Live from Star Princess, Buenos Aires to Los Angeles

[azbirdmom]

To AZbirdmom,

So glad you enjoyed your tour in Manta. I was with Amelia on that tour in December. It was one of the best tours we took in SA.

A big difficult walking in the rain forest at times with some of those slippery rocks but so much fun.

Did you buy a Panama Hat in Monti Christi? My husband did, one of those they roll up and put in wooden box. Well, the box kind of messes the hat up(ruins the shape).

 

Only one person on the tour ended up buying a Panama hat. I did buy a silver necklace that I thought was a bargain based upon the initial price quoted but our guide got the price down by another third.

[as19111]

Norm, thank you for your prompt response. We still have time to reconsider, but the tour is sold out, so our decision is final, whatever we choose. We all think we can tough it out, but sometimes our minds think they are much younger than our bodies!

 

Did you hear of anyone taking the expensive day trip to Antartica? Any details to share on that trip?

 

Thanks!

 

Andrea

[nreeder]

So, Nicaragua was what Costa Rica wasn’t! I’ll explain as I go along.

 

Yesterday, we were at San Juan del Sur on the coast of Nicaragua. This is a tender port as the dock is very small, so small in fact that only one ship’s tender boat can be docked thee at a time. This makes for a very slow process of getting people on and off a ship that holds 2,600 passengers. Getting off was no problem as we were on a Princess tour and they took us off quite quickly. Getting back on after the tour we had to wait abut 20-25 minutes in the hot sun as the re-boarding process went slowly as so many passengers came back from tours at the same time. Princess had cold water, and ice cold washcloths to cool us off and they kept the lines in order to board.

 

Off we went on the “Mombacho Volcano 4WD and Hike, Vistas & Lunch” trip. We boarded a big tour bus and went off for an hour and a half ride to the bottom of the volcano. We saw some howler monkeys in the trees as we went along. Nicaragua is unknown to most Americans except for the Iran/Contra affair. It’s now a democratic country and peaceful. They raise bananas, coffee, pineapple, papaya, guavas, etc.

 

We transferred to a couple of heavy duty flat bed trucks that had rows of seats on the truck bed and covered awnings overhead. Up the volcano we went. Instead of a bunch of switchback roads we just went straight up sometimes at a 45 degree rising slope. The road was paved in paving stones and was pretty good.

 

Finally we reached the top where we began a 1.5 kilometer walk/hike through the lush “cloud” forest. We had wanted to do the could forest trip in Costa Rica but we didn’t like the kind of tour Princess offered there. Cloud forests are different than rain forests. Cloud forests are up at an altitude that the clouds hit the top of the volcano/mountain and deposit moisture on the jungle plants. So instead of getting lots of downpours in the form of rain, they get a lot of mist that the plants absorb for moisture. So the hike was through dense jungle with ferns, climbing vines, and bromeliads up in the trees.

 

Even the inside of the volcano which is now long extinct, was covered by jungle so it was hard to see down. As we went around the rim, we stopped at some lookouts which overlooked the 3rd largest fresh water lake in the Americas. It has 300 islands which are the result of the last eruption and explosion of the volcano. We could also see the town of Granada below where we would drive later for lunch.

 

After the hike, we got back in the trucks and went back down the volcano. Then the big bus took us to the colonial town of Granada near the lake. It has lots of colonial Spanish buildings from the 1600’s in bright colors. We stopped in the town plaza where they had some local dancers do three dances for us. We went to a restaurant for a very nice lunch. Typical of the architecture, there was a courtyard patio in the center of the restaurant. We were told the beef was excellent here so that’s what we had but chicken or fish was available too. They had a cute condiment carrier on the tables with chimichurri, salsa, and chopped onions for toppings. And ladies, they had something never seen in the states--as we sat down and Maureen had her purse and I my camera, they brought us a little wrought iron 3 foot stand with hooks that you place your bags on right by the side of the table. Very classy!

 

Finally after lunch we drove back to the dock and went back on the ship. We now have three days in a row at seat. Originally, in the middle of these days was a stop at Acapulco, Mexico, but that was cancelled early on before this trip ever started because of the drug wars in many Mexican cities. So our next stop will be Cabo San Lucas on Sunday.

 

So we are coming to the end. Now its time to do penance at the gym and walks around the deck to atone for our sins in the dining room! It is Lent after all. Probably won’t post for a few days as these days are pretty routine for us. We are going to the Crown Grill Steakhouse for the last time tonight. We have a CruiseCritic wine tasting party tomorrow afternoon. Each couple brings a bottle of wine for all to taste and share so this should be fun and we can all relive the adventures we’ve had on the trip.

 

Thanks

Norm

[MicCanberra]

So, Nicaragua was what Costa Rica wasn’t! I’ll explain as I go along.

 

Yesterday, we were at San Juan del Sur on the coast of Nicaragua. This is a tender port as the dock is very small, so small in fact that only one ship’s tender boat can be docked thee at a time. This makes for a very slow process of getting people on and off a ship that holds 2,600 passengers. Getting off was no problem as we were on a Princess tour and they took us off quite quickly. Getting back on after the tour we had to wait abut 20-25 minutes in the hot sun as the re-boarding process went slowly as so many passengers came back from tours at the same time. Princess had cold water, and ice cold washcloths to cool us off and they kept the lines in order to board.

 

Off we went on the “Mombacho Volcano 4WD and Hike, Vistas & Lunch” trip. We boarded a big tour bus and went off for an hour and a half ride to the bottom of the volcano. We saw some howler monkeys in the trees as we went along. Nicaragua is unknown to most Americans except for the Iran/Contra affair. It’s now a democratic country and peaceful. They raise bananas, coffee, pineapple, papaya, guavas, etc.

 

We transferred to a couple of heavy duty flat bed trucks that had rows of seats on the truck bed and covered awnings overhead. Up the volcano we went. Instead of a bunch of switchback roads we just went straight up sometimes at a 45 degree rising slope. The road was paved in paving stones and was pretty good.

 

Finally we reached the top where we began a 1.5 kilometer walk/hike through the lush “cloud” forest. We had wanted to do the could forest trip in Costa Rica but we didn’t like the kind of tour Princess offered there. Cloud forests are different than rain forests. Cloud forests are up at an altitude that the clouds hit the top of the volcano/mountain and deposit moisture on the jungle plants. So instead of getting lots of downpours in the form of rain, they get a lot of mist that the plants absorb for moisture. So the hike was through dense jungle with ferns, climbing vines, and bromeliads up in the trees.

 

Even the inside of the volcano which is now long extinct, was covered by jungle so it was hard to see down. As we went around the rim, we stopped at some lookouts which overlooked the 3rd largest fresh water lake in the Americas. It has 300 islands which are the result of the last eruption and explosion of the volcano. We could also see the town of Granada below where we would drive later for lunch.

 

After the hike, we got back in the trucks and went back down the volcano. Then the big bus took us to the colonial town of Granada near the lake. It has lots of colonial Spanish buildings from the 1600’s in bright colors. We stopped in the town plaza where they had some local dancers do three dances for us. We went to a restaurant for a very nice lunch. Typical of the architecture, there was a courtyard patio in the center of the restaurant. We were told the beef was excellent here so that’s what we had but chicken or fish was available too. They had a cute condiment carrier on the tables with chimichurri, salsa, and chopped onions for toppings. And ladies, they had something never seen in the states--as we sat down and Maureen had her purse and I my camera, they brought us a little wrought iron 3 foot stand with hooks that you place your bags on right by the side of the table. Very classy!

 

Finally after lunch we drove back to the dock and went back on the ship. We now have three days in a row at seat. Originally, in the middle of these days was a stop at Acapulco, Mexico, but that was cancelled early on before this trip ever started because of the drug wars in many Mexican cities. So our next stop will be Cabo San Lucas on Sunday.

 

So we are coming to the end. Now its time to do penance at the gym and walks around the deck to atone for our sins in the dining room! It is Lent after all. Probably won’t post for a few days as these days are pretty routine for us. We are going to the Crown Grill Steakhouse for the last time tonight. We have a CruiseCritic wine tasting party tomorrow afternoon. Each couple brings a bottle of wine for all to taste and share so this should be fun and we can all relive the adventures we’ve had on the trip.

 

Thanks

Norm

Thanks again, enjoy your sea days and don't punish yourself too hard. cheers.:D

[azbirdmom]

Here's the notes from our tour in Nicaragua - not as strenuous as Norm's!

 

It’s another scorcher today as temperatures in the 90’s are forecast again. We booked a Princess excursion to the Masaya Market and to an overlook. It is a tender port and we were advised yesterday by the captain to have patience as there is only one dock for unloading one tender at a time.

We went up to Horizon Court for a quick breakfast, then down to the Princess theater at 7:45 AM for our 8:00 tour. One thing that has been interesting is that everyone seems to be very early for tours. We got there 15 minutes early and were the last of what ended up being three busses of people going on the tours. We all got pink 1’s though instead of getting a number by bus.

We sat for about 20 minute when they told the first 5 rows to go to the tender. Then a few minutes later they had the rest of us make our way down to deck 4. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the dock, and it was quite a nice ride with the houses up on the cliffs, and a large statue reminiscent of Christ the Redeemer in Rio. It’s really beautiful here.

When we arrived at the dock, we received our best welcome yet as we were greeted by a Mariachi type band and there were little girls dancing in brightly colored skirts. We boarded bus #3 and drove out of San Juan del Sur on a surprisingly good two lane road, and the buildings all seemed like they were in good shape. Just outside of town, the bus stopped so we could watch howler monkeys jump around in a roadside tree.

As we drove along, we did see that many people live in poverty, and learned that only 50% of the children go to elementary school. Many Nicaraguans only earn $2 per day, and our tour guide said that he made more money doing his job than doctors and lawyers!

We shared the road with cows, horses and horse drawn carriages, bicycles, and a weird combination of motorcycle / mini car. We also saw busses that were right out of the old movies, with racks on top for bananas, motor oil, or whatever folks were hauling. Our guide told us that inside you can find yourself riding with a goat. He said that when that happens, you hope that they don’t pee on you as you will “be very stinky”.

We got to the Masaya market which covered a city block and which was inside a façade of an old building. We were told that we had an hour and 45 minutes there, but the time the guide quoted was only an hour and a half away. We figured that would turn out to be trouble later and it was.

The market had all sorts of leather goods, carvings, clothing, blankets, and other souvenirs. There were also some open air restaurants too. We didn’t enjoy this market as much as we did the Indian Market in Peru, but it was interesting walking around.

After walking the market – twice – we got back to the bus and of course a couple of people came back at the one hour 45 minute mark so we ended up being late leaving. We wound our way out of Masaya, a busy city, and next went to Catarina, a smaller city with a lot of flower and pottery shops. We drove through an entrance gate where there was a small market and a couple of restaurants. Our guide pointed us to the opposite end of the parking lot where there was a gorgeous view of a volcanic mountain and a collapsed cinder cone that turned into a lake. It is the Apoyo Lagoon and was quite large and stunning.

With the traffic and frequent road construction, it took us almost two hours to get back to the ship. So instead of arriving back at the advertised 1:30, we got back at 3. But we did much better than bus #1 as they made it back at 4.

At the pier all of the busses seemed to come back at the same time creating a mess at the dock. We decided to wander through some of the craft tents that had been set up until it looked like the line had gotten smaller but it was an illusion. They started making multiple lines and we queued up at the very back of the second one.

It was blazing hot as the crew from Princess passed out cold towels. While we stood there more busses arrived and there were soon at least 6 lines with 100 or more people in them. The lines moved very slowly and tempers were short, especially as some folks ignored instructions and joined some of the wrong lines.

Some of the crew were getting burnt and overheated, but they kept working away, trying to keep things in order. When we finally got on the tender after a half hour wait (shorter than a lot of other folks), we saw one of the crew who had been overcome by the heat in the shade with several cold towels on him.

The last tender was supposed to leave the docks at 5, but with the amount of people they had to move, we were delayed. We did see a spectacular sunset and just when we thought they had secured the tenders, the captain announced that they had one more person to pick up so they were sending a tender back. That person is very lucky as we have three sea days before we hit Cabo, so they would have been stuck in Nicaragua essentially missing the rest of the cruise.

Nicaragua was a better stop than we expected, and we saw both the best and the worst of humanity on this stop. We hope that the crew is all healthy after that experience. The captain thanked them for their efforts in the extreme conditions, and we certainly were grateful for them.

[Fletch1]

Just stumbled across this thread.....great and very informative. We are on the golden princess next march from buenos aires to Los Angeles and there are lots of hints andnsuggestionsnofnthings to do here....so thanks heaps

[Shadavi]

Been travelling taking with both posters and enjoying this thread. Thanks heaps.

SharonW

[jnc411]

Just want to say a big thank you for this thread, really enjoy following along.

Cori

[azbirdmom]

It's our last day on the lovely Star Princess and the sea has finally registered "moderate" in the wave height. It's the first time that we felt other than the tiniest amount of movement since Valparaiso, but it's still very gentle. The temperatures are only supposed to get into the low 60's today so it's also the coldest day for this leg of the trip.

 

We were in Cabo yesterday but it was a very short day as we all had to board the tenders by 1 PM. My DH and I just wandered around the shops a little and came back shortly thereafter as the cold / flu bug that has been ravaging so many on the ship has finally caught up with me. So I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on our aft balcony watching Los Arcos and the coast until it faded from view.

 

It's been a wonderful cruise, but now we need to turn attention to packing and finding room for all of the "treasures" that we accumulated along the way!

[KYteach]

Julie and Henry--So enjoyed "traveling" along with you. Where is the next one? We are doing a transatlantic--London to FLL in October, 2013 on the Crown, and Tokyo to Singapore in October, 2014 on the Diamond. Come join us! Maybe we could talk Elaine and Graham into coming also:p

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the updates, they have been very entertaining. Get well soon.:D