Our Costa Rica Journey, More from Puntarenas

I had planned to move on tell you about to our next stops on our Panama Canal cruise, but I decided at the last minute to share more photos from our excursion in Costa Rica with you. I present for your anticipated approval, a further photo essay about our Costa Rican boat trip and train ride.

There are several companies that tour the Tárcoles River. This open air boat is similar to the one we were riding in.

One of these crocs is either yawning, or there is prey in sight. I suspect it’s the latter… Either way, I’ll stay back and watch.

This little guy is one of the smaller birds we saw along the river.

A crane stands in the shallows along the shore.

A flowering banana plant blooms near the river.

I’ve seen banana trees loaded with fruit before, however this day would be the first day I would actually see a banana flower. The blossom is as bulky and heavy as it looks, weighing in at an average one pound (0.45 kg) or so. The flower is actually an Asian delicacy enjoyed by many when properly prepared.

You may recall from last week’s post that I ended my story when we left the river, stopping only to view a pair of nesting scarlet macaws. From there, we traveled by tour bus to a train station where we boarded a 1910 era passenger train.

A restored 1910 era train shuttles tourists through the scenic countryside.

The all-wood interior was beautifully redone in the cars, seats freshly recovered.

The trip, lasting around an hour, was one way, and traveled through some rural developments and a long and very dark tunnel. Views along the way gave us a snapshot of rural Costa Rica.

We crossed a small river using a very old rail bridge.

We were in the last car. I stepped out on the rear platform and grabbed a snapshot of scenery going by.

I expected that the tracks made some sort of loop and that we would return to the train station from where we departed. I was surprised it was a one-way trip and when we exited the train car at the end of the trip, the tour bus was waiting. We reloaded the bus for the ride back to the pier and our ship.

Walking along the pier to our ship, I noticed a lone pelican fishing in the bay.

After the long excursion, we thought about hanging around the pier and visiting the makeshift shops that always spring up along the pier when a cruise ship comes to town. Deciding there would be plenty of opportunity to shop along the shore in Mexico, we decided to head back to the ship to rest up for that wonderful evening meal. Next week we will review our first stops in Mexico.

John Steiner