Day 76 Fuerte Amador, Panama

Today we arrived in Fuerte Amador, Panama early in the morning. It’s about twenty minutes from Panama City. I signed up for a tour of Panama City. Here is the description: “In 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa was the first European to see the
Pacific. Panama City, originally founded just six years later, was
destroyed and replaced by the Casco Antiguo, or Colonial City,
in 1673. This city has now been declared a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, and features exquisite French, Italian and Spanish
architecture. Admire Saint Joseph’s Church with its Golden Altar
(rescued from Welshman Henry Morgan’s attack on Old
Panama), the Cathedral on Independence Plaza, and the recently
opened Inter-oceanic Canal Museum. Nearby, you will find the
National Theater and the French Plaza which boasts a great view
of the modern city.” As you can see it was quick look at the highlights of Panama City from the old city destroyed by Henry Morgan in 1671, the Colonial Panama along with modern day Panama. My take is that Panama City looks better from a distance. Up close there is a lot of poverty, too much traffic…. they have a ways to go. It is much better than Colon on the Atlantic side but still would not be a big draw for me. I think you are better served in Amador with the shops and restaurants along the shore. Panama City is worth a look but I wouldn’t go there as a destination. I did enjoy the visit to Casco Viejo (the old city) where you can still see some of the remaining remnants of the old city. Tomorrow we travel through the Panama Canal. You can look for us at http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

Day 75 Cruising Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica

Today was an opportunity to see the rugged coastline of southwestern Costa Rica as we cruised the Golfo Dulce. We even saw a lot of dolphins along side the ship as we sailed along. We sailed by the town of Golfito which once was the primary port for bananas. I removed the other item since someone finally woke up and resolved the issue. Thanks

Day 74 Puntarenas, Costa Rica

What a day! We arrived very early into Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Today turned out to be just magnificent! I left early (0715) this morning on my excursion to do a cruise along a Mangrove River…. It looked like just the perfect day for it, hot and sunny. Costa Rica is one of the most ecologically diverse places on the planet and they are trying to leverage that with Eco-Tourism as a key focus. They certainly have all that nature has to offer. The cruise turned out to be one of the best I have seen. Those of you that have followed my travels for a while know I have ventured out on this type of tour in the past. I’ll let you be the judge…. The photos tell the story…. We were constantly treated with one after another of nature’s creatures. For me this is one of the coolest things you can do…. See nature up close and personnel. It certainly beats going to the zoo. So my first trip to Puntarenas turned out to be a great success.

Day 73 At Sea

Oh My!!! How time flies.... day 73 already, only 146 days left. A full 1/3 of my MegaVoyage is now in the books.... kind of depressing. On a more upbeat note, today was absolutely perfect. It was bright and sunny all day with a nice breeze to keep it comfortable. Tomorrow will be a different story. We arrive in Puntarenas Costa Rica around 0700 and it is supposed to be in the 90s.... cooking! I am going out into the Mangroves to see the wildlife and take a few photos for all to see.... Should be hot and steamy but fun....

Day 72 Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Today we arrived in Guatemala in the port of Puerto Quetzal. It was my first visit to Guatemala and I was pretty excited. When I went out early this morning as we were sailing in I realized it could really be a cooker. We could see the volcanoes as we were sailing in and they were pretty impressive. It was too bad that the horizon was pretty hazy. I found out later that they were burning sugarcane which created the haze. I was going to take a trip to the historic city of La Antigua Guatemala. It was established in 1543, rebuilt in the late 17th century after being damaged by several earthquakes. One time it was the capital of Guatemala. It remains a great example of colonial architecture. Antigua was 1 ½ hours drive from Puerto Quetzal so I decided to take a “transportation only” tour with Holland America. It was just a ride there with a guide along the way but once there I was on my own (with friends). Here was the ship’s description of today’s excursion: “Today's journey of begins when one of our staff members greets you at the pier and we begin boarding the air-conditioned bus. Before you depart from the pier, you will receive a map of Antigua with relevant information. The scenic 90-minute, narrated drive will take you through Guatemala's lowlands--with magnificent views of some volcanoes and filled with cattle and sugar cane plantations--and up to 5,000 feet above sea level to Antigua, the colonial jewel of the Americas. Once in Antigua, a World Heritage Site as declared by UNESCO, our supervisors will assist you to disembark the bus at the Central Park and will once again remind you of the meeting time before the buses depart back to the pier. From that point on, you will have free time to explore Antigua's charming streets, churches, monasteries, museums and stores until it is time to head back to the pier and your ship.” The description pretty much described it. When we arrived, Rudy, Michelle and I got a map and some instructions from the tourism office and went on about a 3 hour walking tour of Antigua. We enjoyed all the sites, especially all the churches and historical buildings in various conditions based on previous earthquake damage. As soon as we arrived it was apparent that we were now at 5000 feet.... much, much cooler, a real bonus! It really was a nice day and very scenic along the way. It was a nice introduction to Guatemala. I found the country and the people just delightful….