Puerto Limon
Our first taste of Costa Rica as we cruised through Central America northbound for Miami with Oceania Cruises on our 110-day voyage.
PUERTO LIMON, COSTA RICA
The Marina sailed overnight to bring us to a new destination; Costa Rica is a new country for us, now 66 countries. Welcome to the sweltering capital of the Caribbean coast, the port city of Puerto Limon and the country's biggest Afro-Costa Rican city. Puerto Limon is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 94,000 and has a cultural flavour quite unlike anywhere else in the country.
We docked early in the morning and rushed off to try and beat the heat; the Caribbean weather was scorching! Take us back to the Antarctic summer; we often say that although it is nice to have the sun warm our bodies once again to prepare us for the next six months of a different type of Summer, the kind we are all too familiar with, hot and humid!
We strolled off to explore the port city, which was a sea of tourists from both ships in port and all the local tourism agents grasping at you, selling their once-in-a-lifetime tours; we politely declined and continued walking, although soon we were accompanied by them again trying to sell us selfies with the sloths in the park. Although it was nice to be greeted with the lively tunes of the live band as we entered the city gates.
We refused again and escaped; we were only too happy to play 'Where's is the Sloth' on our own, which wasn't too difficult as you look for all the people with their heads positioned upwards.
We spotted our first-ever sloth in Vargas Park, only a few minutes from the dock. We captured a great video of the sloth slowly climbing through the trees and fascinating tree-lover characters; they stopped to smell the roses and appreciate every moment. Being the world's slowest mammal, the sloth travels at a top speed of 0.24 kilometres per hour, spending 15 to 20 hours per day sleeping.
As we walked, we captured the essence of the small port town and the rustic sculptures stipulating the history and culture of this piece of Costa Rica.
Following our Sloth sightings in the park, we strolled around the port city, taking in the local life, the water edge and the sweltering heat; we were on the hunt for an air-conditioned cafe to settle and enjoy, but after one hour, we had to admit defeat and changed course back to the ship.
It was an intense port city, with all hustlers encouraging us all to visit the nearby tourist attractions; we received the same recommendation from our friends to go inland to truly engage in the culture and locals of Costa Rica, which, if the weather permitted we would have been only too happy to do so. Still, we have postponed our opinion on Costa Rica until we have thoroughly explored it as it deserves.
Our evening on the ship was back in one of our favourite restaurants, Polo Grill, and capturing moments with our lovely Milan and chef as we soon disembarked and left our Oceania family. It
Our next adventure is coming soon as we continue our 110-day journey with Oceania Cruises, the circumnavigation of South America.