Hellooooo Costa Rica!
Our tour today wasn't until 12:20 so we had a leisurely breakfast at the Bordeaux, bacon and eggs for him and French toast for me. It was "real" French toast, made with a brioche bread and I'm pretty sure the maple syrup was genuine. I could have eaten more (I actually could have ordered more, but I didn't want to appear so piggish first thing in the morning.) After that we went to the Lido deck and Steven hot-tubbed with his cronies for a bit while I read and people watched. The crew had their mandatory fire drill, so it was sort of fun to watch them scrambling to their places. We had been told earlier that they had to (by maritime law) enter a certain % of cabins to make sure they were empty, so if you didn't want to be disturbed, or just plain didn't want them in your room, to hang out your "do not disturb" sign. It was over within 30 minutes or so, but good to know they're on the ball.
I went to the buffet and got some buns, cold cuts, and fruit, and went back to our room and made a small lunch to bring as we weren't going to be near a restaurant for a while. Unlike organized bus tours that have a free breakfast included but absolutely frown on take-away, this was ok and I know this because I asked. I would think that if they frowned on it, there would be no room service, because a person would order the buns etc to their room and when it was delivered they would simply just pack it up. This way there is not a bunch of waiters running to rooms all day, plus more tables available in the buffet.
We disembarked and found our driver and off we went. It was a 45 minute drive through small villages and towns with an interesting and informative guide.
The houses seemed to be all nicely kept, and they all had a satellite dish on top. I guess the entire world is connected these days. Unless you live in North Korea or Cuba.
We drove through the banana plantations of Dole, Del Monte and of course Chiquita.
I knew that bananas grew in bunches upside down (in comparison as to how we hang them) but I didn't know that they were covered with blue plastic to keep them from ripening too soon, and also to keep bugs away. But...and I'm getting chills here, that is also why you sometimes find spiders in the boxes of bananas, they crawl in the bags and can't get out. Ewwww. Ewwwww. Ewwww.
I did not walk into a banana grove if there was the slightest chance that a tarantula was going to fall on me. Some things are best observed from a distance.
We then arrived in a small village and boarded an old train on the historic railroad that was the beginning of the banana industry. I won't get into boring history, but about 100 years ago, the banana train ran all through Costa Rica, and Central America to deliver bananas to the ports. As time went went by and trucking and airlines became the better way, the railway slowly fell apart. There are small sections still running (like this one) mostly for tourists, but some workers still use them to get to and from their homes to the fields for work.
Out guide was really informative, plus the scenery was fabulous, and I loved the train. It was like an old museum. Lots of wood and leather. Some people were complaining that it was "an old piece of junk" (what part of "ride an old historic train from the turn of the century" didn't these people understand?)
The one part that had me a little concerned was when we passed this river:
And the train stopped and backed up (it was only 4 cars long) and stopped on the bridge and we were to marvel at how sturdy the bridge still was...after 100 years. I quickly made sure I knew where the windows and window latches were, and hoped that the crocodiles were not waiting underneath for a bridge collapse and a train full of snacks.
But all was well and we were given bags of banana chips as a reward for not panicking. Oh, there was also a bathroom on this train, but I was too afraid to look into it. I can only imagine....
We soon burst out of the rainforest (where we had seen a few monkeys and a couple of sloths) and I was surprised to see the ocean right beside. In my usual "always lost" way, I thought we had been going towards the centre of Costa Rica.
The train soon stopped and our bus drove right beside it so that we could hop from one to the other without getting drenched, thus I didn't get a good photo of the train.
We stopped at a huge (yuuuuge) artisan market with maybe 100 little shops, the whole thing was under a roof, so it was rain-free and fun to look at all the crafts and goodies. The walk from here to the gangplank was only a few minutes, but sometimes the actual wait to get in is longer, so I bought two of those plastic raincoats for $2. I only have a dozen or so at home in my travel drawer, and they take up virtually no space.....someday I will remember to throw a couple in my backpack. We covered ourselves up and made the mad dash to the ship, along with everyone else. It was a "bump to pass" affair and the rain didn't let up. Luckily the wait was pretty much non-existent, but we were still dripping with rainforest tears. (If I phrase it that way it makes the rain sound more appealing, but it really wasn't.)
Getting on the ship requires (in every port) passing through security screening, just like an airport. All phones, cameras, electrical devices, purses and bags have to be put in a tray and go thru the X-ray machine. That's what sometimes holds the line up. Plus you have to get your princess card scanned as well. I guess the staff has it down to a fine art in cases of rain and crowds, because it went pretty smoothly. My big fear was losing my card, and I'm sure it happens a lot, but I wonder what kind of hassle it is? I guess that's why they tell you to take your passport with you as well.
So we headed upstairs to shake off the rain and checked out the Bordeaux, which had nothing appealing, so we headed up to the buffet which was having Bavarian Night! All the staff were dressed in lederhosen (they always dressed in the appropriate costume on theme nights, and I'm sure they hate every second of it)
There was schnitzel, spaetzle, bratwurst, knockwurst, weisswurst, bierwurst and something called currywurst. There was sauerkraut in many shapes and forms, saurkraut with bacon, with cheese, with bacon and cheese, there was pork and sauerbraten and a whole suckling pig. Of course desert was Black Forest cake, but also many stollens and other pastries. It was pretty awesome.
We gorged ourselves and then made a couple of laps around the boat before we went to the show, which was "Do you wanna dance?" an extravaganza of dance throughout the world....flamenco, Irish step dancing, Argentinian tango, and a lot of good old rock n' roll. It was a lot of fun and everyone was toe-tapping and/or singing along. I think more than a few folks had had a beer with their schnitzel. (You could also order drinks in the theatre, and every seat had a tiny table, so I mean, how could you not utilize that?)
Bed by 11 and yet another time change tonight. What kind of area is Central America? The time zones are crazy-wonky.
Good night.
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