Coast to Coast by sea-Panama Canal cruise Feb 2013- TR Complete 3/14/13 - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Day after Panama Canal 2/13
I have pretty well shown you pictures of the ship, so the sea days will be narrative only (with a couple of exceptions).
Breakfast was Omelet and fruit.
Scholarship at sea presentation on our upcoming visit to Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Next was the Holiday store. Same old everything made in China $10 sale.
Lunch was chicken cacciatore and salad
Went up and got sun and hot tub time.
At 3, Scholarship at sea lecture on Crocodiles, Macaws, Toucans and Jaguars-central American wildlife.
Dinner was lamb soup, pesto pasta, Duck (sorry Donald ) potatoes, carrots, leeks and bokchoy.
Black forest cake for dessert
MUTS today was
Casablanca (afternoon) Genesis Invisible Touch, Snow White and the Huntsman.
The mentalist and the magician were in the theater/Universe lounge.
I spent the after dinner time listening to and singing with Barty Brown in the Crooners lounge with a FAB or two
TV Movies today were Man on a Ledge, Searching for the Sugar Man; Beastly, Sleepless in Seattle; ParaNorman and Tangled.
Happy Valentine’s Day Th 2/14
There were specials all over the ship. Little stuffed animals and chocolates in the store, Champagne breakfast for two in your room ($32)-1/2 bottle of French champagne, smoked salmon, dill cream cheese and lemon brioche, pastries, medley of fruit and berries, quiche lorraine, tomatoe and fontina cheese gratin, plenty of flowers for sale and a few decorations.
Normal breakfast of omelet and fruit
The tour today was “Rainforest sky walk, Pura Vida Gardens and Lunch ($89 in advance)
On the way we crossed the Taracoles River with lots of very large crocodiles
Our guide was a young man with a masters in engineering and the national leader of the annual bird count held by the Costa Rican' Audobon society
We went to the gardens first where we look at native flora, and a few birds and butterflies. This was followed by a nice buffet lunch, (pasta salad, rice, beans, vegetables and Mahi-Mahi or chicken) and a view of one of the largest waterfalls in the country.
View of Puentarenas area
Gardens:
Waterfall
Lunch
Then we went down the road to a tiny entrance to a footpath. We knew there was a workout ahead as walking sticks awaited us. Thence we started our ‘walk’ all downhill and sometimes very steep. We then crossed three suspended cable bridges (with a good sized hike in between each). The ranged from 270 to 330 feet each, balancing with one hand on the walking stick and the other sometimes on the right hand cable, but most of the time on our cameras trying to take good photographs on a swinging bridge. The bridges were 80 to 125 feet off the floor of the foliage.
Entrance
Termite mound (in tree)
The bridge capacity sign
And of course, with a capacity of 15--we were a party of 18 No OSHA in Costa Rica
First bridge
Toucan from last bridge (Of course in mid bridge with 18 people and minor swinging as we photographed it )
We then finished at a local ‘hotel’ with a gift shop, and little chapel.
Stop at end for souvenirs, fruit, juice or cold water
We then finished at a local ‘hotel’ with a gift shop, and little chapel.
New friend I met at hotel (no one else got to see him as I was out wandering alone while they sipped their beverages in the shade )
We returned to the ship 8 hours after we started.
Returning to the ship had time to shower before a nice dinner of Roast Garlic soup, salad, Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, carrots and potatoes, and frozen chocolate praline pie.
Tonight’s entertainment choices were comedian Al Katz in the theatre or “Tribute” in the Universe lounge. I had seen Al Katz before and laughed until my belly hurt, so a return engagement was in order.
MUTS TODAY
Afternoon: Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, Billy Joel-Live at Shea
Evening MUTS TheWords
TV movies were: My Week with Marilyn, The Lucky One, Did you
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San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua
Early schedule today as almost all tours require about 2 hours each way to first stops and San Juan Del Sur is a tender only port, that can take one tender at a time. Those with mobility problems had to remain on the ship. Our guide indicted that Royal Caribbean Cruise line is finishing a contract to construct a pier in the next couple years that other cruise lines will be able to ‘rent’. No start yet. Nicaragua | Royal Caribbean Blog
The port city is underdeveloped to say the least.
We viewed many windmills along the way to Grenada, our first stop. This is a part of the electrification of Nicaragua. Our guide proudly indicated between wind power and some geo thermal sites the country will have 60% of the population by the end of the year 2015.
Entering Grenada
The city is modeled after the same city in Spain
City Hall
Building built for William Wallace, an American who tried to take over the country
Carriage rides near the main plaza
Church
Church courtyard
Ceremonial dancers (statute of)
Statues found buried nearby that resemble those from Easter Island
City from lake Nicaragua
We took 20 passenger outboards zipping between the ‘isletas’. Most of the isletas are privately owned, some with large homes, all build with materials brought in one boat at a time, There were lots of birds, but the boat moved too fast to catch photos of much more than the many pelicans. We stopped for a while at one small isleta that was bought and turned into a monkey sanctuary for injured monkeys. It now has about 10, 2 of which are born there. The plants on the island provide enough food for the monkeys
Osprey at the top of a tree on the way back.
Kapok Trees
We ate lunch at a nice hotel in town . There were beans, rice, vegetables and salads, beef, chicken and mahi mahi. A soda was included, and flan (Spanish custard) was served for dessert. Last was Nicaraguan coffee which they then tried to sell you by the bag. (Columbia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua all claimed to have the best coffee ) (buffet and courtyard)
The town was getting ready to host an international poetry festival beginning the next day.
This is the hotel from the outside.
We stopped at the edge of Lake Nicaragua so we could get photos of the lake and its two major volcanos (in the middle of the lake).
,
Coconut trees in the driveway where we stopped.
The excursion was $89 in advance and lasted 8 hours.
We got back on board about ½ hour later, in time to clean up for dinner.
Dinner was ..oops forgot to write it down.
Entertainment choices were pianist Vladimir Ziatsev in the theater, or the movie Lincoln in the Universe Lounge. Went and saw Lincoln. The movie was so popular that they added seats to each showing that night, showed it again later in the Theatre, and put it on the TV for one whole day.
MUTS today was Butter for those not going ashore, then Overboard, the Killers-live at Royal Albert Hall, and the Hunger games
TV movies were The Ides of March, The Magic of Belle Island, Midnight in Paris, Return to Me, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, and Hugo.
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) potatoes, carrots, leeks and bokchoy. 
)
)
We stopped for a while at one small isleta that was bought and turned into a monkey sanctuary for injured monkeys. It now has about 10, 2 of which are born there. The plants on the island provide enough food for the monkeys
which they then tried to sell you by the bag. (Columbia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua all claimed to have the best coffee 
)
(buffet and courtyard)
.
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