Costa Rica…….
Nineteen days after leaving Japan with a stop in Hawaii, we arrived in
Puntarenas, Costa Rica’s main Pacific port.
 |
| Boat in the harbor, Puntarenas. |
Living at sea for three weeks gives you a sense of the immensity of the Pacific Ocean. It was only on the last couple days before Costa Rica that we
started seeing visible signs of ocean life. I saw whales, dolphins, and sea turtles from the deck of the ship as we sailed into Central America’s coastal
waters.
 |
| Wheel made by a local artisan. |
Costa Rica’s west coast has the beautiful Manuel Antonio Park and we drove
into the rich green mountains to see the town of Sarchi where colorful carts and wheels continue to be fabricated in the same way they've been for many, many years. Amazingly colorful
hand crafts were a delight as was the mountainous green countryside seemingly untouched
by urbanization and commercialism.
Sarchi's tradition of painting and decorating oxcarts started in the early twentieth century. Originally, each region of Costa Rica had its own particular design, enabling the identification of the driver’s origin by the painted patterns on the wheels.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, flowers, faces and even miniature landscapes appeared beside patterns of pointed stars. Annual contests were arranged to reward the most creative artists and are still held today.
On to the Panama Canal, then Roatan, Honduras,
the second choice for stopping in Central America after the State Department said
we could not go to Cuba for a last stop.
I went to a
dolphin sanctuary and actually swam with the adorable beasts in the pouring
rain which neither of us minded.
Then off to Fort Lauderdale with a brief mid
- ocean stop to allow Coastguard rescue pilots an exciting air pickup and transport
for a student with appendicitis. Her rescue basket was expertly maneuvered up from the deck
to the cockpit of the Coastguard plane and off they flew to a hospital in Key
West. An exciting day before our debarkation in Fort Lauderdale with good
results.
