Cozumel, Mexico

29th January

Today our port is Cozumel, the world’s most popular cruise port. Cozumel is just a small island off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsular. It has a vibrant, pulsating Latin heart, everywhere is all action and activity from the music-playing downtown bars and cafes and shops. Cozumel is situated in the Caribbean Sea and is Mexico’s largest island at 33 miles long and 9 miles wide, with about 50,000 inhabitants.

Mexico is known for the Aztecs, but it was the Mayas who lived on Cozumel from about 300 AD. On 1st May 1518, Juan de Grijalva and the first Spaniards arrived: life for the 40,000 Mayas was never the same again. A year later, Hernan Cortes put in a brief appearance, ordered the destruction of many temples and left two missionaries to convert the Indians. The usual massacres took place over the next few years and many of the Mayas returned to the mainland. Most of the rest succumbed to European diseases brought by the Spaniards and by 1600 Cozumel was abandoned.

During the 17th and 18th centuries Cozumel was only of interest to the pirates and smugglers. Things changed in the 19th century when Mayan refugees fled from the war of Castes and settled on Cozumel. During World War 2, the Americans built an airstrip (and destroyed a few Mayan temples in the process) and a few wealthy Mexicans began to live here. However, changes really only started after Jaqcques Cousteau filmed part of his famous underwater documentary off Cozumel. Tourism began in earnest, first only 20 years ago, with the keen divers and with the building of several hotels. The island is a port of call for some 500 cruise ships annually, and today there were seven, either berthed or anchored off shore, however P & O had secured the prime berth right next to the downtown shopping area.

There is only one town on the island – San Miguel de Cozumel, a town geared to tourism. It is a hive of activity, and the jewellery here is unbelievable.

Today we had a round trip of the island, first stopping at a museum called Mexico Park, a new building where we learnt of some of the history of Mexico.Here they had displays of Mexican art and a model village showing the ancient Mayan cities and pyramids constructed in 1000AD. From here we drove to El Cedral, the oldest settlement on the island, which was inhabited by the Mayans. The village, unfortunately, had turned into a tourist hotspot with market stalls, etc., but did have a very nice Catholic church around the corner. This made the visit worthwhile.

From here we crossed the narrow island to the north east coast viewing the untouched coastline with beautiful panoramic views. We stopped at El Mirador to view the natural limestone formation and the white coral beaches at close quarters. All too soon we were on the move again to stop at a tequila distillery, where we learnt how tequila was made from the blue Agave, and here we were able to sample various forms of tequila. We all returned to our coach slightly merrier for the journey back to San Miguel de Cozumel, where we chose to be dropped off in the old town area and walk back to the terminal via many shops. These shops were crowded with all the cruise ships in town, especially the Americans. Bargaining was the order of the day, where typically the initial asking price was high and after a few minutes bargaining could be reduced by up to 80% (for example Doreen purchased a small hand painted plate which started at $60, then it went to $50, $40, $30, $20 – I then told the guy I wouldn’t pay more than $10 for it and the guy said OK – but did I pay too much, who knows).

After two hours wandering the shops we returned exhausted to the ship for afternoon tea and a short rest before our evening dinner followed by two shows, the first a Beatles Tribute Group and second The Headliners Theatre Company with “fABBAulous” an ABBA tribute show. Yet another memorable day.

Tomorrow is a day at sea to prepare ourselves for Montego Bay, Jamaica on Sunday.

Roatan, Honduras

28th January

Today we were due to go to Roatan, which is the largest and most developed of the Islas de la Bahia (Bay Islands), a group of small islands off the northeast coast of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. Roatan, an island known for its many attractions, both on land and water is about 33 miles long and just over two miles wide at its widest point.

We were up bright and early for our excursion ashore only to find the ship at sea, when it should berthed in Roatan at 5.00am. A little while later the captain announced that they had to abort the visit as 30 knot winds were preventing him berthing in the small harbour. We were not alone as another ship the Island Destiny also cancelled its visit.

The captain has sailed around the island twice, however we are now making our way out to sea to our next destination Cozumel.

Although disappointed not to be able to see Roatan, as we had an interesting looking excursion to the Botanical Garden and Butterfly farm booked. We can console ourselves that we will be returning to Roatan as part of our cruise to Alaska next year (did we mention our cruise to Alaska!!!!!!!!).

Santo Thomas de Castilla, Guatemala Narrative

27th January

Today our port was Santo Tomas de Castilla, which is a major port on northeastern Guatemala.

The Maya people lived in southern Mexico, northern Belize and Guatemala as early as 1500 BC and began building magnificent cities. However, the Maya people declined very rapidly and were already a spent force by the time the Spaniards conquered the region in the early 16th century (1524). Antigua was the capital city of Guatemala until it was virtually destroyed by an earthquake in 1773. Guatemala City then became the new capital.

From 1839 to 1997 Guatemala had more than its fair share of coups, human atrocities, revolutions, brutal military rule, and powerful and corrupt dictators. The wealthy aristocracy became more powerful and influential; the downtrodden Maya suffered particularly badly.

Attempts were made in the early 1950s by more liberal and benevolent leaders to improve the lot of the ordinary people, including land reforms and providing some form of education for the masses. However, such revolutionary ideas, at least in the eyes of many rich and powerful people, were not acceptable and were abandoned. The situation in the country went from bad to worse; military-led governments did little for the people and guerrilla groups created a campaign of terror and violence. By 1960 civil war raged between military governments, right-wing death squads, vigilante groups and leftist rebels. As a result, many thousand of innocent people were killed and murdered.

Finally, in December 1996, a peace treaty was signed by the government and the warring factions, including the National Revolutionary Unit. Hopefully the people of Guatemala will benefit from the changes to the economy and the electoral system. Corruption and high crime rates remain a serious problem and marked contrasts still exist between the powerful landowners and the Maya Indians of the mountains.

Fewer than 14 million people live in the mainly mountainous country of Guatemala (42,042 square miles), which is slightly smaller than England. Guatemala is bordered on the north and west by Mexico, on the northeast by Belize and on the southeast by Honduras and El Salvador. It has coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Coffee, sugar and bananas are the main exports.

Today’s excursion entitled Castle and Countryside did not indicate the thrilling day we were in for. Although the first 1.1/2 hours coach trip through the lush tropical vegetation was interesting, the real excursion started when we arrived at Lago de Izabal. Lago de Izabal (228 square miles) is the largest lake in Guatemala, fed by the Rio Dulce. Here we decamped the coach and boarded our new transport for the next two hours, being a lightweight fibre glass boat powered by huge Yamaha outboard motor. Each boat holding about 18 people. We left the quayside and sped at great speed to our first destination Castillo de San Felipe, a small fortification on the side of the lake in scenic surroundings. After a short stay we again boarded our boat and sped back up the lake under the Rio Dulce Bridge to a small island, where we saw the nesting ground for cormorants and white egrets, populated in their hundreds. We then travelled further down the Rio Dulce River past luxury property and yachts to a shore side hotel, where we disembarked and received some light refreshments. Whilst Doreen explored the few market stalls Geoffrey explored the hotel area, which consisted of thirty five riverside chalets all air conditioned and with their own berth. A very nice location for a holiday. Doreen, in the meantime was negotiating hard with the local crafts people, where they were weaving beautiful tapestries. All too soon we were on the move again for another thrilling ride on our boat back to our coach for 1.1/2 hour trip back to our ship.

Apart from the 1.1/2 hour coach trip each way this turned out to be an exciting excursion. Even Doreen enjoyed the thrill and speed of the boats as they raced each other down the lake. Continuing Doreen’s fixation on snakes we found out there were some 200 different types of snake, many of them venomous and one with a French sounding name even feared by the local population.

Tomorrow we go to Roatan.

St. Tomas de Castille, Guatemala

Limon, Costa Rica Narrative

25th January

Today our stop is in Costa Rica and the province of Limon, which occupies the whole eastern side of Costa Rica, from Punta Castilla to the Sixaola River. Its capital is Limon City, with a population of 90,000. The terrain is flat and marshy, especially in the coastal regions and in the north, but it gets progressively more mountainous going toward the south.

Christopher Columbus actually named Costa Rica (rich coast) in 1502 under the assumption that the land was filled with precious metals. The earth never yielded gold and silver, but the name was perfect for the wealth of natural beauty and flawless climate.

Costa Rica is one of the oldest democracies in the Americas; its first election held in 1889. The few times a tyranny tried to gain the upper hand it quickly failed. In 1949, the modern constitution abolished the army and directed the countries resources to education, social programs and economic development. Two generations have grown up without knowing war. Costa Rica has twice been nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and this was awarded in 1987. This award was a truly merited recognition of the Costa Rican way of life.

Hot and humid, average temperature 82 degrees F. The rainy season starts in May and finishes in November. The warm dry season is December to May, though temperature differences between the seasons is very slight.

The official language is Spanish, yet English is taught as a second language in all public schools, so there will always be people who make themselves understood and try to understand you, with a “poqui-tico (tiny bit) of English.

Costa Rica has a sizable export economy from agricultural produce (coffee, bananas, meat, sugar and cocoa). Tourism began expanding and generated major income for the national economy in the 1980s.

Today’s excursion was to the Tortuguero Canal, situated in the Tortuguero National Park, which is a most important nesting area for green, leatherback and hawksbill turtles. Extremely rich flora and fauna grow in the park because of the heavy annual rainfall. The park has a unique system of natural and man-made canals that serve a waterways for transportation and exploration.

We had an early start setting our alarm clock for 5.45am as we had to be on the quayside at 7.00am. We drove through the town of Limon, which is the poorest town of Costa Rica and this was evident by the standard of housing. We were soon through the town and past the banana plantations and soon arrived at the Canal. We then pulled in to a secure area and were followed by three police motor cyclists who have been following us from the ship. Waiting for us was a calypso band who greeted us with lively music, after a brief stop we boarded our covered jungle boat (similar to those used in the film African Queen). The boat cruised very slowly along the natural canals, stopping frequently to view the wild life ranging from two fingered Sloth, three fingered Sloth, Iguana, Bats (see photo), a small cayman (a type of alligator/crocodile), and a Golden Oriole, plus many local birds. At first we had difficulty in spotting the wildlife, but soon got our eye in and everyone was spotting different birds, hiding in the foliage. Unfortunately, Geoff’s camera was not capable of picking out these small birds, so has promised himself a more powerful camera before our next trip. After a fantastic two hour cruise we returned to the quayside, where again the calypso band was there to greet us and a welcome drink, along with local fruits. At the end of the tour Doreen found out that on the island there are over sixty different types of snake, twenty two of which are poisonous.

After another short break we boarded our coach and drove off to a banana plantation. En route the coach driver stopped to point out more Sloths in the trees. He stopped once more and picked a breadfruit, which was passed around the coach, showing how effective the red dye is (our tour guide rubbed some of the seeds on the back of her hand, which turned quite red). On arrival at the banana plantation we were escorted around to see the growing bananas, where they explained how the bananas are cultivated. We then went to the factory, where the bunches of bananas are first cut into hands, go through a washing process and are then individually wrapped and boxed up for transportation. A very labour intensive operation.

It was an extremely hot day and we were only too pleased to return to the air-conditioned ship, after, of course, a brief stop at the market stalls within the port, where Doreen purchased four t-shirts. It was still before midday, so we had the afternoon for relaxing on the ship, after our early start.

By the way, we forgot to mention that there is a game you have to play in today’s post. It is a type of “Spot the Ball” game. Can you find in the photos A Sloth, Bats, a Bird and an Iguana?

A day at sea tomorrow

Limon, Costa Rica

The Panama Canal Narative

23rd January

Today we arrived in Cristobal in the city of Colon, which is situated on the Eastern coast of Panama at the end of the Panama Canal. Its position gives it a two-season climate – the dry season lasts from January to mid-April and the rainy season from mid-April to December. Temperatures in and around Colon are typically hot and vary little throughout the year at about 25 Degrees C - today its 28 Degrees C.

Second only to Panama City in West Panama, Colon has a population of 204,28. American workers building the Panama Railroad founded it in 1850 and since then it has developed into an important port, commercial centre and tourist destination. Despite all this the town itself was extremely dirty. In 1953 it was made a trade free zone and is the world’s second largest duty-free port. On January 28th 1855 the first train crossed the isthmus of Panama from coast to coast.

The city was built on a swampy island and was notoriously unhealthy and often plagued by yellow fever. In present times, however, Colon has re-invented itself as a new destination for cruise liners and is essentially an industrial port. It is ideally situated for day trips to Panama City, the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake.

Our excursion today was entitled Panama Railroad Experience (Dome Car). Our train ride began as we set off from Colon City on the Caribbean Coast. We were in the Dome Car section of the train, the glass top wagon provided us with panoramic and elevated views. We soon crossed the Continental Divide and found ourselves on the Pacific side. From civilisation to the beauty of nature, our route took us through the lush Panama rainforest. We were told to look out for the local Howler Monkeys and colourful toucans, but unfortunately the sun was in our eyes and we saw nothing. Someone did see a lazy crocodile (or was it alligator, not sure). The train ride lasted about one hour as we travelled alongside the Gatun Lake with views of the ships transitting the Panama Canal. The tour guide was very jovial and kept us amused with various anecdotes on the journey. It was extremely enjoyable and relaxing.

When we got to the other end just short of Panama City, we drove to the Miraflores Locks, one of the three sets of Locks along the Panama Canal. We sat there at the locks for about half an hour and saw nothing. It was then explained that the traffic (ships and boats) from the Pacific side had gone through and they were waiting from the traffic from the Caribbean side, which was on its way. We then went to see a film about the construction of the Panama Canal and then went back to the lock to see the boats coming through.

We then boarded the coach again and drove through the outskirts of Panama City and across a causeway to three islands offshore of Panama Bay, where we had panoramic views of the city. We stayed here for three quarters of an hour – Doreen catching up on her shopping therapy and Geoff grabbed a enjoyable ice cold beer.

We now had an hour and a half coach drive back to Colon. I must just add that this drive back was horrendous. We were sitting right at the back of the coach, the driver was driving much too fast and his engine was right under where we were sitting, and it was getting hotter, and hotter. The air conditioning helping the people sitting down the front of the coach was just not reaching us. By the time we got back we were like drowned rats – not a very nice end to a very enjoyable day.

24th January

Today we were going to do a partial transit of the Panama Canal, going through the Gatun Locks to the Gatun Lake, anchor for a few hours and then go back through the Gatun Locks.

The Gatun Locks are one set of the three sets of locks along the Panama Canal, the others are the Miraflores locks (mentioned above) and the smallest set, the Pedro Miguel. At the Gatun there are two parallel sets of locks, each consisting of three flights. The locks at Gatun lift ships a total of 26 metres, the biggest rise on the canal. Small electric locomotives called ‘mules’ run on tracks along both sides of the lock. At the end of the Gatun Locks is Gatun Lake, which is a man-made lake.

Our day started early at 6.30am, when we went up to a vantage point at the bow of the ship, where we could just see through the smog (caused by a local factory and smoke from deforestation in the area) the P & O sister ship, The Arcadia, sailing in front of us towards the Gatun Locks. She was embarking on her 2010 World Voyage. P & O had arranged with the Port Authorities for the two ships to transit the Locks at the same time, The Arcadia via the eastern locks and the Oriana via the western locks. There was much cheering and shouting between the ships, including the captain and various members of the crew. Although we started the transit behind the Arcadia we emerged into Gatun Lake ahead of her, much to the satisfaction of the Captain. As we turned and dropped anchor in the Lake we watched the Arcadia sail past to continue its round the world adventure.

After three hours at anchor the pilot instructed us to up anchor and we started our return through the Locks. This time following one of largest container ships able to use the Panama Canal. Geoffrey has thoroughly enjoyed today watching from close quarters the working of the canal. We will tell you how they use the ‘mules’ to assist the ships on our return.