Glaciers to Pura Vida: Remembering Alaska from a Hammock in Costa Rica

My first contract working on an expedition cruise ship in Alaska was 5.5-weeks long. That didn’t sound so long when I signed the contract, but once aboard the ship, I realized that my position often works 13 hour days, and there are no days off nor time off.

Completely spent afterward, I flew to California for a couple of weeks of rest, then went back to Alaska for another 2-week contract, the last one of the summer. I thought two weeks would be a breeze, but I was assigned to a brand new ship that had a whole lot of issues to be ironed out. Staff and crew were stressed and overworked. It was messy.

My position, called the “Wellness Specialist,” starts at 7 am teaching a yoga-stretch class, followed by assisting with shore activities and operating the ship spa. This ship holds 100 passengers (nearly twice the size I’d worked earlier in the season), yet still just one of me. On top of that, they added a bunch of cleaning duties to my workload, keeping the gym stocked and tidy.

The demand for spa treatments was extremely high. I couldn’t be seen in public without passengers attacking me with demands for a massage. If I even went on deck to get a breath of air, people seemed frustrated that I wasn’t massaging them.

The expedition leader also expected me to be onshore cleaning, launching, racking kayaks and leading hikes all afternoon. I tried really hard to keep up but was pulled in so many directions, that I totally burned myself out. It was an impossible situation and there was nothing enjoyable about it.

I held it together best I could for the passengers, but I was secretly losing my mind and by the end of the contract, I also lost patience with my snoring roommate.

 

 

The company is working out logistics for this new ship and the situation will surely improve, but not soon enough. As soon as I disembarked, I called management to inform them that I won’t be working on this ship for the winter season in Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama as we’d planned. It’s disappointing because I’d love to cruise those locations, but not on this ship. It’s not worth wrecking myself over.

On the bright side, the new ship had a beautiful spa. The most peaceful part of my day was giving spa treatments.

 

 

The beginning of August also had one week of amazing weather. It had been an unusually dark and dreary summer in Alaska, so this weather was a welcome change.

 

 

 

Going South

After two very challenging weeks finally came to a close, I was so happy to disembark that ship. Climbing into a taxi, I turned around as we drove away and said out loud, “Adios! I hope I never see you again.”

Back in California for just two days, I unpacked the rain gear and repacked sundresses and flip-flops, then flew south to Costa Rica for some much-needed rest.

 

 

I rarely have time for travel planning, so I usually buy the flight and figure out what to do once I get there. The first few nights in Costa Rica I stayed in Escazu, a little town in the hills above the capital. I could get into the city within 15-20 minutes via Uber, but mostly I just chilled at my Airbnb which overlooked a gorgeous tropical garden stream. They had great wifi, so I was able to do my travel research. Otherwise, I rested and watched the rain.

September is rainy season in the central valley and the Pacific coast but drier on the Caribbean, so I booked a bus ticket to the Caribbean and found a bungalow through Airbnb that bordered Cahuita National Park. The bungalow was gorgeous and was way out of my league financially, but I bargained with the Swiss owner for a cheaper price providing I do the cleaning upon departure.

 

 

The town was a perfect fit for me – tiny and quiet without hoards of tourists. I spent mornings strolling the trails of the National Park, and during the heat of the day, I’d retreat to my hammock and watch monkeys play in the canopy above.

 

The call of howler monkeys echo through the jungle on my morning walk in Cahuita

 

I wanted to see more of the country but I didn’t have the energy for it. I did take a couple of day trips south to Puerto Viejo and sleepy Manzanillo, but they only confirmed I’d made the right choice in Cahuita.

 

Walking out Punta Mona in Manzanillo, Costa Rica

 

 

Cahuita fit me perfectly and I saw no reason to leave it. Swinging in a hammock while following the news of hurricane Irma blazing through the Caribbean, this past summer in Alaska began to blur in my memory.

I had tons of photos to share from Alaska yet struggled to come up with a storyline for a blog post. Perhaps this was due to the Caribbean humidity, or maybe I just worked so hard in Alaska, there was no story beyond that. So my Alaska story is a photo journey.

 

Alaska Highlights

Ice & Glaciers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildlife

 

 

 

 

 

Wildflowers

 

 

 

Pure Water

 

 

 

 

Zodiac Adventures

 

 

Cruising through a field of “bergy bits” toward Sawyer Glacier, up Tracy Arm.

 

 

Small Towns

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bike ride I took along the shore in Petersburg

 

Future Travel Plans

I have one more week in lovely Cahuita before heading north again to work on a ship in the Colombia and Snake rivers (Oregon & Idaho). With my departure looming, there’s a bit of work I’ve yet to accomplish. I still need to decide where I’ll travel to in November after disembarking the ship in Oregon.

I have an unexpected gap in my schedule from November through the end of January (because I declined to work the winter season in Central America). I need to make arrangements for this now because there’ll be no time once I board the ship.

I’ve considered coming back to Costa Rica and exploring the Pacific coast. Yet, there are so many lands I’ve yet to explore. Could this be my chance to meet Australia?