Thursday, April 20- Manuel Antonio National Park

I woke up to another day in Paradise- we were already anchored outside of Manuel Antonio National Park.  I woke up early and decided that the best place to deposit the other half of Ron’s ashes would be right off the boat.  He was, after all, a Navy man and had enjoyed two cruises with this line.  I said a few prayers and dropped the packet overboard.  It opened on impact, so I could see the cloudy mist of ashes swirl into the water and disappear.  First venture out of the country with Ron’s ashes accomplished.

This is Costa Rica's smallest national park- only 6 square miles.  The number of people who can be in the park at one time is limited and frequently people have to wait in long lines.  It's closed one day a week so the critters can have some peace and quiet.  We didn't have to wait- we approached from the beach in skiffs.  (UnCruise makes donations to this park and other places we visited.)  I noticed a lot more people and a little more trash. 

We saw a howler monkey, iguanas, a basilisk, agouti, raccon, more leaf ants, and another colony of white-faced capuchins far more acclimated to people so I got lots of pictures.  There were lots of steps and climbing to lookout point (Mirador), but it was very well-maintained.  

We had a beach party in the afternoon, with unusually rough waves, so most of us relaxed on the beach.

Friday, April 21- Going for the Gusto

This was the last full day on the ship and there was plenty to do.  I signed up for another snorkeling expedition, this one in an area called the Octopus' Garden near the islands of Tortuga and Alcatraz.  There were octopus but a huge variety of fish, including some I hadn't seen off Panama, which wasn't that far away.   I couldn’t remember them all.   I knew to avoid coral but asked what would happen if I accidentally brushed some.  Not only were they poisonous- some carried harmful bacteria.  I doubled my efforts to avoid them.

Look out, fish- I'm coming in!

Later in the morning we had another beach party.  I enjoyed both kayaking and swimming, then went back to the ship for lunch, followed by a long hike over multiple trails.    Snorkeling, swimming, hiking, kayaking in the same day- may as well take advantage of opportunities!

We took all the trails except the Killer Trail, for which I was grateful.

Signs by this river warned us that if we went swimming the local crocodiles might welcome us.

View of our ship in the distance.

Waiting for the skiff back to the ship.

On the hike I encountered more new-to-me bird species- at one point a group of macaws flew overhead, squawking.  This area was called a "dry forest", but still felt darn humid!  I came back happy, greasy, sweaty, frizzled, 15 mins.  before happy hour- and there were two men in my head fixing a leak.  (If you're a landlubber, you should know that "head" is the marine term for toilet.)  Fortunately they weren't too long.  I had a Balboa beer in the bar- always have to have the local brew. 

After dinner there was a video showing pictures taken by the crew during the trip, especially enhanced by some of the shots taken by the video crew's drone.  One song struck me in particular- it had the refrain "there's only one way to mend a broken heart.  It turned out to be
Beautiful Dawn, by the Wailin' Jennys.  ("Take me to the breaking of a beautiful dawn... take where the ocean meets the sky and the sand.. Learning to cry is the hardest part.. There's only one way to mend a broken heart").   Wow.  This trip really had been healing.  They'd also done videos on our Alaska trips and I'm cynical enough to know it was meant to make us feel warm and fuzzy and make our credit cards fly out of our wallets with a deposit on a future trip.  Mine had already flown- the $500 discount helped.  I'm thinking the Sea of Cortez in early 2019.

Ended evening on the bench in front of the bridge watching the city lights.  I was reminded of C.S. Lewis' remark in "A Grief Observed" that, after the death of his wife, he felt like a ship missing its starboard engine.  Yes, I definitely miss my starboard engine.

Saturday, April 22- Leaving the Ship

That sad day comes on every cruise when you have to vacate "your" room so someone else can move in.  We finished breakfast, got our passports back, and waited for clearance to exit the ship.

In the meantime, the view at the port was still pretty interesting.  There was a lot of background noise from the many containers with built-in air conditioning; they were stacked nearby and hooked up with power cords.  We watched a ship being simultaneously loaded on one side and unloaded on the other and realized what a complex operation it was- every time a container was unloaded, the correct driver had to be underneath it to receive the load.

I spent the rest of my day in San Jose relaxing;  I'd crammed the day before with multiple activities (and loved every one) and there would be time to explore the city over the next two days.

Hotel pool- Hilton Garden Inn La Sabana

View from my room

April 23. 2017- Exploring San Jose

I woke up crazy early (they'd kept us on Panama time on the ship, which was an hour ahead of Costa Rica time).  The breakfast buffet was wonderful, as they usually are at the Hilton..

The McDonald's alternative.  Wish I could get the bean version at home.

After a gym workout I took the bus into town.  They were very easy to use- the driver actually gave change from a tray already organized into little bunches of coins so he could just hand you the right bunch depending on what size coin you gave him.  I realized again how honest people in Costa Rica must be.  In most countries drivers don't carry cash at all, and a tray like that would be cleaned out by a thief in minutes.  

I wandered, people-watched, and decided to go to the first major museum I found.  That was  the Jade Museum.    

When I’d gotten off the bus I’d carefully looked for the bus stop in the opposite direction- except that we were on a one-way street.  Oops.  Bus stops were just marked as “Parada Autobus” with no indication of which buses stopped there.  I decided to walk back to hotel, with a little trepidation- Rough Guides, which I usually found reliable, referred to kamikaze drivers, open drains in the sidewalks and people selling merchandise such as chickens.   There were lots of street peddlers selling jewelry, toys, DVDs, clothes and lottery tickets but no chickens.  McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway were all over.  There was a long line at McDonald’s for “postres” (desserts-mostly ice cream). 

I walked through park on the way back; huge fair sponsored by Bomberos (the Fire Department) with bouncy house, inflatable slide, games, and fire trucks to check out. 

 After a stop at Starbucks (where I couldn't pay with my smartphone app!), I went for a short swim- the storm that had been threatening all afternoon started just about the time I decided I was tired.