San Juan del Sur Nicaragua

Our expectations for Nicaragua were not very high based on what we had heard/read in the news media. We were pleasantly surprised and actually found San Juan del Sur to be our favorite port on the whole trip. We found the city to be very clean and well organized. The people were all very friendly and we felt completely safe. Our biggest surprise was that the street vendors did not harrass us to buy their wares. In the other ports, they were all over you to buy something. Hint to the vendors... we actually bought more in San Juan than any other port!

Seems like all the Centeral/South American countries have very interesting electrical power systems.  Not many standards or rules here.

Port was too small for the ship so they anchored about a mile out and used small tenders

This guy was anchored just off our port side.  At least the guns were covered.

Puntarenas Costa Rica

In Puntarenas Costa Rica we took a mangrove forest river trip with the hope of see some of the famous Costa Rican wildlife. We were not disappointed. During the two-hour cruise we saw lots of birds, crocodiles, and iguana. We were even fortunate to spot a gorgeous macaw bird. Valerie, who is an avid birder, added 7 new birds to her life list! Besides the wildlife, we were not overly impressed with Costa Rica. What was most noticeable was the fact that virtually every house and business was surrounded by a wall topped with razor wire. While we did see lots of really nice looking eco resorts we did not get the feeling that was a particularly safe area.

Prothonotary Warbler

Roseate Spoonbill

This gorgeous Macaw was back in the forest tending the nest.

Ready for flight!

An Iguana along the river bank

Doesn’t look too friendly

Not the place to go for a swim

Coconut Tree

Bananas