Day 5 – Jan 9, 2011 – Costa Rica

Today we had booked an afternoon shore excursion to tour a banana plantation and take a boat up the Tortuguero Canal.  Both trips were very enjoyable.  Sharon has seen many banana plantations but this was my first.  I’ll never eat a banana again without being reminded of this place and the energy it takes to get this delicious fruit to our local stores.  As we drove around the Atlantic side of Costa Rica, I got a flair for the local color.  The port where we were docked at is the busiest in the Caribbean.  Our guide, Lucy was also very good about sharing information about her country.  For instance, they value education, the environment and peace (they have no standing army).   Costa Ricans have also enjoyed universal health care for more than 5 decades.

I was mesmerized with the rain forest along the canal, the flora and the fauna were all that I had expected, such plant and animal diversity.  We saw a “Jesus Christ” (because he walks on water) Lizard and a Cayman (a small harmless crocodile).  Sharon felt very relaxed throughout the ride and looked very cute in her Panama hat, so did the driver of our boat who was nicknamed “Gilligan”.   The people of this Central American country on the whole are very handsome.

Both “Gilligan” and Lucy were very good at spotting animals for us to gawk at:  a couple of lazy 3-toed sloths with an adorable baby, a wild looking Iguana, a quick sighting of a Toucan, many “little blue herons”, egrets and many other nameless tropical birds.

We returned to the port just in time for our departure.  The weather was perfect.  There wasn’t a hint of a wind and no humidity.

Both of us are meeting some very interesting people on board ship.  Along with Americans, there are Canadians, Germans, South Africans, Australians, Asians and even one couple who were originally from Astonia.  As you can imagine our conversations are lively.