Cruisin’,Quizzin’,Cuisinin’ intheCaribbean
Aunt Olive Gray Rupert, Lois Olive Gray & Kay Ellen Gilmour, MD
2/4/05 to 2/14/05
All Aboard
Johnny took us to the Port Everglades dock for the MS Rotterdam around 11 a.m. The boarding procedure was uncomplicated and we were cleared to board in about an hour. Then we were invited to lunch while we waited for our staterooms to be readied. Lunch on the Lido Deck was a buffet with 4 entrée choices and you could also get sandwiches, pizza, soup, etc. Iced tea particularly good.
The staterooms were readied about 2 and they are surprisingly roomy with a goodsized bathroom as well. They will do quite well for the 10 days we will be aboard.
We explored the ship a little and then went to our cabins to unpack so we could all stop fumbling around in our carry-ons and suitcases for things we could not find.
Then it was time to go to the lifeboat drill which was efficient and done quickly. Afterwards Kay and Lois helped Olive finish her unpacking and get some rest before supper time.
The seas had started out calmly but as we proceeded across the Straits of Florida and the Gulf Stream, things got a bit choppier Soon we were all glad to locate our wrist bands which we happily wore to supper. There was a bit of roughness all though dinner but we did fine seasoned sailors as we are.
Table 20 is well-located, portside right at the windows. Our Filipino wait staff was helpful and attentive, even if a little hard to understand. So we enjoyed our dinners and headed for the Queen’s Lounge for the evening show at 8:15. All the chief players were introduced to us bingo butterfly, spa ladies, sports event coordinators, trivial pursuit master, etc.
Then we got the show: Tommy Bond with the Rotterdam band. He played ala Liberace with lots of pasted on smiles which he leered out at the audience over his shoulder. He played flamboyantly with much hand lifting and arpeggios. However, he played tunes we all knew and enjoyed and we even sang along some. It was typical cruise entertainment fare and we enjoyed the show.
When we turned in and said good night at about 10:30 p.m., it was still calm seas. However, though Kay and Lois slept through it all, Olive spent a restless night as the seas grew more active and rolled her about a bit. She resorted to Bonine then rather than trusting the wrist bands, but most importantly, she did not get sick. Kay and Lois never knew anything “sea-rious” was even going on.
Half Moon Cay
Breakfast at 8:30 on Lido Deck and then we stirred about getting ready to go ashore at Half Moon Cay (Holland America’s private island). We left the ship about 10:30 and got the Island about 10:45. The day was windy with partly cloudy skies and scudding rain clouds on the horizon.
We visited the shop (most things were not open and we do not know why) and then walked the Bone Fish Trail to the little Bahamian Church, snapping pictures of birds and flowers as we went
The waters of the little bay were gorgeous with all shades of aqua and green and deep blue. Because of the wind, most of the sports activities had been cancelled so we saw no parasailing over our heads or AquaTrax rushing about in front of the swimming area.
We walked as far as the pavilion area and got ourselves cokes and cookies for a snack. Olive enjoyed the breezes and the bougainvillea while Kay & Lois looked for more birds. We saw a total of three, not counting the hen and rooster near the pavilions. We also saw a wonderful little gecko with a scorpion-like tail hunting among the sea grape and silver buttonwood plants.
Because of the threatening rain clouds, we decided to go back to the ship for lunch on the Lido Deck and beat the crowds. Our tender driver seemed a little out of control when he smashed into the side of the Rotterdam on returning but no one was hurt so no harm done. We were not sorry that we did not eat the picnic lunch on the island. Our salads and ice tea were excellent on board.
Kay & Lois went to an afternoon work-out in the spa while Olive went to the beauty salon to get her hair done for the evening. Then we met for supper at 6 p.m. on Lido Deck again because none of us wanted to go “formal” to the captain’s dinner. Again, everything was fine and we were happy with our meal.
Then it was back to the theatre for the evening show. This time our showman was Pat Tanner, a singer who impersonates more famous folks. He “channeled” Neil Diamond, Garth Brooks, Julio Iglesias, Willie Nelson, Johnny Mathis, Satchmo, Nat King Cole, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones and finally even Elvis. He was pretty over the top and was not the best impersonator ever heard, but he was full of good spirits and high energy so the crowd was quite appreciative!
We learned a good lesson too; we cannot arrive just 15 minutes before show time or we will not get a seat.
Then it was beddies again and we found that we had to turn our clocks forward one hour before retiring in order to get to our appointed rounds on time on Sunday. The seas were very calm tonight so everyone anticipated a good rest.
The SuperBowl at Sea Breakfast separately this morning because Kay and Lois had signed up for a Pilates exercise class at 9 and Olive was not ready at that ungodly hour. Afterwards, we got the shore excursions mess fixed up (our online bookings had not gone through) and then we met to see what everybody wanted to do.
Olive opted for the deck chairs on Promenade Deck 3, Lois went to “Brain-buster Team Trivia” in Ocean Bar 5 and Kay stayed in her cabin to read. Lois’s team won the trivial pursuit contest and brought the prize to Olive a videotape about the Rotterdam. Something nice to share with her friends back in California. The tiebreaking winning word was “marsupium” the pouch of a marsupial animal.
Then it was lunch at the Lido again shredded pastrami sandwiches which were delicious. A little shopping followed and then we went to the 2 p.m. lecture on the Panama Canal first in a series of 4.
We had a little rest before going to dinner at Table 20 and then we headed to the Queen’s Lounge to watch the Super Bowl on their big screen.
What a surprise to learn that the satellite coverage does not feature the commercials as a matter of fact, it does not show them at all! The seats were excellent in the balcony and we dutifully saw the Pats beat the hapless Eagles by only three points.
However, none of us could say that the Eagles were cheated most calls went their way and luck was really with them However, they managed time poorly and gave away the last few minutes they needed to try to tie the game up again. So, they were really outplayed and out coached. The Pats won 24 to 21 and deserved to do so.
Shots of Jacksonville were by and large disappointing the bridges did not show up well. Downtown buildings looked dark and forbidding. Even the stadium views were not particularly effective. The half-time show with Sir Paul McCartney had wonderful lights and fireworks and even special effects coming off the stage down ramps. Paulie sang “Baby, you can drive my car,” and another, plus “Hey Jude.” He looked lonely up there without the other three Beatles and the whole show seemed a little downbeat to me, despite frantic guitar and piano playing by Paulie and his band. Definitely desultory, I thought, but at least Paul did not bare his bosom or clutch his crotch. So I supposed the NFL was satisfied.
Oranjestad, Aruba
Later breakfast than usual because we all slept late after our long watching of the game last night. Afterwards, Kay & Lois went to the Library to see how badly they had done on yesterday’s trivia quiz and it was pretty poor. Then they tried to answer the questions on today’s quiz about presidential oddities. They even looked up as much as possible in the dictionaries and desk encyclopedia in the Library. But neither was convinced that such research did much good. So we will see later on this afternoon when the results are on display.
Then Kay went to the Lido Deck to photograph birds and Lois and Olive went to the Ocean Bar 5 to see how the Scattergories game would go. Lois got on the winning team and came home with a key chain for her pains and it was given to Olive for a souvenir as well. The next game, Taboo, did not go as well and her team did not win. It was a word game rather like password but . . .
We had docked at Oranjestad, Aruba about 11 a.m. and around noon it was time to grab a quick lunch and then leave the ship to join the onshore excursion, Aruba Town and Countryside Tour. Big bus but poor amplification so it was difficult to hear and understand what James was telling us about his country. We could see the Dutch flavor in the buildings downtown but outside the city, things looked either touristy or very islandy bright colors and flamboyant flowers and all very neat and clean.
The clouds hung low and grey over the city, beaches and countryside. We had been told the temperature was 81 but it felt cooler because of the wind. Then it began to mist on us. But by then the tour was nearly finished; however, James had kept the
air-conditioner on “stun” for the trip so Kay & Lois were thoroughly chilled, but Olive felt just right. So obviously, James is on to something.
We visited the Natural Bridge, an undercutting of the limestone shoreline by the relentless ocean waves until the span of limestone was created. The Atlantic on the North Shore of the Island is very rough and always agitated according to James. Though there are 5 kinds of cactus on the island, the basaltic area near the ocean waves was bereft of any of them, even the ubiquitous organ pipe variety we had seen all along the drive.
After the stop at Natural Bridge, we drove to the Casibari Rocks which looks very strange indeed James said the only ones like them in the world have been found in Alaska! They also look like the enormous boulders at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. No one has explained why they are here on Aruba and how they got here. They are not only in the single “pile” on which we were invited to climb, they are also spread around in the neighborhood in people’s backyards, in vacant lots, in parks. Where on earth did they come from?
Then we were taken to the Aruba Aloe Factory where the plants are farmed and turned into skin care and other products. The operation is very small but it is into the 21st century since it has a website so that people can buy its products anywhere in the world! We bought a few items and they seem very nice. The little factory employs about 40 Arubans.
Along the way, James pointed out the native tree in Aruba the Divi. This tree has adapted itself to the wind conditions on the island and it spreads its branches out in the direction opposite to the wind’s position so you can always tell where you are on the island if you know that the wind direction is always the same.
We had enough time to get showered and changed for supper when we returned to the Rotterdam. It felt good to get the hair washed and to try the new deodorant from the Aloe Factory. It smells fresh and clean and so now we can hope that it works well too. Dinner was good except Olive and Lois were disappointed in the “Curried Veggie Cutlet” which was dry and not all curry-tasting. The Pavlova for dessert was excellent however and we all enjoyed that as well as the Thai spring rolls for an appetizer and Kay & Lois really liked the gazpacho soup.
Even though we reached the Queen’s Lounge 25 minutes before the evening show, we were already too late. Olive and Kay found single seats and Lois sat on one of the side tables as she had done the show beforehand. Not bad really. The show was Jazzamatazz and it was really fun the young singers and dancers are actually surprisingly good and the tunes were familiar and jazzy. The choreography was quite inventive, especially considering the size of the stage they must work with. The songs ranged from Alexander’s Ragtime Band to Bob Fosse pieces like Cabaret and Chicago tunes. Flamboyant and attractive costuming as well and the kids really are quick change artists.
After the good show, we went back to our cabins to rest up for the next day. It continued to rain and look stormy all afternoon and into the evening and I’m afraid none of knew when the ship sailed from Oranjestad to Curacao.
Curacao & Willemstad Trolley Tram Excursion
Kay and Lois went to an early breakfast and then to Pilates class. There were only 3 of us and we got more attention from Maria than we maybe wanted, but she did teach us a lot of new things which is good from the variety standpoint but makes some new muscles sore and strained. Good work-out even though it is not aerobic. Then Kay & Lois went to the Library and worked on the daily quiz. T’was much easier today but we probably still won’t win.
Now we’re getting ready to go off ship into Curacao and onto our Willemstad Trolley Tram excursion. Today is sunnier than yesterday and the temps are about the same: 79 and 80 degrees. We will hope for continued sunshine!
The Tram Trolley ride was a good way to show Olive the little city of Willemstad, Curacao. Our cab ride to the Trolley Depot was pretty hilarious since we had the angriest cab driver in the country, we are pretty sure. She cursed in the Papiamento native language which is an olio of Spanish, English, Dutch, French, Portuguese and some African dialects. We certainly understood without complete translations because she was just incensed at every other driver on the very narrow roads. However, she got us to the Trolley safely anyway.
Our guide was Clarina, a native lady of a certain age and she was pretty good really. She showed us the old Jewish section of town which has some amazingly kitschy old homes dating from the late 1800s. Most of them have passed out of Jewish hands now and are in the possession of various “private banks” and other businesses. Sadly, many are in a state of actual decay due to the use of salt sand and salt water in making the blocks for the buildings. It takes a tremendous amount of money to restore them and stop the decay. Some of the buildings have also been purchased by the government and it is planned that more will become government properties.
We also saw the Venezuelan vegetable, fish and fruit market on the waterfront as well as the native market place. Clarina assured us that the island also sports regular super markets as well. The big city library is a very attractive building in a more modern style which does blend well with the Dutch heritage. She had the driver take us into the downtown area so we could see the tourist areas and the local shops as well. We also visited the Catholic Cathedral which dates from 1870. It does have some lovely stained glass windows and there was a delightful little bird building its nest in one of the side chapels.
Clarina also showed us the two “farts” guarding the harbor entrance but we declined to tour them since we figured they would be full of some foul air. However, we did get a good laugh from the story.
Olive did her souvenir shopping in the little downtown and got what she was looking for in pretty short order. Then we found we were very hungry and headed back across the Queen Emma pontoon bridge to the ship for a late lunch.
Curacao is very colorful and charming and much more interesting architecturally than Aruba.
After lunch we also decided to lounge about in whatever way suited us best. Kay went to the Lido Deck to read, Lois went to play Team Trivia again (and her team won again) and Olive went down to the deck chairs on the Promenade Deck on #3. Lois’ prize this time was a combination calculator/clock with the Holland America logo. Then we all met for supper after 5 p.m.
Supper was very tasty again and we all ate way too much, but I guess that’s what cruising is all about. An interesting entertainment at dinner tonight was watching the ship sail out of the Curacao harbor backwards! The harbor area is so narrow there is no way even the most skillful captain could turn such a big ship around, so he backs all the way out into the open sea. The pilot is on board to help with this maneuver and it all went well.
We met in the Library right before 8 to get places in the Queen’s Lounge for the nightly show. There we discovered that Kay & Lois had won the daily quiz as well. A Holland American mug was waiting in the cabin after the show. We gave it to Olive as a trip memento too.
A pre-show was held to determine what tourist could tell the best clean joke. It was the called the King and Queen of Jokes or some such. Anyway, there were a couple of good jokes told and about three people got to sit on the throne temporarily until it was finally decided that the winning joke was Fred’s from Minnesota. Probably doesn’t matter that we won’t remember any of the jokes in a couple of days.
The show of the evening was a comedian/magician, Ken Havard. He performed some pretty good illusions and had a few jokes up his sleeve as well. He had a rather laid-back approach and none of us could figure out how he did any of his tricks from poking swords in the box supposedly occupied by his “lovely assistant” to joining and unjoining the Chinese rings!
Tomorrow is a sea day but we will all be getting up early Olive to get her hair done again and Kay and Lois will be going to an aerobics workout. Then there’ll be several more games and quizzes to play.
Day at Sea
Aerobics turned out to be a very good workout even if we did have trouble following all the moves. Except for looking somewhat awkward, we did pretty good and certainly worked up a good sweat! The little gal from Barcelona who did Olive’s hair this morning did a much nicer job than the Parisian lady and we all thought her hairdo was very attractive! Olive felt better all day with this look than with her “do” of yesterday which was a bit wind-tossed.
After getting cleaned up, Lois ran to 10:30 a.m. Scategories but did not have the same kind of luck from the days before. Her team came in third actually (out of three). Then we all ran to the Queen’s Lounge for the Gift Bag Bingo session. Kay played 12 cards (total) while Olive and Lois each played 4 (total) but none of us won either the gift tote bag jammed with “Dam” souvenirs or any of the 4 Bingo games either. However, it went fast and we enjoyed it. Bingo lasted long enough that there was no Trivia Game today.
We had lunch in the dining room since we would not be dining there this evening phooey on these formal evenings! A couple from Long Island joined us for lunch and it was fun talking to them a while. The lunch menu was good and fairly light, so we were happy with the fare.
In the afternoon we went to the 2nd Panama Canal lecture which was a little repetitive but the notes are below anyway. We certainly do now know that Paul Sullivan believes that the Canal was an enormous civil engineering project that it has been an unqualified success all its 90 years.
To learn what kind of trips are being planned by Holland America in 2005 and 2006 we went to a promotional program in the Wajang Theatre at 4:15 p.m. It was a little startling to learn that Holland America (132 years old) is now owned by Carnival Cruise Lines which also owns Princess, WindStar, and Cunard. They have some very ambitious routes, like 135 day round the world cruises, Amazon cruises that start in Ft. Lauderdale, but Alaska is their biggest product! They offer discounts to folks who travel regularly with Holland America and there are certainly many intriguing routes possible with this company.
We had supper on the Lido deck after about 45 minutes in the Library before the buffet opened at 6:30 p.m. We then found that we had not won the Musical Daily
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Quiz after all. Supper was beef Wellington and it was pretty good. We went almost immediately up to the Queen’s Lounge for the evening show ”Hats Off.” It was another charming show with the talented young people in the cast. Again there was lots of Bob Fosse type choreography and lots of familiar songs, well sung for the most part and well danced too. We all enjoyed the show’s costumes, dancing and slight story very much!
Tonight we gain an hour again as we move the clocks back before reaching the Panama Canal in the early morning hours We need to be out on deck around 6:30 a.m. to see the ship begin the traverse of the Gatun Locks. We should be in the Lake around 8:30 they say and then begin the shore excursions about 9:15 A.M. But we have been warned to be flexible and expect changes since all is in the hands of the Panamanian pilots!
Panama Canal
The Gatun Locks
Up early this morning to see the ship enter the Gatun Locks around 6:30 a.m. The sight was very interesting those electric “mules” that pull the ship along in and between the three locks were particularly intriguing. The steep little hills they had to ride up on their little cogwheels looked to provide quite a thrill to the beginning drivers! There really is little room to spare when our big cruise ship is in the locks.
While we stood in the bow of the ship with all the other early risers, a sassy little gray cloud moved over our heads and like a mischievous kid dumped quite a bucketful of water on our heads. Everyone got pretty soaked. Then he laughed and disappeared! However, the day stayed misty and overcast. What is this they are trying to tell us about this being the “dry season” in Panama?
After watching ourselves enter the locks, we got to see another cruise ship, the Coral Princess, and a freighter begin the journey as well. It’s really hard to believe that the dam and locks are 90 years old. Everything is well-maintained, looking like it just went on service yesterday. The land around the locks is jungly for sure. Lots of different palm trees and lush tropical growth including banana trees.
We had a quick breakfast along with Olive who had gone onto the Promenade Deck (3) for her own view of the entry into the locks. She had the advantage of not getting dunked with that pesky tubful we “enjoyed.”
Then it was off to our excursion for the day: a tender to the Gatun Yacht Club where we were put on buses for the ride to Panama City about 53 miles across the isthmus through the mountains and the continental divide at 300 ft. It was a fascinating, if damp, ride because we got to see the canal along the way as well as the three jungle types: Primary (pristine), Secondary (logged and cleared once), and Tertiary (reclaimed from the “reverted lands”). Panama is very protective of its forests, jungles, rain forests, etc., because of their close link with the needed rainfall each year. It is illegal in the country to cut down a tree and there is even a forest police force to make sure that clandestine logging is not going on. In addition, the country sponsors a reforestation project in which the citizens are encouraged to buy seedling (at very inexpensive cost) trees and plant them on their properties. When they do this, they are free of property taxes for 20 years. The government has identified what trees it wants to encourage and sells those seedlings--like teak, mahogany, pine, and about 7 others. Our guide, Betty, said the program is going marvelously. Another related factoid she gave us is that Panama and Aruba are the two countries with the highest rates of home ownership in the world!
Gatun Yacht Club
Fort Clayton and Fort Albrook Bases
The next big surprise was the Army (Ft. Clayton) and Air Force (Ft. Albrook) base which the USA gave to Panama at the time of the transfer of the Canal ownership. The contiguous bases are enormous and the buildings (mostly built in the 1910s) are mostly in good repair. During the wars, the bases each housed over 100,000 servicemen and women and their families. Even in the years immediately leading up to the transfer, 30,000 service folks and their families lived on these bases. Now Panamanians can buy these houses for fractions of their real cost and they are doing so happily.
The old Canal Zone consisted of 5 miles on either side of the canal itself as well as these old bases. Now these are called “reversion lands” because their ownership has returned to Panama and enlarged the country by those amounts. Now the land is being used for the good of the Panamanians sometimes being allowed to return to jungle, sometimes being used for new housing developments, sometimes providing space for business ventures.
Balboa and Panama City
The bus ride ended at Balboa and Panama City on the Pacific Ocean and that was wonderful to see. We enjoyed the new developments including the planned aquarium being built by Frank Gehry for his Panamanian wife. We stopped on the base for an ice cream and rest stop and we also stopped to see a new shopping center on the outskirts of Panama City. We saw some parrots flying around as well as frigates and hawks over the city skyline which is surprisingly modern and “highrisey.”
Tourist Train to Colon
The tourist train ride back to Colon was also enjoyable. A smooth ride and we were stunned to learn that a Kansas City train company now owns this 47 mile stretch of ribbon railroad which had been given to the Panamanian government at the time of the canal transfer. When that government decided to nationalize the property, the US concern bought it back and now operates it as a tourist attraction. The cars have been refurbished from the days when the railroad was first completed in 1847 and now they look pretty good with lots of attractive woodwork inside, comfortable
seats, period light fixtures, a nice little lunch, and Panamanian girls to entertain us while we sped back to the port to meet the Rotterdam.
The ship was waiting for us when we got back and since it was raining rather hard we decided we didn’t care to go shopping even at the new portside shopping center. However, Lois did stay long enough to get a T-shirt for Johnny at the Canal Store.
Showers, trying to get clothes dry, resting, reading, and doing pictures were the next order of business as we returned to the ship. Then we met for supper in the
dining room where we watched out the windows as the ship sailed away from Colon and Panama. Then it was time to go to the evening show. We got there plenty early this time and even saw the pre-show which was a pretty funny version of the “newly-wed and not so newly-wed” game where husbands and wives got to guess what answers each other had given to funny questions. We got plenty of laughs from those 4 couples who had been married 53, 37, 20 years and 30 days respectively.
Our night’s entertainment was a self-styled “chanteuse” named Robin Fellowes She was not bad but just missed being really good. Sang lots of familiar songs by more famous people like Doris Day, Ethel Merman, Peggy Lee, Karen Carpenter, Liza Minnelli, and Judy Garland. Again, the crowd on this ship is very receptive and appreciative!
Now it’s time to set the clocks forward and yet we have to get up really early tomorrow to be able to join our final onshore excursion--this one in Costa Rica and it starts at 7:15 a.m. So Good Night, John Boy!
Drive to Jungle Cruise
What a strange night! First, we knew we had to move our clocks back before going to bed and then we were anxious about getting up in time to make our 7:15 a.m. shore excursion since the wake-up calls have been erratic to say the least. Plus, Olive’s phone doesn’t work anyway so she has to be roused some other way. Anyway, we went to bed with trepidations and the early morning hours justified those feelings. We had strange knocks on doors around 5 a.m. when we had requested 6 a.m. wake-ups, sleep interruptions, and finally a faint telephone ring in Lois & Kay’s cabin when the aft thrusters were roaring away as we docked in Port Limon. Oh well, we made it to the lounge in time even having had some breakfast. So maybe we were a little sleep deprived, but so what . . .
However, our morning had more mishaps to come. As we were walking from the ship to the bus to take us on our “Jungle Cruise on the Sarapiqui River,” an evil street reflector grabbed at Olive’s shoe and threw her unceremoniously to the ground like a falling tree. She sustained some shock, a little embarrassment, an abrasion on her chin, and a jammed wrist. However, after a few minutes of
recovery time, she decided to go ahead with the tour. She didn’t want to miss whatever adventures lay ahead. An experienced traveler she!
The rains were misting down as we boarded the little van (there were 11 of us from the ship on this excursion) and we gratefully sank into the comfortable seats as the rains started really falling. We knew our bus ride to the north and interior of Costa Rica would be a long one (about 2 ½ hours) so we settled in. However, we had not reckoned on the very fast driving of the Costa Ricans both our own driver and those of the innumerable big trucks and speedy cars around us! Manuel was evidently a skillful driver because we came and went safely, but he did give us a hair-raising ride through the countryside.
The rains kept pouring and pooling in the low-lying yards and fields of the farms we passed in a blink of an eye. Cattle stood miserably in the pelting waters and then forlornly when it was only mist. Puddles threatened to rise above the front steps of most of the tiny block houses. And this is the dry season, Johnny our expert guide, informed us. However, he reminded us that the “ticos” call this constant curtain of moisture “white petroleum” since it is their nation’s richest resource plenty of fresh
water always, 100% of the electric power the nation needs, plenty of extra power to export to neighboring countries, rich rainforests and jungles to harbor the country’s magnificent flora and fauna and thus insure continued tourism, an agricultural paradise which feeds the nation and permits wonderful food and plant exporting opportunities (2nd in the world in bananas, significant sales of pineapples, beef, ornamental plants and tropical flowers)! Indeed, the ticos want the rains to continue always and do not resent it.
However, the rainy highway with the huge truck bearing down and the really daring passing maneuvers executed by Manuel did serve to keep us gringos a little apprehensive. When we could look out the windows, we had a good chance to observe typical Costa Rican villages and farms, big banana plantations with their blue bag encased “hands” hanging on the trees, newly planted pineapple fields (the white variety on this side of the country), processing plants, and the amazingly numerous rivers of the Caribbean side of the country.
Finally, we arrived at the little farm/reserve where our riverboat trip was to begin. Everyone ran for the “water closets” and then we walked up the dirt road a little distance to see the little troupe of howler monkeys right there in plain view. Birds flitted about in an unidentifiable fashion but we did enjoy watching the active howlers. Only once did one of the males begin to tune up for a good “howling” but then he inexplicably cut it short. It was still fun to see the monkey’s antics as they fed on the leaves all around them.
Johnny told us that this species used to be considered “lazy” because the creatures have a small territory, rarely come down from the branches, and sleep a lot. However, further study has revealed that these monkeys are exquisitely evolved to live as they do with a very efficient metabolism which can use over 74% of the leaves of the trees native to Costa Rica; therefore, they do not have to move a lot because their food supply is always around them! These are a rich brown monkey with a furry back a little more russet in color. These longer back hairs provide the babies with handholds as they ride along with their mother’s upside down postures created by hanging from their prehensile tails, their fearless leaping from branch to branch, and their heedless-of-their-precious cargo antics. They have round faces with downturned mouths so that they always look a little aggrieved.
Jungle Cruise on the Sarapiqui River
Down some treacherous concrete and mossy (and it is still raining) steps and we got to the little covered boat which would carry us along the Sarapiqui and Sucio Rivers to watch for wildlife. Even though it rained intermittently, both misting and pouring, we did see a lot of birds and animals. Of course birds were most numerous and we did a prodigious variety of them:
Black-Cheeked Woodpecker
Montezuma Oropendula
Pasorini’s Tanager
Great hermit hummingbird
Cattle Egret
Common Egret
Keel-Billed Toucan
Gray & Blue Warbler
Anhinga
Great Kiskadee
Laughing Falcon
Black Vulture
Chestnut Headed Woodpecker
Blue and white tanager
Silver Capped Tanager
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Northern Jacana
Chestnut-Billed Toucan
Clay-Colored Robin
Great Green Macaw
Tiger Heron
Turkey Vulture
Yellow Breasted Warbler
We also saw plenty of iguanas in several age stages from green to black to the brilliant oranges of the adult males. They perched on the highest limbs of the many trees overhanging the rushing, sediment-filled rivers. It became easy to spot them as we sped along because of the weird pattern their dorsal spines created against the sky. More howler monkeys were met along the way too including two mothers carrying babies which were so cute and blue-eyed too! Kay captured good looks at all these critters.
We even saw two American crocodiles as we buzzed along. Those murky waters made it appear that no one would ever want to swim in those rivers since we now knew was lurking below the surface. However, Johnny told us that there are surprisingly few crocodile or caiman attacks on people in Costa Rica probably
because there is such a rich supply of the creature’s favored food fish! On the return trip, we were delighted to see a three-toed sloth hanging over the river even though he was pretty bedraggled looking, rather like a child’s toy left out in the rain, pretty ragtag!
Though a bit hard to reach from our boat, the little farm where we stopped for a delicious “casada lunch” harbored wonderful birds and even had a little terrarium where we could see green and white frogs and little red frogs (often called “blue jean frogs” because of their navy blue back legs)--both in the poison dart frog family. We spent a goodly amount of time bird-watching here to very good effect.
The “casada” lunch refers to the marriage of black beans and rice which is a mainstay of the tico diet. We also had grilled chicken, beef strips, salad, salsa, and tortilla-wrapped local cheese. Dessert was marinated bananas with heavy cinnamon and brown sugar (delicious)!
Even Olive enjoyed the plates we brought her though her hand was beginning to swell and throb. A resourceful fellow traveler gave her a plastic bag filled with ice to apply to the swelling and it did work considerable magic during the bus ride back to Puerto Limon.
Her right hand was much less puffy and swollen when we got back to the ship (after our long and rainy ride back) but Kay suggested that she have it x-rayed anyway just to be sure nothing was broken. Aside from the fact that the intake nurse was decidedly hostile (a little overzealous in her attempts to make sure that nothing in the documentation could possibly suggest that Holland America was in any way at fault), the visit to the Infirmary was relatively efficient. An x-ray and then a visit to the doctor confirmed that there was no fracture for which we were all grateful.
After a delicious dinner on board ship, we went to the evening’s entertainment: a little game of “What’s My Line” with a former governor of South Dakota as one of the contestants and then an amazingly skillful flautist young man from Northern Ireland. Mr. Arbuthnot had been trained in part by James Galway but had learned most of his considerable skills through a flute club (to which Galway also had
belonged) and private lessons. He was quite talented and we enjoyed the show despite our earlier misgivings.
It was a wonderful day except for Olive’s mishap which hopefully will live in her memory and ours as only a minor occurrence in an otherwise adventurous experience! To bed early since we were to lose an hour tonight.
Day at Sea – Homeward Bound
A lazy day today. We all slept as long as we pleased, took showers at leisure, at breakfast when we were hungry, and relaxed. Lois went Team Trivia at 10:30 but was on the absolutely lowest losing team. However, she picked up the Daily Quiz form in the Library and she & Kay worked on the questions.
Because we have all cruised on Holland America before, we were invited to the Mariners Club Reception at 11:45 a.m. Curious as to just what the heck was up with this, we attended after having dropped off our entry into the Daily Quiz at the Library. The reception turned out to be a thank you kind of thing for us multiple trip sailors and to present higher level awards top those folks who have sailed longer than some of us have lived! We were given really bad champagne and some tasty spring rolls as rewards too.
We took lunch in the dining room again since Saturday was another formal night. Then we went down to hear Lecture # 3 on the future of the Panama Canal by Paul Sullivan. It was hard not to fall asleep during parts of his talk because he is so repetitive. However, we got some interesting notes and then skedaddled.
Everybody went for their own form of further relaxation, reading, sunning on the deck, listening to the US History tapes. The temperature was pleasant but the winds were pretty high, Beaufort 6 at least. So we got “blown to pieces” for a while but enjoyed the time to read.
Went for supper at 6:30 on the Lido Deck and then up to the Queens Lounge for the final cast show of the cruise “Showstoppers” a medley of Broadway tunes. Again, it was a pleasure to watch because of the kids’ talent, energy, and the excellent melding of the tunes and the good choreography. Some of the performers can sing much better than others and for some reason they give most
of the female solos to the girl with the least voice control and the poorest high range. Inventive and amusing costumes and good choices of songs.
We learned that we had won the Daily Quiz again and found our prize on returning to the room another “dam” mug. This was a true and false quiz and we missed 4 out of 20.
All for today and we agreed to meet for breakfast around 8 a.m. Olive was not really nearly as stiff and sore as we had expected her to be. She really has been a good sport about the fall and the aftermath. Her hand looks much better too, less puffy, but you can begin to see a purplish undertone to her skin so we think she’s going to be seeing a pretty good amount of bruising.
To all a good night and good sailing and good sleeping!
A Lovely Cruise with a Lovely Lady
