Nicaragua

I think San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua is one of the ports they substituted for another one they took away. Certainly, the debarkation procedures weren’t as smooth as we’ve come to expect.

Hans went around 12:30 to get our “ticket numbers” for the tenders and came back to tell us he’d been told we wouldn’t be boarding before 1:15. That was true. Our number was 9, so at 1:15 we found a place to wait. And wait. Those passengers on tours got priority of course, so we understood we wouldn’t be first. Around 1:45 tickets numbered 1 were called to the tenders. And around 2:15 tickets numbered 2 were called. Hans decided he didn’t want to go ashore that badly and went back upstairs. Teddy really wanted to get a postcard and mail it from Nicaragua and wouldn’t you know it, Nicaragua is one country for which the Purser’s office didn’t sell stamps so we had to go ashore. But we want to go anyway. Finally, just before 3:00 p.m. our number was called and we were lucky enough to get a prime seat up top in the open air.

It didn’t take that long to get to shore, and then we found out why the going was so slow. There’s only ONE DOCK. And there are dozens of little boats in the cove so, one tender ties up at the dock and tender number two has to wait quite a bit outside that area until #1 has unloaded its passengers and taken aboard those wanting to go back to the ship. Then #2 has to wait until #1 has manoeuvered backwards away from the dock, after which #2 can approach and tie up. And so on. This waiting took another 20 minutes. We finally got off the tender at 3:50, nearly 1 hour after our number had been called.

Last tender leaving shore for the ship is at 6:30 so in order not to waste time, we quickly asked someone where to find the post office. It wasn’t far away and we headed towards it, but had to go through a huge handicraft market first. I suggested to Teddy she go and get her card and stamp, and I would browse through the market and meet her at a designated spot. This worked perfectly. When she got back, I asked, “Did you get your card mailed?” “No. The post office was closed.”