We had a sea day after our visit to Cozumel which gave us the day to go to lectures, sunbathe, chill out and just have good time. We attended the port lecture for our next port, Puerto Limon so we could choose an excursion. Evidently we will be docked in an industrial section of the city and the surrounding area is not geared up for tourists nor too safe. The recommendation from internet sites and the ship is to take an excursion or stay on board ship.
We opted to take the excursion to the banana plantation, river cruise and railroad ride along the banana plantations.
As usual we boarded our bus and the drive took us through some really run down parts of the city and onto a road out to the banana plantation. The area was lush with green vegetation and houses here and there. Once we got to the plantation we got out and the guide explained how bananas are picked, cleaned and processed before being boxed up for shipment for export.
As you can see from the photos, the bunches of bananas are first sprayed to kill bugs and spiders, then dipped in a wax solution to stop the ripening process, labeled and then boxed for shipment. Every banana has a label for quality control. Should there be a problem with a banana or cluster of bananas the label has the info on when they were picked, where processed and when processed.
This planation is run by Del Monte or a contractor to Del Monte. After our tour our bus drove through the banana plantation to our next destination, the Tortuguero Canals. The canals are a series of waterways in the lowland rain forest.
We arrived at a wharf which had shops and food which we past to get onto the small river boats. The weather was cloudy and as we cruised up and down the canal it started lightly raining. The guide pointed out different forms of wildlife- sloths, caymans, species of birds. After our cruise we stopped at the wharf for people to get a fruit drink, shop and listen to the band.
We boarded the bus again and took a short drive to the train stop where we boarded a train for a short ride through the banana plantations to observe wildlife. The train cars are original but in pretty good condition. The train ride itself is short but the engineer stopped along the way for the guides to point out birds and monkeys for us to see and photograph. At the end of the ride we got off and boarded our buses for the ride back to the ship.
At the port there were some buildings that housed a flea market- individual stalls with different types of local goods and souvenirs and clothing. This was the only opportunity to get locally made souvenirs or clothing.
After a tour of the stalls we headed back to the ship.
This along with Cozumel was a port we do not need to visit again. The cruise port on the other side of Costa Rica - Puntarenas- is more developed for tourism and has activities ashore if one does not want to take an excursion.
We opted to take the excursion to the banana plantation, river cruise and railroad ride along the banana plantations.
As usual we boarded our bus and the drive took us through some really run down parts of the city and onto a road out to the banana plantation. The area was lush with green vegetation and houses here and there. Once we got to the plantation we got out and the guide explained how bananas are picked, cleaned and processed before being boxed up for shipment for export.
As you can see from the photos, the bunches of bananas are first sprayed to kill bugs and spiders, then dipped in a wax solution to stop the ripening process, labeled and then boxed for shipment. Every banana has a label for quality control. Should there be a problem with a banana or cluster of bananas the label has the info on when they were picked, where processed and when processed.
This planation is run by Del Monte or a contractor to Del Monte. After our tour our bus drove through the banana plantation to our next destination, the Tortuguero Canals. The canals are a series of waterways in the lowland rain forest.
We arrived at a wharf which had shops and food which we past to get onto the small river boats. The weather was cloudy and as we cruised up and down the canal it started lightly raining. The guide pointed out different forms of wildlife- sloths, caymans, species of birds. After our cruise we stopped at the wharf for people to get a fruit drink, shop and listen to the band.
We boarded the bus again and took a short drive to the train stop where we boarded a train for a short ride through the banana plantations to observe wildlife. The train cars are original but in pretty good condition. The train ride itself is short but the engineer stopped along the way for the guides to point out birds and monkeys for us to see and photograph. At the end of the ride we got off and boarded our buses for the ride back to the ship.
At the port there were some buildings that housed a flea market- individual stalls with different types of local goods and souvenirs and clothing. This was the only opportunity to get locally made souvenirs or clothing.
After a tour of the stalls we headed back to the ship.
This along with Cozumel was a port we do not need to visit again. The cruise port on the other side of Costa Rica - Puntarenas- is more developed for tourism and has activities ashore if one does not want to take an excursion.
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