Thoughts and more thoughts Tuesday March 12, 2013

THOUGHTS, THOUGHTS AND MORE THOUGHTS TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2013 PART ONE

While the cruise isn't over for a few more days and I still have Cabo to spend some time in and since today I am in a writing mood I thought – there is that word again – I would take some time and start putting some of those thoughts – stop it Dennis! - into words and into cyber space.

First off – a special thank you to some of the cruise critic people I have met on board the ship and special thanks to the following people. Anne, Barbara and Paul from south Florida who have been table mates for many dinners in the Michelangelo Dining Room and seat mates on some of Anne's tours. They are getting a special reward of a free dinner in the Crown Grill – the Steak House on this ship.

Penny and Marlene for putting up with me at morning coffee or during Trivia.

Wayne and Bonnie from Nevada – Wayne was the one who kept things flowing on the spread sheet for the past two years and Bonnie who took the time to stop and see how I was.

Don and Debra – follow Canadians – hailing from the Ottawa area – interesting discussing Canadian issues and ribbing each other about our hockey teams – me the Canucks and them the Ottawa Senators.

Garry and Nancy from the Greater LA area who while on Cruise Critic aren't very active - I had a chance meeting them in the hot tub early in the cruise and have spent time chatting with them – we are trying to arrange a dinner together before we hit San Francisco.

Tom, Joe and Mary Ellen from the Bay area – interesting conversations with them - Tom and Joe are a long time same sex couple – can't legally marry in California and Mary Ellen work with Joe as a court reporter for many years. While on the cruise Tom and Joe managed to sell their large condo in downtown S.F. For $50,000 over the asking price – since both are now retired they are moving to Williamsburg, Virginia where they also own a house.

Janelle and Phil from Brisbane, Australia – tour organizer in Lima and always willing to chat for a few minutes.

Janet and Lewis from Missouri and Clive and Margaret from Australia who often ate at the table next to me in the buffet.

Mary and Tom who organized my Fortaleza tour.

To the couple who I met on the train from Boston who I spent so much time getting to know that I haven't been able to remember their names.

There are probably others but these are the name players that have help me through this long cruise and helped cheer me up when as I have posted I was having one of my down days.

MEALS:

I won't comment on the quality of the food as that is always a subjective subject but as I like to say – ANY MEAL THAT I DON'T COOK IS ALWAYS A GOOD MEAL.

BREAKFAST – after about the third or fourth day I found a home for breakfast at the International Cafe on deck 5 – they have light pastries and a coffee bar not unlike Starbucks and at times as busy as them.

I settled into having two apple like turnovers and a chocolate donut – I became such a regular that Jhoel – he pronounces it Jonathan would see me coming and have the plate ready for me.

LUNCH – on sea days I would vary it - some times in the buffet – where I tended to over eat and other times in the Crown Grill where they offered a English style pub lunch – I would have Fish and Chips - also took advantage of the pizza slices up on the pool deck and the delicious cheese burger and fries offered at the Trident grill on deck 14.

DINNER – when I wasn't eating with Anne and company in the restaurant it would be the buffet – they varied their menu – I like potatoes – half of me is Irish – but I have never seen so many names and types of potato dishes as I have on this cruise and believe me I tried most of them.

I also was a regular at the ice cream bar – enjoying a vanilla soft cone most days after lunch.

Cookies – when I had no junk food available - were my “treat”

As for beverages – with the morning meals it was usually just water and for the remainder of the meals - water and diet pop.

For the most part any adult beverages I consumed them in my cabin while reading a book or working on editing my photos and video.

End of Part One.

Disappointment and a mini-revolt Saturday March 9, 2013

I have made the title a little dramatic to get your attention - here is the post.

SAN JUAN DEL SUR, NICARAGUA SATURDAY MARCH 9, 2013

As I mentioned early this is a tender port and a difficult one as well – the tender area in town is a floating pontoon and can only take one tender boat at a time.

I woke and as is usual I head down for a bite to eat in the International cafe but as is also habit stuck my head out on the deck to see the seascape and it was impressive – low hills, a clearing sky and lots of white caps on the water – then I said to myself as I walked down to breakfast – I wonder if they will be able to tender with the waves being as high as they are – if you want an even better view – Deck 5 is also at water line and the waves there quite impressive.

Some of us we musing out loud that tendering might be problematic and this was confirmed some ten minutes later when the Captain came on the PA system and announced that this port was being scrubbed as the seas were expected to remain choppy the remainder of the day and that we would spend the day at sea.

I wasn't surprised but the announcement was met with a lot of angry people who wanted to start a petition to force the Captain to go to another port – they and many were Aussies confronted the Purser's office, anybody in authority with there demands.

I can understand their frustration - it is our third missed port if you count Acapulco which was ditched months ago because of the safety concerns.

Even if Princess wanted to visit another Mexican port and Puerto Vallarta would be the most logical as they still have a presence there and are booked into there for next year – it is a weekend – how would you be able to book the port, book the needed workers, get the local officials on a weekend and book excursions on short notice. In frustration – logic doesn't often factor into a discussion.

I too was disappointed in missing this port as I had a good ship's tour planned to visit the historic city of Granada and then visit a Volcano – a short 4WD drive up the mountainside and then a walk along the crater and finally a lunch.

Some of those organizing private tours had paid a deposit on van rentals so had to deduct that from refunds back to the cruisers.

This is another reason why booking private tours can be risky.

So while the protest simmer the ship took it time cruising up the Mexican coast but we were treated to more than one dolphin show including one fellow who thought he was Flipper – if you don't remember Flipper – Google will educate you.

I had mused at breakfast that I thought one option might be to overnight at Cabo – others say No because it is a tender port – so what other ships do overnight there and they use private tenders as well as ship's one.

Around 5PM the Captain came on with an update and you guessed it – we will not visit any other Mexican ports because Princess cannot guarantee the safety of the cruisers because of the political unrest and gang concerns BUT we will overnight at CABO – arriving Tuesday evening around 5PM and leaving Wednesday at our scheduled time of 5PM.

No additional tours will be offered but the tender will operate continuously until 11PM and then limited overnight to 7AM.

Some of my cruise critic friends are thinking about going ashore and having dinner at one of the nearby eateries – I may join them or otherwise I will eat on the ship and go in for a drink and perhaps a visit to the nearby Walmart.

For Wednesday I had nothing planned and other than short boat ride down to the Arch there is nothing available on the ship's list that appeals to me.

One place I haven't visited yet is the nearby town of Todos Santos or All Saints – a Jesuit mission with lots of history. May search out a tour to there once ashore on Wednesday.

To keep things orderly they will once again use tender tickets but in this case it is more a formality than anything else.

So while not everyone is happy the compromise is fine by me.

On the ensuing sea days we got our passports back – saw more dolphins and as far as I am concerned the cruise is all but over.

On Wednesday night after leaving Cabo I will be treat Anne, Paul and Barbara who have graciously let me dine with them on many nights to dinner in the Crown Grill as my treat. Since none of them drink the offer of a bottle of wine with dinner doesn't apply.

Next – Cabo visit and some thoughts on this long 49 day journey.

Puntarenas, Costa Rica Friday March 8, 2013

PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

This is a port that I have visited before so finding a tour – either the ship's or private – that covered new ground could be a bit of a challenge – I didn't want a long days drive to San Jose and wasn't willing to spend the bucks to do the Paos Volcano since there was no guarantee that I would see the crater as the last time I was there it was completely socked in – while I haven't confirm it they may have lucked out this time if they got there early as it was a cloudless sky in the morning – there was increasing cloud throughout the day but it didn't affect my tour.

What I opted for was a tour organized by Redhead Anne – a potpourri of things that when combined provided a relaxing stress free day.

Puntarenas also is a good port to visit has it has a proper cruise pier – a short walk off and then the town is right there and right there was a sign with Anne's name on it or the nine of us boarded the mini-van and headed out for the day.

Our first stop was in search for the white-faced monkeys that inhabited an area not far from town – at first they could only be seen in the distance but with a little persuasion – IE – an apple – one fellow liked the bait and came up to roadside – he was literally eating out of our guides hand while we were busy snapping photos.

Next we stopped at a small sugar cane operator's place where he taught us how sugar cane juice is made or extracted from the sugar cane – then a sample of the product.

Next up – a roadside stop and walk across a bridge to see the crocodiles – and there were many below on the river bank – they were lazing in the sun – not much water activity.

Next a drive up a narrow dusty gravel road to a viewpoint of the area – while the scenery was great the picture taking wasn't as the sun was causing a shadow effect – they are okay for giving a general view but would never be part of a major photo show.

We then retraced our steps a short way to the Santa Lucia Artesian Village – a small historic village that sits on the edge of a rain forest and national park and has a zip line and sky walk but that wasn't part of today's tour.

After we were treated to some watermelon, pineapple and mango slices and some refreshing ice tea we re boarded the van and headed for our next stop.

Our next stop was at a woodworking shop in a nearby town where we saw a good display of locally hand crafted woodwork.

Finally it was time for lunch in the town of Jaco – pronounced with an H sound – it was a buffet style where you had a choice of side dishes and one main entree – fish – which appeared to be the most popular – chicken, pork chops or beef which is way I had – a choice of salad and a beverage – lemon aide for me – we paid $6.00 US for this – that was the price that our tour guide quoted – I think she had to convince the restaurant owner of that price judging by some of the Spanish conversation that occurred between them.

It was a filling meal.

Jaco is a resort town with an American feel to it – for across the street was a Pizza Hut, KFC and Quiznos sub shop.

After lunch we headed for a nearby beach – there was some discussion among the group here – our original plan was a different beach area where there were more options but because of the time it was shortened – we agreed on a twenty minute stop – those that wanted to swim – Don and Paul took a short dip in the rolling surf – I just dipped my toes in the water and the others enjoyed the gentle breeze under a shade tree.

We also spent some time trying to see if we could find any macaws who frequent the area but we struck out there.

Boarded the van for the final time – a ride back to the pier but with a drive through the town – not a lot to see – then I am on my own – just walk along the beach area and pick up three beers at a place across from the pier control gate – it being a nice warm afternoon and not needing to be back on ship for while – sat on the beach and drank a couple of them.

All in all it was a relaxing day.

Tomorrow the tender port of San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.