Day Forty Seven - February 21

We arrived at 6:30am around one hour prior to our scheduled arrival time and were the only ship in port.

The past two sea days produced swells in the 4-6 meter range so most of the outdoor activities were cancelled and the pool closed due to the strong winds. The puke bags were also out around the ship which is an indication of rough seas. Unfortunately Janice waited too long to take her gravol so she got sick and had to miss art class. A few hours after the gravol kicked in she was ready for a burger and fries and all was good. I personally have been very lucky and have never experienced motion sickness maybe because my dad and grandparents were sailors.

I remember us coming to Costa Rica previously but we had docked on the Caribbean side of the island. This side was very pretty with beautiful beaches.

The country itself has a population of roughly five million people and usally three million visitors annually prior to Covid. These numbers are slowly increasing.

Our ship tour was called "Cultural Experience and Exotic Mangrove Cruise". This five hour tour included a trip to the town of Esparza where we were treated to a Folkloric show with the youngest dancer being seven years of age. The next stop was to El Jardin Souvenir Plaza. Here you could buy anything produced locally by various artists who share in the profits. Our final destination was to the Tarcoles River where we boarded river boats to explore the river for the crocodiles living there as well as many the birds within the mangrove.

We felt very safe in Costa Rica with their covid protocols. Everyone wears masks and most of the island has been vaccinaated and especially everyone that works in tourism. We had a little excitement on our bus as one guest did not want to wear his mask so they kicked him off. Since there were no taxis available he had to get back on the bus after the boat tour and luckily respected the rules. We felt bad for his wife who was really embarassed. As Janice and I say it's not always fun wearing a mask in plus 30 degree weather but it's important to respect country and ship rules to keep everyone safe.

While travelling back to the ship, our tour guide indicated Costa Rica lays on three tectonic plates laying off the Pacific Ocean. Because of this there are many minor volcanic interruptions occurring within the country regularly. She mentioned Costa Rica has up to 100 volcanic tremors annually.

It was very impressive to hear that Costa Rica has an 86% literacy rate as education is free for everyone. If a student lives too far from the school, they will buy them a bike or even a horse to get them to their class. All meals are also included and the state pays everyone a retirement income of 80% of their average income over their last 30 years of employment. Since they do not have an army, the extra money goes to education including mandatory english classes.

We were the last tour to arrive back at the port and were treated to a wonderful sunset. Again I was the last passenger to board the ship.

We left Puntarenas at 19:00 and have a sea day before our next port Panama City.