Blake and Deb Far Away

We had been to Costa Rica 13 or 14 years ago, but our port stop in Puerto Caldera (near Puntarenas) was a chance to see a different part of the country.   We signed up for a small group tour, which we generally prefer to the large group cruise-ship-sponsored shore excursions. The bulk of the tour was a guided river boat ride in an estuary where birds and crocodiles abound. We also stopped to see some white-faced capuchin monkeys, a fresh fruit market, and had a nice typical Tico lunch at a restaurant with an expansive view.   White-faced Capuchin Monkey Angry White-faced Capuchin Monkey A very large crocodile Great Egret Osprey Young fishermen Common Black Hawk with a newly caught fish in its beak Crocodiles keep their mouths open to expel heat Scarlet Mackaw

There aren’t a lot of big sights in the Chinandega Province where our cruise ship docked in the northwest corner of Nicaragua.  But we wanted to get a taste of Nicaragua, a country we had not previously visited, so we booked a small group tour to show us around. The tour consisted mostly of some small but interesting churches, some small but not so interesting museums, volcano views, and a visit to a family bakery that is famous for its pastries called rosquillas and hojaldras (delicious!). Honestly, the best part of the tour (apart from the pastries) was just observing the towns and countryside as we drove from place to place, and listening to our tour guide Deysi – a local school teacher – talk about everyday life in Nicaragua. El Viejo Church interior with extensive woodwork El Viejo Church Family bakery in El Viejo, in business since 1875.  They make delicious pastries called Rosquillas and Hojaldras. Rosquillas: like thick, crunchy cor...

Neither Deborah nor I had ever been to Guatemala, our third port of call. The country has a reputation for being desperately poor and violent, but it has at least one island of peace and beauty and that is the city of Antigua. We traveled by bus from the industrial port of Puerto Quetzal to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Antigua. We loved it: beautiful colonial architecture, lovely parks and gardens, friendly people, perfect weather. We even found a nice little restaurant serving vegetarian fare when we decided we couldn’t wait to eat back at the ship. There is no shortage of locals (mostly women) selling fabrics, jewelry, flutes, trinkets, etc., who are drawn to our pasty, cash-laden cruise ship bodies like magnets. They speak enough English to make a transaction (haggling is expected) and they accept US dollars. Deborah picked up a couple of fabric items and I got some sliced mango and cashews. We would have liked to spend more time in Antigua, but one of the compromises of trav...

Huatulco is one spot in Mexico we hadn’t yet visited, so we were looking forward to our stop there. As this area is known for its wildlife, we had prebooked a private bird watching tour with Cornelio Ramos Gabriel, who got rave reviews on Tripadvisor.   We aren’t serious birders, although every year we seem to get more interested. Probably something to do with getting older. Anyway, we had a great tour with Cornelio and spotted over 50 different bird species – almost all of which we were unfamiliar – plus lots of iguanas and butterflies, and even a few bats. Cornelio knows where to look, has a sharp eye, and can set up his spotting scope in a flash. He even helped us take pictures through his spotting scope. He can also mimic many bird calls or use an app on his smartphone to create the intended sound. Another app on his phone he used to keep track of each bird we saw and emailed a list to us after the tour was over.   It was expensive having a tour with just the two of us, ...