Star Pride, Latin America Explorer via the Panama Canal ex Callao to Puerto Caldera

18 Night Cruise sailing from Callao to Puerto Caldera aboard Star Pride.

Highlights of this cruise:

Colon
Colon is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Three modern ports make Colón one of the most important ports of the Caribbean Sea.

Set along the turquoise waters of the Caribbean coast, the province has a wide variety of attractions-beautiful beaches and islands, fascinating historical sites, the largest Free Trade Zone outside Hong Kong, a state-of-the-art cruise port, world-class bird watching, diving and snorkeling and a spectacular 5 star hotel/convention center on the Panama Canal.

Manta
Manta is a major coastal city located in the Coastal Lowlands of Ecuador. It is a commercial and vacation resort area and is the second largest seaport in Ecuador. Manta receives numerous visits from foreign as well as local tourists.

Manta boast many popular beaches, such as "El Murciélago", "Santa Marianita", "San Lorenzo" and "Barbasquillo". The refurbished Playa Murciélago (Bat Beach), very popular with locals, is in the Malecón area; it features a scenic boardwalk, restaurants serving excellent seafood fresh out of the ocean, recreational sports, craft markets, bars and other places for fun and relaxation. Other important sites include Iglesia La Dolorosa, the "Mirador" at San Lorenzo beach, the Teatro Chusic, the "Parque de la Madre", and the "Plaza Civica".

Nearby, also, is the small town of Montecristi, founded in the early 1600s. With its colonial architecture, this small town is a great place for shopping for local crafts such as ceramics, wickerwork and Panama hats in a variety of shapes and colors.

Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. It is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area. Callao is built on and around a peninsula, the district of La Punta, once a wealthy residential neighborhood. An historical fortress, the Castillo de Real Felipe (site of "Rodil's Last Stand"), stands on the promontory overlooking the harbor.

In its surroundings is located the Main Iglesia Matriz Church and the Capitanía del Puerto (Port Captaincy). From here a street takes the visitor towards the District of La Punta which hosts the Naval Base, round stony beaches, the old walkway by the sea and a handsome residential area.

A few kilometres into the sea stands the San Lorenzo Island, with some archaeological relevance and the El Frontón Islet, at present an abandoned prison that used to hold highly dangerous criminals

Puerto Caldera
Puerto Caldera is situated in Esparza, in the northern region of Puntarenas province, Costa Rica. It sits near the mouth of the Golfo de Nicoya on the Central Pacific Coast. This tiny town is a key port for ships from all across the globe. Although Puerto Caldera is a small town, it is close to many popular tourist attractions.

Excursions available from Caldera include the Carara National Park Tour, a magnificent reserve where an amazing tropical bird called the Ara Macaw, can be seen. Also close by is the Turubari adventure center where you can enjoy the Canopy Tour, the Aerial Tram, Horseback Riding or the Sensational Cable. to visit the magnificent Poas Volcano.