OK all you non-believers out there (and you know who you are), here’s the next edition of Where In the World Are Suzanne and Ed. I’ve come to realize that one of the advantages of having advertised that we would have a blog is that I’m obligated to write one. So that makes me much more alert and aware of my surroundings when we’re off the ship.
A little ship trivia: We are astonished at the number of people on this ship who have cruised around the world multiple times. One lady at our dinner table is on her 14th World cruise! We hear from the cruise staff that many people use cruise ships as a retirement home. Apparently in some cases it’s cheaper. Hence, a majority of very senior citizens.
Also, there seems to be a lot of older men and younger women, affectionately dubbed “arm candy” by our new friend Francis.
I’ve had a brush with greatness!! Regis Philbin and his wife, Joy, are on the ship. They did a show for us one night and I saw them around the ship for a couple of days. Even had a little chat with Regis about the scale in the gym. Rumor has it they’ll get off in Panama.
Yesterday we spent the day in Costa Rica, docking in Puerta Limon. We’ve been to Costa Rica before but have never docked at this port. We had signed up for an Off-Road Adventure tour and were hoping it was going to be a good one. When we walked off the ship, there in front of us was a mega-Hummer type vehicle with giant tires. I crossed my fingers that it was ours and it was. Our guide was Eric and our driver was Jose and this was their homemade truck/tour bus. Island tour guides are often quite funny and these two didn’t disappoint us. We traveled mainly on dirt roads through the rain forest, stopped for a picnic of some local specialties, including Costa Rican beer and a local liquor called guavo (not to be confused with guano). I, of course, had some of each and was a little tipsy for the rest of the tour.
A few tidbits about Costa Rica: The animal of the day is the sloth. Sloths are the slowest-moving animals on the planet and they live in trees. They eat tender leaves from the trees and come down once a week to go to the bathroom. They cover up their excrement and go back up the tree. The most interesting thing about them is that after they eat they must have sun on their stomachs to absorb the proteins necessary for digestion. If they can’t get sun they will starve to death, even though they have a belly full of food.
Eric talked about the sales tax structure in Costa Rica and it is quite interesting. Sales tax on a car is 85% because the government doesn’t want the citizens to have cars. Public transportation is very good and very cheap. Taxes on luxuries like TVs, stereos, video games and other amusements are also very high, 65-80%. In a grocery store, taxes vary from 7% down to less than 1% according to what you buy, with staples like rice and beans being taxed the least. It’s an interesting concept.
He also talked about their illegal immigrant problem. Illegals come mostly from Nicaragua because the economy there is so bad and the government so corrupt. The Costa Ricans don’t want to do jobs like picking bananas and coffee beans so the aliens do the job. After two years they are given housing because it is illegal to be homeless in Costa Rica. Health care is also free. The Costa Ricans see this as a growing problem. Sound familiar?
Signing off for now. Suzanne and Ed.
A little ship trivia: We are astonished at the number of people on this ship who have cruised around the world multiple times. One lady at our dinner table is on her 14th World cruise! We hear from the cruise staff that many people use cruise ships as a retirement home. Apparently in some cases it’s cheaper. Hence, a majority of very senior citizens.
Also, there seems to be a lot of older men and younger women, affectionately dubbed “arm candy” by our new friend Francis.
I’ve had a brush with greatness!! Regis Philbin and his wife, Joy, are on the ship. They did a show for us one night and I saw them around the ship for a couple of days. Even had a little chat with Regis about the scale in the gym. Rumor has it they’ll get off in Panama.
Yesterday we spent the day in Costa Rica, docking in Puerta Limon. We’ve been to Costa Rica before but have never docked at this port. We had signed up for an Off-Road Adventure tour and were hoping it was going to be a good one. When we walked off the ship, there in front of us was a mega-Hummer type vehicle with giant tires. I crossed my fingers that it was ours and it was. Our guide was Eric and our driver was Jose and this was their homemade truck/tour bus. Island tour guides are often quite funny and these two didn’t disappoint us. We traveled mainly on dirt roads through the rain forest, stopped for a picnic of some local specialties, including Costa Rican beer and a local liquor called guavo (not to be confused with guano). I, of course, had some of each and was a little tipsy for the rest of the tour.
A few tidbits about Costa Rica: The animal of the day is the sloth. Sloths are the slowest-moving animals on the planet and they live in trees. They eat tender leaves from the trees and come down once a week to go to the bathroom. They cover up their excrement and go back up the tree. The most interesting thing about them is that after they eat they must have sun on their stomachs to absorb the proteins necessary for digestion. If they can’t get sun they will starve to death, even though they have a belly full of food.
Eric talked about the sales tax structure in Costa Rica and it is quite interesting. Sales tax on a car is 85% because the government doesn’t want the citizens to have cars. Public transportation is very good and very cheap. Taxes on luxuries like TVs, stereos, video games and other amusements are also very high, 65-80%. In a grocery store, taxes vary from 7% down to less than 1% according to what you buy, with staples like rice and beans being taxed the least. It’s an interesting concept.
He also talked about their illegal immigrant problem. Illegals come mostly from Nicaragua because the economy there is so bad and the government so corrupt. The Costa Ricans don’t want to do jobs like picking bananas and coffee beans so the aliens do the job. After two years they are given housing because it is illegal to be homeless in Costa Rica. Health care is also free. The Costa Ricans see this as a growing problem. Sound familiar?
Signing off for now. Suzanne and Ed.
1 comment:
OK So, I am a little slow becoming a blogger. At my age, it's more like a blunderer. I think I figured out how this works. Sorry,Ed, missed your BD. However, you have been and are in my thoughts. Happy belated BD! Love the tib bits from naturalist Suzanne. Didn't know about the little guys needing sun on there bellies. Awaiting info on the canal portion. With love, Ann Sil Jess Luci
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