May 8, 2025
COSTA RICA - PUNTA ARENAS
Last time I was in Punta Arenas, I swore I would not come back, as it was the hottest freaking country I had ever been too! I sweated so much that a cyst formed on my scalp and ruptured. So I was not excited at all to return. But we had a mandatory day for every residents and crew member to get off the Ship from 9 to 4 pm, for preliminary USCG testing and inspection. I spent the day poolside at a nice quiet hotel in the Punta Arenas Marina area with my good friend Bosco.
In Port with us was a historic Coast Guard Schooner Ship, which was in South America for the first time in some 88 years. It was a gorgeous ship and they had a big dignitary party that evening where local performers did a show for both Ships.
Ternate, Indonesia, which is both the name of the city and island, and is part of the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. It is a port that sees maybe 3 Cruise ships a year. However, they really made an effort to show us the best of what they can offer. It's mainly a Muslim country, and we knew we had to dress discretely, but we knew little else. We didn't have our typical port talk prior, due to a technical issue with the AV equipment. Ben a fellow resident, organized an island tour, with about 8 stops, for 90 of us residents.
Cebu greeted our Ship with a big warm welcome, despite having just been rocked by a major Earthquake, days before our arrival. The Minister of Tourism arrived with a motorcade and she proceeded to chat with the residents and thank us, for all our support.
Today we were Cave explorers! We went to the one of UNESCO newly classified 7 NEW WONDERS OF NATURE - The Puerto Princesa Underground River.