Click photos to enlarge!
This is where we will be docking today. Captain will be putting us between the two cargo ships pictured below.
Tour buses are waiting around the corner of this warehouse.
There were some local dancers and band to greet the passengers as the left for their tours.
I went for an hour ride on one of these in the afternoon.
These girls were just below our balcony and they saw me taking this photo. Sure are cute!
BACKGROUND/HISTORICAL INFO:
We are visiting the Central American country of Nicaragua today. Honduras is on the north and Costa Rica to the south. Managua is its capital and also 3rd largest city in Central America. This is a relatively new port of call for Regent as we were the first to stop here in November of 2014. Corinto has a population of 18,000 and is the largest Pacific port for Nicaragua. There’s not a lot to see in Corinto but this stop was for excursions to Leon the former capital of Nicaragua and its second largest city.
Nicaragua is about the same size as Alabama and has 40 volcanoes, 3 of which are still active ones. These volcanoes also breed powerful earthquakes. Managua has been nearly destroyed by them more than once. Lake Nicaragua is just to the south of Managua and is the largest fresh water lake in Central America and 20th largest in the world. It is home to some of the world’s rare fresh water sharks. Nicaragua is primarily an agricultural country which account for 60% of its exports. Coffee, cotton, bananas, sugar cane, cassava (main ingredient in tapioca pudding), onions, peanuts, sesame seeds, and melons are some of their exports. All this said, Nicaragua is among the poorest countries in the Americas (North, Central, & South).
Leon is a colonial city now beloved for its architecture , especially the Leon Cathedral whose construction was begun in 1747. It was founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1524 but was abandoned in the early 1600’s after a series of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Old Leon was buried until excavation began in 1967. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site due its well preserved archaeological view into 16th century life in one of the earliest Spanish colonial cities.
We docked at the pier next to downtown Corinto at 10:00 this morning. Almost all the excursions were long ones (7 hours), so the destinations desk folks were busy trying to get everyone off the ship at about the same time and onto their tour buses. Most passengers understand this seeming confusion and take it all in stride but then there’s always some who are impatient. I would like to see them get nearly 490 passengers off the ship at the same time.
Nicaragua was the richest country in Central America until the big earthquake in 1972 and the ensuing civil wars. 80% of the 6 million population is under the age of 50. The average wages here is $500 per month. A government doctor makes less than $1,000 per month (their version of Obama Care???). It’s all a man can do to just feed his family. The poverty means higher education is just a dream and feeds the poverty. Most of the farming is not done with equipment but with cheap labor. The homes are mostly just shacks. They had electricity and running water but garbage is just thrown everywhere or burned along the road.
WHAT WE DID LAST NIGHT:
This was the Seven Seas Society party in the theater prior to dinner.
In addition to drinks they served hors doeuvers including caviar.
This is my Greek salad at dinner in Compass Rose. I was going to take a photo of our miso sea bass but forgot. It was very good I assure you.
This is my "no sugar added" apple crumble with vanilla ice cream.
After dinner there was the second production show with the ship's singers and dancers in the theater. You may recall that we did not care for (that's putting it lightly) their first show. But we felt like we should give them a second chance and did. Again I walked out in middle of the show. They are just not talented and show to me was very amateurish. No more production shows for us! I can find something better to do.
MEET THE CREW:
This is Janine who is from the Philippines and has only been working on Regent for 9 days now. Prior to being hired by Regent she worked 6 days a week in an Italian restaurant in Manila for 4 years as a bar server. She is 24 years old and is a single lady but has a boy friend back home. At home she likes to go to the mall or just get some rest.
On the right is Grace also from the Philippines. Janine and Grace are room mates here on the ship. Today is Grace's 28th birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Grace! I took her some candy bars as a small gift. Grace is also fairly new to Regent as just started working here in December. She did work on other Asian cruise ships for 5 years prior to Regent. At home she lives with her mother, 3 year old daughter, and other siblings. She also enjoys going to the mall to relax.
This young man is Pijush and he is from India. His job is making pasta dishes for us in the La Veranda restaurant at lunch and in Sette Mari during the evening. I love his pasta dishes! He is 29 and has worked at Regent for 3 1/2 years. He was hired to work in the galley as back home he was a chef. Pijush is single but has a girlfriend back home. On his vacations from Regent he works on a farm.
WHAT WE DID TODAY:
Interesting mode of transportation.
Sugar cane plantation.
Someone on bus needed to go pee so driver stopped and he took a whiz.
Bus approaching plaza in Leon. Students gathering for classes.
Leon Cathedral
Students waiting for the afternoon classes to begin. They all seemed very happy.
Catholic school on the plaza
Dog likes the cool stone floor in the Cathedral.
One of the three active volcanoes in Nicaragua.
This afternoon I walked in to the town of Corinto which is just outside the port. It was very hot but glad I went.
They are loading sugar in the huge bulk cargo ship docked just in front of us. They have several large sugar cane plantations near here.
This is Francisco. Probably 20 guys with this kind of bike hit me up for a tour of the town. I finally gave in and this nice man gave me an hour ride for $5. He was super happy at end of ride when I gave him a $10 bill. His English was limited but he managed to show me the sights.
There were lots of fruits being sold on the street and on the plaza several souvenir stands because our ship was in port today.
Francisco showed me the beach, which of course, was again volcanic like in Costa Rica. This beach was nicer and much cleaner however.
We went down several streets and I saw first hand the poverty. Saw lots of men at home so obviously unemployed. Their homes were very crude. Unfortunately, seems they had lots of kids which made it even tougher to survive. Francisco said he worked at the port but gave bike rides if off time to provide for his 4 kids.
This is the main road between Corinto and Managua, the capital. He said it was over an hour drive to Managua but cost only $5 on bus. Believe me, you would NOT want to ride in one of their buses.
Ok, we will be sailing at 6:00pm for our next port which is Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala. We should be docking there by 9:00 am tomorrow. This evening at 5:30 we are having a "refresher" life boat drill. Regent says we will have these refreshers on all segments longer than 14 nights. We are not big fans of doing this. We will be having quite a few of these life boat drills between now and May 13th. YUK!
At 7:00 this evening we have been invited to dine with Jamie and Dana Logan, our cruise directors. They were also our CD's on our 2010 world cruise so have known them for a long time. Susanne Peters will also be joining us at their table. Tonight's show is features Laszlo and Claudia, a husband/wife violin duo. Not exactly my cup of tea but just may be a good show. As I came back on board ship this afternoon a lady was arriving in taxi with lots of luggage and a big harp. Harp is definitely not a favorite of mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.