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Costa Rica Cruise Reviews: Sea Voyager
August 2005
I am 19 years old and this will probably be my last trip with my parents
as I am off to college. This is my trip journal. ENJOY!
Today started out like any other normal trip. You go the airport, get
on a plane, and you vacation has officially started. Usually, once a
vacation starts, its great. For me, when the vacation starts with a rocky
start, it is not very much fun. We started by taking a 12:00 o’clock
PM non-stop flight into San Juan. As I wait at the luggage carousel,
I notice that it had stopped turning around, but my luggage has not come
yet, so I wait for the next flight to come in a half an hour later. Still
no luggage. I finally give up and talk to a desk person who tells me
that they will get it to me as soon as it arrives, but they didn’t know
when that would be. I dropped it.
From the airport, we are transferred to the Melina Carfare, a nice
resort in San Juan. The staff at the Melina Carfare was very helpful.
They told me where to go shopping for a temporary wardrobe. They even
gave me a number of toiletries that I could use. After I took a nap,
we had about one hour to go shopping for clothes. We went to a local
shopping center and bought a number of items of clothes, all less expensive
then what I bought my original clothes for. From the mall, we had five
minutes to get back to the hotel before the bus from the hotel left to
meet the people at the airport. Once we arrived at the hotel, mom and
dad’s luggage was waiting for us. We missed the bus to the airport, but
the hotel paid for a taxi to take us because we were late, due to the
unexpected shopping stop.
Once at the airport, we waited for the passengers to fly in from Florida
and then we boarded busses. We were told that we were not going straight
to the ship and we would be making a stop at the Britt Coffee Plantation.
I thought that this trip would be extremely boring because I am not much
of a coffee drinker unless it is a vanilla latte or caramel macchiato.
On this note, I was searching for the negative part of the trip, but
saw nothing. We had a wonderful lunch at the café. I had the chicken
with some pasta. It was INCREDIBLE. We then started our tour. This was
the best part of the visit. The tour guides were hysterical and knew
how to keep the attention of the tourists. Let me just say that I was
anything but bored. I had a blast and I was sad to leave.
We left the plantation and started our way to the ship. It is a two-hour
bus ride through beautiful scenery and remarkable sights. As we made
our way through the windy, twisty, and over-cast valley of nothing but
little villages, towns, and of course forest, it was a perfect time to
catch a snooze after a long day. That is exactly what I did. When I woke
up, we were at Heradurra bay, by the Marriot. Once on the ship, cocktails
and snacks were awaiting the new passengers. We met for a brief orientation,
and then it was off to dinner. After dinner, it was free to do what you
pleased, as long as you met new people… which undoubtedly you would.
Day 2: August 7, 2005
Today was an awesome day. We started the day with an early breakfast,
with fruits from Costa Rica, and native dishes. From breakfast we got
ready to take our first zodiac ride of the trip. We had a wet landing
at a small beach where hikes were available. I went on one of the first
hikes and I felt as if I was walking onto the movie set of TARZAN. The
vegetation and the greenery were incredible. It was a mild hike, but
just enough to get a person panting. On the hike we saw howler monkeys,
iguanas, birds, and army ants, which are not common to see.
We had lunch while we set sail for another small beach. At this beach
we had the option of going snorkeling, kayaking, or swimming. They also
had a volleyball net set up and we played volleyball against the staff
and the naturalists. A half an hour after the boat was to leave, I swam
back to the ship. It was awesome because I had never swam that much in
my entire life, but with warm, clear waters, I was able to do that. It
was a great day with great weather.
Day 3: August 8, 20005
Today we took the zodiacs to shore where we caught up with a bus that
would take us to Rancho Los Inocentes. This is an old hacienda that was
given to a family by the king of Spain. Here we had the opportunity to
go on either a 1-hour or a 2-½ hour horse back riding trip. I
went on the 2-½ hour trip with most of the teens from the ship.
We nicknamed our horses and got underway. We wandered through the forest
and kept our eyes open for wildlife. We saw several howler monkeys and
spider monkeys…which are extremely cute, and I wanted to take one home
with me. We also saw a sloth, which looked just like a termites nest
in the trees, which we because very accustomed to seeing. Once back from
the horseback-riding trip, we had a traditional lunch with a variety
of traditional food options, it was delicious. By this time my luggage
had caught up with me, so I grabbed my swimsuit and took a dip in their
pool. Once back to the ship, we se said for Bahia Santa Elena, another
deserted beach. Here we did water sports, such as snorkeling and swimming.
We also got a chance to ride the banana boating. It was awesome. David,
one of the zodiac drivers, took us out into open waters were the waves
were huge and we just flew off the banana boat on several occasions.
It was awesome. For dinner, they kitchen cooked a variety of traditional
meals and the hotel manager explained, where they came from, and how
they were prepared. It was a whole different way to see Costa Rica
Day 4: August 9, 2005
Today we went to Islas Murcielagos. Here we went snorkeling. This is
the best place to snorkel because the water is so clear and most beautiful.
Some people went on a hike that went to the top of a mountain that had
an incredible view. I, on the other hand, got a driving lesson on the
zodiacs, which is more difficult than it actually looks.
In the afternoon, we went to Bahia Juevos, bay of the eggs. Here we
went snorkeling, swimming and kayaking. We also took a mangrove cruise
through a mangrove forest. This was a completely different type of forest.
One that you can only experience for yourself.
Day 5: August 10, 2005
Today we went to Nicaragua. This is truly an amazing place. Once we
arrived by zodiac, there was a band waiting to play for us once we landed.
From the docks we took busses to a museum where young children danced
native dances for us. The kids were about 3-4 years old, and we were
asked to bring presents for them. I brought a bunch of stuffed animals
that I found on sale at a store and handed them out. I seemed almost
like Christmas. We then took bicycle taxis all over the city including
a marketplace and an old cathedral. This was an old cathedral with antique
paintings, and the alter was gold. It was incredible. Since it was a
hot day, Linblad had two ice cream vendors outside the cathedral and
we had complimentary ice cream. It was so nice to have ice cream on a
hot day. From there, we got back on the busses and headed to another
hacienda. Here we played softball with the local baseball team. Lindlad
has never been able to beat them, and we didn’t this time. The final
score was 16-6. After baseball, we played soccer. Here, we one. It was
a nice victory over the previous massacre. Once back on bored we had
an opportunity to venture off by ourselves if we pleased. Mom, Dad, and
I went into town and found an Internet café. “Finally, contact
with the real world.” Anyways. After that, we went and I got my first
LEGAL beer on the way back to the ship. And it was a good night.
Day 6: August 11, 2005
Today we went to the popular beach of Tamarindo. People from all over
the world. This is where I took my first surfing lesson. We spent about
20 minutes out of the water learning how to surf, paddle, and stand up.
Then we took our knowledge to the waves. The waves weren’t that big,
but they were big enough. Supposedly 99% of the people who take surf
lessons, stand up, and I was one of them. I actually stood up. It was
a tremendous amount of fun. We surfed for the next two hours. We then
went to another small deserted beach were we did the usual water activities:
swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, banana boating. They also offered a bird
watching trip for anyone who was interested in bird watching. For dinner,
it was pizza and a movie for anybody who wanted to watch it, with ice
cream sundaes for dessert.
Day 7: August 12, 2005
Today we spent the day in Manuel Antonio Nation Park. We took a long
hike up to Cathedral point. It was very nice because the hike was beautiful.
Definitely has to be hiked for ones self. We saw white-faced capuchin
monkeys. They looked like old women, and were adorable, but they are
vicious creatures. One came within 5 feet of me and I flipped. I backed
away nice a slow and just let the monkey run right in front of me. But
that is an experience that could not really be explained with words.
After the hike I went back to the ship and got ready for the trip of
a lifetime. After lunch I went of the zip line canopy tours. This was
absolutely incredible. I originally thought it would be scary, but it
is completely safe. They get you harnessed and they show you how to do
it. If you feel nervous or feel like you can’t do it alone, you can go
with a guide until you get the hang of it. It was incredible. It felt
like you were swinging through the trees on a long vine. After 12 zip
lines, we touched the ground for the first time in two hours. It had
been an incredible ride. One that I would have done again in a heart
beat. Linblad had cocktails, and fruit waiting for us once we got back
to the hotel, and we boarded buses and got back onto the ship. I got
e-mail address and phone numbers that night because the next day we were
to get off the ship. As I watched the boat dock, a truly incredible task,
I looked back on the trip and told myself that I would do this again
in a heartbeat.
Whitney
California
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