I went ashore yesterday without Bill. He is still not feeling well. The reverend and his wife were on my shore excursion as well as Rick and Linda from Cruise Critic. I had a chance to talk to Carolyn, the reverend’s wife about their arrangements on board the ship.
They feel lucky that they were able to take this cruise. It was
offered to them and 400 other Protestant ministers via email just three weeks before sailing. Somehow, they were chosen.
offered to them and 400 other Protestant ministers via email just three weeks before sailing. Somehow, they were chosen.
They pay a per diem instead of a cabin fee. He can go on shore excursions free but she has to pay. They choose three excursions for each port and HAL decides which one they take.
They must wait while everyone else boards the transportation, then they get on. They must sit in the back of the bus or boat, literally. I asked Carolyn if it’s a bargain and she said it is. She wants to go on another one soon.
I took the train and boat combination today. It was called “Tropical Train Ride and Exotic Mangrove Cruise” (5 hours). The train was old or maybe antique. It had openings instead of windows but it was fine. The area we covered was only mildly interesting, though. The mangrove cruise was much better. We saw some birds, monkeys and crocodiles but not a lot of anything.
From the movie, “The Big Year”, I learned that you see many more birds in the cold regions of the world but fewer species. In the tropics, there is a great variety of birds but few samples of each so they are harder to see.
I could have taken either the Aerial Tram or the Sky Walk. I think those would have been better choices as the action is mostly high up in the trees. The trees are many stories high. Of course, I picked an easy tour for Bill. He would have enjoyed it. The tender wasn’t bad, either.
The great success of the tour today was that we saw many Scarlet Macaws.
The bottom picture is from The Spruce Pets dot com.
We saw two separate pairs of lovers. Our guide said they live to be about 75 years old and they mate for life—just like us! He also said he wished he had mated for life, but that’s another story.
Our guide showed us many interesting fruits and vegetables. He brought samples on the bus. He cut them open and passed them around for us to inspect and smell. The most interesting of these was the cashew. He stopped the bus and our driver got out and climbed a cashew tree. Each fruit has only one nut, which explains why they are so expensive.
Cashew on tree from Barakafm. org.
As a side note, we have not had much in the way of variety in fruits and vegetables on this cruise. I am used to more variety even from our local Sam’s Club. I don’t know if it’s a cost issue or if the produce is unavailable. We have had papaya
a few times, but not very much and it goes fast.
Bill and I were in Costa Rica (Rich Coast) fifteen years ago and took a much better tour. It was a river rafting tour with lunch. There was no lunch on this tour. Because of the tendering situation, we left quite late. So, it was three o’clock before we got back to the ship.
When I returned, Bill still wasn’t feeling good but he had done the laundry! What a guy! We were told that there is a great internet station at the dock but it was closed. Also, I wanted to buy a little wooden oxcart for a Christmas ornament but couldn’t find one.
I was happy to see the little gal who scoops the ice cream getting off the ship when I got back on. She scoops ice cream for11 hours a day, every day.
