Costa Rica Jan 14/15

Costa Rica was not on our original itinerary and was added after several other ports were closed. Silversea is great at having alternatives because you always have to be prepared for things like this, weather and rough seas at open ports. That said, our two stops were Puntarenas and then Puerto Quepos on the Pacific side. At least for the next few stops, we’re only allowed ashore on ship excursions which they are providing at no charge. The down side is it stops a lot of the wandering around the cities and getting a real feel for the life.

Before I get in to the shore excursions, I’m getting ready to watch the Chiefs game and will be “tailgating” in my room tonight with Foie Gras Terrine, Beef Wellington and cheeses of the world for dessert.

The Puntarenas outing was for a river cruise to see crocodiles, birds and mangrove swaps. We saw lots of each and it was an interesting trip. Apparently, the larger crocodiles are somewhat predictable about where you’ll see them because they are very territorial. The smaller ones are seen almost anywhere.

In Puerto Quepos I went on a tour of the Costa Rica National Forest and the beach at the end of it. The forest is best known for sloths, lizards, monkeys and birds. Our guide was incredible spotting the more elusive animals when they were hidden in the top of an 80 foot tree or a 4 inch lizard on a tree trunk 20 feet off the trail. This was a tropical rain forest, so vegetation was extremely dense. Although we saw many animals, getting a clear picture was extremely difficult with the dense vegetation and lighting. While we were at the beach they ordered everyone out of the water because the tsunami was arriving. The tide started rising and the waves got a little bigger but you could see the water changing. It wasn’t anything big but they already had signs up about rip tides and I’m sure this wasn’t helping.

We set sail for our next port in Ecuador last night about 7:00pm and should arrive on Tuesday morning. Tomorrow afternoon we will cross the equator at about 4:00pm central time. Based on our experience from the 2020 World Cruise it will involve a big ceremony hosted by King Neptune and show by the pool deck. Pictures to follow.