Corinto - Nicaragua - Port 9 Day 24

WOW, WOW and WOW what a fabulous day we had in Nicaragua and at the Cortijo El Rosario.  Shocked yes you probably are, however the excursion we choose for this day being the Cortijo El Rosario Estate & Equestrian Show was fabulous.  Most people when they asked us what we were going to do in this port laughed when we said we were going to see the Spanish horse show, thinking it would be lame, but we really had felt by this time we had seen enough quaint village centers and this sounded different and different it was.

I think only 36 people on the cruise enjoyed Nicaragua and they all went to this ranch, which was just so beautiful.  Sure we didn't see the poor side of Nicaragua (which apparently there was plenty of) but what we saw was the best of Nicaragua, an excellent welcome, fantastic horse show, ultra beautiful property, horse and cart rides, wild animals, a fantastic Nicaraguan song and dance show, delicious food, great hospitality and much more.

The Coen family personally welcomed us to the estate with rum punches and we were treated to a fantastic Spanish horse show where you could literally reach out and touch the horses.  The estate is setup now as a foundation for the community but is several thousand hectares of lush, green, pristine landscaped gardens, with beautiful structures, statues, replicas around the property in which you are invited to enjoy at your leisure.  There is plenty to do here and we were certainly here longer than our allotted 4 hours.  The owners, their family and their staff took personal pride in showing you around the property and explaining their journey from exile and back to rebuild this estate and the pride they have in providing both animal protection and community support schemes The Coen Foundation Web Site and their other website is http://www.cortijoelrosario.com/.

Everything about this trip and property was fantastic, and words simply cannot provide you with enough information, the day was leisurely, entertaining, fun and more importantly up front and personal as we were only the 2nd tour group they had ever had come and visit (I hope it stays that way as it is a part of the charm of this property).

This is a blog where pictures tell the story. Thank you to all as everyone on the Estate seemed proud of who they were, what they were doing and showing us all a fabulous time and I felt like we were in a proud part of Nicaragua where we saw a traditional side of the culture and the people.

A short video of one of the horse shows

Images of us at Cortjo El Rosario - once again everyone THANK YOU  we had the best time this was a day that I like to call a bonus day, we had no idea what to expect but our expectations were well and truly exceeded.

Puerto Caldera - Costa Rica - Port 8 Day 23

This ended up being a funny port for us as 2 of the excursions we had booked were cancelled, so we ended up doing Tropical Forest Aerial Tram.  I hadn't really wanted to do this given we have done so many of these over the years in so many places, but I was glad that we ended up here as the day was a great one and our guide Eddie was extremely good.

The drive to the Rain Forest took us through some beautiful country side and Costa Rica was a breath of fresh air after Peru and Ecuador, it was quite upmarket in the main and the roads and countryside extremely clean.  We were all excited when we went over a bridge and looked down to see all the crocodiles lazing in the sun on the banks of the river.  Many people did the tour that included  mangrove cruise where you got a bit more up close and personal with these guys (I had thought like other trips we have done in the past that you would be lucky to see one in the wild, but not here in Costa Rica they are there so this extra option is worthy of consideration) see the photo above, they are everywhere and this photo was taken from a bus window as we drove across the bridge.

The Aerial Tram ride was lovely and the gondola has its own tour guide to explain the various parts of the canopy you are going through and to point out wild life such as monkeys (which we didn't see) etc.  It was a nice ride and the views were spectacular but I suppose given we didn't see any real wildlife it was no different to many we have been on in the world. Hi Bill and Paula (yes thats you in your gondola passing us).

After the tram ride which lasts about an hour, we went on a walking tour, where we did see much more wild life and once again Eddie was providing us with heaps of fantastic information.  The one thing we saw which was the first time I had ever seen this were ants march with leaves in very uniform lines that went for miles, it was quite incredible Check out the video of the ANTS.

A nice lunch was served here as well, but other than that we didn't really see or learn as much about Costa Rica as we would have liked, it was a nice day, but nothing we haven't really seen or done before.  Of course the country side looks incredibly like Queensland and is lush and tropical so we did enjoy the drive and sights from the bus window and our joke was "what is the difference between Cairns and Costa Rica?"  The roads are better in Costa Rica!

Manta - Ecuador - Port 7 - Day 21

After a few at sea days which I think everyone needed after the 3 day trip to MP, we landed in Ecuador and the port of Manta.  Once again this was a working port and not a lot here but the walk to the beach area wasn't too far.  We elected to do the Manta and Montecristi tour which took us to the museum and into Montecristi which is where the Panama Hats are made. 

Our first stop was the museum, which I will say was excellent and I learnt a lot about the history of Ecuador, the displays where vibrant and of excellent quality, it was a pity everything was in Spanish and while I appreciate these are to educate the local children the the Ecuadorian culture it would have been good to read more about many of the items.  The guide here was once again excellent and easy to understand, but I do like to roam around and get away from the tour group so often miss out on the commentary and like to read about the items I am looking at.  I enjoyed this part of the trip immensely and was quite surprised.

After this we headed through the country side which was quite desolate and barren to go to the TAGUA or vegetable ivory factory, where we where given a demonstration on how they make buttons and sculptures from these seeds - probably spent too long here for my liking but it was interesting to see and learn about, to be honest I don't know if I ever knew how buttons where made and apparently they are a large exporter of these ivory style buttons to the world.

Our next stop was onto Montecristi, where the Panama Hat is made, yes folks, the Panama Hat is not made in Panama but in Ecuador and was call the Panama Hat given one was made for the President of Panama.  This village is very nice and the demonstration of making hats was quite incredible as they are still made by hand.  The process can take months depending on the quality, but it was very interesting.  Yes we did both buy a Panama Hat from here primarily because they are nicely boxed up.  At this part there are some lovely views from the top of the hill called El Centinela, where you look down onto Montecristi and  the Mausoleum General Eloy Alfaro Delgado which is fantastic.

There are a lot of souvenir shops here for all your Ecuadorian shopping needs, and all sell hats - they do range in price so don't be fools like us and buy at the first one, as we paid $25USD for each, but others where selling them for $18 around the corner.

 We were unable to get into Montecristi city itself as there was a festival on however after our El Centinela visit we then went off to another village area where they process agave leaves to create straw like products.  At this village there is a good amount of shopping available as well.

The drive back took us through the beach area where we saw one of the last places where large wooden boats are still made by hand out in the open, this was lovely and there were some incredible boats in various stages of completion (well worth a look at if in this area).

Lima, Cuzco & Machu Picchu - Peru - Port 6 Days 16,17 & 18 - Part 2

Day 3 of our overland trip saw us all up bright and early once again, as we checked out of the Hotel and headed for the Cusco airport for our trip back to Callao Lima.  I suppose most of us did not understand why we were being herded out of Cusco so early and heading on the 7:30am flight back.  

Airports at this time are never good, and I was surprised by the amount of people at the Cusco airport - it had been so quiet when we arrived 2 days earlier but it seems there is a morning shuffle here like at all airports.  By the time we got here most people where exhausted and probably at least half the group not feeling all that well - probably due to altitude, too much food, the altitude drugs and little sleep.

Derek and I were again lucky with front row window and middle seats for our journey home and once again the views from the plane were fantastic and we really enjoyed our flight back being seated together this time and with the window seat we were able to really see the area and share it together.

The primary reason we left so early we found out was so we could do a Lima tour.  Yes this was a part of the trip description, however half the bus went straight back to the ship without doing this given they were not well and the rest of us really didn't understand the purpose as we had not really come to visit Lima, but Machu Picchu and I do believe we could have caught a later flight and had some time to relax in Cusco instead of doing the Lima tour or doing a shorter condensed Lima tour.

Don't get me wrong, the Lima tour ended up being fantastic and we enjoyed it but it wasn't what we had really signed up for.  The traffic in Lima is terrible and it seems to take an eternity to get to anywhere, but once we hit the main town square we were immediately rewarded for the efforts as we visited one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen (it is as good as any European ones), a fantastic monastery and crypt - where we where taken to see the 1000's of skeletons that had been buried here over the ages - that was a bit spooky going through these tiny tunnels with bones everywhere.  

Just when everyone felt like they couldn't take anymore, we headed off to Mira Flores beach area for lunch - grrrr we all thought another meal - but this area is so beautiful with fantastic water views you were immediately hungry.  The food was exceptional as well and while most of us had felt we couldn't eat another thing, we then all realised it was probably a good 24 hours since we had last eaten given most of us didn't have any dinner at the Hotel the night before and were not up for a 5am breakfast.

 Yes we enjoyed the Lima tour and at the end of the day was glad we saw Lima as it was lovely, however I still believe we would have enjoyed a sleep in and a beautiful breakfast and additional time in Cusco just as much, with a quick ride through Lima town square, or Mira Flores .

I will say when we got back on the boat, those who had stayed on the boat had a bit of a rough time, once again this is not a tourist port itself and if you didn't have excursions booked it was hard to get around - some people had been robbed and lots had difficulties with cabs etc - so if in Lima do tours they are probably worth the extra money in a place like this.

 So was this over land trip worth the additional money of $3K/head well yes we saw and experienced some fantastic things, and ones that not everyone will see and do.  Yes we had a fantastic journey in total.  Yes there are things the tour organisers could do to make this trip a little less rushed and tiring which would be good for future participants but sometimes its not the destination its the journey and for us while Machu Picchu was incredible it wasn't as awe inspiring to us as other places we have been, but the journey from start to finish was fantastic and the entire journey as a package with the flights, train ride, the bus trip to Machu Picchu, The Hotel Libertador, Tunupa Restuarant, the street vendors, Lima tour and a  relaxing lunch at Mira Flores etc it was an incredible journey,  and we would recommend this to anyone.  For me I am glad once again that we did this via a cruise, because to be honest I don't know if I would have needed more time in this area - we came, we saw and we conquered. 

Lima, Cuzco & Machu Picchu - Peru - Port 6 Days 16,17 & 18 - Part 1

This will be a long story as there is so much to tell so will be done in 2 parts - Part 1 Cusco and Machu Picchu and Part 2 Cusco to Lima.  This was the pièce de résistance of the entire cruise, it was the point of the cruise and it was the place I had wanted to see most.  With most cruises of this length you are given the opportunity to do  overland trips and this was a 3 day overland tour taking you from the ship to give you a once in a life time experience.  

We booked and paid for this excursion the day we booked the cruise and I am glad we did as it was fully booked out by the time we boarded.

We arrived in the Port of Callao in Lima and were taken to the airport to catch our flight to Cusco.  Everyone was excited as we headed to the airport.  Everyone had a laugh at Derek and I as our seats where in the 29th row and everyone else where mid plane - but as luck would have it there were not 29 rows so Derek got Row 1A and I got 5C and Derek got some great photos and videos on both the flights to and from Video of part of the flight from Cusco to Lima.   Most of us had taken altitude tablets to ensure our journey here was as good as it can be, I don't know if we really needed them, we certainly didn't have any issues with breathing, sleeping etc but maybe that showed that the pills worked who knows.

The flight itself was great as where the airports both in Callao and Cusco, both where much larger than I had anticipated and very modern with near new planes for the travelling. I tried my first Inca Kola on the flight and enjoyed the views from the window of the Andes, simply stunning.

Once we arrived in Cusco we headed for our Hotel - The Hotel Libertador http://www.libertador.com.pe/en/, which was a renovated Inca palace, however the whole of Cusco city was a shrine to the Inca's and their architecture. Cucso itself reminded me of Zerrmatt with its quaint buildings, town squares etc.  The people here were so beautiful, and even though there was no shortage of street vendors they themselves had great personalities.  We were provided special tea upon arrival at the Libertador to help with the altitude sickness which tasted very much like green tea.  We were then given 1/2 an hour or so to settle in before we headed back out on our bus for a Cusco city tour.  It would have been good to have had a little more time at the Hotel, as it was so beautiful and full of history in its own right.  The service for all the staff was phenomenal some of the best I have ever experienced.  The Hotel is right across the road from a church that was once covered in gold before the Spanish invaded them and there are heaps of little shops within meters of the front door.  The food and food service here was also excellent.   The city tour was great and we had plenty of time to explore the village square environment and soak up the atmosphere before heading to the look out to see Cusco from the top.

If I had one criticism of the trip so far, it was that it was too rushed - I think we could have gotten off the boat earlier as we docked at 10am but we didn't leave for our tour until 12 to catch the 2:30 flight to Cusco.  Either we should have gotten off first up and caught an earlier flight as they seemed to depart every hour to have more time at the hotel and its surrounds - and for some people who where suffering this made the trip a little harder or done the city tour prior to checking into the hotel, as the check in was rushed and there was no time to relax and enjoy the beautiful room, the court yards, the bar areas etc the hotel had to offer which was a pity especially when after the Cusco city tour we headed back to the Hotel with another 1/2 hour wait prior to going to dinner, this could have been 1 hour if combined rather than 2 short breaks.

I did however manage to get some shopping in at the 2nd break and bought some lovely stuff, and got to wander around even if only for a short time.

So back we all got into our buses and headed for dinner at the Tunupa Restaurant which was beautiful.  We had a lavish banquet meal which offered a great selection of Peruvian foods (yes Lama was on the menu), as well as standard European foods.  The food was delicious and this coupled with a great atmosphere and local music and dancing made for a fantastic evening - it was getting quite late and we where heading off at 5am the next morning and everyone was tired by the time we left here, but I think all of us would have liked to have spent more time as it was really good fun.  

Day 2:

After a short and restful sleep we woke at 4am so we could have a shower, smoke, coffee etc prior to the train trip to Machu Picchu which takes about 3 1/2 hours.  I think we were all nicely surprised when we saw the train, as it was a beautiful sky train, with lovely comfy seats, breakfast service and some of the best views in the world from both the windows at the side and the roof top windows.  The scenery on this trip was spectacular but I didn't want to take too many photos and use up all of my batteries on the train - and my reasoning was I will get some on the way back - unfortunately it was dark on the way back so its my minds eye that I need to rely on for this part of the journey in the main.

 

 The excitement was building as we journeyed along down to Machu Picchu, but for me this train ride was fantastic and really made the trip, it built the anticipation as we zipped past the countryside with its snow capped mountains, small villages, homes and farmland.  The train staff where so excellent and have a good range of souvenirs for sale (although a little more expensive than at Machu Picchu itself) although remember if you buy them on the way down you will need to carry them around MP so best to leave this shopping for the return journey.

Finally we arrived and the excitement was extreme, but we had yet another form of travel to go yet before hitting the destination.  Buses take you up the windiest narrow road you will ever go on, with drops that go for miles but again, it is one of those experiences you will hold with you forever.  The bus itself is comfortable and generally so is the ride, although it is a little scary at some points, especially when you come across another bus and one has to reverse back to a wider point so they could pass each other - I think everyone holds their breath at this point wondering how on earth this will be achieved, as there seems to be no room for 1 bus let alone 2 - but we survived and we are here to tell the story.

After about 1/2 an hour we had ARRIVED at the destination we had all longed to see, the bucket list item, the must do item, the once in a life time experience - Machu Picchu.  So what do you say about MP itself.  Of course its awesome and views that go for miles, through lush green jungles to snow capped mountains and we were so lucky as we had a perfect, clear day - something that isn't all that usual here.  We had about 2 1/2 hours to explore the area.  At first our guide took us along the low lying areas explaining in far too much detail for my liking about everything and finally I did ask if we were going to go to the top where I was told no its probably too strenuous for some in the group - so off we went and just about sprinted to the top given we only had 1 hour now to get up and get back. Getting up wasn't all that bad, it was getting back down as the allies were narrow and often bottle necked with people, so we didn't quite get to the absolute high spot (or the money shot as we like to call it), below though are a few of our photo view shots, and a set of photos with us in them as well.  While the views where to die for, I suppose though MP didn't do for me what other areas have such as The Great Wall of China or even the Pyramids did, don't get me wrong, I am glad I came and I am glad I conquered and I am glad I have seen it as it was very special, but I do think we were pretty rushed in the 2 1/2 hours and I think the time we spent after the trip at the restaurant for lunch and shopping in MP town could have been shorter so you had more time up in MP itself to sit and enjoy it more and soak it up.  

The Money Shot - from Scott McDaniel - Thank You

After leaving the mountain we headed down to the MP town, for lunch (which as I have stated above was far too long nearly 2 hours), this could have been cut down in time and the time spent on the mountain, but the lunch was lovely and again we had a lovely restaurant, with great traditional foods.  After lunch there was another 1 or so for shopping, MP has a great village and the shopping here is fantastic, but after a big lunch, and being up so early everyone was tired especially knowing we had a 3 1/2 hour train journey home, dinner at the Hotel at 10pm and then needing to be up again at 4am the next morning.

The train ride provided more food and some great entertainment which did help the journey in the dark go fast for all the weary bodies.

My feedback to the operators would be:  less food ie:  waking everyone up for a breakfast at 5am when the train provided a breakfast more than adequate to fuel the body was unnecessary and an extra half hour sleep in probably would have given everyone more energy.  The 2 hour lunch which was beautiful again was way too much to eat as well as way to long to sit and relax especially when there is quite a walk back to the train station, shopping to be done and a long haul train ride.  Maybe a lite buffet meal would have been better for 1 hour or so, and catch the earlier train back, or have more time at the mountain itself.  Most people didn't have much breakfast at the Hotel in the morning and they put out a large buffet for our dinner that night which just about no one ate given a)  we had already had 2 breakfasts and a huge lunch and b) it was 10pm and we had all been up since at least 4:30am.  Couple this with needing to be up again at the same time the next day this seemed like a big waste of food, a big waste of money and cutting back on these or organising them better would no doubt save time and money for all.  Also most people where taking altitude sickness tablets, which constipate you so all this food only made people anxious - not wanting to eat too much given toilets where pretty average when available at all, so these are the things that need to be thought about and could be easily changed to reduce some costs and provide more quality time on the trip.

Salaverry - Peru - Port 5 Day 15

Ooooh dear, what can you say about Salaverry and Trujillo (pronounced Traheo)- it is a bit of a shock to the system.  At first I just could not understand the landscape, where the mountains covered in snow?  It was confusing and it didn't really get much better once off the boat.  Salaverry itself is a dump and looks like a bomb has gone off there, but it is a place full of ancient culture, and after all this was what this trip was about, discovering and learning about South America, its history and its lands.  Just about everyone you spoke to had the same feeling about it and it is definitely not a place to go it alone on a tour or by taxi.  The port was a working port with nothing exciting about it and no shopping etc so you really have to do an excursion here or stay on the boat.

We really wanted to see Chan Chan Citadel which was the capital of the Chimu Empire and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  We had learnt a lot about this culture prior to going and this was a highlight tour for us.

We did the Chan Chan Citadel, Huaca (pronouned whahaka) Dragon & Reed Boats tour.  The landscape on this tour is hard work, very dirty and very steep inclines, but once you got into these sites they were pretty impressive (no Ephesus or Pompeii mind you), but extremely interesting and quite overwhelming with fantastic stone carvings in extremely large compounds depicting the life and times of the Chimu both at Chan Chan and Huaca Dragon - these are well maintained and preserved sites. The history was extremely well told by our tour guide, who made sure it was kept interesting and relevant.  Take water with you as it is very dry and hot, there is a small shop at Chan Chan for shopping and of course there is the token photo opportunity with the Chimu Chief in the square.

So after a hectic hot morning of ancient site discovery we headed off to Huanchaco beach and to see the traditional reed boats which have been used in this area for fishing for hundreds of years.  The beach area is a breath of fresh air in Salaverry and Trujillo as the main street is quite up market (for the area that is) for a few hundred meters and the beach area renowned for surfing quite alive even though the sands are black.  Lots of street vendors here for your souvenirs and the reed boat demo was great - well done.  Entertainment on the beach through dancers and flute playing added to the more upbeat environment.

One of the things we noticed here was that no buildings where completed, similar to Egypt - this is course is generally about once finished you have to pay taxes, and it allows for new generations to build up on the one piece of land.  The problem with this is that the cities that have this usually look a mess given nothing is finished.  

It is not a place I would be likely to ever recommend to go to but it did add to our overall experience in the area.  As we were driving through the city we saw a coffin on the side of the street, all wrapped up with a name etc on it - it was little things like this that made it a unique experience and we did all laugh when our tour guide was talking about invaders.  Invaders we all thought he meant 100's of years ago, but no, this is what they call the illegal immigrants - so it just goes to show one mans dumpster is another mans castle - and there are plenty of people wanting to upgrade to Salaverry.  Would I have missed this port - no way but it also highlights why I like cruising, I had looked at  Peru over lander holidays to Machu Picchu which took in areas such as Salaverry and Trujillo where they stayed here overnight - while I am glad I saw, I am glad I didn't have to stay here longer than we did.  

The area though for its history is incredible and as I wrote at the beginning it was a premier site that we wanted to see and we were not disappointed in Chan Chan at all and probably would have liked to have spent longer here discovering this excellent site.

Fuerte Amador - Panama - Port 4 Days 11 & 12

After 2 at sea days we were extremely happy to finally arrive at one of the premier destinations on our list being Panama.  Fuerte (again means port) and Amador is as its spelt, we anchored here for our 2nd and last tendered port of the cruise and is the gateway to where the American base was in Panama to finish the Canal.

The minute you hit Panama you can feel the excitement of the commercial shipping world as everywhere you look the are ships moored awaiting the arrival of other ships or to go through the canal.  Once again the port itself is great and has lots to offer for those who don't take excursions or tours but unfortunately for us we were busy busy busy in this port as it is somewhere I have always wanted to go to.  Many years ago I had bought Derek the DVD of the 8 wonders of the modern world which showed the building of the Panama Canal and fortunately or unfortunately for me, my ex boss had a passion for the Panama Canal as well, so it became a story for our business journey of building under extreme conditions and I suppose ultimately I knew far too much about the Panama Canal prior to even going there - but I will say I was excited to finally be here, to be finally about to see the Canal.  I didn't realise though that outside of the Canal there is a fabulous city which we were fortunate enough to also see given we had 2 days here.

Day 1 we choose the Canal Experience - when we were choosing our tours I had read there were different Canal tours, most of which were observation station tours, and I though I don't want to watch ships go through the Canal, I want to experience this first hand so we choose the Canal Experience which delivered significantly more than we had expected.  Taking a small boat which apparently holds 400 odd people generally, we were lucky enough to have only 70 on it the day we went and given we were late getting to port that day it seemed extremely unlikely we would get to go through any of the Locks given the need to pre-book - however the Captain of this boat ensured we had a day to remember and our tour guides where so fantastic in explaining everything about the Locks, the Construction and the Operations as we headed towards the Locks.  What I wasn't expecting was to go through all 3 Locks on the Pacific side and into the Gatun Lake - I had just thought we would go up to the Locks as did most of our fellow travelers - that would have been spectacular enough but we got the full treatment and did the 2 Miraflores Locks as well as the Pedro Miguel Locks and then into the Gatun Lakes this gave us 3 fantastic experiences of being alone in the Lock and being raised up - able to touch the walls as we went and to really feel how small you are in the beginning and then experiencing that rise up not just once but 3 times.  All of these large ships where held up while they waited for us to go through and this is when you begin to feel the Canal, you start off so low and so small as the larger ships wait on the other side and then within minutes you are elevated to their level.  

A lot of people on our cruise didn't do this, because on other cruises they had done they had gone through the canal, however for the few who had been through on large cruise ships they said that it was significantly better experiencing this on the small boat as on the large cruise lines you really don't get the full feeling of the canal.  This was an exceptional tour, with guides who where fantastic to listen to, who explained to you personally what we were doing at each moment, and on board there was a great lunch, bar and souvenir shop as well, the 5 hours past so quickly and it was a mid range price tour, ie:  there were other tours in the Rail Car which were significantly more expensive that only looked at the canal.  This is one tour I can highly recommend to anyone, even if you have been through the Canal before - I was so invigorated, inspired and awestruck for the entire time.

Day 2 saw us doing the Shaping of Panama tour, which provided us with a great look at the land based Panama city over the 3 ages of its life and was also a fantastic day.  Visiting the old Panama the original Panama and its ruins was fascinating, and to honest I didn't even know these existed, but it was incredible to see the ruins and in the back ground some of the most modern buildings you will see anywhere in the world.  The new Panama really reminded me of Dubai with the water islands and ultra modern buildings, but against the backdrop of ruins it was even more incredible.  This was followed by the French Plaza which in it self was just beautiful and the contrast between the 3 cities of Panama is definitely something not to be missed. Put these 3 areas in with the American Army quarter and Panama has a lot of history - 2 lots of independence struggles and is today a thriving area which surprised me - it was clean, it was modern with a good amount of history intact and they are proud of who they are in the South American area as well as extremely patriotic which is so lovely to see.  If you are ever in the general area this is a place you should not miss, spend a couple of days and do these types of tours as they are eye opening.  2 Thumbs Up for Panama - thank you we loved our Panama experience.