Equinox Nov 10-21 2014 Ultimate Caribbean Pic Heavy Review - Emphasis On Ports

[chamima]

We are also doing this cruise in February.

I'm also very interested in your reports.

We've been to Cartagena before and saw all of the things you did - we're only interested in going back downtown and wandering the streets. Was that beautiful hotel downtown? Did you see a Hop On Hop Off bus near the port that we could take to do this? (We were told there was one)

Thanks!

[dblane]

Also on Feb cruise with Chamima, enjoying your review and pics. Love the Caribbean blue.

[cruisehome]

will be on this ship next december

[suzzek]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review and post all of your wonderful pictures! We will be on Eclipse in January and are looking forward to visiting the Caribbean for the 4th time. I'm looking forward to more of your port reviews!

[whataboutport]

Thanks to all who are still following along with me. I hope everyone had a good holiday.

 

We are also doing this cruise in February.

I'm also very interested in your reports.

We've been to Cartagena before and saw all of the things you did - we're only interested in going back downtown and wandering the streets. Was that beautiful hotel downtown? Did you see a Hop On Hop Off bus near the port that we could take to do this? (We were told there was one)

Thanks!

 

That beautiful hotel is called the Ananda Hotel. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297476-d1600487-Reviews-Ananda_Hotel_Boutique-Cartagena_Cartagena_District_Bolivar_Department.html Yes it is in the Old Town area. We walked around Old Town and just stumbled upon it. Truth is, bf needed to use the restroom and was afraid of what he would have to make do with. He peeked his head in here and it was amazing. The bathroom is just past the front door on the right and it is very cool in itself. Looks like a cave.

 

We did not use the Hop On Hop Off. I read on CC here that there is only one bus that goes around the route so it's not really hop on hop off. However, when we got off the ship, we saw at least three HOHO busses parked out front waiting for pax. So what I read was incorrect.

 

There is another small shuttle that runs every 5 mins or so that takes you from the ship to the Bird Experience area. It's not a far walk. About 5 mins, but if it's super hot, you may not want to make the walk.

Edited December 1, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

I really regretted not not booking an excursion on Cartagena day. I really feel like it was a wasted day. We ended up getting back on the ship by noon.

 

The next day was an excursion with My Friend Mario/Almiza tours where we visited the Canal, drove through the rainforest, and finally went to San Lorenzo Fort for $65pp.

 

This day there was another ship that docked in Colon before we did. They ended up taking our spot at the dock, so we got bumped one spot down. This caused us to have to walk about 1/4-1/2 mile to the meeting point of where the cruise ships usually dock (across from the shopping center and Fantastic Casino).

 

This day bf wasn't feeling up to an excursion, so he stayed on the ship and I went out to the meeting point myself. I was supposed to meet others on my Roll Call at the Passport Bar at 8am, but what do you know, I was late again. I walked off the ship and walked through what looked like an airplane hanger with very few vendors. It looked really bare and I was thinking, what in the heck?! Why is this so ghetto looking? It was later I was told we got bumped from our spot.

 

So after I asked a local where the Fantastic Casino was, I went to the meeting point at the escalators. Of course no one else from my group was there. I was afraid they had left without me. Just as I was talking with other cruisers, trying to figure out what I was going to do now, a rep from Mario's company came around looking for last minute stragglers (me). Then he walked me back the way I came and introduced me to my guide. Kind of a pain, but at least I made it. There should have been an announcement of the change in dock location, and if there was I missed it.

 

Anyway, I got on the van and in a few minutes we were off. The Gatun locks are pretty close to the port area. On the way to the locks we drove by a set of gates for the new locks that are supposedly be finished by Fall of 2015. Our guide said it looks unlikely it will be completed by then.

 

 

At the locks we were given tickets to enter and were met by these "mules" on display.

 

And these enormous gears!

 

Then we ascended a big flight of stairs to the viewing area.

 

And this huge freighter had just gone through. In the background you can see the Coral Princess. On our way back to the ship at the end of the day we saw the Coral going through the locks herself.

 

Here you can see just how low the water levels get when they fill and empty the locks.

 

I found all this fascinating. I really think I should have went to school for engineering instead of fashion. LOL Pretty much everything you see is original from 1913 and it all still works!

[whataboutport]

After the locks we took a nice drive through the rainforest and stopped several times to view some wildlife.

 

First stop we saw a mama monkey and her baby.

 

In case you were wondering what a sloth's butt looks like.

 

The rainforest was just so lush!

 

And there were huge papaya trees everywhere! I have two small ones at home that I was afraid wouldn't survive while we were gone. They survived while we were gone, and now that we're home, they are dying. =( Too cold and dry to live in Vegas I guess.

 

After about an hour's drive we arrived at San Lorenzo fort. It's just a quick 3 min walk to get to the fort from the parking lot. There was a lot of tall grass that irritated by bug bites on my legs. But there were a lot of landscapers working on cutting the grass.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

 

There's a lot of small rooms and tunnels you can explore.

 

And a lot of rooms that have big openings that open up right on the edge of a cliff. If this was in the US, there would have been all sorts of bars and barricades here. I hope there haven't been any accidents before.

 

The site of the fort is where the Chagres River empties into the Caribbean. It connects the sea to Gatun lake, just west of the Gatun locks.

 

More pics of the fort.

 

[whataboutport]

On the way back, we made a stop for a fresh fruit snack of watermelon and pineapple. Very fresh and sweet! I just wish this tour included lunch as well, seeing as how it was $65pp.

 

We passed by the locks again, and this was when we saw the Coral making the transit through. You actually drive on top of the locks, so if there is a ship going through, car traffic has to stop and wait for quite a while until the ship passes through. We were lucky to get through just as the Coral was sitting there waiting for the water to get to the right level.

 

After the tour we were dropped off back at the shopping center where Fantastic Casino is. There are several shops there for souveniers, and the 1999 Market that seems to be pretty popular. I didn't shop but several on my tour did. Apparently this is the place to buy your coffee.

 

I was starving, so I decided to go back to the ship and get lunch. On the way back to the ship, there are a lot of restaurants. They all smelled so good but what can I say, I'm cheap, so I wanted to get food I didn't have to pay for back on board. There was fish tacos, sushi, Middle Eastern food, and lots more. I saw a lot of cruise pax eating at these restaurants.

 

When I got back to the ship, I walked from bottom to top looking for bf at all our regular spots but couldn't find him, so I ate a small lunch by myself at the buffet and grabbed a few drinks. Gotta love that drink package! Turns out he headed out and browsed in some of the shops. He was really tempted to get some fish tacos too! Instead he brought me back two peacock silky headbands from one of the shops. Two for $5. Not bad!

[whataboutport]

We booked a tour with Okey Dokey Tours with Charlie. It was $59pp and included the Tortuguero Canals, Banana Plantation, and lunch at a beach resort. Apparently there was a major problem with one of the tours. Charlie had two buses for us, and in my bus, were told that the other bus was going on the same tour. One of us on our bus even double checked if we were on the A1 tour, and we were told yes. What ended up happening was the other bus (which Charlie, the owner, was on) went on the zip line tour instead, and several people on that bus did not sign up to do zip lining, so they sat around all day, and needless to say they were furious.

 

On our bus, everything went quite well. Except at a few points our guide kept saying to wait a few mins for the other bus to show up, like when we were waiting to eat lunch. They never showed up unfortunately. We were mildly inconvenienced, but from what I heard, Charlie could have handled the situation (his mistake) a lot better.

 

Anyway, the start of the day was beautiful with blue skies. It was a short ride to the canals. The bus didn't have very good AC, but it wasn't too bad. When we got there, there were several other tour companies also waiting to board the boats.

Pro tip: Sit near the front of the boats. When any wildlife is spotted, most likely the boat will need to reverse to go back to the critter. The engines smell bad! We sat in the second to last row and many times I was coughing and gagging.

 

Soon after the clouds starting rolling in. The clouds kept the temps down. Since the humidity is so high when the sun is out, it's TOO hot!

 

We saw a lot more critters.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally got the sloth's face!

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

There were several houses along the banks of the river, and many of these people had boats. They seem to fish to feed their family, as it didn't seem as they were commercial fisherman.

 

 

 

 

There were a few guys out on their boats fishing, and there was one young guy that showed off his catch (fish and crab), and lots of the ladies were taking his pic LOL.

 

 

Can you spot the baby crocodile?

 

Another baby here. Awwwww! =)

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

 

 

 

 

The canal cruise was highly enjoyable, and we did see a lot of critters. Our guide told us sometimes they have to go further down the canal to see less animals than we did that day. It was like Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, but for real!

 

We got back to the docks right as the rain started coming in.

 

We all piled in the bus and now we were all starting the smell like wet dogs.

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

Next we were off to the Banana Plantation. We passed by some interesting trees on the way there.

 

I love teak furniture, and our guide told us these were teak trees. They grow incredibly slow but hold up against the elements, which is why teak furniture is so pricey.

 

This was the tree that paprika comes from.

 

Our guide jumped out in the pouring rain and picked one of the fruits. He told us that when you break the pods open, the stuff around the seeds is what paprika is harvested.

 

He also said that the indigenous people used the red pigment as face paint. Bf then proceeded to crush the red stuff between his fingers and then painted a big stripe across my face. Hey Larry (IMLGee) if you still have that pic of me with the red stripe face, can you post it please?

 

So since I didn't want to be the ONLY one with red stuff on her face for the rest of the day, I looked in my bag for something to try to get it off. Forgot my tissues, but saw some hand sanitizer. It worked like a charm, you know with all that alcohol, but ouch! Burned! My face is sensitive and usually dry. Luckily I had some sunscreen with moisturizer in it, so I put that on afterward, and then I just looked like I had a bit too much sun.

 

Anyway, we finally get to the banana plantation, and it's raining pretty good. Not pouring, but definitely wet.

 

The plantation is closed on Sundays. I knew this beforehand, but not everybody did. If you are going to be in Costa Rica on Sunday, don't expect to see the workers here.

 

Here is the cleaning station.

 

The rails help to move the heavy bundles of bananas from the trees to the cleaning and packing area. They hang the bunches on the rails and move them to the area they need them.

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

 

 

 

As most of you know, fruits are from flowers. This is the flower of a banana tree, and each one of those sticks (stamens?) eventually becomes a banana.

 

More pretty trees

[whataboutport]

On the way to our lunch stop, our guide first took us to a fruit stand. There were several on this road, as I think these families grow/pick fruits to sell to tourists as their means to support themselves. They had free samples, but also had tip baskets on every table. Also the little girls would go up to each lady and present her with a flower. I guess this was for tips also. We sampled bananas, and there were also coconuts, sugar cane, boiled corn, and other fruits for purchase. I think if this stop was well before the lunch stop, more people would have purchased something.

 

Here, a pile of coconuts.

 

And more of their offerings.

 

Finally was our stop for an authentic Costa Rican lunch and beach break. It was still raining when we got there, so we didn't swim. It was at a hotel, and it was pretty nice. It was beautifully landscaped, with a covered restaurant area, a pool, and direct access to the beach.

 

 

 

[whataboutport]

Here is a look at the beach. It is very secluded. If you smoke, you can smoke just off the hotel/restaurant area towards the beach.

 

 

I love fan palms. I remember the first time I saw one was in 2001 in Jamaica.

 

 

Another critter! There were a few dogs here that were clearly part of the "family" at this property. They were all well behaved and none of them begged for food.

 

More pretty flowers.

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

Finally here was our lunch. It was served buffet style. Like I said earlier, our lunch was delayed for just a tad bc we were waiting for the other bus that never came.

 

Anyway, we got grilled bass, grilled chicken strips, steamed veggies, salad (needed dressing!), rice, and grilled (not fried!) plantains. The fish was really good. I wish I could have had more. The plantains were my next favorite item.

 

The restaurant area also had a bar. Beers were $1.50 US. Oh yeah.

[whataboutport]

After lunch we had about an hour to wander around. The sun started coming out now, and some went to the beach, and some went into the pool. Soon after we piled back into the bus to go back to the port. Some asked our guide where is a good place to shop for coffee and vanilla. He told us the shop exactly where he dropped us off was a great shop. LOL. (This is when I overheard the other pax talking about what happened with the other bus, and when I got home and checked out Roll Call, it was confirmed.) We took a look and didn't like anything. It was very Made in China type souveniers.

 

We walked back to the cruise ship area where there were quite a few vendors set up under the tent. Lots of wood carvings, and local handicrafts. I really liked these little wooden hummingbirds that most people had for $3 each. We ended up purchasing two handmade clay sculptures that were actually little flute like musical instruments. The larger ones are three animals in one. Ours is a toucan, a donkey, and monkey. The man that makes them plays them very well. When I try to play it, it sounds like kindergarteners learning to play the recorder. There are only two stands that sell these. This guy that makes these are nicer looking than the other stand. The other stand doesn't have the same look or bright vibrant colors. The large ones were $12, and small ones $4, but we asked for a few dollars off for two of them and he agreed.

 

I don't know why I took such crappy pics, but this is his contact info. And also you can see what I am talking about, and in the background of the first pic you can see his other offerings.

 

 

[whataboutport]

We were in Belize last year around the same time, and we really enjoyed ourselves on Goff's Caye. The snorkeling there was simply amazing! So when Belize day came around, I woke up and peeked my head out the balcony door to see how the weather was. Imagine my surprise as we were just sailing past Goff's Caye! It was pretty foggy, but I'd recognize that little spit of land anywhere.

 

 

This time we booked the Lamanai excursion through the ship. We got a notice stating that the meeting time in the Theater had been moved up half an hour. They tell you to get your group number sticker, and then take a seat in the theater until your group is called. Well if I had done that, we would have been sitting there from 9am until almost 10:30 when our tenders were finally ready! Tip: your entire party does not need to be there to pick up the numbers. Just have one person in your party bring all the tickets to the theater and you will receive all the number stickers for your whole group.

 

We got our stickers (group 3 out of 3 for Lamanai), and went to Cafe Al Bacio for a coffee. We came back to check the status. The staff at the stage told us that we were still waiting for the tenders to be cleared. Finally they called groups 1-3, and then the mad rush to the tenders.

 

It seemed like most of us in groups 1-3 all fit in the first tender. The ride was a quick 20 mins and not bumpy at all, even though we sat at the front. It was raining pretty good though. When we got off the tender we were instructed to go inside one of the buildings for Lamanai.

 

Here's where the confusion started. We all piled into a line and waited. And waited. And waited. Turns out that they filled the buses by group number. The buses weren't even ready yet! After all that waiting from the tenders, the buses should have been ready. They filled the first two buses, and there were 7 of us left in Group 3. And no bus for us. Then the second tender came and the rest of group 3 showed up. Finally they let us in a bus. It was past 11am at this point, and this tour is supposed to be 7 hours long. Not a good start so far. My advice is to get the tickets for group 1 so you can get on the first bus.

 

Finally on the bus, we are introduced to our guides. We got two, a guy and a girl. I forgot the guy's name, but the girl was Tiffany. Seems like Tiffany was training the guy bc he did most of the talking but since we sat right behind them on the bus, I could hear her telling him to add more info to the facts he was telling us.

 

During the hour drive, the guides filled us in on all kinds of Belize facts. We were told that crime is actually very low. In years past, crime was a much bigger problem, but now not so much. We hear not to go out on our own in Belize most likely bc the cruise lines want you to book excursions through them. (Although I would not recommend booking Lamanai on your own. It's a very long tour!) He said that in Belize, prison is prison. You don't get to play ping pong, watch movies, exercise, etc like how prison is in the US. Also there is no government assistance like welfare. If you don't work, you don't eat. Anyway, he had us ask any questions we wanted to know and he did his best to answer them. Overall, the guides did a very good job of keeping us entertained for the hour bus ride.

 

I also want to add that I had read many times that the bus ride is uncomfortable and very bumpy, with unpaved roads. This is totally untrue. The road is very narrow, but looks to be newly paved, and the ride was very smooth. Our guide said that there are only a handful of street lights in Belize City, and only three of them work. LOL So at intersections, the larger vehicle gets the right of way. If it's two of the same size vehicles, then the taller driver gets the right of way! Haha! The roads are one lane each way. He said while they look like a one way street to most of us, in reality, it's a two way highway with parking on both sides. =)

 

After the hour ride, we get to the Smoky Mermaid tavern for lunch. It's served buffet style. Again, if we had been on the first or second bus, we would have gotten food sooner. However, there was more than enough to go around; well for us pax anyway. The guides got to eat last, and I saw they had run out of chicken by the time they were going to eat.

 

We got two kinds of rice (red beans and rice and coconut rice), chicken wings, cole slaw, chips and salsa, and bread pudding. There were also picked spicy onions that were SOOOOO good but so spicy! I wish they gave more chicken bc it was really good, but like I said there wasn't enough for the guides. We were able to get seconds on the chips and salsa. And the bread pudding was really good. I don't usually like desserts but this was not too sweet and lots of cinnamon.

 

And we got a couple Belikin beers too. Two for $5. One of my favorite beers.

 

Some pics from around the property.

 

Some interesting fungus growing on an old tree stump.

 

Lamanai means submerged crocodile, so of course they had this cute carving there.

 

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

I loved these flowers. Looks like tiny flowers in the flower.

 

The dock was just off the dining area.

 

 

Constructions workers on lunch break. This was directly next to the tavern. Check out that scaffolding!

 

We loaded into the boats with our busmates and headed upriver. Right off the bat we spotted a huge iguana.

 

And this very interesting snake cactus growing around this tree.

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

Lots of birds.

 

Edited December 2, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

These birds can walk on lily pads and not sink.

 

 

 

We went past this house which we were told was one of John McAfee's properties in Belize. It's now for sale for approx $500,000 US.

 

The boat ride was loads of fun! The captain really knows this river! There are no signs and lots of off shoots. Really reminded me of this computer game I used to play in the early 90s Monkey Island.

 

We finally got there and were met with this dock.

 

And we take a short walk to take a bathroom break. There are huge trees everywhere!

 

Some of them are labeled. This one is called Horse Balls.

Edited December 3, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

Many Mayan sites nowadays you cannot climb on the temples. Some places get so many visitors every day, that if they allowed you to climb them, they would deteriorate so quickly and our future generations would no longer be able to visit them. Since Lamanai is so remote and not many tourists go there, you are still allowed to climb them.

 

This was the first one after a short hike. Man was it hot out!

 

 

This is the view from the top.

 

 

The steps are high, but the tread on each step gives you plenty of room for your foot. Unlike when I climbed the Great Wall of China, the treads on each step are tiny and the rise so high that you almost have to go up sideways bc your foot wouldn't fit on it.

 

There are steps that go along the right side of the temple. We decided to go down the steps off the side. There is a lot of moss and it can get slippery, so watch your step!

 

The next temple was the tallest one. It's over 108 feet tall.

Edited December 3, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

 

 

There is a rope on this one to help you go up and down. It's steep!

 

View from ALMOST the top.

 

 

The top.

Edited December 3, 2014 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

They are currently putting in modern stairs on the back side of this temple. The view is really incredible up there, but it is scary to climb up, and even scarier to climb down!

 

By now my thighs were totally sore! The path ways between the temples are not paved. They are filled with little pebbles/stones, so it's almost like walking in sand. It's tiring!

 

And some stairs that you don't see if you're not paying attention.

 

More crazy trees along the way.