More from Central America

It’s been a while since I updated… I’ll blame it all on the internet issues here on the ship J.  Since I last posted I’ve been to Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico.  Lots of fun with some excursions better than others. 

From Caldera, Costa Rica I went up to Poas Volcano National Park.  It was a good day, but unfortunately the volcano was clouded in by the time we arrived.  Too bad because it looked like a pretty interesting place.  I took a photo of a photo that was hanging in the visitors center.  Would love have seen this crater for real.

 

The drive up to the volcano was quite scenic with coffee growing everywhere - apparently much of it for Starbucks.  We also stopped at the Oxcart Factory.  The story goes that Oxcarts were once the primary mode of transporting coffee from the mountains to the Pacific ports for shipment.  Each plantation had their own design so people knew at a glance to whom the coffee belonged.    

 

The next stop was San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.  I choose to do a catamaran cruise and snorkeling trip.  The sailing and the ship’s crew were great.  Snorkeling… not so much.  There wasn’t much to see from a snorkeling perspective, but a jellyfish found me.  Those guys always seem to find me!  Nothing to show from that day other than the sad remains of the itchy stings.  I’ll spare you.

On to Mexico where I did trips up into the mountains and small towns from our stops at both Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta. These are my kind of days.  I love to visit the small towns to see how people in the area live.   Some photos from my day outside of Huatulco:

 

 

 

From Puerto Vallarta I took a speed boat over to Boca de Tomatlian Beach where we switched transport to a 4 x 4 Unimog truck and took off into the Western Sierra Madre Mountains.  

 

A road-side bakery.

 

 

Cactus blossom at the area’s botanical gardens.

 

Freshly made cow’s cheese along with a still warm blue corn tortilla and spicy salsa combined in taco-fashion made a great snack.     

A stop at a small tequila distillery where we tasted 6 different varieties.  This was some very smooth tequila! 

 

Columbia and Panama

In Santa Marta Columbia I took a trip into the mountains to a coffee plantation.  The plantation and processing equipment are more than 100 years old and the couple who run it were delightful.  However, they make very little money on coffee these days and it’s become difficult to find workers willing to hand-pick coffee beans.  This will likely be the last generation to grow coffee.  In fact they have already begun a transition to growing corn.  How sad.  

Very pretty up in the mountains. We took an hour or so walk out to one of the waterfalls that supply pristine water to the farm amidst large stands of bamboo. 

As a non-coffee drinker, when coffee was served I was provided with a bottle of their self-produced beer.  Pretty good too.

From Colon Panama I was off to visit one of the 7 indigenous Indian tribes who reside in the country. In many ways, this tribe of Embera Indians still live as they did years ago, but they had to reinvent themselves when their land was designated as a national park.  Now living in Chagres National Park, the Indians were no longer able to hunt, clear land and maintain other traditions necessary to their way of life.  So, they became master weavers of grasses making beautiful bowls, plates and masks as well as carvings and jewelry. 

The children are educated by a teacher sent to the village by the government and some have even gone off to college in hopes of becoming better advocates for the village when seeking government funding and services. 

Some of the clothing worn when we were there was ceremonial.  I was told that when there are no guests they wear less than what we saw with women wearing only a sarong.  They do, however, dress in more conventional clothing when leaving the village to go into town.

Today we went through the Panama Canal.  It was my third time to transit the canal and my 4^th time in Panama (the first being a land trip when I saw the canal from a local’s perspective and from the air as I flew to the other side of the country).  The water is brown these days due to the dredging for the new canal which runs parallel to this one.   It was to have opened by now but they’re having issues with leaks.  Seems to me that they were better at mixing cement 100 years ago then they are today…  I posted a photo of the locks on FB last year... won't bore you with all of that this time :).

We now have a day at sea before stopping in Costa Rica.

Another Long Journey Begins

I’m settled into what seems to be my home away from home these days on Crystal Serenity.  Yes, I’m doing another world cruise as I just couldn’t say no to this itinerary.  Since this will be my last world cruise (and I mean it this time!), I decided to go whole hog and tacked on the cruise just prior.  What’s not to like with getting out of the cold New England weather a bit sooner?!   I sailed from Miami on Jan 5 and will be arriving in San Francisco on Jan 24 where the world cruise will commence.  I’ve already run into a number of people from last year’s cruise and more will be joining on the 24^th – nice to see familiar faces.  

Today we were in Grand Turk and I did my first of many planned snorkeling excursions; I’m particularly looking forward to the Great Barrier Reef in late February! Todays may not have been the best snorkel site out there, but I always enjoy my underwater experiences and have a few photos to share:

 

 

Cuba

I recently returned from almost two weeks in Cuba where I found a country that runs on very limited resources, where  most buildings are in a state of disrepair and where even the simplest gifts are accepted with incredible gratitude.   

The people of Cuba make do with so little that's it's hard to imagine the lives that they lead.  And yet they are the most welcoming, lovely people.  There are clearly signs of change as new business are springing up - mostly as homes are converted to private restaurants and B & Bs, and some revitalization in the cities has begun.   I loved the people, the music and the cars!

A few of the many car photos that I took.

As we went out into the countryside, there were more horse & carts then cars.

The rare billboards I saw were of a political nature.  What we called the 'embargo', Cubans refer to as the 'blockade'.

 

The people were wonderful.

 

On occasion, you see people wearing USA garb.  Great icebreaker to chat with them.

Amazon

Along the Amazon we visited Macapa, Alter do Chao and Santarem.  In 2009, when I went as far as Manaus, the area was very dry - the driest in 80 years.  This year it has been one of the wettest making for quite a contrast in my two visits. I did the markets, walked around towns and had a fun canoe trip through the flooded jungle.

Pink dolphins hang around at the fish market and love to be fed.

Some of the interesting local catch.

 

 

The fruit of this plant is opened at the top, then a stick is dipped into it to gather up the red 'paint' inside.  Ideal for face/body art.

 

Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Yesterday was our second stop in Brazil:  Salvador da Bahia .  I was here on a land trip in 2006 and enjoyed the chance to wander around the old city one more time.   I'm sure that these photos will look familiar to Annette.

Adding a 'wish ribbon' to the church fence.