We’d had a lovely, if hot, excursion walking through a cloud forest canopy in Costa Rica, and we returned to the port of Puntarenas with about an hour before we were due to get back aboard Ruby Princess. This didn’t really give us enough time to see if there was much of interest in the area to look at or even find somewhere to have a drink, something we’d not done either when we’d first visited Costa Rica in 2019. So we filed that option away under Maybe Next Time and instead decided to take a short walk along the shoreline about a hundred metres either side of the cruise port pier against which our ship was docked. This would mostly give us a few vantage points from which to take photos of Ruby Princess, and if there’s one thing that cruise bloggers like doing then it’s taking photos of cruise ships.
We started by heading east where the maps indicated there was a public park space. In fact this was a very narrow strip of paved areas, the odd sculpture here and there, and some twisting concrete structures that resembled mounted spines of leviathans (assuming leviathans are actually a thing and that they’re vertebrates). Coupled with the flotsam of seaweed and thin tree trunks washed up along the water’s edge and the churned-up dark sand discolouring the sea this gave the area an oddly desolate feel with just enough peace from the gentle cooling of the evening and the white noise of the small rollers breaking nearby to temper the overall bleakness.
We headed back past the pier and the queue of passengers being checked by security before they headed for the ship, making our way westwards along the shore of Puntarenas where there seemed to be more signs of civilisation. There were certainly a few interesting architectural pieces. A large concrete building that was part of the National Technical University had some clear Art Deco styling to it, and while there’s no information online that could be easily found I did see a date on it of 1930 which ties in with the right period. Opposite that, nearer the sea, there was a more modern public space comprising a stage shielded by giant leaves with amphitheatre-style seating opposite it. We like spotting amphitheatres when we travel and while this one isn’t the historic sort we typically go out of our way to look around, we’re still counting it.
Around the outside of the cultural public space there was artwork in a street art style but all themed for the general environment, touching on local people, customs, and the sea. The large open space beside it included one of those popular city signs for the tourists that it’s often impossible to take a clear photo of, although at this time of the day we were very nearly the only people there.
Finally, as we approached the pier we passed by Antigua Capitanía de Puntarenas, a preserved landmark building with some cannons mounted nearby, all dedicated to the maritime history of the city and region. This would be the sort of place we’d very likely visit on a return to Costa Rica but there was no indication that it was open at this particular moment and we were now keen to head back to the ship as we don’t like leaving it to the very last minute.
Our walk along the long pier to where Ruby Princess was docked was interrupted several times for photos out across the water, and near the gangway and security checkpoint for the ship there was some local entertainment provided in the form of carnival characters which, like all carnival characters, felt vaguely threatening.
The all aboard time came and went and we sat out on our balcony with some drinks and snacks waiting for the sail away from Costa Rica. The light faded from the sky, searchlights from the ship danced across the water, and two hours passed before Ruby Princess finally left. We never did find out the reason for the delay but we suspect that an organised excursion returned to the port late and, because it was an organised excursion, the ship waited.
In the next post in this Ruby Princess cruise travelogue series we’ll experience Halloween on a cruise ship before we arrive at Panama for an excursion we were really looking forward to and for which we’d had to get yellow fever vaccinations for ahead of time to do it. Oh boy, I hope nothing happens to spoil those plans!