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Week 4 - Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru!!!

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Puntarenas, Costa Rica VERY HOT & humid. We walked ashore with Sandy & Mercv. There were guys spruiking offers of tours. We ended up joining one with 4 others in a Hyundai Carnival. Driver, Harold & guide Roxanne. We had a great day - 5 hrs for $25 plus $20 for boat ride. They gave us a guided tour of the town - quite poor country but they were very proud of it all. Very tropical- Harold bought mangoes for us & bananas for the white hair monkeys we stopped to see on the way. Photos haven't downloaded!!!! Will add later We stopped st the village near where the boat left from. We saw Macaw birds & huge red snapper the fishermen had caught. The boat ride on Tarcoles River - stopped to see HUGE male crocodile & smaller female. The boat boys fed them & encouraged us to pat them!! Lots of bird life - herons, cormarants. Big areas of mangroves that clean the water of rubbish, oil etc. We went out to the mouth of the river as it entered the sea. Ma...
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Week 3 - Charlston, Curacao, Panama Canal

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A day at sea before Charlston, South Carolina. First English settlement in the state, from mid 1600s. Rich turbulent history - centre of agriculture (cotton, rice, indigo, timber) undepinned by African slave workers; place of wealth, power, culture, start of Civil War. We walked off ship through the opening markets to the Visitor's Centre. We booked a tour to Boone Hall Plantation before walking around the cobbled streets to see the beautiful old homes from early 1800s. Boone Hall established 1681. Famous Oak Tree Driveway planted 1743. We toured the house (used in numerous TV series & movies). Also the 13 slaves houses & heard their Gullah history & culture from the Low Country, West Africa from a g-g-granddaughter of one of them. We shopped at Walgreens before walking back to the ship through the long winding shopping centre & blocks of market stalls. 3 days at sea. At 7pm on the 3rd day the Captain announced that we had turned a...
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Week 2 - St John's Newfoundland, New York

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Just looking back so realise I've  'done' Iceland twice! I was really tired the first time so a bit more detail the 2nd! St Johns wonderful. We came in through very narrow entrance into bay, surrounded by hilly streets of city & volcanic cliffs surrounding them - quite spectacular! We were in all day & 'parked right next to city. Cold day again & wet to start off. Soon cleared to warm sunny day. We walked up the streets & steps to the top road. Two lovely cathedrals & rows if brightly coloured 2 storey houses. 4 of us hired a taxi for an hour - CA$50 -& went out to the picturesque bay village of Quiddy Viddy, about 6km away. Next up to Signal Hill & Cabot Tower (named after founder John Cabot). It was from here Marconi's first radio signal received. Great views! WIND wad incredible - we literally had to hold on to Warren to keep him on the ground!!! Warren's video camera got wet in Iceland & hasn...
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Week 1 continued.......

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After Cork, Ireland we had 2 days at sea before Iceland. Sea days can be filled with Destination Talks (excellent), card games, Mahjong, indoor bowls (interesting when ship rovking & rolling!), crafts, reading, tv, learning a different language, pool, spa, gym, deck games, table tennis, choir, etc etc etc. Iceland We arrived in Reykjavik at 9am & left at 10pm. The ship's tours are horribly expensive so we opted to organise our own when we arrived. As there was another ship in at same time it made it very busy doing this! We finally got on a Greyline Bus tour for 7 hour Grand Circle of the island's highlights for $79 each. Cruise one was $250! Unfortunately it was shower & cold during the day. Wonderful scenery - Thingvellir National Park to where 1st Parliament held in 930AD; also Reykjanes Ridge where the Intercontinental Plates meet. They are moving apart 2cm every year. This has caused cavernous crack between the EuroAsian & North American plates whic...
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