Part Two - Veendam Oct/Nov 2016 - port highlights HMC to San Diego via Panama

[OlsSalt]

Taken from the original thread: Second half of the Montreal to San Diego Veendam cruise - port highlights only.

 

HALF MOON CAY: we nearly did not get off the ship - past trips here crowded, cold water, noisy and food not that great but still we did anyway. Thank goodness we did. What a wonderful day we had - absolutely delicious water temperature, little evidence of Hurricane Matthew, slightly crowded since we were there with the Neiuw Amsterdam, and only a little noise coming from the Pirate ship which is now a bit more hidden by vegetation.

 

HMC Food was food - best in small portions anyway. Sorry they can't go all out with true Caribbean flavors and local products, but understand the limitations for delivery, prep to keep it all within safe food standards. This was as close to a perfect day as one could dream for on this private tropical island.

 

CARTEGENA - Certainly the most reliably hottest port stop in this itinerary, so plan your excursion choices carefully. Can be punishing if you plan on doing a lot of walking. We took the harbor cruise with a trip to the fortress - which included a bus tour through the luxury beach condo resort area - a bit ragged, but Columbia impresses more than expected due to its long and fairly recent drug and civil war history.

 

Since Cartegena originally was the leading center for the transfer of riches from the New World, going in depth into any of its historical areas is great food for the imagination. We would recommend this tour if you have already seen the heart of the old city. But it does include a bit of a climb to reach the top of the fort area -which is a very expansive area once you get to the top. You have to admire the skill levels brought to the New World that constructed these monuments way back then.

 

PANAMA CANAL - GATUN TO MIRAFLORES - really liked going this direction better than the other direction -east to west - more immediate, more intimate and you get a chance to see the old French canal excavations and the new wider locks which are now also open for business along side the original canal all at the same time. We followed the tail end of the Zuiderdam entering from this direction and then left them behind for their turn-around route at Gatun, where they had tenders going out for shore excursions. Panama buns duly served on the open front deck and escaped rain for nearly the entire passage.

 

Captain later reported for some reason this a very slow canal passage so we had to make up this lost time by eliminating the promised narrated passage past the Gulfo Dolce (off Pacific coast of Costa Rica) so I don't know what this listed itinerary feature would have offered, so hard to know what we missed. I assume it might have been a wildlife spotting area like Magelena Bay on the Mexcian Riviera cruises?

 

PEURTO CALDERA - Costa Rica - with threats of heavy rain that day we cancelled our ZipLine and Cloud Forest Walk excursion and opted for the Poas Volcano and Doka Coffee Plantation excursions. Others who did take the zip line loved it and had no rain problems, so that is still on the list. But we really did like the Poas excursion too, since it included a long drive into the varied countryside and climate zones - and the Doka "pea berry" coffee was so good we hauled away multiple bags of it. Excellent lunch there too.

 

Years earlier I had been to Poas and remembered it as the "Switzerland" of Costa Rica and that same description remains true today - cool weather, nice mountains, dark green forests surrounding lush rolling fields dotted with grazing cows.

 

Ambitious hike awaited us at the Poas crater, but mainly because most of us took the wrong trail. All's well that ends well but I think we saw something other than the featured crater -which was locked in fog anyway. It was just a good healthy hike out into nature what ever it turned out to be.

 

CORINTO - Nicaragua - we took the Leon Botanical Garden and city tour since we had been there before and wanted something that included some more walking. Did I mention too many servings of Banoffee Pie onboard ship were starting to add up?

 

Reasonably interesting garden but the guide had to be translated which meant a lot of time standing around in this warm and humid spot. No wildlife, insects or birds which was disappointing, but viewing the various types of rain forest vegetation is a treat for those of us living in dry California where we like the look but no longer have the water to support this type of lush landscaping.

 

Leon on a Sunday before their national elections was very lively and always interesting just to poke around the older Spanish colonial architecture streets. The imposing main square church, now as a UNESCO site, was beautifully restored and an obvious place of local pride. Some good local crafts here and we found a rustic pottery bowl we loved which reminds us of this low-key stop. Good drive across the country side to get to Leon.

 

PEURTO QUETZEL - Guatemala - we took the Mayan ruins Tikal flight excursion option, which packs a lot into one day with an early start and over an hour flight to the airport near Tikal. Then another hour bus ride to get to the actual ruins. Flight was spectacular, as you see many fuming volcanos from a very different perspective than from the ground up where sometimes they get lost in the cloud cover - this time we could see them from the top down. The Pacific coast Ring of Fire was given the right name.

 

Tikal of course was spectacular, but the guide left a lot to be desired so you would need to do your homework about this site ahead of time to appreciate it better when you finally get up close and in context. Lunch was far away from the site, and not very good along with a "shopping option" there with items not worth even a second look in a country that can offer a lot more in the way of unique crafts. Save your craft purchases to the shops set up at the port, where they almost overwhelm in variety and skill.

 

Overall, the Tikal option was well worth the effort and drawbacks but it could have been better. Weather was not punishing hot, but I finally balked at climbing the second set of 192 steps in the humid heat to reach the second pyramid (#4) that allows you views of the tops of other temples beyond the tree tops.

 

By all means at least do one of the major stair climbs here and both if you are up to it. I simply was not for the second one, and need to now rely on DH's photos of what I missed. The forest walk to get to this Temple #4 was however lovely.

 

Critical to Mayan astronomy was being able to view the stars and position of the sun, so they needed "temples" that reached beyond the tree tops - does that explain their extreme height - with our guide we never would have known. He was more interested in running us through our paces at the sight than offering context or information that would let us appreciate this experience on its own. BYOB - bring your own books.

 

PEURTO CHIAPAS - Mexico - Day of the Dead Festivities - we took the Maya Ruins - Planetarium with folklore show - Tapachula City tour since we have already been to our best loved Argovia Coffee Plantation tour twice and we still order Argovia coffee directly from them as we found it to be fabulous after our first tour years ago.

 

Our tour guide this time was a little "too cute" for his own good and seemed more concerned about himself being the star attraction instead of watching out for his guests who he left out if the baking hot sun too often or in noisy settings where we couldn't hear what he was saying anyway.

 

We did get a very elaborate explanation about the Maya "ball courts" but out in the full blazing sun which was more an endurance experience rather than one of enlightenment. With the right guide and the right weather, this minor Maya ruin site is still worth it because it was were it all began and the principles of Mayan astronomy got their start - if you want to walk these actual stones and keep exploring this extraordinary culture more in depth elsewhere, this is where you start the journey.

 

The university Planetarium show about Mayan astronomy could have been so much better, but it was not. Kind of incoherent narrative, when it could have been the educational highlight of the entire excursion - as we had expected. They need to work on this. Again, BYOB.

 

It needed context instead of just dumping you into an exhibit of singular aspects of their astronomical view of the heavens where they took created images from the dark spaces between the stars like the Australian aboriginals made from the spaces in-between the Southern cross and not just the bright point stars themselves.

 

The "folklore" dance was actually the better part of the tour - as it displayed the jaguar -fanged deity- cult that is a signature in this part of the ancient world. There were also craft displays along with more local Chiapas coffee, which was almost as good as our own favorite Chiapas Argovia brand. Chiapas coffee deserves a very special place among coffee lovers. Like the robust Indonesian Sumatra coffee we always get at the HAL Indonesia Tea.

 

The biggest disappointment was not allowing time to visit the street festivities in the town of Tapachula, set up for the unique Day of the Dead going on that particular day - it would have been a lot better to just give us free time to explore the downtown itself with this in mind. instead of the guided walk - I should have asked for this option instead of following the guide's programmed lead and wasting my time at far less interesting spots. So the fault for not doing this is mine.

 

SAN DIEGO - surprising thick fog entering the harbor area - could not even see the Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier in the early morning light. Lovely breakfast in the main dining room. Leisurely departure. Disembarkation easy - rolled our suitcases a few blocks to the San Diego Amtrak train station and this wonderful cruise was now officially over. Except for the funny buzzy feeling we had for the next 24 hours getting our land legs back, even though there was no jet lag this time.

 

Adios amigos.

Edited November 11, 2016 by OlsSalt