LIMON, COSTA RICA
This is one of the midnight buffets. My dad captured this pic so i want you all to see it. It was actually set up out side on the Lido Deck. Yum
sounds amazing right? So you can understand why we were jazzed to get this early morning going. From all that had happened in Panama, the day before, we just knew this would knock our socks off!
half way to the banana plantation we are stopped by a old woman on a bike. She tells our guide that the road we are on is closed ahead due to the canal overflowing. The guide told us that this had never happened before, that should have been our first warning sign, and that we would turn around and take another road to the plantation.....no big deal right?
As he was talking to us a little truck carrying way to many people began to slow down......
I remember saying out loud..."oh look they are all on their way to work and school...so fun...." I also remember how they were OVERLY excited to see our bus and were openly waving and giving us the thumbs up as they got closer........
this should have been our 2nd warning sign........
but what we didn't know is that this group of people had been plotting and planning to use us as a way to get what they wanted from their government officials....
looking back at these pictures after the whole situation, I could see the man below with a large Costa Rican flag under his arm.......if only we had know that the canal was not flooded and had just continued driving.....
the bus was turned around and heading back to the "plan B road"
a local school that we passed
when all of the sudden we were brought to ANOTHER STOP......and as this mother and daughter walked by us something about her smile made me think......"something is not right here".
Leanne set up in concern
I did my face of concern and shock......or this could be me just looking scary, not sure.....i must have been going for the "ooooooooh" moment in "oooooooooooooh no"
and in a blink of an eye we were Americans held hostage by the Costa Rican people WHO SAID THEY WOULD NOT LET US GO TILL THE GOVERNMENT SHOWED UP AND FIXED WHATEVER WAS THEIR CURRENT PROBLEM........
ropes were tied up to block traffic coming and going. The roads began to jam up. Signs had been made in advance and hung up as we set in shock with the fact that a protest was under way and we were BEING USED TO GET THE GOVERNMENT to listen to them......we were being used because they knew the government would listen if Americans were involved!
the house outside of my window that we stared at for hours....apparently they did not want to go to work....
local police...that would be our version of a Mall Cop in America...no guns.
so once the excitement died down we realized that these people were not playing around and WOULD NOT MOVE! so we just took pictures of ourselves hahahahha
dad chilled
mom checked out the house by her
that looked like this...
and they had a goat......
THEN FINALLY THE GOVERNMENT S.W.A.T team showed up with GUNS and we thought that "oh yes, oh yes, they have guns and this is about to be over".........i mean in all seriousness----it was two ropes blocking our freedom and I just wanted to get out of the bus, walk over with a pair of scissors, and cut the dang things down and tell them to move over cause I've got a fruit buffet to get to FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY!!!!!!!!!!
oh just kidding......no terrorist...it just makes our story sound so much more exciting!
again a group of S.W.A.T showes up with some local police.........by this time it has been hours
highlight of the hostage situation....our tour guide was able to get us some mini bananas that I was SOOOO IN LOVE WITH! oh they were like doll or barbie size and I could not resist taking pictures of it!
all hope was lost when I began to notice that NO ONE WITH THE POLICE OR SWAT WAS DEMANDING ANY KIND OF AUTHORITY!!!!!! IT WAS KILLING ME!!!!! its like a nightmare for a teacher....like when you see a kid hitting their mom and she says sweetly.."oh stop hitting me" and the kid continues in a mean and ugly way...because they know mom is not going to do ANYTHING ABOUT IT !
uggghhhhhhhhhhh makes you want to scream....well anyway, thats what was going on. People chanting and people standing around but nobody getting anything accomplished.
then..finally some governement men showed up and took the head protest leaders into the hearest build.....which was a church....thats right...did i forget to tell you that......they staged this circus in front of a church! don't even get me started...this is so not the way to attract people to church ok costa rican people!~....oh i am kidding.......well kinda
good news is that the pastor...man below with BIBLE IN HAND....seemed to be a spokes person to the protesters! I saw him doing a lot of talking between the two groups.
and our poor guide was trying to keep us alive and our spirits high......he kept bring on the bus other fruits and things....this is where chocolate comes from........before it is roasted like coffee....
3 hours later...they tell us another bus is coming and that we will continue our tour........then, by God's Grace the people moved and we were allowed freedom to drive on.
our happy faces to be free
pic of the church and of course I made sure to get photos of the main people blocking our way to banana heaven!
Hope was still alive as we drove a little while. Then the guide told us the tour was canceled.....along with many other tours and Carnival wanted us all brought back. Safety was the issue really. Money refunded of course but the disappointment was still there. I would not get to experience the beauty of Costa Rica. tear....
so what do you do when your down......SHOP AT THE LOCAL MARKET OF COURSE!!!!!!!!
leanne sporting her Aggie tee..
mom and I bought bird art from this man. They are made completely from feathers and we loved them!
and you know i have to get pictures of local flowers to paint later....
Then it was time to go to the boat.
C- for caroline
L-for leanne
random pics of the docking area......remember i was feeling desperate for photos due to looking at the same house for hours..... i mean, we were going to see the rain forest! oh can't talk about it cause i might cry.
something interesting that you history people might like.....this is an island that Christopher Columbus landed on. They say he was the first westerner to Costa Rica. Pretty interesting stuff..... here below me is a better pic
so the rest of the time in Costa was good. Of course I have experienced craziness in every country I have visisted so I have zero hate for them. I could like to return one day....maybe on the pacific ocean side...heard it is really beautiful....and give them another shot. It's just sad that we were the only cruise in port that day and because of a small neighborhood of people------many others did not make money for their families and that i do not like!
on cruise ships they take your pic for EVERYTHING and then set them out............my dad put ours together....hahahhahah but the pics are printed HUGE so we could spot us for miles hahahh
at the table
ps...... i got this straight brown maxi dress that I LOVE from Ross for 7.99. on another night i got my favorite dress from the trip for also 7.99! I LOVE GREAT CLOTHES AT CHEAP PRICES!!!!!!!
These next pics are only here to document the mood of the night. My parents were being so funny and getting so tickled about stuff that we were the LOUDEST TABLE EVER! they were cracking us up.
this is mom...who lost her silverware everynight and then it came time for dessert and she had stolen my dad's spoon for her tea........and dad just looked at his dessert like..."seriously, does she really have my spoon again".....
mom saying "oops....sorry"
and him taking it back
probably only funny to us... but my mom can be so funny sometimes. On certain nights at dinner the wait staff stop serving and sing and dance for y0u! it is the BEST TIME EVER!!!!!!
everyone sings along and people dance too!
wow, that was another long one.
Belize is by far the best pictures and most "fun" play day from the trip. Lots of beach pics and smiles.
I also wanted to share that my mom was in the middle of praying for us and our tour when we were stopped by the old woman and forced into the "hostage zone" as I like to call it. She was praying for our safety and strongly feels that even though we were sad that our tour was canceled..........GOD WAS PROTECTING US FROM SOMETHING FAR GREAT THAN A PROTEST! And I have to say amen to that. What sometimes seems like such a incovenience to us is really just God telling us to get back to the ship were safety is present. Oh He is so good!
love you!