Hawaii and we are on the back side of that weather system.  Very rough seas.  Everything is tied down and it's interesting to watch the bar people juggle the drink trays.  Our hats are off to the wait staff.

From Costa Rica to Guatemala, January 14

We finally got off the ship in Golfito, Costa Rica and toured Golfito National Wildlife Refuge.  Wildlife wise, it left something to be desired.  Saw a few Spider Monkeys, some hummingbirds, and a Costa Rican millipede. One thing we learned during the snack stop is that fresh pineapple grown nearby is a lot better than the ones we buy at home. A tip from our guide:  buying the pineapple, look for one that's green in color.  Cut a little off of the bottom, just enough to make a round port.  Place it in about one cup of water, then wait overnight.  The pineapple will rehydrate itself and taste better.  We learned that the best coffee in the world comes from Costa Rica.

Next stop, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  We drove quite a ways inland to San Luis Park for a walk in the clouds.  Literally.  This is a cloud rain forest and one crosses a number of suspension bridges on the way to the stream at the bottom of the area.  Beautiful foliage all around, and they host a butterfly garden and a separate hummingbird garden.  Lots of fun, but hummingbirds don't pose well for pictures.

Onward to Corinto, Nicaragua.  Here, we are proud to say, we survived the Cerro Negro Trek.  This whole area is rife with volcanos.  Cerro Negro is one that used as an attraction.  There's ziplining, but the big deal is to climb to the top and then slide down the side of the thing on a board.  Just a plain old board about 18 inches across and five feet long.  No, we didn't do that.

After a fairly treacherous climb up the volcano in 40 mph winds, we were treated to beautiful views, many of our flying hats and sunglasses.  No, really, it was beautiful.

So, to descend without the board, you step down the same side of the mountain as the sliders.  Think of walking straight downhill in a snow bowl with powder...only in this case it's volcanic ash.  We have a new respect for the ash, since about a pound of it was inside each of our shoes when we got to the bottom.  Here's Pati hot-footing it down.

Our sympathies to the stewards who wound up cleaning half a volcano off of the balconies.  We learned that the best coffee in the world comes from Nicaragua.

We sailed overnight to Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.  The day before was Friday the 13th, especially for Seabourn Cruise Line.  Their Seabourn Odyssey was sitting in port with a mechanical failure, and not a soul in sight.  We took it easier in Guatemala, visiting the Finca El Barretal Coffee Plantation.  The property was originally owned by the President of Guatemala (see President, read Dictator) who got ousted in 1944 after his form of Socialism stopped working for the masses, and especially the military.  Anyway, we learned everything about how coffee is grown and processed, and we learned that the best coffee in the world comes from Guatemala.

Jan 10: Panama Canal

The evening at THE Biltmore was great.  Big affair with dinner and entertainment.  When we arrived at the reception, there were so many people around that we thought they'd invited the neighbors.  Turns out, all those people were going around the world.  Out of a possible 490 passengers, there are something between 300 and 320 people who are going the distance.  We were shocked!  And we couldn't believe how many times we were asked if it was our first world cruise.  Apparently, this is a normal winter for some.

So far, we've stopped at George Town, Cayman Islands and Cartagena, Columbia.  We don't have a lot of interest in Caribbean islands (if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all) and we definitely have no interest in drug capitals.  So we stayed on the ship.

As we write this, we've passed through the Gatun locks on the Atlantic side and are in the middle of Gatun Lake.  Late this afternoon, we'll pass through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks the exit to the Pacific.  

Next stop is Golfito, Costa Rica.

Here Begins the Big Adventure...

Greetings from The Biltmore.  Apparently one is not to ask "which Biltmore?".

Tonight there's a cocktail reception and dinner and tomorrow we're off to parts unknown.  Experience dictates that this will be the last time we'll have a fast Internet connection.  Ship Internet is painfully slow.  Point is, we'll try to keep up a narrative on here but pictures won't be too plentiful.  Don't have all day to watch stuff uploading...there's wine to drink.

Galapagos Photo Album

Galapagos Photo Album is available on Google Photos:


https://goo.gl/photos/f1WQoyT9Mh2JPR8p8

Enjoy!

Galapagos 2016, Back to Baltra and Home

Overnight, the boat relocated to Baltra.  Bright and early, we Zodiak'd ashore, turned in our life vests for the last time, and bussed back over to the aerodrome.  This marked the beginning of the 30-hour odyssey home, which included an eight hour stop in Guayaquil, clearing Customs in Miami, on to Chicago, and the limo ride home.  Nice to be home, but it was a great trip that we'd recommend to anyone who's not afraid of Zodiaks and likes wildlife.

Watch this site for a link to the photo album that we're working on.  We've got to finish going through the several hundred pictures we took and keep the best, so we don't bore people completely to death.

In closing, we'd like to point out that life in the Galapagos is much different.  Most people have a dog on the front porch.

Galapagos 2016, Day 6

In the morning, we arrived at Los Gemelos, on Santa Cruz Island.  We took a bus to view the two sinkholes at Los Gemelos ("the twins"), a very interesting and unique geological formation.  However, due to the fog, we were unable to get any worthwhile pictures.  We proceded to the Tortoise Ecological Reserve, where the giant tortoises roam free.  First, we had to don knee-length rubber boots to protect us from the fire ants.  Then, it was off to see the tortoises.  Amazing.  Look!  Pati spotted one!

Gordon, too!

Tortoises love mud baths.

The only introduced bird, the Ani, was brought by early settlers.  Ani's job was to pick bugs off the cattle.

They say that the Ani's have lost their taste for cattle bugs these days.

In the afternoon, we traveled up to El Trapiche to visit an old sugar cane mill where we were shown how to make artisinal spirits (OK, moonshine).  We sampled.  It was moonshine, alright.  We walked around town afterwards, and saw the Presidents of three countries, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Colombia.  Needless to say, security was high and it was a mob scene, so we retreated to the boat on the first available Zodiak for some liquid refreshment.