Costa Rica wasn’t on the original itinerary as anything special. Just another port day. But it turned out Nicholas’s family has old friends originally from here, and they offered to pick us up and show us around.
Cristina and her family met us at the port and drove us around for the day. It’s a different pace down here. Green everywhere, tropical rivers, actual wildlife just… sitting there.
The bridge was specifically for watching crocodiles from above. Not behind glass. Not in a zoo. Just a river full of prehistoric murder lizards doing their thing directly below us.
The day ended at Cristina’s home. A real home-cooked meal, good conversation, the whole group together in one place. The kind of stop that makes a cruise feel less like a floating resort and more like actual travel.
Back on the ship, the food situation had reached a new level. Pokin had been ordering every dessert on the menu every single night. Not sampling. Ordering. Full portions. Multiple.
And then there were the lumpia. One of the Filipino waiters Nicholas and Pokin befriended had been sneaking us homemade spring rolls from the crew kitchen. Not on the menu. Not available to other guests. Just for us.
The next morning I woke up on the balcony and there it was. The skyline getting closer. Panama.
Tomorrow we cross.