Cast And Crew

This place is a photographer's paradise. (I learned how to say photographer in Spanish yesterday; fotógrafo.) These are more images of the crew and passengers of the Marlin del Rey on Wednesday afternoon. Capitán Leo is second from left at the top and at the helm in the second picture. In the last picture, Carolyn enjoys conditions she would not find back home.

                     

We had a wonderful experience yesterday on a historic and architectural tour of Liberia, the provincial capital. I cannot say too many good things about 3 Monkies, the tour company we have always used here. The highlight was something we would never have found ourselves. There is an old fort that became a jail that became abandoned that will one day be the provincial museum of Guanacaste. (¿Cuándo? ¿Quién sabe? Esto es Costa Rica.) For now it is a music school tor teens. Several of them let me take their pictures. Their faces and their art were heartbreakingly beautiful. As we were leaving, I heard one young violinist playing Carlos Gardel's Por Una Cabeza. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Pix as soon as I can edit them. There were so many.       

Sailing, Sailing, Over The Bounding Main

for many a stormy wind shall blow e're Jack comes home again.

Or 6 o'clock, whichever comes first.

The afternoon sail is a nearly obligatory activity in Tamarindo. We took the Marlin del Rey this year, a large catamaran. It takes you out around a point northwest of town to a cove where you can swim or snorkel. There is an open bar (boy, those Canadians can knock back the brewskis) and a buffet lunch. On the way back you can sun yourself or watch for whales. We saw some. Bad pictures to follow.

A word of advice for those with northern European genes, like, say, an Irish-Polish blend. Wear sunscreen whose SPF number is about the same as the population of New York City. I didn't get badly burned but felt miserable last night. Is there such a thing as sun poisoning? I should have worn a burnoose.

The last two photos are particularly for my friend Olivier. There were many interesting characters on board. We'll see some of them tomorrow.                  

Booze Cruise Revisited

.

People who have nothing better to do with their lives than read this blog may recall last year's post from Tamarindo about going out for the afternoon and sunset cruise (known as the booze cruise - open bar) with Blue Dolphin Sailing. It's a lot of fun but a word of warning: you better like Latin pop music played LOUD. It gave me a splitting headache, although that may have been enhanced by the fruit punch with cacique, the local hooch. Someone said it's made from sugar cane and industrial solvents. We're back at the condo now. I put Cosi Fan Tutti on the iPod and things are much better.

In any event, the passengers were young and beautiful, with certain exceptions. Our captain, first below, steered us through some high winds and sea swells. On the way back, the crew started to pull the ladies out to dance, adding to the hilarity.

We've got a day trip today to Palo Verde National Park and the village of Guaitil. So many pictures, so little time.

Temporarily Tamarindo: Booze Cruise

.

That's what most people call it, although it's an overstatement. A four and a half hour ride with Blue Dolphin Cruises on a catamaran to a cove where you can snorkel or kayak, or stay on the boat and take pictures. (Who might that be?) A good lunch of arroz con pollo, salad and more, plus all the beer, rum or cacique (a deadly Costa Rican liquor that's sort of sugar cane vodka) that you cared to pour into yourself. No one got tipsy enough to fall overboard, although that might have made for some great pix.

Above, the lovely and exotic Rosie from Brazil, perhaps taking three sheets to the wind. Below, a couple all the way from Finland; relaxing on the foredeck in the setting sun; Capitán Gerardo at the helm and with some of the crew (one of whom is inexplicably wearing a Minnesota Twins baseball hat).

The odds of lots of things happening are tiny but, still, they happen some times. There were 21 passengers on the boat. Two of us were graduates of St. Louis University School of Law. She graduated several years after me and practices in Washington, but we had a long, pleasant talk over cocktails about how awful many of the professors were that we had in common. Go figure.

Once again, it's very late. Downtown St. Louis 365 will go up Thursday morning local time (conveniently, the same time zone as home).