Panama Canal Cruise 2020 - Day 8 — Captain Father John

We are in Quepos, Costa Rica. Christopher Columbus named Costa Rica the rich coast because he observed the indigenous people had a lot of gold.

Costa Rica abolished their standing army in 1948 and used the money for health care and education. Quepos is the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park. The city is very tourism-oriented, having many bars and restaurants. The town is named for the native Quepo Indians who inhabited the area in the colonial era.

We dropped anchor in Quepos at 5:30 am after cruising 450 miles from the Darién in Panama. We saw a large pod of dolphins while cruising. Priscilla and I were visiting the captain on the bridge when the dolphins were spotted. The ship has a forward facing underwater camera so we could view the dolphins swimming under the water.

There is a modern marina in Quepos harbor with large docks. We had a dry landing which means we could disembark on the dock instead of jumping into the water on the beach.

There were three choices for shore excursions today which include a walking tour, river raft ride and horseback riding. Priscilla and I selected the horseback riding in the rainforest. It was about an hour ride to the stable. Much of the drive was on dirt roads. We had a group of eight riders plus Marco our naturalist and two guides. The trails through the rainforest were nice and shady. I cannot remember the last time I went horseback riding, probably 20 years ago at Lake Tahoe. Our horses were docile and we had an enjoyable ride.

The Pez Vela Marina In Quepos is a full service marina with many fishing charter boats and mega yachts. There are several marine equipment stores and a waterfront restaurant. This is great destination for cruising sailors if they can afford the slip fees. There is not much protection to the south in the open harbor.

The Captain had a nice event for us in the afternoon. He lowered the marina (platform) into the water at the stern of the ship. Everyone was invited to swim in the sea. The Captain himself swam with us in the sea. The water and air were the same temperature 86°f.

For the second time Priscilla and I closed out the evening dancing with the professional dancers, singer and tour directors. Out of 140 guests we were the last couple standing (dancing).

Tomorrow we have two shore excursions to walk in the rainforest and go on a mangrove cruise. Tomorrow is also our last night on the ship. We will transition to a hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica for the final two nights of our tour. We will fly to Miami on Saturday.

Priscilla takes a sunset photo of our sundowner each night.

John and Priscilla riding off into the sunset.

Swimming off the stern of the cruise ship.