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This article was posted on November 15, 2010. Navigation Picture 1: The red line shows the diversion due to the evacuation of a stricken passenger by the US Coast Guard.  Pictures 2 and 3:   Picture 4: Despite a population of only about 1 million people, Panama City has a very impressive skyline. Several buildings top 700 feet in height.  Picture 5: While this may look like a pile of recycled metal, it's actually a museum designed by world famous architect Frank Gehry.  Pictures 6 and 7:  The ship spent an afternoon cruising around the Gulfo Dolce inlet (near Golfito) on a warm, but cloudy and drizzly day. Pictures below show the thick jungle in this least developed region of Costa Rica.   Pictures 8, 9 and 10: The Statendam docked in this industrial port about 20 miles East of Puntarenas. No civilization to speak of near the port, so I took a 4-hour bus tour of the towns of Orotina and Esparza further inland.    Pictures 11 and 12: Esparza is a pleasant city with an active town square. The tour operator organized a folk dancing demonstration by some school children. I also checked out the supermarket (about 1/3 the size of a Safeway in the US) across the street from the square. Staples like milk, Corn Flakes, and orange juice were double what I pay in the US.   Pictures 11 through 16: The bay side town of Santa Cruz has the luxury hotels and half-built condos that were spawned in the real estate crash. The town of La Crucecita (about 2 miles inland) it a typical Mexican town that offers a bit more charm.      Go to pictures of Acapulco, Mexico to San Diego, California |
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