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Author: happyhoursahoy_1

Adventure around the world with happiness in mind

Day 109, 5/6/24 Puerto Vallarta Mexico

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We were here before in April 2019.. Did some snorkeling, some Iguana holding… Nice port!! Here are pics from that travel

This is a town made famous by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor when Burton was filming John Huston’s 1964 movie Night of the Iguanas in the near by town, and rendezvous with Elizabeth Taylor here and the media is all over them… And the town became famous

The other interesting thing about this port is, the most highly sort after attraction amongst crew and some passengers is the Walmart that’s just 5 mins walk from the Port… Our cabin steward got very upset when he found out that he’s on duty today and can’t go out and shop in Walmart…. Some US passengers also make Walmart a must stop to buy Mexican snacks that they can’t get at home

P went into town while R cop out…. R always have problem with the last mile of a marathon
Another our lady of Guadalupe church with a crown
The final happy hour at ourlast  world cruise port…. Cheers!!!

Day 108, 5/5/24 one Sea day on way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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Very subtle pink sunrise

It was finally pleasant enough to sit outside at the balcony…. Was too hot and humid last two days

Happy Happy Hour!!

What a small world it is…. Someone heard from someone that I grew up in Singapore so she approached me and we found out that we participated in the same activities together amongst the same Taiwanese expats in Singapore circle 5 decades ago…. Amazing… Now she lives just a couple of cabins down the hall on the ship and 30 mins drive from our home in Los Angeles!!

Day 107, 5/4/24 Huatulco Mexico

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A small sweet town with relaxing port scenery and
… Beautiful beach scenery.. We love eating ceviches and drinking cocktails /beer by the beaches of Mexico and watching the world go by….
Banana boats are very popular here
Our lady of Guadalupe church… Boasts the biggest ceiling painting of our lady of Guadalupe…. That plus the Vangoh style painting makes this church special
Super hot today…Nice cool drinks are badly needed…. Cheers!!
Bye Huatulco!!

Day 105 5/2/24 Day 1 of 2 sea days to Huatulco, Mexico

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Back to doldrum lake like sea again…

Pacific ocean is full of marine life… Saw dolphins frolicking at sea during breakfast

Forgot to mention that it has been super hot and humid since Cartagena Colombia, can’t wait to get back to the super comfy weather that’s been waiting for us in Los Angeles…

Another perks of Elite status…. Kanape delivery to our stateroom… They are delicious and goes very well with our whisky and coke (mini bar from before)

Day 104, 5/1/24 Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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We were just here in Dec 2022 when we did the Antarctica cruise… Let me share some pics from that cruise

Originally R was not planning to do anything this time ( as the memories from last time were still fresh) just bump around the port while P wants to check out the capital San Jose but tour got canceled due to potential strike on Labor day. …. but we ran into a friend this morning who bought a Coffee, chocolate and Sarchi experience excursion but didn’t feel well enough to go, so we decided to go for it.

Costa Rica’s volcanic soil makes great coffee…. Golden beans they were called… It funded the growth of the country through the years. Today, We visited the coffee plantation 1.5 hours away from pier in the Naranjo region

Scenery from Pier to Naranjo… Sands in Costa Rica are not white because it’s volcanic sand
The reason they also planted a lot of banana trees is to redirect bat’s so that they go for bananas instead of coffee beans
Turns our dark roast beans has the least caffeine as caffeine burns off with temperature… That’s a huge revelation for us
Only red ripe beans can be picked and the pickers picked it with a basket tie around their waist .. Coffee beans without crust looks like peanuts
Peaberry beans (on top) VS regular beans (at bottom) … peaberry (also called caracol, or “snail” in Spanish) is a mutation of beans inside its cherry and only happens to about 5% of the world’s coffee. Regular coffee beans has two in a cherry like twins while Peaberry’s are only child’s. They said it has better flavor and it’s smaller numbers makes it more expensive
The plantation guide Ronny showed us how to make a perfect cup of coffee the old fashion way, the key is simmer ground coffee in almost boil water(but not boiled as it will create a burn taste) ) and use cheese cloth to strain ….a good cup of brewed coffee should have a beautiful golden foam on top and should not taste bitter
He also showed us the anatomy of cacao plant and let us taste freshly dried cacao nuts  as well as chocolate covered peaberry beans

Afterwards we get to tour Sarchi oxcart factory… Apparently it is a cultural thing thats very significant to Costa Rica…. Because of the high altitude of the coffee plantations, the coffee beans  have to be manually picked and transportation of the coffee beans or any other produce still rely on oxcarts and these Sarchi oxcarts were beautiful painted and very well made

Sceneries near the Naranjo, Sarchi region
Our tour guide Marcie did a little “free shopping” as she called it in the middle of the road on our trip back to get this cashew fruit…. Never saw one before… Costa Rica is blessed with fruit trees and vegetation every where..
After the tour P went to check out the beach and local food while R went straight back to cabin to recharge

We were glad we did this tour especially the coffee part… I will do medium roast from now onwards instead of dark roast… No wonder all these years of dark roast never jolted me to full awakness 🤔

Goodnight Puntarenas!!