All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

Margaret, loving the pictures! I'm taking 4 rashguards for Hawaii... Melody

Edited April 1, 2016 by awhfy

[MJC]

I do need more than one, but I just hate the way most of them fit. Mine has princess seams so it's not so skin tight, but doesn't bulge in the water.

[Anita Latte]

I'm lovin' the review Margaret!

 

Mom and I (and Melody too!) LOVE the Athleta rash guards. They have a great return policy. They expect you to test drive the garments and, IIRC, they give you 365 days to return them for any reason. I believe that you could order rash guards from them and even swim in them and then return them if they didn't work the way that you wanted them to.

 

Those dresses are really nice. They look nice, even though they are more casual in their fabric...they do dress up nice. It's making me think about the recent TVF where she is packing three dresses for her trip to Paris. Are you up to date on that? Anyway...the ease of having a dress, rather than all the separates.

 

I'm imagining Mom's reaction to your "tender" to get to and from the ship. OMG. It's hot and humid...but with that type of boat on the horizon every day, it makes sense that you'd want more rugged, camping/hiking type clothing to wear. lt's so much fun reading about such a different type of cruise!

 

In other news, I have a new sandal order on the way. FYI...Planet Shoes gave me $20 to spend for my birthday. I already had $15 in points...I had found a pair of sandals that were $110 that looked really good, but I still couldn't justify the purchase...and then I got notice of a flash sale where everything was 25% off...so I took the plunge and ordered these:

 

http://www.planetshoes.com/item/taos-natural/39947/119

 

I thought they looked really nice for a comfort sandal. I did order black. I have many things that black sandals would look really good with, so I did it. Hopefully, they will work. I've never tried this brand before. They should be here tomorrow.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Anita Latte

[awhfy]

Anita, those are cute, I've worn Taos before they last well. Melody

[MJC]

Tech shirt, hiking pants, bare feet… adventure awaits!

 

 

Corcovado is only accessible by water, and requires a permit and a ranger escort. It is remote and wild and we had an amazing hike here on our last visit. This time I tried something different, and DH stayed on the ship.

We landed our bare feet on this beautiful beach, and as soon as we did a pair of scarlet macaws flew right overhead. They are a special treat.

 

 

Our horses were patiently waiting. When everyone was sorted out, we rode down the beach and up a dirt road into Corcovado.

 

 

At the top, the view of the Pacific Ocean was beautiful.

 

 

When we went back down, the steepness naturally sorted us and our horses, with the strongest riders on the liveliest horses reaching the beach first. Then the fun began. My spunky pal Claudio wanted to be in the water, which was fun enough, and then we got to gallop down the beach in the surf! It was amazing. I will never forget it.

 

[MJC]

Back on the ship it was time for lunch, and then DH and I donned our rash guards and headed for the watersports deck:

 

 

 

We laid on the blue mats for a while, but then the trampoline called. Yes, we did go down the slide:

 

 

 

For dinner I wore another Pleione shirt. This one is so versatile because the color combo goes with my dark red pants, navy pants, mushroom pants, you name it:

 

 

That night we were invited to dine with the Chief Engineer, and he was fascinating. Not only did we learn all about the ship, we heard stories of all the places he's ridden his bike, which he brings onboard with him. We are big nerds so we enjoyed it very much.

 

 

WS has an open bridge policy, so we did spend some time there during the week and had interesting conversations with the officers on watch.

[awhfy]

Margaret, ok we're going to have to do a Windstar cruise. This is exactly what DH & I love doing! Melody

[Anita Latte]

You look absolutely tickled on that back of that horse! Exhilarated, even!

 

I think it's pretty funny that you are able to play off the back of the ship like off a houseboat or yacht.

 

I do like those Pleione tops a lot. I looked at them at Nordstrom the other weekend, but the only pattern I was interested in was only in a small...I suppose I could have tried on for size, but I wasn't in the mood for that type of shopping.

[Sailor_Sally]

I have always wondered about the Windstar cruises . I assumed they were for younger people . They look like so much fun especially the sports deck .Your pictures are great !

[MJC]

Yes, I was ecstatic to be on that horse on that beautiful beach. That picture was taken before the gallop, can you imagine what I must have looked like after? Poor DH got to hear about it all day and night, and the next day too. :)

 

Melody, I think WS is so much fun. You can see that our days were really full and we didn't miss the nightlife much.

 

Sally, the youngest were two high school age kids (the only children aboard) with their parents. The oldest were in their 80s. I saw them booking appointments in the spa in the morning on the day I went riding. They were in the owner's suite and seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. WS rates the excursions by how strenuous they are, and anyone who can get in and out of the zodiacs can find an activity they can do.

 

I am sure that during the day when most of the passengers are ashore, that it must feel like having a private yacht.

 

I think the two smallest WS ships might be a little boring if you weren't into the activities. But many people enjoy the larger Wind Surf because it has similar amenities to what we had. My wish list includes a Mediterranean cruise on the Surf.

[MJC]

You can see that Puerto Jimenez is a sleepy little place. Some people went ashore to a small restaurant that had wifi, but most took a ship excursion here. One of the choices was visiting a yoga retreat for yoga on the beach and paddleboarding. DH would never have been able to do that, though.

 

 

We chose the dolphin watch and beach visit. It was so fun because we saw hundreds of dolphins, and they came right up to the boat to swim in front and alongside, and we saw them leaping and corkscrewing in the air just for fun.

 

 

 

I was sitting in the bow of the boat, and the dolphins were right in front of me. I could hear them exhale when they came up and see them roll to the side to look at us.

 

[MJC]

The beach they took us to is called Enchanted Beach.

 

 

 

 

Do I look relaxed and happy? Yes, I do. :) We were there for 45 minutes or so, just floating in the water and chatting with each other and some new-found friends.

 

 

 

 

When we came back to the ship, the toys were out again. Since it was so calm in Golfo Dulce, they had the kayaks and paddleboards out as well.

 

 

If you look inside the marina entrance, you can see white things. Those are tables where they have towels and cold water, and a place to put your cover-ups and shoes. They also have a fresh water spray so you can rinse off before going to your cabin.

 

The opening on the port side of the ship is where the zodiacs would load to go ashore. At the very top of the ship you can see a white pointed awning. That is the outside part of the Veranda restaurant, where breakfast and lunch are served. It had a glassed inside section as well with air conditioning.

[laurspag]

Margaret, I'm really enjoying your review. Windstar is so different than what I am used to. The excursion and ports just seem very fascinating to me. You look so relaxed and like you are enjoying yourself so much.

 

I like the Pleione tops on you. When you first posted about these, I googled it because I wasn't familiar with it. I think that from a style perspective, I have a few tops that are similar. I have not had any luck finding tops like this in earth tones, but I haven't really had a chance to look very much.

 

As you all know, I kept the gold dress, and I'm very excited about it. I like the dress a lot. The other two were sent back to Steinmart last week. I know you all only saw one other dress, the third dress was supposed to be brown and it was black. I was disappointed, because it would have been a great dress if it had been a better color for me.

 

I had a credit at Lord and Taylor, and they were having a big shoe sale. So I ordered two pair. those are both going back. Darn. It's hard having wide feet!

 

I have been mostly wearing orange all week, which I am sure is not a surprise to any of you. Today I am wearing what I would consider athleisure, maybe? It's a pullover with the zipper, stand up color...and of course, the Syracuse logo. Go Orange!

 

I know they are the underdog, but for those who insist they shouldn't be there, you don't get to the Final Four by chance. Win or lose, they have been my favorite team since I was a little kid. My mom was a very big fan also, and the one the big one after she had passed away. I remembered that I cried, because she wasn't there to see it. Then I realized she was watching from heaven...

 

I am so intrigued by Windstar! I do wonder if that is a good fit for us or not. You mentioned that daytime has a lot of activities, so evenings are spent socializing. It got me thinking - did you have any sea days? How were those spent?

 

I may have mentioned that we saw some dolphins when we were on Brilliance, and we spent a great deal of time looking for them after that. I would love to do a whale watch or dolphin watch sometime.

 

I have been horseback riding once. It was a delightful experience for me, until much later in the day. I found myself sitting gingerly on a throw pillow, lol!

[awhfy]

Margaret, we're seriously looking at Windstar, what itinerary:ship were you on? Melody

[Anita Latte]

I think DH and I would really enjoy a Windstar cruise. I'm not sure about DS.

 

My Taos sandals came today and they do work. I say it that way because they were only offered in whole sizes and I fluctuate between a 9/9.5. I ordered the 9 and they work very well. Very comfortable molded footbed with a nicer leather upper. It's been a while since I've worn true leather sandals. OMG...so nice.

 

I'll probably watch for another opportunity to get another color besides black.

[MJC]

Anita, those sandals look like you could live in them every day.

 

Laurie, I'm glad you kept the gold dress. I thought it was pretty in itself but also it suited you so well. Our cruise didn't have any full sea days. We did leave Puerto Jimenez at about 2:00 with a stop in Golfito for supplies where we were not allowed to disembark. There was nothing there but a small village. Then we had half a sea day heading to Panama City, which I'll get to. Then we had a morning ashore in Panama City, and an afternoon on board while we waited for the Canal Authority to give authorization to start the transit. I'll talk about those shortly.

 

Melody, we were on this itinerary, from Puerto Caldera to Colon:

 

http://www.windstarcruises.com/cruise/Costa-Rica-and-Panama-Canal/Costa-Rica-and-Panama-Canal/?id=84&sid=21522

 

In 2010 we did this itinerary, which is also fabulous:

 

http://www.windstarcruises.com/cruise/Costa-Rica-and-Panama-Canal/Naturally-Costa-Rica/?id=81&sid=20749

 

If you want, when I finish with my pictures I'll give you my feelings about the strengths/weaknesses of both itineraries.

 

You all are very patient to let me inundate you with so many photos.

[MJC]

I just wanted to add that there were some evening activities, we just didn't tend to gravitate to them. There was a crew talent show, a thing called The Liar's Game, a line dancing class, things like that.

 

For the first time ever, DH was a little seasick. The ship has a tendency to rock side-to-side, rather than front to back, and he was achy and tired for a couple days before we figured out what it was. He was fine in the zodiacs, on board during the daytime, at anchor, and when we were ashore. But he started taking Dramamine which they were handing out for free at reception) in the early evening so we pretty much retired to our cabin after dinner at around 9pm to watch a movie and go to bed early. I basically stayed on NY time for the week, so I was waking between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning every day. After dinner we would organize ourselves for the morning, and then bedtime at 10pm actually felt pretty good.

 

I think of my postings as more like a diary than a review, because I'm trying not to opine on anything, just share our experiences. I could nitpick about little things here and there, but all in all we had a fabulous vacation.

Edited April 3, 2016 by MJC

[laurspag]

Margaret, I'm really enjoying your pictures and the info. I think it helps to find out from someone who is a friend, who understands your likes and dislikes, about a new cruise line. I can see how this suits you. I can see what would suit me, and what may not.

 

A lot of it with me is just where I am at right now in my life, such as the amount of time I have off, where I have traveled thus far, what I want to do on a cruise.

 

And today, I'm nursing a basketball loss. But I love my team, and the way that they brought the community together this week. There are always all sorts of questions you ask, and it's hard to believe their season is over. When you follow a team enough, you even get sad about the graduating seniors.

 

And we still have the women playing tonight! Go Orange!

[awhfy]

Laurie, sorry for your guys. Hope the gals do better. They've both had an amazing season

 

Margaret, the sale pricing on Windstar is much less than I had thought. I'd like to do the Panama Canal on a small ship. Melody

Edited April 3, 2016 by awhfy

[MJC]

Melody, they usually have a 2 for 1 at some point, and sometimes free airfare. PC cruises are particularly pricey because the port charges for the canal are so high. Ships pay per maximum passenger load whether the ship is full or not.

[MJC]

Every WS cruise has a private event. Ours was a private beach day at Isla de Coiba. The whole island is a nature preserve and UNESCO World Heritage site. We had the whole beach to ourselves for the day, and they provided umbrellas, loungers, towels, beach toys, and a fabulous bbq. I was on deck as we approached so I could scope out the sun and shade patterns to try to find the least hot and sunny location. We were in the first zodiac ashore at 9am and headed far to the right in this picture:

 

This is the location where the Star Pride ran aground in December, and the Chief Engineer told me during our dinner that we would be anchoring farther away now, but look how close we were:

 

 

After we got settled in our location, I took off to take some pics, and when I came back DH was napping. I signed us up for a turn on the kayaks and paddleboards, and chatted with the two nice Canadians next to us. We swapped cameras and took pictures for each other. This proves I actually did have another bathing suit to wear (my new Jantzen tank that goes from turquoise to purple to black):

 

 

This area was to the left as we faced the water. The rocks and coral are where the fish are, so I did some snorkeling. I saw some parrotfish, lots of little colorful stuff, and a nice puffer fish, but the water was murky and my pictures didn’t come out well at all, so I’m not posting them:

 

 

The barbeque was delicious, and so beautifully presented considering they had to haul everything in from the ship. They made jambalaya in a pot as big as a tractor tire, and grilled burgers and hot dogs. At every lunch, even here, there was always a lovely salad bar which we visited every day. This is the dessert table:

 

[MJC]

After lunch we swam some more, more like bobbed in the water for an hour, and then DH headed back to the ship. There is a nature trail, so I decided to hike up into the jungle for about 15 minutes just to see what it was like. It was the heat of the day, so there were no animals in sight, but I did hear some howler monkeys. I did get this beautiful view across the island to another bay:

 

 

 

On the way back down, just behind the cabins (owned by the park service) I did see a couple of capuchin monkeys eating some downed coconuts, an agouti, and a fairly large iguana. There were always some big birds in the sky, so I asked someone if they were hawks, but they were vultures. We saw them often on our trip. Then it was time for another swim, and I chatted with a lovely mother and daughter for a bit. I was back on board around 3pm. A long day in the sun for me.

 

That night I wore my green dress for dinner, which you've seen already. We went on deck for cocktails during the beautiful sail away from the island. It was very romantic.

 

I remember I did wear the coral dress again for lunch one day. Those two dresses were great for this trip. This is the end of our beach fun, because that night we headed to Panama City.

Edited April 3, 2016 by MJC

[awhfy]

Laurie, you're still in Orange!

[Member123]

Margaret, It's such a pleasure to share your Windstar cruise with you. You look radiant. I'm so happy to see your beautiful and, most importantly, relaxed face! You've been through so much recently that it's really, really good to see you rejuvenating and recharging.

 

AND, I can't express enough how interested I am in the daily life onboard. Unlike others here, I can confidently say that Windstar is crossed OFF my list! Woo hoo! One less to worry and fret about! LOL. If the zodiac didn't get me, then the splashing in the ocean from a trampoline and slide would have gotten me, for sure! I'm just a big baby.

 

Hey, I am a fan of the show, Deadliest Catch. Does anyone else watch? You'd think I'd steer pretty clear of that show, with its gale force winds, hurricane conditions, huge waves splashing the deck, etc. But it's the relationships of the characters, especially the relationships of the ship's captains with the Bering Sea, their boat and crew, that has me hooked. I had to tell you that ... to tell you this. One of the Ship's Captains confessed that his biggest fear while sailing is of drowning. Turns out he doesn't swim! Wow, what a validation for me. Being a non-swimmer on a cruise ship has turned a few heads my way, but now I can confidently say that if a crab fisherman can do it, I can certainly sail a mega ship, for pleasure!

 

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and add my happy voice to everyone else's as we sail along with you.

[Anita Latte]

So funny. Just as Mom crossed of Windstar...I have happily added it to my own, would like to do list!

 

Still loving reading along on your adventure Margaret. You are doing an excellent job of writing factually about the trip and keeping your opinions about everything to a minimum. The overall pleasure that you experienced is shining through though.

 

I went slightly nuts at the fabric store, but not too bad. I purchased more fabric yesterday. All the fashion fabric is at 70% off now and I found several pieces that I liked a lot. Now I need to think more about what kinds of things like zippers and elastic I might need and get those...hopefully later today...those things are getting really picked over.

 

I do wish that I had been able to make more things before buying more fabric...wishing that I had more of a handle on what I would really want. This did restrain my purchases quite a bit. I needed to be able to picture the functionality of the clothing for each fabric...for instance, a skirt, or a shirt, or pants, or capris, or what not. I have something in mind for everything I bought, just not something terribly concrete.