We went on a cruise but I failed at great shots

[OriginalGeek]

everything was too rushed while on excursions - very limited time plus it was raining in Costa Rica and when entering the Panama Canal. I need practice but I ain't mad at a few of these shots lol:


Me and Mrs Geek (found a friend to take our pic with my phone)




bunch of bananas just lying around on the ground on the road past a plantation

(our tour guide grabbed them and threw them in the bus cargo area lol)

VERY rickety bridge across canal to get to said plantation




We went to Cahuitas National Park and never saw a sloth or any other fuzzy critters but still had fun and good food in spite of the rain. We'll pick a different tour guide next time. Here's various shots from around there:





I'll continue in another post. we were on an 8-day partial transit of the Panama Canal with stops in Limon and Grand Cayman. I probably took a thousand pictures and only a few are very interesting to me and probably less to y'all lol. Mix of camera phone and Nikon D3000. I brought a slow, 70~200mm zoom and a faster 50mm that I was really looking forward to using but never got a chance to really test it as we were always in a hurry everywhere and I usually want to take time to find a good shot when I'm using the Nikon. SO that threw me off my game a lot. Oh well, still learned a lot about being prepared lol.

[True Dough]

1. My wife and I love Costa Rica

We found the Grand Caymon nothing special, however. But when you're on a cruise and you only have a small window to make a judgement, your view of things can get skewed rather quickly.

Which cruise line were you on? I can't make out the name of the ship in the background.

[OriginalGeek]

3. Carnival Miracle

yeah, we didn't do much in GC - had been there before and already hit the high spots so we just shopped and drank lol. I do like to get local beers when I travel.

Oh and even though it was quick and rainy, we definitely want to go back to Costa Rica for a longer time. I saw enough to love it. And the cell signal was better there than at my house!

[True Dough]

6. Some people get put off by homes in many Central American countries having bars over the windows

Last edited Thu May 10, 2018, 11:45 AM - Edit history (1)

They quickly discern that burglary must be a major issue. We had tour guides tell us that it is a fairly common problem, but that shootings and killings are a rarity, unlike in many parts of the U.S.

Fair enough!

[OriginalGeek]

9. that seems like a trade I could live with

literally! lol... The tour guide did mention you could get a nice size home for 100~150k. It certainly got me thinking...

[OriginalGeek]

2. By the way

she bought that hat on board because it was glittery and had the Carnival logo on it. I teased her about it being a maga hat and now she's mad at me bc she can't wear it. Sometimes I'm too funny for my own good.

Anyway, on to the Panama Canal.
I wonder if it's fun or boring to sit here at this little control shack at the entrance. I mean, here I am thinking "OMIGOSH< I'M ON VACATION IN PANAMA!" and these guys are probably thinking "is it lunch time yet?"




Selfie to prove I was there lol


Our little helpers




lots of little buildings along the way




here you can see the trains that pull ships through the canal


started really raining for a bit

wet floor


sun did come out some though



various shots







and lots more pretty much like those. Still going through them. I highly recommend a cruise though. My favorite way to vacation.

[True Dough]

7. It is hard to beat cruises

in terms of value for money. You only have to unpack once. You get to see many places. There's plenty of onboard entertainment. And, a blessing and a curse, you get to eat and eat and eat some more!

[AZ8theist]

4. BULLSHIT!!!!

Those are VERY nice pics....

But I agree with you. My wife and I went on our 35th Anniversary cruise last month to Key West and Cozumel and you're right, you just don't get enough time at each stop to really take in the locale.

But I enjoyed your pics very much. Don't sell yourself short; every pic is worthwhile. Here's mine...Sunset on the Gulf...
[IMG][/IMG]

[OriginalGeek]

10. Thank you!

Key West is a ton of fun and a perfect place for a great sunset pic like yours! Luckily, we live in Orlando which is within about 3.5 hours or less of 5 different cruise ports. Last year instead of a cruise we just drove to Key West and stayed in a beautiful little hotel on Duval street for a few days. (we already had this cruise booked but we still wanted to do something for our anniversary). It was great but still cost as much as a cruise lol. Our first "real" cruise* was about 2 years ago for our 30th anniversary and all I wanna do is cruise. But they keep making me come to work instead.

*our first actual cruise was a little 3-day to Freeport, Bahamas and back just to see if we liked it. It was groupon lol - 99 bucks each and we paid I think 40 dollars to upgrade to a room with a window. The ship was so small it didn't even have a Main Dining room. All buffet - but we had a blast and I consider it a real cruise even if she doesn't lol.

Happy belated 35th! We need to start planning for a cruise for ours in 2021. I think If I start saving now we can swing an Alaska cruise which is very high on my bucket list. But I hope we can do a smaller one before then.

[Adsos Letter]

5. Lots of good photos.

I especially like the second bunch, going through the canal.

Regarding your comment regarding the guys in the shack on the canal: I had somewhat the same experience during my time working in the Napa Valley; thousands of tourists on the two roads through the valley on any given day during peak tourist season, and I'm just thinking "C'mon, man, I just wanna get HOME!"

[OriginalGeek]

11. lol, I know exactly what you mean

I live in Orlando and have to deal with Disney traffic every day. Thanks and if I find any more interesting pics I'll post them up.

[Callalily]

8. Nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

I know you said that excursions were a bit of a "hurry", but also (as well you know), you don't want to be that photo guy that holds up the group, or stands in front of the "point of interest" and block views for others.

It's a tough balance, especially when taking photos.

Costa Rica is on my list of places to visit!

[OriginalGeek]

12. Exactly!

I have to get faster so I am not that guy. I know I missed some good shots because we were rushing through to get to the next spot on the tour and I didn't want to hold people up (luckily there were other people being that guy so I used their slowness to get a few decent shots in). This was the first time I brought my good camera - My previous 3 cruises I just brought my phone cam and once a little point and shoot (which was nice but still not as good as my D3000).

I purposely left my good camera at home before because I know myself well enough to know I would have spent the majority of the cruise trying to find the "perfect" shot instead of just relaxing and enjoying being on a cruise ship. I'm glad I did that then and I'm glad I brought it with me this time and now that I'm not a total newbie at cruising I will bring it from now on.

Costa Rica was beautiful even in the rain. And now we know better what to look for in a tour so hopefully next time we go we will be better prepared (and have better weather. Then again, I reckon they call it a rain forest for a reason lol.) They really did get me thinking though when they said how much you could get a house for. I know there's a pretty big American ex-pat community there so it's not like I would be retiring in an alien world.

Thanks for the kind words!