We had a brief stop in lovely Costa Rica as a port of call on a cruise through the Panama Canal (Miami – Los Angeles). What to do with limited time at Puntarenas? We booked a day trip with Odyssey Tours since we had learned beforehand that Puntarenas itself is nothing exceptional. Our day trip included zipping through Puntarenas itself, trying to spot white faced capuchin monkeys in their natural habitat (a hit or miss event), watching the crocodile man feeding at the Tarcoles River (one of the most populated crocodile rivers in the world, with approximately 25 crocodiles per square mile), stopping for a traditional Costa Rican lunch (red beans, rice, fried plantains, seafood and tamarind juice). Next on the agenda was enjoying Villa Lapas, an eco-resort built in the rain forest with a replica of an old colonial village of Santa Lucia (complete with little white church, and a local “cantina” where fresh fruit could be sampled). An afternoon rain storm cut our tour short, and we opted out of the Punta Leona beach excursion. Back in Puntarenas, we strolled past handicrafts for sale and enjoyed some time at the black sand beach before reboarding the Norwegian Pearl for some cocktails overlooking a spectacular sunset. We will be back to spend extensive time in Costa Rica, as we both thoroughly enjoyed our short time here.
