Huatulco, Mexico

Port of call on May 9, 2010 - Huatulco, Mexico

In the late 1990's the Mexican government decided to create another beach resort town to turn into another Acapulco. They chose a fishing village in the south, Huatulco and started construction in 2000. After the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001 and tourism dropping, construction came to a halt in Huatulco and there are a lot of abandoned buildings on the cliffs.

Huatulco is an interesting port in that you don't have to venture too far from the ship to do just about everything you want to do. The cruise ship pulls up to the dock and from there you can walk down the pier to the beach for a swim, enjoy a meal or drink at a beachside cafe, or go shopping. The stores are just on the other side of the beachside restaurants.

For anyone interested in geocaching, there is a cache hidden along this beach, a short walk from the ship. Beware if you are elderly or not sure footed. There are lots of rocks to clamber over and to reach the cache you have to be part billy goat and scramble about 10 feet up the side of the bank. No easy feat where there is literally no vegetation to grab on to and dirt is scrabbling away under your shoes.

One of those rare ports where you can swim not too far away from where the ship is docked or ride a banana boat.

Just a word to anyone cruising with Princess and hoping to stop in Hualtulco - this town has since dropped off the itinerary. Could be a number of reasons. Mostly all there is to do here is swim, eat, drink, shop in the 5 or 6 hours its docked here. There are no tourist attractions to visit. The shops are high priced, even with negotiating with the vendors. We wanted to buy a hammock chair and the best price I could get was $50. In Cabo I bought a nicer hammock chair for $25. Save your money and do your shopping in another Mexican port. Better selection and better prices everywhere else. Sad for this struggling little town, especially since we were the last ship of the season stopping here. Losing Princess Cruises is going to be a big blow to the local economy.

Port of call: Puntarenas, Costa Rica

May 7, 2010 - Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We had prebooked a tour with Charlie Soto of Okey Dokey Tours. About a 7 hour tour that featured the crocodile man river boat tour and included a visit to a refuge to feed cappuchin monkeys, a plantation, and lunch, all for $99 but because we're members of the Cruise Critic forum there was a $10 per person discount.

We had a pretty full load with 12 people inside a 14 passenger van. The air conditioning only seemed to be working during the times we stepped inside but because of all the people and body heat we didn't get much benefit of the air conditioning. Just couldn't keep up I guess. Our guide was Chris, who'd lived in California until he was 14 years old and then moved to Costa Rica with his father, so his English was perfect.

Highly recommended. This tour was one of the highlights of our Panama Canal cruise. Charlie supplied a cooler with water, soft drinks, and beer. Much appreciated on this hot day. I don't drink beer but they ran out and Charlie showed up with another 6 pack. For more information, check out his website. http://www.okeydokeytours.com/ The tour we took was B4. One couple on the tour didn't go on the river boat but instead did the zipline tour nearby. The only thing that we missed on the tour was we did not go to a supermarket. Instead the guide took us to a woodwork shop that was run by a friend of his. All that being said, there is an opportunity to purchase coffee, vanilla, etc at the flea market near the cruise dock.

We started our day around 8am when Charlie instructed us to meet his van at the end of the tour. Our group gathered around a female employee near where the van was parked a short distance down the street from the end of the pier. The police also showed up and told the driver to the move the van so he had to go once around the block and stop and park it about 30 feet behind where he'd started, almost directly at the end of the pier. I'm not really sure what that little exercise was all about but we boarded and were on our way.

A 20 minute drive took us to the monkey sanctuary. A woman runs the farm and keeps the monkeys in her forest by feeding them, thus preventing them from crossing the highway where they were being killed by passing cars. She supplied us with chopped bananas to feed the monkeys. This was a big highlight for me. I have a huge stuffed animal collection and it was great fun interacting with real monkeys. They were very tame and approached us to take the bananas but didn't hang around too long, scampering back up their trees to eat the treasure.

Next stop was at a plantation. This one served sugarcane juice and also sold mangoes, papayas, cashew nuts, and other fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Our next stop was the crocodile man river boat tour.

We spotted a crocodile swimming in the river and the captain beached the boat, hopped out, and proceeded to tease it with raw chicken.

Brave or stupid?

We spotted a howler monkey up in a tree.

There were some baby crocodiles swimming in the river and a passenger at the back of the boat reached over and grabbed one.

A close up of the baby croc.

Birds on a fallen tree limb in the river.

Saw some maccaws just as we were leaving.

Lunch was included at this restaurant in Jaco Beach.

A typical Costa Rican meal. This restaurant is very popular with locals and tourists. This meal including a large glass of pineapple juice would cost $4.00.

The only thing I was disappointed about on the tour was while I was in email contact with Charlie I asked if there would be an opportunity to swim at the beach where we were stopping for lunch. He assured me there was so I wore my swimsuit under my clothes and brought a towel with me. The restaurant was not located on the beach but was a short walk down the street. Here is what we saw when we walked to the beach.

So that was a little disappointing I didn't get to swim in Costa Rica. I am a good swimmer but I decided not to risk it.

In Puntarenas the cruise ship docks along the pier and we can walk down the pier to town or take this free shuttle. The Island Princess is on the right. The other ship belongs to Carnival and it arrived about 2 hours after Princess.

At the end of the pier there is a flea market with all kinds of goods for sale. We purchased two framed feather art work - the artist painted a tiger on feathers and a monkey on feathers. Incredible. Cost $20 each. We wouldn't be able to buy the frame for that money here. We also purchased an artist's rendition of a farm scene that was made from items found in Costa Rica such as sand and seeds. We also purchased coffee from a stand here and some leather bookmarks for souvenirs.

One last view from the beach with the Island Princess behind us.

Tender on the Island Princess at Panama

On our recent Panama Canal cruise aboard the Island Princess one of the ports of call was Fuerte Amador, Panama. The itinerary showed this was a tender port, meaning a tender would take us ashore in Fuerte Amador, also called Fort Amador or Port Amador in English. I tried to find more information about this tender and what to expect, but no luck.

What happens is that everyone who wants to go ashore in Panama is told to meet in the Bordeaux Dining Room when they (and everyone in their group) is ready to disembark. Don't go there earlier and "make a reservation" to disembark, because there is no such thing. This is printed in the Princess Patter and mentioned in the cruise TV. However while we waited in the dining room several people did show up to announce they wanted to go ashore at 10am, or whatever time. They were told to return to the dining room when they were ready to go.

We waited in the dining room for a short period of time until the next tender (boat) was available to take us to the marina. But what exactly is the tender? Is this a fleet of boats that belong to the marina that shuttle cruise passengers back and forth? No. The tender is an Island Princess lifeboat. Actually more than one lifeboat is used.

When a boat is ready for passengers we are led from the dining room down to the ramp to board the tender. Out a door and onto a ramp/dock where the tender is tied. Due to the waves the makeshift dock goes up and down and the crew is very safety conscious and waits until the tender is more or less even before allowing the passenger to step aboard. Once on the tender the passenger goes down a short flight of stairs where there are several benches to sit down. More or less packed in like sardines because they hold over 100 people. There is also an opportunity to ride outside in a small seating area on top of the tender.

At the marina at Fuerte Amador there is a duty free shop. There are several taxi drivers and tour operators who would like you to hire them for a city tour. Panama City is about a ten minute drive from the marina. Not within walking distance and with that heat, who'd want to walk?

Here is a photo I took of the Island Princess while we were touring Colonial Panama.

And here is a shot of the Island Princess from the marina at Fuerte Amador.

A shot of the Island Princess tender (lifeboat) docked at the marina at Fuerte Amador with Panama City in the background.

For some reason Island Princess employees were taking mattresses off the ship in Panama.

Passengers preparing to board the tender to return to the Island Princess.

And here is a shot inside the Island Princess tender. It holds lots of passengers.

Panama City and My Friend Mario tour

Prior to our cruise we contacted My Friend Mario for a city tour. It was supposed to be 6 hours and cost $30. Pretty reasonably priced compared to prices for the shore excursions offered by Princess. We were set to meet at 9am at a restaurant called Bennigan's located just outside the port compound. We located it easily enough through the help of some taxi drivers who were inside the compound. We later found out that tour companies that pick up cruise passengers inside the compound are required to give a percentage of the fees collected to the harbor master. Or perhaps not the harbor master, maybe the duty free shop. I really don't recall who the fees were paid to. Either way there was still a carfuffle prior to us departing on the tour. Mario and his son, also Mario, back and forth on their cell phones. The bus driver involved and something about whoever wanted more money or maybe just their money. We were delayed leaving by about fifteen minutes or so. Also because a couple who'd pre-booked the tour hadn't arrived yet. Later I met up with the same couple on another tour. They said they'd started out with good intentions walking through the port compound. They saw a man wearing a shirt that said "Mario" and asked him if he was the Mario they were supposed to meet. Of course he said yes and took them and another couple on a city tour in his taxi. They were very happy with their tour but realized their mistake almost right away when they drove past the Bennigan's restaurant.

We'd met Mario junior outside the bus. His father is the original Mario and he used to drive a taxi around Panama City after he was laid off from his job in the mid-90's. Mario senior met an American lady one day who was excited to discover her driver spoke English and asked him to accompany her shopping so he could translate. She kept his phone number and always phoned him for rides. She told all her American and Canadian friends about him and said, "You must phone my friend, Mario." Thus how the company came into being. His son, Mario, joined him later on after he was laid off from his job. His son started a tour company and named it Almiza Tours because a friend of his had that name and he liked it, but they are better known as My Friend Mario. Well recommended. If you're visiting Panama be sure to contact them. http://www.myfriendmario.com/

The original Mario has retired. But the day we took our tour, May 5, 2010, the tour guide was ill and so his son called him in to assist. So we had the original Mario leading our tour. We had a nice, comfortable air conditioned bus, a mini bus, but only about 12 passengers so very roomy.
That's Mario standing to the right.
We enjoyed a drive around Panama City where new skyscrapers are being built. Panama is very much a cosmopolitan city, clean and tidy, with well kept palm trees lining the streets.

In Old Panama we took photos of the ruins where Sir Francis Drake had destroyed the city in the 1500's.

Our driver, Felix, accompanied us across the street to take photos of the ruins. He didn't speak English and I spoke enough broken Spanish to understand a little about the area and the workers who are restoring the ruins and the old convent.

We stopped at an artisan's market for about 20 minutes to wander around the vendor's stalls.

On to Colonial Panama and the French Quarter where we had several chances to exit the bus and take photos of the lovely buildings.

We walked around a sea wall that had a lovely flower covered gazebo walkway where several vendors were set up to sell their art work and jewellery.

We're geocachers and asked Mario if we could stop at the Biomuseum on our way back to the marina, a couple of miles out, to search for a cache hidden there. The rest of the passengers were agreeable to wait inside the air conditioned bus while we went out to find the treasure. Mario joined us for the walk because he'd never heard of geocaching before. We were very impressed that they would make this extra stop for us to log a find in Panama.

Overall we were very impressed with My Friend Mario and the city tour. The tour was shorter than promised, lasting a little over 4 hours, but we saw everything. Bottom line was it was hot, hot, hot and we were very happy to get back on the Island Princess for a shower and change of clothes and have lunch. In the email correspondence Mario - junior I presume - had said we'd be stopping at some museums and there would be an admission charge. Attendance was voluntary. If we didn't want to go into the museum, we didn't need to. We could just wander around outside and enjoy the buildings. We were hoping to see a museum about the building of the Panama Canal, but unfortunately we did not stop at any museums.

But we found a cache in Panama City and that made the tour well worth it for us. So if any geocachers are out there and want to search for the cache hidden at the Biomuseum, Mario will stop there for you while you seek.