I disembark the ship this morning at 9AM, walking through the various shops setup at the cruise terminal, discovering Revolucion Artisanal Plata 35 tequila at US$220 which comes in a beautiful ceramic bottle! I find my way over to Oro Beach (see banner image above), which has public access and is adjacent to the cruise port. It’s a beautiful beach with lots of resorts along it, but I think the swimming in the open ocean would be a bit challenging.
Since Puerto Vallarta really doesn’t appeal to me, I spend the rest of the day aboard ship, taking photos of more birds: Brown Pelicans, Magnificent Frigatebirds and Laughing Gulls. My balcony is facing the harbour, so I watch all the party and excursion boats along with Seadoos coming and going. The 101m Attessa IV super yacht is docked across from our ship, providing some variety to this tourist city. This art deco-styled vessel with Gucci accents is owned by “shoe shiner turned billionaire” Dennis Washington, and is worth about $200 million.
I go to the late show in the Princess Theatre this evening: “Broadway” with Vancouver-based entertainer Lovena B. Fox. Her voice is wonderful…probably the show I enjoyed on the cruise the most.
Please scroll down to the flying frigatebird and pelican in the water to see the photos from this cruise. The top-most photos are from my cruise port call back in October 2023.
We take a walk along the harbour front Malacon near the pier after breakfast before it gets too hot. There are lots of big tugs in this busy freight harbour – Mexico’s largest as it turns out. The shops are as expected – t-shirts and trinkets, OTC medications from numerous pharmacies, restaurants and snack bars. My friend is looking for a gift to take home, but he finds nothing to his liking. The gift shops on the pier are actually the most appealing, but no sale from either of us.
We spend the rest of the day aboard ship. I take lots of photos of birds circling in the harbour, mainly Magnificent Frigatebirds and Laughing Gulls. I also explore the ship. The Promenade Deck is essentially not usable for walking, since it’s so narrow and it doesn’t go all the way around the ship. The harbour traffic provides me with lots of photo opportunities – in addition to the seabirds, there are lots of tugboats, pleasure craft, and other working boats to watch.
The Piazza is the 3-level atrium midship on Discovery Princess, which is very impressive with marble floors, brass and glass everywhere, and big chandeliers and staircases. Lots of activities and performances happen in the Piazza. The International Cafe, Gelato Dessert Cafe and various bars are located on the various levels. The problem is that it’s very noisy, otherwise I would spend more time here. We both have free access to the Gelato Dessert Cafe, so we sit down and have some ice cream, which is very good. They also serve amazing 12-layer cakes, and dessert concoctions that would put me to sleep, since they are huge and loaded with sugary treats.
We both have the curried fish in the International Marketplace on Lido for dinner, which is probably the best-tasting meal we’ve had on the cruise. I had the fish over coconut rice, which made it extra fine IMHO.
Saturday, December 10, 2011 – Day 20 – Manta, Ecuador
We arrive in Manta, a small city with an important seaport with a big harbour and two beautiful adjacent beaches. I am not signed up for a shore excursion today, instead preferring to go for a walk along the wonderful beach adjacent to the pier where we are docked. As we have come to expect on this trip, the skies are overcast and the outside temperature is in the low 20’s, however the humidity is high.
After breakfast, I take the shuttle to the entrance to the pier, and walk the block or so to the Malecon Beach. This is a huge beach, several kilometres long. The entrance area has cafes and bars, as well as activity areas for people and families to socialize and have fun. Being Saturday, there are hundreds, perhaps even a thousand or so locals at the beach today. That said, I only have to walk a few hundred metres down the beach and it is virtually empty. There are some lovely beachfront towers built between the road and the beach. It is a great area to enjoy, and so easy to get to from the ship.
Agricultural shamen pottery artifact – Museo Centro Cultural Manata
I meet a friend on the beach, so after we walk for awhile, we decide to have a look at the Cultural Museum located across the street from the beach entrance. There is no charge to enter; however the main desk retains our Holland America passenger cards until we leave. There are some interesting modern works of art, and some cultural artifacts in pottery and gold. It takes about 20 minutes to see the three floors of exhibits, so their collection is not extensive, but it is interesting nonetheless. We return to the ship, taking the free shuttle along the working pier to the gangway. It is always nice to return to the relative comfort of the Rotterdam.
In addition to being a deep-sea port for freighters, Manta is also home to the tuna fishing fleet for Ecuador. Many American and Canadian fishing companies operate out of Manta. The nearby town of Montecristi is where Panama hats are produced. There are many tours from the ship returning from Montecristi this afternoon, with passengers sporting new hats as they re-board. I bought a genuine Panama hat many years ago on one of the Caribbean islands.
Our departure is delayed this evening by the fuel loading, or bunkering operation that started this afternoon alongside. We go to dinner in the main dining room and are seated at a table with a couple from Liechtenstein. They speak poor English, but prove interesting to talk with nonetheless. After dinner, I take advantage of the ship still being docked after dark by taking some night time photos of the fish boats at anchor, the freighter docking next to us, and the Full Moon reflecting off the water as it drills through the cloudy sky. I stay on deck to watch Rotterdam finally leave port around 8:30PM, carefully finding its way out to the Pacific past the anchored fish boats.
Sunday, December 11, 2011 – Day 21 – At sea – Ecuador to Costa Rica
We sail between Ecuador and Costa Rica today, and in the process cross the Equator for the second time on this cruise. We are still in the cold Peru Current, which has surprised many on this cruise (including myself) with the cool air temperatures (averaging 21°C) despite being so near the Equator. I catch up on my blogs today, covering both Ecuador and our last day in Peru. Annotating and choosing photos is always a big part of this work.
It is formal night, so my friends and I get dressed and go for dinner this evening to Canaletto, an Italian-themed restaurant. A couple of others join us for dinner, which always means there is welcome variety to the dinner conversation as we interact with people from all walks of life.
Friday, December 9, 2011 – Day 19 – Guayaquil, Ecuador
Since I am staying aboard ship today, after breakfast I go outside to take photos from the Lower Promenade Deck and Deck 6 Forward as Rotterdam sits docked near Guayaquil. The Guayas River is an interesting and active transportation network. There is a dredge working practically alongside the Rotterdam, pumping river sludge onto a nearby island. The Ecuadorian navy ships glide by on a regular basis. There is a steady procession of private boats and tugs cruising by the Rotterdam, with people waving and taking photos, almost as though they never see cruise ships regularly. I make good progress reading my book in a recliner on the Lower Promenade Deck, and then later move inside to the Library.
Man in dugout canoe with plastic sail on Guayas River
The ship leaves dock precisely at 3PM; backing up beside a couple of docked container ships before turning around mid-stream to head out into the navigation channel. The Guayas River soon widens out considerably, and I see dolphins, Egrets, Pelicans, and other shorebirds. There are people in dugout canoes with primitive sails, and others in powerboats along the way. There are also lots of freighters anchored out in the river. I assume they are waiting for dock space. Among the numerous islands, there are some big shellfish growing operations – no doubt they are producing shrimp or crayfish. It takes Rotterdam almost four hours to clear the river and enter the saltwater of the Pacific, so we can be on our way to our next port of call: Manta, Ecuador.
My friends and I have some Becks beer on the Lido pool deck, which is very pleasant since the weather is warm despite being overcast. We decide to dine al fresco, having a simple meal from the Lido buffet as the ship proceeds down the Guayas River. A lovely way to end a day at leisure, as darkness descends.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 – Day 9 – Fuerte Amador, near Panama City, Panama
Rotterdam is anchored for the day in Panama Bay, however I have no shore excursions scheduled, so I can take it easy today aboard ship. This ends up being a wise decision since it pours rain most of the day. I go ashore for about a half hour to have a look around the local community of Fuerte Amador, however there is nothing of interest to me there…just tour and taxi stands, souvenir shops, and a few restaurants. There are also some very expensive-looking boats moored in the local marinas.
I spend a quiet afternoon working on my notebook computer annotating the 160 photos and videos I took of our Panama Canal transit from yesterday. I also enter place name location data for each photo to supplement the GPS position tagging. I find doing this as I travel rather than after I return home makes it much easier to cope with all the photos I take on my travels. I can turn out regular blog entries while I travel, and I can update my JoeTourist website much more quickly after the trip ends.
The Matinee Idols perform in the show lounge this evening, singing classic songs from the stage and screen from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. I find it kind of funny that the songs three young men (Nicholas Rodriguez, Austin Miller and Connor O’Brien) are performing were hits when these guys weren’t even born! The tenor has the strongest voice, but the other two are good singers as well. I enjoy their show. Two of them had roles on soap operas (daytime drama TV shows), hence their group’s name. I saw them hanging out on the deck earlier today. They stood out since they are young and good-looking, as compared with most of the rest of the men on this ship, who are generally old and not-so-good looking!
