Costa Rica

I was looking forward to the port call at Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Patricia and John had been there, and John had given me a restaurant recommendation at the foot of the cruise ship pier (but I think the restaurant has changed hands since they ate there).

I had signed up for an excursion by bus, train, and boat, so bright and early, off I went. The first leg was by bus --  past Caldera we pulled off the road and up to a little two-car tourist train. Until an earthquake in 1991, the rails had been used for normal train service. Train service has been suspended, but a company runs this little train for tourists. We chugged along for about an hour, until we got close to Ceiba, where we got off the train and back on the bus to go to the boat trip on the Tarcola River featuring crocodiles and other wildlife. After the boat, it was back on the bus to Puntarenas. After the tour was over, I spent some time walking around Puntarenas -- mostly along the beach area, where there was a tourist promenade lined with little booths for shopping.

Inside the little train -- quaint and crowded.

At the "crocodile safari" -- music and shopping, naturally!

This is the type of boat we were on.

The first croc -- directly across from the boat landing.

Our "capitan" hand-feeding raw chicken to a croc.

Another croc -- they open their mouths to keep cool in the heat.



 

 

There was other wildlife to see, besides crocodiles. This is a white ibis, but there were various herons and egrets and my favorite, a little blue and white mangrove swallow that was much too fast to even try to photograph. We also saw two howler monkeys high up in the trees, but they were too far away to get a good picture. 

 

Puntarenas was very compact, as you can see by the tourist map.

This is the building at the foot of the cruise ship pier, with a tourist info center on the left and a small restaurant under the trees on the right -- not Capitan Merano's.

These are the two buildings across the street from the cruise ship pier -- neither Capitan Merano's!

OK, so I struck out on Capitan Merano's, but this restaurant a block away from the pier was highly recommended by our tour guide, who told us all the tour guides have breakfast there before meeting their tourists for the day. And when I looked in, there were lots of local types eating there. Gugas is the name of the place.

There were lots of locals at the beach, as school had let out for the holidays and it was Saturday, besides. Sand, sun, sea, and more shopping for the tourists.

I enjoyed the countryside and wildlife in Costa Rica. I only wish I had had more time there. I guess I'll have to go back.

Tomorrow: The Mexican Ports