Part 3
On to Costa Rica, and the banana plantations. Costa Rica has a 98% literacy rate and is, like Switzerland, officially neutral. They have no military. We docked in Puerto Limon and went ashore for a Limon city tour. We went everywhere but Limon. We went to a small town called Bananito (small banana). It was build by the Dole company for their employees. They are provided housing, electricity, water, schools and churches. Quaint little town and of coarse it had a small shopping area set up just for us. Cool little place and they had Café Britt, some of the best coffee on the planet. We could order it on the ship and have it shipped home. Done!! I ordered 20 bags, some to give away. Then we went to a Chiquita banana packing plant. Ok, maybe plant isnt the proper term maybe facility is better maybe open air facility is even better. Im sure the roof is there to protect the conveyor equipment. There were huge carts full of bananas and they were being packed into boxes and loaded onto a trailer. We saw a few monkeys, and a sloth along the way as well. Back to the ship for dinner & martinis! (See a pattern here?)
Off to the Jamaica and the Mother Land!! We head back across the Caribbean Sea toward Jamaica. We need a sea day by now, because everyone has been going hard for the last 3 or 4 days and needs a break. We arrive in Jamaica and its time for our ATV trip. There are only 4 people on the ship to take the ATV adventure. We meet our guides and they instruct us on the proper operation of, and the safety equipment required to operate, the vehicle. One we have mounted our ride, we are given a goround in a small arena to be sure we knew what we were doing. While walking to our rides, the guide pointed out a location high upon a hill about 5 miles or so, from where we were and about 600 or 700 feet above sea level. It took about 30 or 40 minutes to get there. Once there, we had a beautiful view of the beach. There was a poinsettia tree there, yep, a tree, and it had roots bigger than my arm!! After some pictures, and some small talk about Bob Marley, and the where and whys Mary-Jane is legal in some parts of Jamaica and not others, we were off for a swim, or so we thought. Part of the excursion was a swim in a lagoon. We were told to wear long pants, closed toed shoes, and swimming gear under. What they didnt tell us was, if we wanted to get in the water, we had to jump off a 15 foot cliff into 20 feet of water! Now I was hot and ready for some water, but Im not one for heights. So needless to say, I didnt get wet. So it was back to town for our trip to the Mother Land for lunch! We stopped at the Hard Rock first, then we headed to Margaritaville. We cleaned out the gift shop and then went in to eat lunch. I ordered a Cheeseburger in Paradise, and a Landshark. A couple of chugs into my Landshark, they played the Parrothead National Anthem, with the lost verse! It couldnt have been much better!! After lunch, we shopped a little more, then headed back to the ship. Our last sea day was spent sunning, resting and packing.
On to Costa Rica, and the banana plantations. Costa Rica has a 98% literacy rate and is, like Switzerland, officially neutral. They have no military. We docked in Puerto Limon and went ashore for a Limon city tour. We went everywhere but Limon. We went to a small town called Bananito (small banana). It was build by the Dole company for their employees. They are provided housing, electricity, water, schools and churches. Quaint little town and of coarse it had a small shopping area set up just for us. Cool little place and they had Café Britt, some of the best coffee on the planet. We could order it on the ship and have it shipped home. Done!! I ordered 20 bags, some to give away. Then we went to a Chiquita banana packing plant. Ok, maybe plant isnt the proper term maybe facility is better maybe open air facility is even better. Im sure the roof is there to protect the conveyor equipment. There were huge carts full of bananas and they were being packed into boxes and loaded onto a trailer. We saw a few monkeys, and a sloth along the way as well. Back to the ship for dinner & martinis! (See a pattern here?)
Off to the Jamaica and the Mother Land!! We head back across the Caribbean Sea toward Jamaica. We need a sea day by now, because everyone has been going hard for the last 3 or 4 days and needs a break. We arrive in Jamaica and its time for our ATV trip. There are only 4 people on the ship to take the ATV adventure. We meet our guides and they instruct us on the proper operation of, and the safety equipment required to operate, the vehicle. One we have mounted our ride, we are given a goround in a small arena to be sure we knew what we were doing. While walking to our rides, the guide pointed out a location high upon a hill about 5 miles or so, from where we were and about 600 or 700 feet above sea level. It took about 30 or 40 minutes to get there. Once there, we had a beautiful view of the beach. There was a poinsettia tree there, yep, a tree, and it had roots bigger than my arm!! After some pictures, and some small talk about Bob Marley, and the where and whys Mary-Jane is legal in some parts of Jamaica and not others, we were off for a swim, or so we thought. Part of the excursion was a swim in a lagoon. We were told to wear long pants, closed toed shoes, and swimming gear under. What they didnt tell us was, if we wanted to get in the water, we had to jump off a 15 foot cliff into 20 feet of water! Now I was hot and ready for some water, but Im not one for heights. So needless to say, I didnt get wet. So it was back to town for our trip to the Mother Land for lunch! We stopped at the Hard Rock first, then we headed to Margaritaville. We cleaned out the gift shop and then went in to eat lunch. I ordered a Cheeseburger in Paradise, and a Landshark. A couple of chugs into my Landshark, they played the Parrothead National Anthem, with the lost verse! It couldnt have been much better!! After lunch, we shopped a little more, then headed back to the ship. Our last sea day was spent sunning, resting and packing.
