Lazy Day In Beautiful Costa Rica

 There is an unwritten rule Bob often likes to tell people. Where it started is a mystery to me. I'm sure sometime I may have said something that he absorbed and turned a bit with his wry sense of humor. The rule according to Bob is: Karen doesn't get off the ship unless the next cruise is booked. Well, good news! The next cruise is booked. 

After an exasperated "Let's just go home," we began looking at other options. The Regent cruise line made a slight change in their itinerary to tempt some of the Crystal passengers to book with them in Aruba and have at least another 10-12 days in the Caribbean before a return to Miami. We briefly thought about it but still feeling defeated, we said, "home."

One of the disappointing things of the cancellation of the Grand Voyage was that I looked forward to having my birthday during the cruise. Always a special time on the ship and for the first time in a while, we wouldn't be on the road heading home from Florida. Dreamer that I am, or maybe it's fighter, I started looking at options for at least salvaging some part of winter in a warmer climate. I looked across at the Holland America ship before the Emerald Princess took its place, and remembered some great cruises. I managed to sell Bob on a cruise in March, the Caribbean again but I don't care. So I'm calling it my birthday cruise, Bob doesn't have to worry about a present or where to take me to dinner. The starting price was good enough and our Mariner points with HA (we have a silver medal, one we could wear if it wasn't so heavy) allowed us to get a luxury suite. So we are licking our wounds and indulging ourselves a bit.

Now the biggest problem is schlepping all this luggage home. We have seven bags. Three we had shipped and four we brought with us. The original cruise would have called for hot weather as well as much cooler weather when we reached Europe so we packed more than usual. And now we have more to add to those bags, the rest of the gifts from our Grand Voyage. Wondering if I should eat the chocolate so we don't have to pack it. Hmmm.

Our second day in Puerto Limon proved to be as beautiful as anything Costa Rica advertises, sun, calm waters, serene mountains and lively music provided by a group at the end of the dock. We did our morning walk and ended by going ashore to the little craft market in the port area. So many tempting things but no room in the suitcase for them. 

I did a couple loads of laundry and read most of a book in the afternoon. While we don't have a lounge chair on our veranda, at the rear of the ship on our deck there are some loungers and a couple of really nice cushioned loungers with pillows. Cozy enough for marathon reading.

We ate at the specialty Italian restaurant called Prego. I couldn't pass up the mushroom soup in a bread bowl, cream or no cream. It was worth it! My rack of lamb was super tender and tasty. Bob had some sort of appetizer that was basically paper thin beef with cheese and balsamic and lemon and parmesan sprinkled over it. He loved it as well as the pasta with extra meat sauce.

Entertainment was a mentalist. Not my speed. Bob went to the show and I went back to the room early. I was tired and feeling a bit anxious as well. Earlier in the evening before dinner, the captain had made an announcement that we would be spending another night in port and he would have "good news" for both crew and guests at noon the next day. Everyone spent the evening speculating on what would be the good news that would be good for all of us. Guess we would have to sleep on it.