Day Six – Quepos

Quepos is a very popular place for eco-tourism. This morning we took the excursion hike through the famous national park called Manuel Antonio. We saw two toe-ed sloths, lizards, parakeets, monkeys, and one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen. I met a bunch of kids on the beach, and a very nice Costa Rican woman invited me to try a special tea that she makes with herbs and hot water. I could have stayed on that beach all day. But no…back to the ship for lunch, and then I spent the afternoon with Karolina, Viktor, and Simon, taking people to the snorkeling beach. My job was to watch out for the rocks when we got close to shore and help people out of the boat.

Tonight is the Captain’s dinner. I had my own special Captain’s Breakfast this morning, when we sat at a table in the dining room and talked about the duties on the bridge.

See you tomorrow at Curu and Isla Tortuga. We hear it’s another beautiful beach. Pura Vida.

In this photo I am trying a new kind of tea on the beach at Manuel Antonio.

Day Four – Golfito, Costa Rica

WOW! What a day, what a place. Golfito is the ramshackle little town that’s the remnant of the once thriving company town of United Fruit Company. The people we met are so kind and friendly that I really felt at home. I even got to meet some kids who were working on the zipline. Zipline? What’s that?

We got up early this morning and took the tender to town where a bunch of guys picked us up in Jeeps for the ride up a very very steep mountain. It was so steep that we all had to back up and take a second run at one point, but when we got to the top it was amazing. The air was so cool and fresh, and the sounds in the jungle were strange and exciting to my American ears. All around us were howler monkeys in the canopy, and hundreds of different birds, all singing together.

The zip line was waaaaaaaaaaay fun. There were about twelve different segments, and the longest was almost a half-mile. So how it works is – they put you in a harness, strap a helmet on your head, and then a free-rolling pulley, your ride, hooks over a steel cable. Two caribiners and safety straps connect you to the pulley (it CAN’T break), and you use one hand with a leather pad to break your speed if you start going to fast. Then, you step off the platform and wow, down down down you go, flying like a bird over the jungle canopy.

The ride back down the mountain was really fun. We rode in the back of a pickup and I got to meet two Costa Rican boys who were working on the zip line. I found out that they’re in their break from school and their new year will start back in February.

When we got back to the ship I spent the rest of the day working with my friends on the Water Sports team…

Tomorrow – the exotic Drake’s Bay, one of the most remote places in the coastal Americas…

Pura Vida!

Cappadocia, Turkey.

Sailing the Med aboard Star Clippers tall ships just got a lot more legendary. During the 2011-12 Mediterranean sailing season guests will have the opportunity to explore the ancient city of Cappadocia, located in central Turkey, during a pre- or post-cruise land excursion.

This magical two-night tour takes you to the underground cave cities of Cappadocia, where discreet entrances give way to elaborate subterranean worlds. Learn the art of pottery making before setting off to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum and Uchisar Castle where you’ll discover the fairy chimneys and rock-cut churches from the early days of Christianity.

Hike in the dramatic Red and Pigeon valleys; explore Kaymakli, the widest underground city; travel to Cavusin — one of the oldest Greek villages, and marvel at Ortahisar Castle. More adventurous guest can take to the skies and drift over the spectacular Cappadocia landscape with an optional hot air balloon tour.

The “Shark and Stingray Feeding” shore excursion in Bora Bora:

The “Quad Adventure ATV” shore excursion in Opunahu Bay:

Welcome to Star Clippers’ new blog. The Star Clippers Blog Web site will serve as the portal for news and information, images and video, gossip and discussion about Star Clippers and its fleet of three tall ships. We’re happy to have you browse through our pages and read all of the latest news about Star Clippers.

While a large number of posts will come from the ships’ staff, we encourage guests to send in posts as well. If you sailed on a Star Clippers ship and took some photos you’d like to share, please send them to us with your name, who is in the photo, what ship you sailed on and where you are if in port. You can send these to info@starclippersblog.com. Don’t worry about sizing, we’ll take care of that.

We also invite you to send in questions or post comments on the different entries. To post a comment, you’ll need to register, but your information will not be shared with anyone. Our goal is to make this the most interactive blog possible and to create an online community of folks who are fans of Star Clippers.

We’re very excited about this new adventure, and we hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as we enjoy producing it. Again, welcome!