Sloths and Canoe Ride in Costa Rica

Our excursion to the Sloth Sanctuary included meeting the sloths and a canoe ride on the Estrella River.  Can you believe the sloths fall in the same order as the armadillos and anteaters? It was interesting to learn about the sloths at this sanctuary.

We discovered that sloths are not lazy but are energy-saving mammals taking life at a slow pace to avoid the rush and tumble or food, while subscribing the movement patterns that help them avoid being identified as prey.

This was our first experience in a rain forest.  Here is a skyward view from our canoe ride. We were there during Costa Rica's dry season as their wet season starts in April.  The pretty leaves from the orange tree in the picture were constantly falling.  One ended up landing right in my shirt pocket!

There were 24 of us on this canoe ride so 6 each fit into 4 canoes along with our experienced boatman.

Though they are somewhat hidden by the leaves, there are at least five monkeys in this image.

This was also a first--seeing a banana tree!

This is a second--a coconut tree, as I saw plenty of coconut trees during a cruise to Mexico.

My, what long legs and tail this striped lizard has!

And last but not least two turtles basking in the Costa Rican sun during our canoe trip on the Estrella River.  I couldn't help but ask our tour guide if anyone had ever fallen off the canoe and he said, no one ever had!

Panama Canal and Gatun Lake

We passed the Atlantic Bridge around 6:30 on the morning of March 14.  The Atlantic Bridge is the third bridge over the Panama Canal.  I was so thankful the weather was perfect!

This boat rode alongside our cruise ship as we were about to enter the locks.  Now it is going away from us to who knows where!

Our ship approaches the lower chamber of the canal locks.  I downloaded an audio app to my iPhone and recorded the ringing of the bells while going through the canal. (You'll need to click the start button to hear the bells ringing.)

While we are entering the locks, another ship is exiting the locks on the other side.

This is a closeup of the ship across from our ship exiting the locks. 

Gatun Lake is very large and was hard to capture in one shot.

While exiting the locks, one of the machines attached to our ship broke down. You can see two individuals walking on top of the locks in this image.  I estimate it took them about 30 minutes to make the repairs.

While eating breakfast, I was able to view inside the locks chamber from the dining area.

They said everyone that went outside on deck to view the locks was served a Panama roll.  I was able to eat the same roll in the dining area! It was delicious!

Curacao Ostrich Farm and Aloe Vera Plantation

When we arrived at the Ostrich Farm, we boarded a covered open truck to start our tour.  The tour guide stopped the truck and stuck his hand out to the first ostrich we met.

I was having fun taking photos of the curious ostriches as they approached our vehicle.  They looked so cute!

This silly ostrich kept pecking at the fence.  If I remember correctly, the tour guide said these birds have a very small brain and forget why they are even pecking.

Another tour guide met us to let all of the tourists have a chance to feed the ostriches.  Below she demonstrates how to feed the ostriches.

They have some pot-bellied pigs that come and clean up the feed that drops on the ground during the ostrich feedings.

We then got back on the tour bus to go to the Aloe Vera Plantation.

We watched a live demonstration on how they harvest aloe vera. 

Everyone had a chance to eat a piece of aloe vera.  I was brave and tasted it since its supposed to be very healthy for you.  It was acidic with a bit of sweetness. 

I thought it was clever that they used goats to keep the weeds out of the aloe vera plants.

On the way back to the cruise ship, we were told an interesting story why Curacao has so many colorful buildings.  To read the history of how King Willem's headaches caused the buildings to be colorfully painted, click here. 

Aruba Sunset Tour

I was so looking forward to this excursion through Holland Ameria and thank God the weather was perfect! We rode in a catamaran similar to the one shown in the image below.  On the boat, they served refreshments and tasty snacks of local cheeses and hot appetizers.  Yum!!!  On the way back to port, we captured our cruise ship, the Zuiderdam, and one of the images below shows our suite/balcony on deck 7 circled in white.  Enjoy!

Aruba Butterfly Farm

Aruba was our first stop on our 10-day Panama Canal cruise since we weren't able to go to shore in the Bahamas due to the rough seas.  I enjoyed capturing beautiful flowers, butterflies, and a beautiful sunset in Aruba.  The following images are from the Aruba Butterfly Farm.  The Aruba Sunset Tour images will follow in a separate blogpost.

The butterflies feed off of these pink and red pentas in the butterfly garden.  Pentas are a heat-tolerant flower perfectly suited for the warm weather in Aruba.

We listened to a tour guide for quite some time and I didn't have time to capture the Monarch butterfly though I did get a photo of the Monarch caterpillar (below).

This Owl Caterpillar was almost hidden on this leaf which the tour guide pointed out to us.

This chrysalis or pupa of the owl butterfly will eventually emerge as an adult which is shown in the next image.

The Owl Butterfly is known for its huge eyespots which resemble owl's eyes.

This Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly is one of the largest butterflies in the world.  The swallowtails are unique in that even while feeding, they continue to flutter their wings. Unlike other swallowtail butterflies, spicebushes fly low to the ground instead of at great heights.

We were privileged to capture this Scarlet and Spicebush Swallowtail mating on a tree.

And last but not least, this yellow and black Malachite butterfly looks so pretty while feeding on this red Hibiscus flower.