Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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Saturday, April 21

The alarm was set for 6:45, but a little before 6 am the sun came streaming through a crack in the drapes and we were awake. I had ordered room service breakfast thinking I would be too rushed to get to the buffet, but there certainly would have been time. 

  

Instead, I grabbed my phone and sat outside on the promenade deck and texted the kids. (It was reassuring to get a text from T-Mobile when I turned on my phone that said…”Welcome to Costa Rica! Your T-Mobile plan gives you unlimited data up to 2G speeds and texts at no extra cost!! Calls at 20 cents/minute. Enjoy your stay!”

My early morning view.

While I was texting, Bob was walking laps around the ship. Breakfast arrived a little after 7:00 and at 7:45 we walked off the ship. A guy from Gio Tours was waiting right at the end of the gangplank holding a sign with our names and directed us to their bus on the pier.

I was surprised that we were in a full size coach bus since the email confirmation had mentioned that no more than 20 would be on the tour. Turned out to be 28, but by the end of the day, I was actually glad we were on the bus with comfortable seats, great AC and huge windows.

Once out of the dock area, the bus driver pulled over and we picked up our guide for the day, Jesus, and we headed out of town towards our first stop…to see the white-faced capuchin monkeys. On our way, we passed through Puerto Caldera…a large shipping port.

The monkeys were on a private farm and getting there required driving down some dirt roads. There were other groups of people with the monkeys when we arrived and were feeding them to get them to come down from the trees and pose for photos. Jesus had told us ahead of time that we would not be feeding the monkeys OR holding them. He also warned us not to wear hats or sunglasses when we got out of the bus.

Cattle & egrets.

 Jesus took our group away from the others and we had a great view as he told us a little about the monkeys. As we were standing there, they would come down and run around our legs. A couple of coatimundi were also nearby begging for the food that people were feeding the monkeys.

Because we had gotten an early start, we reached our next stop (a fruit stand) before any of the ship tours arrived. We were given skewers with bites of watermelon, pineapple and papaya and also a small sample of sugar cane juice. Many flavors of fruit smoothies were available to purchase and also roasted cashews.

Leaving the fruit stand, we drove on to where we would board boats for a trip down the Tarcoles River. Restrooms were available and while we were waiting to board the boats, Jesus poured a little water on a teak leaf that he had picked. He crushed the leaf and rubbed it in his hand and the water turned blood-red and dripped down his arm.

A crocodile was swimming by in the river as we went down a very steep ramp to the boat…the first of many more crocodiles that we would see.

The boat ride lasted a couple of hours and whenever Jesus or the boat captain spotted some type of wildlife, we would slow down or stop to get a better look. Besides the crocodiles I can’t even begin to remember all the other birds, iguanas, lizards, etc. that we saw.

A few of the birds we saw...

This was just one of several crocodiles laying on a beach...and most had their mouth open!

We followed the river all the way to the mouth where the wide river had large waves as it flowed out into the ocean. The day was hot, but it was comfortable on the covered boat with the breezes blowing.

Climbing the very steep ramp after our boat ride. 

Back in the bus we dove up into the mountains to a point where we could look out over the river basin and beyond to the ocean. The twisty, curvy road  up the mountain had sheer drop offs and was just a bit scary given the large size of the bus.

As we were driving, the bus driver pulled over and pointed to a couple of howler monkeys in a tree. We have "heard" these monkeys before but had never seen any!

We also saw some wild scarlet macaws, but my attempts at a photo were poor. Basically just indistinguishable bright patches of color in the trees.

It was about 1:15 pm when we reached the restaurant where we were to have lunch (which was included in the price of the tour.)

The food was set up buffet style and we had salad, rice, beans, a delicious potato dish, fried plantains and a choice of fish or chicken. Bob and I both had the fish which was delicious. Some sort of sweet juice was offered to drink and very delicious coffee. For dessert we were given a small, bar-type dessert made from coconut.

We ate under a large outdoor pavilion and as we ate it began to thunder loudly. The back of the restaurant looked out onto a jungle area and with the sounds of birds combined with the thunder, Bob commented that it was like being in Jurassic Park! Bob is a squirrel lover and he got excited when we saw a group of very small, red squirrels playing in a tree next to where we were eating.

The bus stopped at a large souvenir shop but before we went in, Jesus told us that unless we wanted the really high-end coffee to wait until we made a stop at a grocery store downtown to buy any coffee or hot sauce. He also handed out small packets of Costa Rican coffee…a gift from Gio Tours.

At the grocery store, not everyone got off the bus. Coming from a community that has a very large Hispanic population, much of what was in the store looked familiar, but I was most intrigued by the different types of packaging. Mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard…all were sold in the squeeze-type packages similar to how baby food is packaged. Also, milk…non-refrigerated and sitting on the shelf.

Our day in Costa Rica had turned out to be a great one. We have done a lot of tours and in my opionion our guide, Jesus, would rank right at the top of all the guides we have had. I especially enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife, but having the stops for shopping and lunch added a nice variety to the day. Two thumbs up for Gio Tours!

The bus dropped us all off at the gates to the pier around 3:30 pm which gave u some time to wander through the many, many stalls where people were selling crafts, t-shirts, wooden products, jewelry, etc. Through the noise, I could hear the sound of something like a flute and as I suspected, it was the animal shaped whistles that the EXC host on the ship had mentioned. They are pottery-type material and are made to look like many different animals depending on which way you turn it. The little melody that the vendor was playing sounded so interesting that I convinced Bob it was something our grandkids would enjoy. They were $5 each or 2 for $9 so we bought 2. (Back on the ship I attempted to play one of them and could only get squeaks and squawks. Guess we should have paid closer attention!)

The music sounded so good when the vendor was playing. When I try, it is just noise! :( 

A note was waiting at our cabin saying that the port of Corinto, Nicaragua was being skipped the next day due to political unrest. A few minutes later, the captain made the same announcement explaining that the rioting that had been taking place in the capital had spread throughout the country and they decided that it was not safe to stop there. The Nieuw Amsterdam had also cancelled their stop there as well.

Just a couple of weeks prior to the cruise, I had found another couple via Trip Advisor who were looking for someone to share the day with a private driver named Reynaldo Romero and that was to have been our plan for the day. I quickly emailed him while I still had cell service to let him know that we would not be stopping in Corinto. Even though I can’t speak from personal experience, the reviews I read online for Reynaldo were outstanding and I was impressed at the promptness which he would respond via email to my questions.

After a little last-minute texting to our kids, the phone went back on airplane mode. Feeling very sticky and sweaty, I took a quick shower but just didn’t feel like getting dressed for dinner. (Even though we didn't make it to the dining room, here is the menu!) 

Instead we stayed very casual, watched the sail away and then went to the Dive-In for dinner. I had a hot dog and fries and Bob had a hot dog and a hamburger…all were great!

The sun was setting and I couldn’t help but run outside and get a few photos.

The entertainment in the main theater was several video segments from BBC Earth called “Frozen Planet.” The soundtrack for the video was a live performance by the ship musicians. We had seen the same production on our fall cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam and I loved it just as much the 2^nd time.