Day 14 ~ Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Puntarenas = "Sandy Point"

Last evening, instead of a show in the Star Theatre, we were treated to the Liar's Club--a game show that involved strange words, three made up definitions and one true one delivered by members of the Viking entertainment staff. As the audience, we were supposed to spot the true definition. Here are some of the words: wenis, hyprosexia, baggywrinkle, smout, ... well, you get the idea. They aren't exactly part of my regular vocabulary. Some of the definitions were hilarious, and that includes the real ones. 

But somehow, I doubt this game agrees with Uncle Torstein's assertion that this is a "thinking man's cruise!"  Anyway, it was fun. 

Today we docked in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, our third new-to-us port. This little country is about the size of West Virginia and is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on the east, Panama to the south, the Pacific to the west and Nicaragua to the north. The summer vacation for school children is just about over and presidential elections will be held here soon. There are 26 (!) candidates on the ballot!

According to our onboard naturalist, Costa Rica is home to an explosion of bio-diversity. However, we didn't take an excursion to any place where we might have seen any of these unique animals. Instead we visited a small town in the hills called Esparza and were treated to a folkloric show by a group of schoolgirls in the shaded town square. Our tour guide, Porfirio, was informative and entertaining. His English was excellent because he'd spent a few years in the States, and his sense of humor was charmingly self-deprecating. He spent a little while trying to help us remember how to pronounce his name, Porfirio, telling us of one lady who seemed to think he was called "PornVideo!"

As you can see, the young dancers, all the women who sponsored the event, and those who were selling handicrafts were all wearing masks and practicing social distancing. I wished they could see the smile behind my mask as I watched them display their pride in their country. 

The town of Puntarenas looked pretty rough, bars on all the windows of houses and razor wire topping most of the fences. In an "ugly American" moment, one of our fellow passengers asked our guide if drugs were a problem. 

"No problem," he said, "you can find drugs if you want them."  Then he went on to describe the difficulties of being geographically situated between the biggest producers of drugs and the biggest consumer of them. 

He meant us. 

And sadly, he's not wrong. The United States is the biggest market for illegal drugs. Any market abhors a vacuum. If there's a demand, someone will supply the goods. If we didn't buy them, they wouldn't be produced. We are culpable in the destruction of these small central American countries. That's why I can't understand it when some people, even well-educated people, argue for legalizing drugs. They should realize that it is not a victimless crime. It will always be destructive, even if we aren't close enough to see the violence happening.  

On to happier news: We have zero covid cases on board the Viking Star. It appears our 100% vaccination of crew and passengers, daily testing, mask wearing and social distancing protocols are working to keep us all safe in the Viking bubble! I'm praying for our family and friends back home that they too remain virus free.  

Before we go to supper at The Restaurant this evening, we're attending a non-denominational church service being held at 6PM in Torshaven. This'll be the first time we've gone to church in a nightclub! But "wherever two or three of you are gathered together" is a promise that's still in force. 

I'm glad the Viking provides a space for worship. There is also a Friday evening Sabbath service offered for Jewish guests.  

While we enjoyed the included excursion we went on today, part of me wished we'd signed up for "A Walk in the Clouds," a visit to the rain forest that involved walking on raised walkways at the level of the canopy. I don't know if we'd have seen more of Costa Rica's animal life, but we'd have seen more of the heart of the country instead of its fringes. The moral of this story is if there's something we want to do on this trip, we should do it. 

Who knows when, or if, we'll see any of these places again? 

 Here's a photo montage from the DH!

More soon!