"I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea." ― Alaine Gerbault
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AHOY from the Pacific Ocean, where I'm still aboard the nine-month-old Explora I, the first luxury ship from Explora Journeys. It was designed to feel like sailing on a private yacht, and it definitely does! I'm on board until Friday when I disembark in Panama City, but before then I've got two more days at sea and a fantastic day planned in Costa Rica. I feel like I'm in heaven and don't ever want to leave Explora I; each suite has its own Wi-Fi router, so I could easily live and work here forever! I took the photo above from our small sailboat as we returned from snorkeling in a secluded cove near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I have SO MUCH to say about the elegant Explora I - like how it was engineered to emit very little sound underwater, so nearly every day I look out and see dolphins jumping right beside the ship and my heart leaps with happiness in time with them. If you want to hear more, please contact me.
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You can also get a sense of the ship at the Nine Muses Travel Facebook and Instagram pages, where I'm posting my antics on this ocean journey. Follow along to see what I get up to in Costa Rica on Wednesday and in Panama City once I say goodbye to Explora I, check into my hotel, and explore the city and Panama Canal all weekend on my own.
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My most recent photos are from yesterday when I went off the beaten track in Guatemala to Escuintla and the charming town of La Democracia. While most visitors choose to see the charming UNESCO World Heritage town of Antigua, I opted to join our small group of 24 people (including one of the ship's singers) led by a Guatemalan archaeologist to see the ancient, magnetized Monte Alto sculptures: huge, carved stone heads and rotund bodies on display in a little park at the center of town. I kept thinking about how if these priceless pieces of history were out in the open in other parts of the world (my city of New York included), they'd be defaced somehow by now. Instead, all the townspeople gather around familiarly, sit on their bases, and interact with them respectfully. They were also very curious about us and not yet used to seeing a lot of foreign tourists in their town. A group of teenagers just out of school and still in their uniforms stared and smiled at us and even posed in the background of our photos. We next drove to the Cotzumalguapa Culture Museum, which sits on a lush, dead-end, dirt road surrounded by sugar cane fields and tropical flowers, and admired its archaeological treasure trove. The excursion was full of authentic, local experiences and interactions, and I'm so glad I chose it!
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For anyone interested in Explora Journeys, I have access to some really great promotions, especially while I'm still on board this week. Now that I have firsthand knowledge of who would most enjoy Explora Journeys, shoot me an email if you think it might be YOU!
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