We're geocachers and brought our GPS with us on the Panama Canal cruise hoping to make some finds while on vacation.
For more information on geocaching, check the website www.geocaching.com
The first thing I had to do was check the ports of call on our Island Princess itinerary through the Panama Canal. Once I knew the ports my next stop was www.wikipedia.com where I typed in the name of the city or country and the port. Wikipedia shows the GPS coordinates of the port and from there I typed the coordinates in at www.geocaching.com and searched for nearby caches.
Then I had to do a little more research because I didn't know how close some of the caches were to the port. Was it within walking distance or would I have to take a bus, hire a taxi, etc. Keep in mind that many of these ports are in the sub-tropics or close to the equator and its hot and often humid and long walks might not be an ideal solution for many.
A good place to do some research is on the forum boards at the Cruise Critic website. www.cruisecritic.com Ask questions and people who have travelled to that location may know the answer.
The ports of call on the Island Princess are not going to be the same as other cruises but this will give you some idea what to find in the ports I visited.
Our first port of call was Aruba. I found the GPS coordinates on Wikipedia and then searched the Geocaching website for caches near the port. There's not any. There are caches a few miles from the port, namely Palm Beach and Eagle Beach that caught my eye, but how to get there? I then looked on the discussion boards of Cruise Critic under Aruba. I discovered the Number 10 bus departs from a terminal near the port and goes to those beaches. For more information on our adventures of geocaching in Aruba, see my blog here.
One of our fellow passengers on the Island Princess who is a more avid geocacher than us did a virtual cache that was within walking distance from the cruise ship terminal. That had something to do with a webcam and coordinating with someone in Ontario. I'd read that one and it seemed a little more complicated for us than what we want to do.
Our next stop was Cartagena. Again I checked Wikipedia and Geocaching and learned there is a cache hidden within the confines of the port area. However I also noticed there was an earth cache at the mud bath volcano in Totumo. Perfect seeing as how I'd already booked a shore excursion here. Kerry and our new geocaching friend did try to find that cache hidden in the port but gave up after half an hour. It had a level 5 difficulty - the hardest rating.
Traversing through the Panama Canal is a virtual cache that you can check out on Geocaching. This one and at Totumo are take photos, answer questions type of caches.
In Fuerte Amador (Panama City) there is supposedly a cache hidden in the port, a short walk from getting off the tender. Both us and our friend tried to find it but it wasn't there. Muggled! However, we did get a find during a private shore excursion we'd booked with My Friend Mario. They parked the bus about 500 feet away from where the cache was hidden and Mario accompanied us to find it.
In Costa Rica we docked at Puntarenas. There aren't any caches hidden here or within 20 miles so Costa Rica was a bust for us.
We had 3 ports of call in Mexico: Huatulco, Acapulco, and Cabo San Lucas. Seeing as how we'd booked a private shore excursion in Acapulco, I only printed out caches in Huatulco and Cabo San Lucas prior to leaving. There is one hidden in the bay where the cruise ship docks, however it was missing when we searched for it. There is another one hidden on a nearby street but I forgot to print that one or bring it with us on the cruise so luck in this town. In Cabo San Lucas there are a couple hidden within walking distance of the marina where the tenders dock and we found them both.
Good luck and happy geocaching!
Showing posts with label Aruba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aruba. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Getting Internet/Wifi while on Panama Canal cruise
Internet service is rather pricey on the Island Princess, or on any cruise ship for that matter, .75 cents per minute. It is also very slow. Like one click every two minutes.
We brought our laptop computer with us to download the photos from our camera but we also tried to find Wifi at our ports of call. Difficult or non-existent is the best way to describe that endeavor.
Aruba: When you disembark from the cruise ship and walk through the secure port area to get to the street, turn right. Walk down about a block or so, staying on the same side of the street. Look for a building where Dunkin Donuts is on the second floor. They have free Wifi here. To be fair go in and buy a snack. We bought 2 iced coffees, cost about $4. We were able to download our email but could not send out any emails. This was pretty much our last Internet Wifi opportunity for 2 weeks until we docked in Los Angeles.
Cartagena, Colombia: Nothing that we could find but we spent the few hours we were there on an excursion and had no time for finding an Internet cafe. A taxi driver may be able to help. There are also some shops at the port, notably Juan Valdez coffee shop. I recall someone saying there was a shop nearby that offered Internet.
Panama Canal and anchored off Fuerte Amador: This might be a good time to try to find free Wifi from a nearby ship that has unsecure Wifi. You'd have to be out on your balcony or on one of the upper decks to make this happen. If you stay inside your cabin the only thing your laptop wants to connect to is the Princess service. In the marina there are a few shops. I don't know that there was Wifi offered anywhere but there were some computers with pay as you go Internet service. I noticed that they were out of order when we walked past them. There are lots of taxi drivers in the marina and just outside the fence on the street. I'm sure any of them can take you to an Internet cafe. We were away for several hours on an excursion and didn't have time to look for Internet service.
Puntarenas, Costa Rica: We were gone for several hours on an excursion but our guide did tell us there were several places in Puntarenas to purchase Wifi or use the Internet and pointed out a couple to us on the way back to the wharf. We returned to the Island Princess to pick up the laptop and went out to find one. We chose the one that was just down the street straight from the wharf, a couple of blocks away. $2/hour. It appeared this little shop was pirating Internet from the two cruise ships in port, Princess and Carnival. Hit and miss. In my case, miss. I moved over on to one of their computers and got access but it wasn't much use to me and left well before my hour was up.
Huatulco, Mexico: this is a small town with only a couple of streets near the dock. We did see a shop with an Internet sign out front. It was closed. This was a Sunday in port so its possible its open the other days of the week. However its my opinion that at the end of cruise ship season and no passengers for several more months that most businesses should make an effort to be open for the few hours a cruise ship is in town.
Acapulco, Mexico: Inside the secure port area, in the building, upstairs there is Internet service. I walked up there and a few people were using computers. There was a desk where one would expect to see an attendant but no one was there. There was no one standing/hovering at any of the people using a computer as if providing assistance. I was unable to determine if Wifi was available here. However I did see several Wifi places around town, including about a block away from the port, while we were out on our excursion. There are many taxis lined up around the port so I think it would be easy to ask one of them to drive you to an Internet cafe.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: There were several restaurants around the marina that offered Wifi. But I would think that means you have to go in and buy drinks and nachos. Not such a bad idea!
Los Angeles, California: This was the best place to get Wifi. In the port its free. We all had to disembark and wait a bit and then embark again. We took our laptop off with us and while in the waiting area had no problem checking our email and surfing the Internet. There is also a shop in the port that offers Internet service on their computers if you don't have a laptop. The best thing is that back on the Island Princess we were still able to connect to the Port of Los Angeles free Wifi. Now, we had to go up to Deck 15 to pick it up but saw down at a table above the Lotus Pool and enjoyed Internet for awhile until it became slower and slower and we put it away.
We brought our laptop computer with us to download the photos from our camera but we also tried to find Wifi at our ports of call. Difficult or non-existent is the best way to describe that endeavor.
Aruba: When you disembark from the cruise ship and walk through the secure port area to get to the street, turn right. Walk down about a block or so, staying on the same side of the street. Look for a building where Dunkin Donuts is on the second floor. They have free Wifi here. To be fair go in and buy a snack. We bought 2 iced coffees, cost about $4. We were able to download our email but could not send out any emails. This was pretty much our last Internet Wifi opportunity for 2 weeks until we docked in Los Angeles.
Cartagena, Colombia: Nothing that we could find but we spent the few hours we were there on an excursion and had no time for finding an Internet cafe. A taxi driver may be able to help. There are also some shops at the port, notably Juan Valdez coffee shop. I recall someone saying there was a shop nearby that offered Internet.
Panama Canal and anchored off Fuerte Amador: This might be a good time to try to find free Wifi from a nearby ship that has unsecure Wifi. You'd have to be out on your balcony or on one of the upper decks to make this happen. If you stay inside your cabin the only thing your laptop wants to connect to is the Princess service. In the marina there are a few shops. I don't know that there was Wifi offered anywhere but there were some computers with pay as you go Internet service. I noticed that they were out of order when we walked past them. There are lots of taxi drivers in the marina and just outside the fence on the street. I'm sure any of them can take you to an Internet cafe. We were away for several hours on an excursion and didn't have time to look for Internet service.
Puntarenas, Costa Rica: We were gone for several hours on an excursion but our guide did tell us there were several places in Puntarenas to purchase Wifi or use the Internet and pointed out a couple to us on the way back to the wharf. We returned to the Island Princess to pick up the laptop and went out to find one. We chose the one that was just down the street straight from the wharf, a couple of blocks away. $2/hour. It appeared this little shop was pirating Internet from the two cruise ships in port, Princess and Carnival. Hit and miss. In my case, miss. I moved over on to one of their computers and got access but it wasn't much use to me and left well before my hour was up.
Huatulco, Mexico: this is a small town with only a couple of streets near the dock. We did see a shop with an Internet sign out front. It was closed. This was a Sunday in port so its possible its open the other days of the week. However its my opinion that at the end of cruise ship season and no passengers for several more months that most businesses should make an effort to be open for the few hours a cruise ship is in town.
Acapulco, Mexico: Inside the secure port area, in the building, upstairs there is Internet service. I walked up there and a few people were using computers. There was a desk where one would expect to see an attendant but no one was there. There was no one standing/hovering at any of the people using a computer as if providing assistance. I was unable to determine if Wifi was available here. However I did see several Wifi places around town, including about a block away from the port, while we were out on our excursion. There are many taxis lined up around the port so I think it would be easy to ask one of them to drive you to an Internet cafe.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: There were several restaurants around the marina that offered Wifi. But I would think that means you have to go in and buy drinks and nachos. Not such a bad idea!
Los Angeles, California: This was the best place to get Wifi. In the port its free. We all had to disembark and wait a bit and then embark again. We took our laptop off with us and while in the waiting area had no problem checking our email and surfing the Internet. There is also a shop in the port that offers Internet service on their computers if you don't have a laptop. The best thing is that back on the Island Princess we were still able to connect to the Port of Los Angeles free Wifi. Now, we had to go up to Deck 15 to pick it up but saw down at a table above the Lotus Pool and enjoyed Internet for awhile until it became slower and slower and we put it away.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Photos taken around Oranjestad, Aruba
One of Island Princess's ports of call on the Grand Panama Cruise is in Oranjestad, Aruba. We're in port from 7am to 1pm. It was a Sunday and the shops didn't open until 10am. With a cruise ship in town for only a few hours you'd think they'd make an exception and open up when its in town. Missed out on a few tourist dollars that day I'd think.
We started the day off at Dunkin' Donuts shortly after arrival in Oranjestad. Not that we were craving donuts because they were available for breakfast on the Island Princess but it offers free Wifi so we took in our lap top to check our email. This was our last chance to get Wifi until we visited Los Angeles. Its very sketchy to non-existent in the other ports of call. To get to Dunkin' Donuts, walk off the cruise ship, through the terminal, and down their road, about a block, to get to the main street. Turn right and walk down about a block. Dunkin' Donuts is on the second story of a building. You'll easily see it. Bring your lap top. Its only good manners to make a purchase while here. They accept US dollars but the items are rather high priced. We purchased a couple of iced coffees. Cost $4.10 total.
We started the day off at Dunkin' Donuts shortly after arrival in Oranjestad. Not that we were craving donuts because they were available for breakfast on the Island Princess but it offers free Wifi so we took in our lap top to check our email. This was our last chance to get Wifi until we visited Los Angeles. Its very sketchy to non-existent in the other ports of call. To get to Dunkin' Donuts, walk off the cruise ship, through the terminal, and down their road, about a block, to get to the main street. Turn right and walk down about a block. Dunkin' Donuts is on the second story of a building. You'll easily see it. Bring your lap top. Its only good manners to make a purchase while here. They accept US dollars but the items are rather high priced. We purchased a couple of iced coffees. Cost $4.10 total.
We caught the #10 bus which goes along the beaches. This is Palm Beach, about 15 minutes bus ride from downtown Oranjestad.
These are shots we took around Oranjestad, all within an easy walk of the cruise ship terminal.
The Island Princess in port at Oranjestad, Aruba.
Here's the dinner menu in the main dining room on Aruba day.
These are shots we took around Oranjestad, all within an easy walk of the cruise ship terminal.
The Island Princess in port at Oranjestad, Aruba.
Here's the dinner menu in the main dining room on Aruba day.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Geocaching in Aruba
We arrived in Aruba at 7am. The Island Princess had an all aboard at 12:30pm so there wasn't a whole lot of time to spend here. Going to the beach seemed the best option for a few hours. But we decided to try to find a couple of caches that were in the areas of Eagle Beach and Palm Beach.
Geocaching is an international game using your GPS to find caches that others have hidden and uploaded the coordinates to www.geocaching.com
A couple we met on the Island Princess, Bob and Joyce, were intrigued and joined us in the search.
We started off looking for the #10 bus that drives out to the beaches. We walked out of the cruise compound, turned to our right, and walked down the street a bit. On the left hand side of the street is a bus parking lot. We walked in and found the sign post for the #10 bus. We'd heard that it runs every 15 minutes. But we were in port on a Sunday. The #10 bus only runs once an hour. Nevertheless we only had about a 5 minute wait before a bus pulled in. They take US dollars and it costs $2.50 each for a round trip ticket. We had the GPS on and when we closed in on the coordinates for the first cache, about 10 minutes or so ride, we pushed the button and got off.
The caches we searched for and discovered were the Divi Tree Cache and then we walked down to the Flowers with Wings cache, about 10 minutes walk. Fortunately we did this fairly early in the morning, around 9am, before it became too swelteringly hot in Aruba. I managed a quick swim in the ocean and then we caught the bus back to the port area where we wandered around the shops for awhile making a couple of purchases and then returned to the Island Princess. Ahh, air conditioning! Cold drinks!
Its very easy to find both these caches and do other activities and have plenty of time to make the all aboard.
Have fun geocaching in Aruba!
The Divi Tree Cache is hidden behind this coral. A little out of place in the log.
Team Mermaidude with the Divi Tree Cache.
The contents of the Divi Tree Cache.
Geocaching is an international game using your GPS to find caches that others have hidden and uploaded the coordinates to www.geocaching.com
A couple we met on the Island Princess, Bob and Joyce, were intrigued and joined us in the search.
We started off looking for the #10 bus that drives out to the beaches. We walked out of the cruise compound, turned to our right, and walked down the street a bit. On the left hand side of the street is a bus parking lot. We walked in and found the sign post for the #10 bus. We'd heard that it runs every 15 minutes. But we were in port on a Sunday. The #10 bus only runs once an hour. Nevertheless we only had about a 5 minute wait before a bus pulled in. They take US dollars and it costs $2.50 each for a round trip ticket. We had the GPS on and when we closed in on the coordinates for the first cache, about 10 minutes or so ride, we pushed the button and got off.
The caches we searched for and discovered were the Divi Tree Cache and then we walked down to the Flowers with Wings cache, about 10 minutes walk. Fortunately we did this fairly early in the morning, around 9am, before it became too swelteringly hot in Aruba. I managed a quick swim in the ocean and then we caught the bus back to the port area where we wandered around the shops for awhile making a couple of purchases and then returned to the Island Princess. Ahh, air conditioning! Cold drinks!
Its very easy to find both these caches and do other activities and have plenty of time to make the all aboard.
Have fun geocaching in Aruba!
The Divi Tree Cache is hidden behind this coral. A little out of place in the log.
Team Mermaidude with the Divi Tree Cache.
The contents of the Divi Tree Cache.
The Flowers With Wings cache is hidden here.
Bob watches Mr. Mermaidude search for the cache.
Mr. Mermaidude has the Flowers With Wings cache in hand.
Bob watches Mr. Mermaidude search for the cache.
Mr. Mermaidude has the Flowers With Wings cache in hand.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Princess Cruises, Island Princess Grand Panama Canal cruise coming up
We are set to sail on April 29 2010 on a repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver. 18 days aboard the Island Princess. A trip of a lifetime through the Panama Canal.
And yes, I'm getting a little excited!
Our itinery includes a stop in Aruba. We have no plans other than being beach bums here. We're geocachers and have noted a couple of caches hidden at beaches near the cruise ship port, on Eagle Beach and Palm Beach, so we're hoping to make a couple of finds and leave some travel bugs behind.
The next stop is in Cartagena, Columbia. We've booked a shore excursion with Princess to visit the mud bath volcano at Totumo. Jumping into a vat of mud isn't everyone's idea of fun, but we're looking forward to it. I found an article and photos of it here. http://www.twobackpackers.com/1692/south-america/mud-bath-in-volcano-totumo-colombia/
Then a day's passage through the Panama Canal. I found web cams here of some of the locks. Its kind of interesting watching the boats pass through. http://www.acp.gob.pa/eng/photo/camera-java.html
Then we anchor at Fuerte Amador and tenders take us ashore. We've found a tour company called My Friend Mario and have booked a 6 hour city tour while in port.
Then on to Costa Rica where we've booked a 7 hour tour to visit monkeys in a nature reserve, a plantation where we can sample fruit, a river boat tour for crocodiles, and a local lunch at a beach where we can swim, and a stop at a market where coffee can be bought for half the price as its sold in other shops. Sounds like a great day.
The Island Princess then heads to Mexico. We'll be doing the beach bum thing again at a stop in Hualtulco. At Acapulco I've booked a city tour with some other passengers on the cruise and we'll be seeing the cliff diver's afternoon performance. On to Cabo San Lucas where again we're planning to hang out at the beach for the day.
The ship then heads to Los Angeles where passengers will be embarking and disembarking. I've been to California so many times and seen most of the tourist attractions many times that none of the shore excursions interested me. The time in LA is so short that I didn't want to venture off in my own and get stuck in a traffic jam and miss the 4pm departure, so we'll be staying in the San Pedro pier area. There are heritage trolley cars that operate for a mile and a half and take passengers up to a mall, so that's likely all we'll be doing.
Then a couple more days at sea and we'll be back in Vancouver. The Island Princess then does the Alaska cruises for the summer months.
And yes, I'm getting a little excited!
Our itinery includes a stop in Aruba. We have no plans other than being beach bums here. We're geocachers and have noted a couple of caches hidden at beaches near the cruise ship port, on Eagle Beach and Palm Beach, so we're hoping to make a couple of finds and leave some travel bugs behind.
The next stop is in Cartagena, Columbia. We've booked a shore excursion with Princess to visit the mud bath volcano at Totumo. Jumping into a vat of mud isn't everyone's idea of fun, but we're looking forward to it. I found an article and photos of it here. http://www.twobackpackers.com/1692/south-america/mud-bath-in-volcano-totumo-colombia/
Then a day's passage through the Panama Canal. I found web cams here of some of the locks. Its kind of interesting watching the boats pass through. http://www.acp.gob.pa/eng/photo/camera-java.html
Then we anchor at Fuerte Amador and tenders take us ashore. We've found a tour company called My Friend Mario and have booked a 6 hour city tour while in port.
Then on to Costa Rica where we've booked a 7 hour tour to visit monkeys in a nature reserve, a plantation where we can sample fruit, a river boat tour for crocodiles, and a local lunch at a beach where we can swim, and a stop at a market where coffee can be bought for half the price as its sold in other shops. Sounds like a great day.
The Island Princess then heads to Mexico. We'll be doing the beach bum thing again at a stop in Hualtulco. At Acapulco I've booked a city tour with some other passengers on the cruise and we'll be seeing the cliff diver's afternoon performance. On to Cabo San Lucas where again we're planning to hang out at the beach for the day.
The ship then heads to Los Angeles where passengers will be embarking and disembarking. I've been to California so many times and seen most of the tourist attractions many times that none of the shore excursions interested me. The time in LA is so short that I didn't want to venture off in my own and get stuck in a traffic jam and miss the 4pm departure, so we'll be staying in the San Pedro pier area. There are heritage trolley cars that operate for a mile and a half and take passengers up to a mall, so that's likely all we'll be doing.
Then a couple more days at sea and we'll be back in Vancouver. The Island Princess then does the Alaska cruises for the summer months.
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