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.
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