Week 4 - Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru!!!
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.
Mantra- Ecuador
We arrived into the big working port so had to wait to get shuttle bus to Downtown. 6 of us got 2 taxis for 3 hours of touring - $20 each.
We had a great time. They took us to the fish market - down on the beach!!! Fish (huge tunas) octapus, squid etc in boxes or on mats on the sand. People buying, gutting fish - all in the blazing sun!!!!
We went on up to Montecristi, town 30 mins up the mountain. This us where they make the Panama hats. Ladies stand, leaning over a post weaving the hats!!!
Hats $50 to $1000. Warren & Merv both bought hats.
We went through the cathedral - white, beautiful, very open & airy inside. Beautiful decorated altar, timber carvings etc.
Below this lots of market stalls selling hats, crafts etc. Another thing they had were things carved out of vegetable ivory. It looks like big soft grey cabbage. When centre taken out & carved it becomes rock hard & a cream or brown colour - incredible!!
After the tour we asked where WiFi was & told 'in the park' ! Sure enough, we sat on park bench under the tree & girl found the connection & put in password!
After a while a fellow stood beside us pointing a camera at the ground. When we looked a HUGE iguana crawled out from under our seat! They were everywhere!!!!
Huge earthquake here in January 2016 & lots of buildings still show damage from it.
After we sailed away we crossed the equator at 3am the next morning.
Salaverry Peru
Cool dull day. Arrived at 7am into another working port. We went on a ship's tour for the day. Drove w1 kms to 2 archealogical sites. Salaverry city very poor - only main road bitumanised, all others dirt. Lots of 'slap- dash apartment buildings'; little mud brick houses & shops; piles of rubbish everywhere; street vendors everywhere too.
First stop Huaca Dragon Temple - built 900 - 1100 by the Chimu, the pre- Inca civilisation. 3 different sized plazas/reception area in front of an altar where people brought their sacrifices (animal or it thought children) to the tribal Chief & gods. Each area surrounded by mud brick walls (meter thick & up to 2 meters high) with carving of animals (dragons, fish, pelicans as well as fishing nets, waves etc. It's estimated 26,000 craftsmen worked on the site, each making their individual mark on bricks.
Second stop - Chan Chan Citadel - 24 square mile mud brick city of Mocha people (1 - 800AD) - 50 million mud bricks, 250,000 workers built houses, temples (squirrel carvings canals aquducts.
Huaca de Luna - coloured areas of red & blue figures. They worshipped the Moon - silver, female (Chief God- visible day & night, watched over them. Sun - gold, male - only visible during day).worked in precious metals - they did not realise value of silver & gold until taken over & defeated by Incas.
3rd stop - reed boats - same as used by local fishermen for centuries.
Above sites were badly damaged /destroyed by torrential rains in 1986 - such huge area unable to be covered. Since then Govt paying for parts of it to be rebuilt & restored & covered.
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.
Mantra- Ecuador
We arrived into the big working port so had to wait to get shuttle bus to Downtown. 6 of us got 2 taxis for 3 hours of touring - $20 each.
We had a great time. They took us to the fish market - down on the beach!!! Fish (huge tunas) octapus, squid etc in boxes or on mats on the sand. People buying, gutting fish - all in the blazing sun!!!!
We went on up to Montecristi, town 30 mins up the mountain. This us where they make the Panama hats. Ladies stand, leaning over a post weaving the hats!!!
Hats $50 to $1000. Warren & Merv both bought hats.
We went through the cathedral - white, beautiful, very open & airy inside. Beautiful decorated altar, timber carvings etc.
Below this lots of market stalls selling hats, crafts etc. Another thing they had were things carved out of vegetable ivory. It looks like big soft grey cabbage. When centre taken out & carved it becomes rock hard & a cream or brown colour - incredible!!
After the tour we asked where WiFi was & told 'in the park' ! Sure enough, we sat on park bench under the tree & girl found the connection & put in password!
After a while a fellow stood beside us pointing a camera at the ground. When we looked a HUGE iguana crawled out from under our seat! They were everywhere!!!!
Huge earthquake here in January 2016 & lots of buildings still show damage from it.
After we sailed away we crossed the equator at 3am the next morning.
Salaverry Peru
Cool dull day. Arrived at 7am into another working port. We went on a ship's tour for the day. Drove w1 kms to 2 archealogical sites. Salaverry city very poor - only main road bitumanised, all others dirt. Lots of 'slap- dash apartment buildings'; little mud brick houses & shops; piles of rubbish everywhere; street vendors everywhere too.
First stop Huaca Dragon Temple - built 900 - 1100 by the Chimu, the pre- Inca civilisation. 3 different sized plazas/reception area in front of an altar where people brought their sacrifices (animal or it thought children) to the tribal Chief & gods. Each area surrounded by mud brick walls (meter thick & up to 2 meters high) with carving of animals (dragons, fish, pelicans as well as fishing nets, waves etc. It's estimated 26,000 craftsmen worked on the site, each making their individual mark on bricks.
Second stop - Chan Chan Citadel - 24 square mile mud brick city of Mocha people (1 - 800AD) - 50 million mud bricks, 250,000 workers built houses, temples (squirrel carvings canals aquducts.
Huaca de Luna - coloured areas of red & blue figures. They worshipped the Moon - silver, female (Chief God- visible day & night, watched over them. Sun - gold, male - only visible during day).worked in precious metals - they did not realise value of silver & gold until taken over & defeated by Incas.
3rd stop - reed boats - same as used by local fishermen for centuries.
Above sites were badly damaged /destroyed by torrential rains in 1986 - such huge area unable to be covered. Since then Govt paying for parts of it to be rebuilt & restored & covered.
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