birdwatching – See More w/ C Moore

NCL Port: Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

Published on January 31, 2017January 27, 2017 by money007pennyLeave a comment

My family and I recently went on a 10 night cruise, over Christmas 2016, on Norwegian Cruise Line. The itinerary was Miami –> Aruba –> Cartagena, Columbia –> Panama Canal / Gatun Lake –> Colon, Panama –> Puerto Limon, Costa Rica –> Miami.

This last post is about Puerto Limon, Costa Rica!

For this trip my mum, sister and I booked a trip to Tortuguero National Park and Cacao Trails chocolate tour in Cahuita.

First up was a boat tour of the canals of Tortuguero National Park. Plenty of wildlife to see here, including sloths, caiman, plant life, and lots of birds!

There was also a coast guard station along the tour which included piles of small boats which had been numbered. Turns out these boats were seized from drug runners just off the coast of Limon.

After this boat ride, we were given some delicious fruit of pineapple, papaya and watermelon before we headed off for the long drive to Cahuita. On the way, we saw white faced capuchins. Unfortunately, they were too hidden in the trees to get a good photo, but even the tour guide was impressed to have seem them at all.

At the chocolate place, called Cacao Trails, we were taken on a walk through their gardens to look at the different plants and talk about how the cacao plant is grown. We saw more howler monkeys and sloths here too. Then we were given a demonstration of how to make the chocolate. This included tasting the raw cacao bean directly from the pod, as well as roasted cacao and then the final product which was delicious! I purchased some roasted beans so I can attempt to make some myself 🙂

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent

NCL Port: Panama Canal / Gatun Lake

Published on January 29, 2017January 27, 2017 by money007pennyLeave a comment

This third post is about our tour at Gatun Lake and visiting the locks on land!

Once arriving in Gatun Lake, the ship dropped it’s anchor and we were tendered to shore in the life boats. From here we were picked up by bus to head over to a resort area that did the boat tours on the lake. On the way, we drove across the new expansion locks and I was able to get a quick picture of a container ship in the first lock!

Below are a few photos from the boat tour on Gatun Lake.

After the boat tour, we came back across the expansion locks and I was able to get another photo of a container ship on it’s way out! The new locks don’t use the locomotives (mules) as the Gatun Locks do, instead they use the tug boats.

We stopped at the visitor’s centre next to watch the locks operation from land. The timing worked out that we watching our ship, the NCL Pearl, transit on it’s way to Colon where we would eventually meet the ship. At the visitor centre, they told us that the NCL Pearl is the largest passenger ship to transit the Gatun locks. The new expansion locks only allow 1 cruise ship to transit per day, and as of last summer only one ship was scheduled (see article: http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Just-one-cruise-ship-scheduled-to-use-new-Panama-Canal-locks).

It’s pretty incredible to watch this massive operation in progress, between the locomotive drivers, linesman, and pilot. The Canal employs about 9,000 people and approximately 40 ships go through daily, every day of the year. We transited on Christmas Day, December 25th!

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent

Weekend Trip from Vancouver: Victoria, BC

Published on June 18, 2016June 18, 2016 by money007pennyLeave a comment

One of the best things about living in Vancouver is how many places there are to explore that can be done within a day or weekend trip. One of my favourite places is Victoria. Recently, my parents came up for a visit and we met in Victoria. I flew via seaplane from the South YVR seaplane terminal on Harbour Air, and they came across on the M/V Coho from Port Angeles in Washington state.

Our first stop was the world-famous Butchart Gardens. They have nearly a million visitors per year and it’s easy to see why, the gardens are impeccable and absolutely stunning. We spent a few hours here and enjoyed a picnic on the grounds.

On our way back to Victoria, we stopped at Sea Cider for cider tasting on their outside deck.

We stopped to drop off our things at the hotel: the Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel & Marina. We were given a great room with a balcony overlooking the marina. After a quick break and a swim in the pool, we decided to head down towards Fisherman’s Wharf to check out the dinner options, as well as visit the houseboat community. There is a resident harbour seal community and you can purchase fresh fish to feed them. We had fish & chips (gluten free for my sis!), wandered around a bit, and headed back to the hotel for an early night.

The next day we had already decided to try The Blue Fox Cafe for breakfast. There was a bit of a wait, but was well worth it. We had booked afternoon tea at the Fairmont later in the day, so we spent the midday going around downtown Victoria, visiting various shops etc.

And soon it was time for afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress! It was so yummy!!

Here is a photo of the view from our hotel balcony of the marina as the sun was setting – what a great Saturday!

On Sunday morning, we went off to explore Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site, and the Fisgard Lighthouse. This was the first lighthouse built on the west coast of Canada, back in 1860. You can explore the fort which includes gun batteries, guardhouses, barracks etc. This area is also a great birdwatching spot.

After lunch at the Four Mile House, we went around Beacon Hill Park before the trip back home. As always, the weekend was too short, but we did a lot and had a wonderful time.

*All photos are the property of Charlotte Moore, unless stated otherwise, and may not be used without written consent

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