Sea Day #5 (in place of Corinto, Nicaragua)

Sunday, April 22

Our wake-up call from the sun came around 6 am. I don’t necessarily like being up that early, but it is so much easier on my system compared to being in an inside cabin where it is always dark. Without natural light, I really struggle to wake up. (And thanks to Holland America for the free upgrade to an ocean view cabin so I don’t have to deal with the darkness!)

Today was our unplanned sea day in place of our stop in Corinto, Nicaragua. There was talk around the ship of the rioting and violence happening in Nicaragua, so I was more than content to be safe in our little cocoon of a ship. (We do not watch much news when we are on a cruise. It means being uninformed, but it is nice to detach from the evil and violence in the world for a short time.)

Bob had made tentative plans to meet the few other pickleball players at 7 am. He had stopped by guest services last night to request that the court NOT be hosed off this morning, but when he arrived it was soaking wet. No one else showed up. The When & Where had pickeball listed at 10 am which probably caused some confusion to those planning to attend. He squeegeed off the court and then joined me for breakfast at the buffet. He had his usual oatmeal and I had a couple of poached eggs on an English muffin.

I walked a couple of laps with Bob and then spent some time backing up all of the photos from Costa Rica. I am getting the hang of using the Rav Powerhub so the process is going quicker. I will also say that I am totally loving the camera on my iPhone 8+.

At 10:00, Bob went up to the pickleball court while I went to the Crow’s Nest for the coffee chat with the hotel director. I had a chance to inquire about the status of the laundry rooms on the Zaandam which were just closed during the drydock prior to our cruise. Unfortunately they were closed for safety reasons and the change is permanent. We will have to plan accordingly when we go to Antarctica on the Zaandam in January.

I saw Bob briefly when I returned to the cabin. He was showering after pickleball and getting ready to dash out to see a Star Wars movie at 11:30…sort of a strange time to start a long movie in my mind. I went to lunch by myself, but Danny and Stan showed up a few minutes later. All three of us chose the Asian station for lunch. Today the nationality was “Indian.” I didn’t “think” that I liked Indian cuisine, but other than the lamb, I really enjoyed it! There was some type of chips offered (I have no idea what they were called) that were so good. Danny and Stan had missed them so I went back and got a bowl full for us to share.

Our Australian friends didn’t show up for afternoon trivia so Danny joined another group. As usual, I was a bystander since the groups have a limit of 6 people. It is rare for me to know any of the answers, but I actually knew a few!

The cloudless blue sky made for a perfect afternoon to swim and get some sun. The ship was sailing at a very slow speed (since skipping Corinto gave us ALL DAY to get to the next port) and even the water in the pool was calm instead of sloshing around. I could definitely feel the intensity of the rays so didn’t stay out too long. Bob joined me for the last 20 minutes after his movie was over (and he had consumed a taco at the Dive in!)

Ad Danny’s request, we arrived in the dining room a bit early and informed Yazzir that we would like to be finished in time for 7:00 trivia…and we were even though the guys all ordered multiple appetizers and desserts!

Appetizers, Soup & Salad

Penang Coconut Pork

Shrimp and crab fried rice

We joined our usual trivia group although myself and one of the other wives were just observers. There were quite a few teams, but ours won with a perfect score!

Each night it seems that one must arrive earlier and earlier to get a seat for the 8:00 show in the main theater. By the time we left trivia at 7:40, space was pretty limited. The Zaandam singers and dancers performed a show called Variations.

Tomorrow we will be in the port of Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. Knowing the day will be very hot and humid, I am opting to leave my heavier Canon SX50 on the ship and use my iPhone as my sole camera. And thanks to T-Mobile, I will be able to navigate our way around the city of Antigua using Google Maps. Isn’t technology great!

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Click here for Puntarenas Video

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.  

Sea Day #4

Friday, April 20

My body must have needed extra sleep because I slept soundly for 10 hours…waking around 6 am as it started to get light. During the night I, and everyone else on the ship were awakened by an in-cabin announcement that there was a medical emergency in cabin 7003. The medical response team was summoned to get there ASAP. In my half-alert state, I thought my paramedic husband was going to jump up and run out the door…something that happens regularly at home.

At 7 am, Bob headed to the pickleball court and I went to the buffet. It was just opening as I arrived and I got a muffin and some coffee. As I was eating, I could hear the pickleball game happening on the deck above.

When I finished breakfast, I went up to the court on Deck 9 and found Bob and 4 others, attempting to play pickleball. The crew had hosed down the court earlier, but the water wasn’t draining. One of the guys was trying to squeegee the water in the the gutters on the side, but the drains must have been clogged. As soon as the ship would list slightly, the water would all run back onto the court. A losing battle…and not great playing conditions by any means.

A losing battle against the water.

Knowing the day was going to get much warmer, I put on my walking shoes and did a few laps around the ship. Off to one side I could see a couple of other ships and on the other were hazy mountains in the distant. (I had suspected we weren’t too far from land when I had seen a bird fly by our window earlier.) As I was walking there were about a half dozen birds that were flying alongside the ship, often swooping down to the surface of the water and then back up again.

For the first time on the cruise, I went to one of the computer classes…”Explore the Microsoft Store.” I didn’t really learn anything new, but I may take time to look at the apps available in more detail after I get home.

Bob and I met outside the lower level of the dining room for the galley tour at 10:30. It was interesting and not near as rushed as some kitchen tours we have been on in the past. We were given a detailed handout describing each area that we walked through.

The station where room service trays are assembled.

The route the waiters take to get from the dining room to the galley.

Mmmmm...pies!

We went directly from the galley tour to the main theater for a Q & A session and “virtual bridge tour” with the captain…in other words, a slideshow with photos of the bridge. Captain Smit had a dry, but great sense of humor and answered the questions in an informative yet witty manner. I found it interesting that someone asked about the birds I had seen earlier. From the captain’s explanation, the birds roost on the mast at the bow (making a big mess of the newly painted floor!) and are there to swoop down and grab the flying fish that are churned up as the ship glides through the water. He commented that today that besides the usual mess, they had also dropped three of the flying fish on the deck!

Several people asked questions concerning the medical emergency announcement that was made during the night and why it was broadcast into all passenger cabins. The captain explained that they could have summoned each of the response team members individually, but because of the urgent nature of the problem, they chose to quickly do one call that went out through the whole ship…something that he said would probably not happen in the future. Although we did not feel anything, we spoke to some passengers with cabins in the back of the ship who said they had felt extreme vibrations and they were sure the ship had come to a stop just moments before the announcement was made. Who knows. The captain was not at liberty to share what the emergency was so we will probably never know what happened.

The four of us met in the buffet and the guys all grabbed food from the Asian station…again. Each day the menu varies as to the region…Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, etc. but the selections are always good and it is a popular place.

Trivia is not something Bob or I are good at, but Danny loves to participate and we have gotten into the habit of attending the 1:00 afternoon session with him. The teams are limited to only 6 players so I usually volunteer to just watch. The guys have been joining forces with some of the Australians and also a guy from Portland, OR who has a degree in music history which makes him a valuable asset. There was no win today. A couple of other teams did better, with one team getting a perfect score.

One side mention from the trivia contest…there was a guy onboard with a standard size black poodle that is some sort of a service dog. Well, the guy was at trivia in the Crow’s Nest and after he sat down the dog sort of wandered over to our group and made the rounds enjoying the attention and petting.

Bob and I parted ways for the afternoon. He spent time walking and then attended the movie “The Commander.” I changed and swam for awhile in the aft pool and then worked a sudoku puzzle that is available each day. The skies were overcast all day which made the outside temps more comfortable.

I worked at backing up some of my photos as I was getting ready for dinner…our 2^nd gala night. At dinner, the menu featured a favorite…surf and turf, but the highlight was the sunchoke soup. The menu said it contained chipotle powder, roasted pumpkin seeds, and chive oil and it was delicious. We asked our waiter, Yazzir, if it would be on any future menus and he said all we had to do was give him one day’s notice and he could have it prepared special for us!

 

 MAIN

Surf & Turf

The evening entertainment was an encore performance from the singing group VOXX, but we opted to end the evening early and not attend. Back in the cabin, Bob watched a little of his latest DVD (King Kong) and we gathered up our stuff for our tour in Costa Rica the next day.

Five port days in a row coming up…