I slept very late (for me), not a minute past 7:30. I went down to the lobby to use the wifi and work on my overdue blogs. Everyone else came down for the continental breakfast before 9 and we took a seat at the beautifully appointed dining room. Chateau Cervantes takes continental breakfast to a whole new level. We perused our little leather-bound menu describing the different breads we could get. The guest house manager, Ana, makes us feel,as if we are close friends visiting her home as she plays the part of the best hostess we’ve ever had. We order Danish and croissants (which turned out to be fabulous) and visited the buffet for milk and yogurt. The friendly staff made me a latte on a humongous machine behind the restaurant’s bar and it was better than the latte I order at Starbucks. Great way to start the day! Even one with no clear plan. We wandered outside and waited for the trolley. The trolleys in Old San Juan are free, you wait at the marked stops for the next trolley. There are no set schedules and apparently no set route. We got on and went a different route each time. We just watched the city pass by us and got off whenever we saw something interesting. We browsed many souvenir shops, searching for the perfect magnet (which is what we collect from every place we visit). We strolled through plazas and alleys and when we got hungry we made our way to Calle de Forteleza and Pirilo Pizza Rustica. We had a fabulous lunch in a beautiful old building before we walked down to the pier and took a 50 cent commuter ferry to see the harbor and get a view of the city wall and fort from the water. But we had to continue our magnet hunt! At the very last stop Mallory suddenly screamed. “What’s that on my Shirt?! I think a bird pooped on me!” The rest of us were laughing so hard we could hardly find the breath to confirm it, she did indeed have bird poop right on the front of her shirt.

Despite the offensive spot, Mallory spotted a flock of pigeons in the nearby plaza and insisted on staying to feed them the frosted flakes she brought just for this possibility. Christian, Mallory, and Olivia sat on a curb and fed pigeons out of their hands. (I’m not so crazy about feeding pigeons myself). We returned to our room to rest up (from doing very little) before dinner. We found a great little Mexican restaurant on the waterfront neat the pier. After dinner we walked through the dark streets. They were considerably quieter tonight than last night. We returned to our room and watched a little TV (which we had not done much of lately). Tomorrow we do have big plans, the rain forest and bioluminescent lagoon, so bedtime comes earlier tonight. San Juan has so far proven a totally unexpected place for me, old town is beautiful and charming with its colonial architecture and cobblestone streets, and it’s vibrant with festivals and street performers. This old part of the city gives you a glimpse of what life was like hundreds of years ago, with its forts and city walls and everyone walking everywhere. I look forward to seeing something outside the city tomorrow, seeing the mountains in the distance have definitely sparked my curiosity.

We always choose the self assist option to debark, but today we did not want to leave the ship extremely early. So we took our time getting ready and went to the formal dining room for one last delicious breakfast. By 8:30 we had to vacate our cabin so we took our luggage and went to the back pool deck to recline on deck chairs and read/ nap. We were just outside the lido restaurant so we had easy access to the guava passion fruit juice we can only find on a cruise, this was definitely better than roaming the streets of Old San Juan with our luggage while we waited for check in time to arrive. After a couple of hours zones were still being called, and we decided we were ready to leave (we could leave anytime since we were in the self assist group). We made our way to the gangway and stood in a few lines to finally get through customs. We are pretty patient travelers, realizing that everyone is doing their best to make this as painless as possible for everyone involved. We finally emerged from the terminal sometime after 11 and rolled our luggage less than a mile to our guest house. We were a little disappointed that we had not spotted elliptical lady one last time as we left though. We had reservations at a different place this time since the one in which we stayed prior to the cruise was booked. This guest house did allow us a beautiful balcony overlooking Calle de Recinto Sur. Our room was not ready yet, but the extremely friendly staff took our luggage to the room so we could walk freely around town.

We decided this would be a great time to check out the forts. Old San Juan is surrounded by an old wall originally built for defensive purposes with forts at the two points of land exposed to the sea. Construction of Castillo San Cristobal was began in 1529 by the Spanish and was added to for over 200 years, the current massive size housed as many as 6,000 soldiers at one time, rising 420 feet above the sea with walls as thick as 36 feet. I don’t usually remember such facts, but this place is truly amazing. It’s last use was by American soldiers in WW II. There is a lot of walking and climbing involved in this massive fortress, and before long we were searching diligently for lunch. We found a Subway and sat down to rest. It was mid afternoon and our room was finally ready. We went back and all easily agreed on a nap. The only downside to visiting so many great ports on one cruise is the fatigue factor. We like to use every bit of time we are given at each port to explore the island, and with so many fun things to do onboard at night, we did missed a good bit of sleep this week, and we were all feeling it.

A two hour late afternoon nap makes for a late dinner. We were all feeling tired and in the mood for traditionally American food, but had no idea where we could get this. After walking the busy street for a few minutes, we made a happy discovery. The restaurant was called Trianas and we could see the musician through the windows facing the street. We were soon seated directly by the stage. Although we had apparently missed the first part of the show, we were enraptured with the Flamenco guitarist and his dancers. We later learned the restaurant normally featured flamenco on Friday and Saturday night, but we were lucky enough to have caught a special show. We couldn’t ever figure out why? Maybe because of the holiday weekend, it also seemed to be the birthday celebration of a lady at the next table. Whatever the reason, the lightening fast fingers of the guitarist captured our attention completely. We had seen a famous Flamenco guitarist 15 years ago on our only previous visit to San Juan during a nighttime stop on a cruise. We wanted to see the bioluminescent lagoon but weather didn’t permit, so we reluctantly scheduled an excursion to see the guitarist, and we were pleasantly surprised at the show. We adored it then, and we were loving it now! And the biggest surprise came when Juan Carlos told the story of his appearance on the Ed Sullivan show at the age of 16. His is when we realized that this is the same guy! What?! We were thrilled at our good fortune of seeing him again. I don’t know how much this elderly gentleman performs these days, but I’m so glad we had now seen him twice. We ordered Ceasar Salads and cheeseburgers off the kids menus, but the food was now an afterthought.

After our dinner, we were too excited to go back to our guest house. We walked down toward the water front and found a local festival going on. Food trucks and booths with local arts and crafts kept us entertained. We bought some homemade plantain chips (one of my favorites). We visited a local CVS for a few essentials we had run out of, and then headed back as it got late. We have planned a slow and relaxing day tomorrow (which basically means NO plans). It’s not something I usually do well with, but today’s fatigue has me looking forward to it.

As I sat on the deck I could see the difference in Sint Marteen/ Saint Martin even as we approached. The island appeared more developed than some of the others with large colorful homes on the mountainside, built in such a way to take advantage of the views. We docked in Phillipsburg, which is the capital city of Sint Marteen, the Dutch side of the island. We had breakfast in deck to enjoy the view and sweet little elves left me small birthday gifts on the table. Giving birthday gifts on a trip is really impressive because it takes more planning than usual and the gifts must be small in size. We were able to get off the ship even before the scheduled time, which is a bit unusual. We wandered through the complex of brightly colored shops at the port until we found Hertz. I had rented us a car today to explore the island. Luckily, this island’s traffic laws dictate driving on the right side of the road (literally the right, not making a judgement on correctness). We picked up our little white Corolla, which thankfully came with a free GPS, and we headed to the town of Cul de Sac on the French side. It may at first seem like a GPS is not needed on such a small island, but the roads can be confusing. We arrived at the site of our first planned adventure of the day (kayaking to Pinel Island) but found the windy conditions not suited to kayaking. Plan B was to ride the small ferry to the nearby island, but it was broken down and despite several people working diligently to repair it, there was no way to know when it would run. So Plan C, which we devised in the moment, was to go to the next village of Grand Case and visit Grand Case Beach. So we hopped back in the car and we were off to Grand Case. Nothing seemed to be more than about 5 miles apart on this tiny island, and the 5 miles was only because of the winding roads. Grand Case turned out to be a small Caribbean village with a decidedly French flair. We found a parking place (not an easy task in this small village) and headed to the beach. We were not disappointed since this was the Caribbean side of the island. The view out to Pinel Island (on the Atlantic side) did not have this pristine beach or fabulous water. We lounged in the beach for a while, taking advantage of the warm, calm water with the smooth bottom. We reluctantly left the beach since we had more places to explore. On the way out of town we saw a small French Boulangerie and Pattiserie and stopped for a snack. We bought a baguette and several pastries, including one of the best pain au chocolat I’ve ever had. Euros are the currency of the island but US dollars are widely accepted as well.

The main road took us to Marigot next (the capital of the French side of the island). Again only about 5 miles away. This busy little town with a population of about 36,000 was like a little French town with a Caribbean flair, instead of the other way around. We drove around for a little while looking for a parking place. When we finally saw a car pulling out of a space near the marina we quickly snagged it. We walked along the waterfront so we could fully appreciate the spectacular harbor view. There were literally hundreds of boats scattered throughout the harbor. Most were medium to large sailboats, all were large enough to accommodate its inhabitants overnight, which seemed to be their purpose here in the harbor. Along the sea front there was a small open air market with traditional local Caribbean crafts. We also visited a high-end mall with glass and Palm trees giving it a modern, sophisticated feeling. Most of the stores were designer boutiques where the clerks greeted us with “bonjour “. We found a small gift shop where we bought adorable t-shirts (and the requisite souvenir magnet). After exploring a little bit of the town, we settled on a French Bistro overlooking the marina for lunch. The food was spectacular, and I mean seriously fabulous! The French bread was crusty outside and tender inside with a flavor that made you want to cry. We ordered pasta and the special of back steak and French fries and I’d go so far as to say the food was some of the best I’ve ever had any where. We were beyond delighted at the deliciousness of the food at this little bistro and it only served to elevate my opinion of St. Martin. A surprise to me was how many people here speak French. That may seem like an absurd thing to say on a French owned island, but Spanish and English are the dominant languages in the Caribbean, and the Dutch side of the island did not seem very different from most Caribbean islands. Our waitress explained the special with much effort and an extremely heavy French accent, and it seems for the French tourist this is the destination of choice when looking for a Caribbean vacation. Most of the signs were in French, as was our menu, but English versions were usually printed underneath. We returned to our car after lunch and headed toward Maho Beach, which was- of course- about 5 miles away and back on the Dutch side. Traffic began to get heavy as we neared the airport and the narrow roads were congested with traffic and often at a standstill. Once again on the Dutch side of the island, we made our way around the large, modern Princess Juliana International Airport to the famous beach. It was packed and we doubted if we would find parking, but we finally found a space only about a hundred yards away. Even as we approached the beach, a large airplane roared overhead. Christian had been looking forward to visiting this beach the entire trip and he quickly grabbed his gopro. Maho beach is situated just a few yards from the end of the airport runway. Large planes regularly land at this busy airport and as they prepare to land some of them feel almost like you could reach up and touch them they are so low overhead. We were not disappointed with at least 15 planes, both small and large, landed in the hour and a half we were there. In between planes we either walked the beach or enjoyed the spectacular water. The experience of the planes so close to us as they landed is not something that can be captured adequately on film or video. While we had seen quite a few you tube videos of it, nothing prepared us for how it felt as the powerful planes roared over us. Just before we left, there was also a plane taking off. When this happened, people would line up behind the fence of the airport and as the nearby jet would kick in its thrusters the people were all blown with hot air and hats and loose items were lost by those directly in its path. I only observed this phenomenon, I had no desire to participate. Because of the tales we had heard of traffic jams on the bridge that we would need to cross to return to Phillipsburg, we decided to get an earlier start than we had planned. Driving back around the airport and over the bridge proved to be a little challenging, but we were soon back in the hills of Phillipsburg. The next order of business would be to find a gas station to refill the car, gas on these islands runs about double what gas costs at home, but you really can’t drive that many miles in one day on an island with only 37 square miles of land. We finally found the car rental return lot and we hopped aboard a shuttle to return to the port. The shops were crawling with passengers doing some shopping before returning to the boat. We found a small European chocolate shop and couldn’t resist. While the shop was air-conditioned, as soon as we walked out with our purchases we could almost see them melting before our eyes. We picked up our pace to return to the ship in hopes of protecting our chocolate investment. We had to pause for a moment and watch the group of young boys energetically playing the steel drums. They were very talented and fun to watch, but alas, we had chocolate to protect.

Once onboard we showered and changed but then decided to take a short nap before dinner. Christian left us to nap while he went to enjoy his last Guy’s burger of the trip. We finally made it to dinner and spotted elliptical lady (actually our second spotting of the day). After dinner our waitstaff serenaded me with a lively rendition of “happy buRSday” and brought me a really delicious cake with raspberry filling topped with icing whipped into fluffy swirls.

Even after a nap we were too tired to be in the mood for any of the activities onboard that night. We stopped by the photo gallery and spent some time trying to find the pictures we had taken during the week. We rarely buy any of the pictures, but the photographers can be pretty insistent that we pose for pictures, so we usually do since we find it entertaining to look through the photo gallery. We are not only looking for our pictures, seeing all the other pictures is like people watching without ever being in danger of being caught staring. Of course, we may not be the ones with that idea. We walked up to one rack to find a lady we had never met holding our stack of pictures and looking through them. While we look at other people’s pictures, we don’t actually pick them up to peruse the whole stack. She quickly put them back, and we decided that the picture of us must be so fabulous that even other people consider buying them. (Yeah, right) we returned to our room to the much dreaded job of packing. The upside to this stage of packing was that since we were not flying home immediately, we did not have to consider whether we were staying within the airlines 50 pound per bag guideline. So after we had squeezed the majority of our belongings into the suitcases, we turned in. We laid in the dark and talked about how much fun we’d had at each place. This will sure,y make the “top 10 trips ever” list for all of us. We’ve never actually been on a vacation where we did not have to pull out our rain jackets even once! The wean towns perfect everyday. We have actually gotten pretty good at ignoring rain and having fun anyway, but it’s nice to have a trip where that skill was not needed. This would be a birthday I remember for a long time to come.

I started early with my usual hot tea in the deck chair to watch the sunrise and our approach to St. Kitts today. The first glimpse of the island looked similar to other islands we’ve visited that have been volcanic in nature, mountains rising gently out of the sea ringed at spots by beaches fading into crystal blue water. The sun popped out from behind one of the mountains as we approached and the day dawned with only a few puffy clouds. After breakfast we made our way to the gangway. I had booked us on an island tour today with a man who seemed to be legendary (at least in the world of trip advisor). As often as we can we stay away from excursions booked through the ship for reasons of both expense and experience. The exception is scuba diving because of a broken down dive boat on our very first cruise ever that made us late for the boat. The entire ship was held for us, which is would not have been if the excursion had not been through the ship. But on or very near land, I am comfortable with our ability to make it back to the ship on time. Our tour departure was scheduled for nine, so we had time to walk through the brightly colored shops always “conveniently” located near the pier. The first people we encountered were carrying tiny Green Monkeys and offering to let us hold them and take pictures for a fee. The girls couldn’t resist the adorable, well-behaved monkeys, and Christian’s enthusiasm for monkeys (since he had one as a family pet as a child) didn’t make saying no possible. We did get some adorable pictures and the monkeys were very friendly. The next priority was wifi, I mean how were the girls going to post monkey pictures without wifi? We quickly found a shop that offered free wifi as an enticement to shop in their store. With pictures successfully posted (of course with clever captions), we went to find our tour. We were soon introduced to Thenford Gray, a slender gentleman in his 60’s who took the six of us who would be on his tour today to his small, air-conditioned bus. We passed a variety of vans with different names or nicknames painted on the front in an airbrush style that served as taxis. Mr. Gray was not the type the have his name airbrushed anywhere as was the style for the younger drivers. But we were stuck right away with the respect and kindness with which everyone treated him.

We began our tour with a trip through the city of Bassetere, the capital of St. Kitts. There were beautiful old buildings and landmarks along with thorough explanations of the history and workings of each. I caught myself looking toward the front to see if Mr. Gray was reading this information, which he was not! The man would prove to be a walking encyclopedia for St. Kitts, which was mentioned in hundreds of reviews I had seen (hence the legendary status). We ventured outside the city and stopped along the way for photo ops. Our first stop was Romney Manor, an old sugar cane plantation with many of its buildings intact and a beautiful botanical garden. The girls quickly tired of the talk of plants as we toured the gardens and I know they were beginning to doubt my choice of activities today. They were the first back on the bus and they entertained themselves by staging a froot loops blind taste test with the small boxes of cereal we picked up at breakfast. Everyone will be glad to finally know that each color actually tastes too similar to each other to differentiate by taste. They were getting a little restless and when we returned they tried to sneak a froot loop into Christian’s ear without him noticing. They were disappointed when he immediately said “I know there’s a froot loop in my ear”. The comical interlude ended when Mr. Gray continued our education of St.Kitts. They began to change their minds about the excitement level of our tour on the next stop when we visited Caribelle Batiks. They make cloth here through ancient wax dying methods to make designs on fabrics that is labor intensive but very beautiful. Next on the agenda was Brimstone Fortress. It is an old fortress began in 1690 by the English to protect the island, it is perched on a mountain top and has the most incredible views of the Caribbean I’ve ever seen. There is a vast complex of old, relatively intact buildings to explore and expansive grounds to cover with another stunning view at every turn. We boarded the bus again and headed down the mountain on the precarious, narrow winding roads. Mr. Gray was a more careful driver than many of the cab drivers we had been with, but the combination of being on the left side and the fact that many of the steep roads were barely wide enough to accommodate two cars left us holding our breath more than once.

Our tour then took us to the other end of the island and to a high point where we got a good view of the most narrow point on the island (400 meters wide). It was actually a mountainous ridge separating the water. To the left you see the Atlantic Ocean and to the right you see the Carribean. The views just got better and better. We made our way down to the Caribbean side to South Friar Beach where we ate lunch at a waterfront restaurant and spent time snorkeling at the small reef about 50 yards offshore. The water was crystal clear and bright turquoise at the same time. Christian found a sea urchin on the reef we were able to examine more closely before returning him to his home. The mountains surrounding us in this small bay made a breathtaking backdrop to a gorgeous beach. We finally returned to the dock with only a few minutes to spare, the girls put the time to good use with another monkey picture and one last use of the wifi.

Back on board the ship we went through our well tuned shower plan and headed to dinner. We made a much-anticipated siting of elliptical lady as we ate. Dinner was always a time to relax and recount the days adventures. We sat through a family friendly comedy show (well I for one slept through it), the long days in the sun and water were wearing on me. The girls went to watch a movie on the big screen by the pool and I turned in. It’s so hard to believe we had only one port left. Vacations go like that, the first day or two it seems like you have lots of time, but it flies by and when you look up again it’s almost over. Most important for me is not to dwell on that (like I can have a tendency to do), but to be present in every moment of it and take every memory I can away with me.

 

My first glimpse of St Lucia as I sat on deck early this morning with hot tea in hand was a vision of giant mist covered mountains in the distance rising straight up from the sea. As we moved closer to the island I could make out trees on some of the mountains with the occasional house peeking out to take advantage of the spectacular view. The ship entered a pretty harbor between two of the mountains where we saw a small airstrip and a town in the small valley on the waterfront. The mountains above the harbor were filled with colorful houses and lots of trees, and notably far less Palm trees than many of the other places we’ve seen. We went to meet our dive group and besides the one other diver with us the other day in St Thomas, there were 4 more people joining us, including a man and his daughter originally from Mississippi now living in Houston. Our divemasters Charlie and Curtis welcomed us aboard their small boat and we headed for the Pitons. The Pitons are the twin peaks that are the tallest (and I believe the most beautiful) on the island. Under the surrounding turquoise water at the base of the mountain, the rock face continues in a gentle slope covered with coral and an amazing variety of sea life. The trip to the Pitons showed off the natural beauty of this island. There doesn’t seem to be any flat land at all here, save the small beaches formed at the edge of some of the mountains and the valley by the harbor. I was not prepared for the site of the Pitons. Twin peaks rising straight up out of the water with the larger reaching a height over 2100 feet. Palm trees and small beaches near the twin peaks gave way to steep mountains covered in more hardy trees. I couldn’t stop taking pictures, hoping to capture even a tenth of the magnificence around me. It was the first dive spot I’ve ever been to where I would have been happy to stay on the surface and enjoy the scenery, I couldn’t imagine that whatever awaited us below the surface could rival the majesty of the view of this spot. I would soon find out just how mistaken I was!

Being on a very small dive boat, it takes a little time for everyone to ready their equipment solely because of the lack of space. Divemaster Curtis gave us thorough 15 minute lesson (with illustrations) from our guide on some of the sea life we would see, and although it was fascinating, after the 15 fish I knew I would never remember all the names and I was getting more excited to get a look at these exotic fish myself. This dive site is called Superman’s Flight because this Piton is the location where Superman was filmed picking a flower for Lois Lane in the movie. We took turns gathering our fins, weight belts, BCD and tank with regulator and we each fell backward (on purpose) over the side of the boat one at a time. I was the first one in and I was happy just to float in the water and admire the scenery while slowly each of the divers made their way over the side. It was finally time to descend and I could not have been prepared for the underwater landscape that rivaled the beauty of the one above the water. As far as the eye could see there was a gentle slope covered with rock formations and the most colorful coral I’d ever seen. The fish were not as thick as they are at some dive sites, but the variety more than made up for it. We saw different colored eels, long graceful trumpet fish, more sea urchins than I’ve ever seen with their long black quills making them look a little like small, round underwater porcupines. Inside the vase sponges we glimpsed lobster and crabs of more varieties than I can name. The very beautiful, but dangerous and destructive lion fish were also visible, as well as rainbow flounder, yellow tail snappers, butterfly fish, parrot fish, and at least a hundred more types I can’t identify by name. Because we weren’t too deep, we stayed on this dive about 50 minutes. The last 10 minutes, instead of a safety stop we swam at 15 feet along the more shallow part of the slope and continued to be amazed by the view.

We returned to the boat excited and chattering about what we had seen. Since our small boat did not have room for fresh tanks, we made a short stop at Sugar Beach. This beach nestled between the grand and petit Pitons is stunning. There is a resort perched on the hillside that adds to instead of takes away from the beauty. The divemaster tells us that Matt Damon rented this entire resort and beach for 1.5 million for several days and the marine guard wouldn’t even let them near the beach. We took a short walk on the beach while tanks were exchanged. The sand here is almost black because of the volcanic nature of the island, which is also the reason for the famous black sand beaches in Hawaii. We got back in the boat with our feet covered in these large grains of black sand (each about the size of a grain of cous cous) that stubbornly stick to you skin even when you attempt to brush them off.

The second dive was at the base of the Grand Piton (the first had been at the Petit Piton). The underwater landscape was similar but none of the awe of the magnificent view was lost just because we had done one dive already. There seemed to be even more sea urchins and glowing purple vase sponges lighting up as the light filtering through the water hits them like a spotlight. We hovered around 50 feet and dove for about an hour, with the last 15 minutes being spent above 20 feet. We were no less excited this time upon returning to the boat, and as we shed our dive gear everyone talked loudly and over each other about the dive. Next was the long (rather rough) ride back to the ship. The spectacular view made up a little for the rough ride and constant cold sea spray. Many volcanic islands are beautiful but the difference with St.Lucia is that most of the peaks rise very dramatically from the sea. There are occasionally areas of more gentle slopes, and this is where houses are situated on this small island, but there are many more that rise steeply like the Pitons.

By the time we made it to the dock, we had only an hour and a half before we were required to be aboard the ship. We found, however, that the small ferry that travels back and forth to downtown would pick us here. We decided to make a quick trip into town to see what we could. A small, very “broken in” boat picked us up and we made the 10 minute trip across the bay. We were deposited at a small shopping area where we browsed a few shops but were most interested in getting something to eat after our long day. We chose an open air restaurant above the shops with views of the ship and surrounding area. We ordered drinks and appetizers to snack on and our very friendly waiter immediately noticed my left arm with its sizeable scar. He seemed stricken, he asked what happened and I gave him the abbreviated version I tend to use most often. I am accustomed to questions about my arm and people’s reactions at seeing it, but they are usually able to let it go after I answer their questions. But somehow he couldn’t, I can only guess from his reaction that he had never seen a scar like this. He continued to stare, not in a particularly offensive way, and I felt the need to assure him it was ok. We talked a little more about my accident and my current function. His last comment was that I better be glad I live in the United States. Then I understood, there is little advanced healthcare on these small islands, and anyone who sustains such an injury would be left with a non-functioning limb or no limb at all. So I agreed with him, it is a good thing I live in the States where this injury is concerned.

We soon had to return on the little ferry to board the ship. Our day in St.Lucia had exceeded any expectations we could have possibly had. The beauty of this island (both above and below the water’s surface) make it a likely option for a longer vacation in the future. But in that moment, we only wanted showers to get rid of the salt coating our skin. One of the ways the girls came up with to combat the problem of 4 people getting ready in one room is to take their shower in the spa’s locker room. They actually seem to enjoy wearing the big fluffy robes and using the showers that are 3 times the size of the one in the cabin. It’s amazing how quickly we can all get ready when they do this. Once we were at dinner, Christian realized he had forgotten to make his nightly trip to the Lido deck for butter. He preferred the little foil wrapped butter from the Lido over the small bowl of whipped butter in the dining room. (Who knew he had such a delicate palette?) Our attentive waiter James noticed he did not have his usual stash of butter packets with him and sent someone to the Lido to retrieve some. We all munched happily on the French Bread with the preferred butter before dinner. After dinner, we had so much left over we decided it might seem an insult to leave it. Mallory quickly stashed it in her jacket pocket and she and Olivia were about to leave to see a movie on the big outdoor screen when we double checked the schedule. Dismayed, she lamented “I’ve got butter in my pocket and now I find out the movie started at 6!” My children do lead tragic lives. Actually, we all laughed until our sides hurt and we went off the find something else to do. In the end it was the fatigue caused by the long day of sun and diving that won, and we turned in for the night.

I laid in bed and thought, it’s a great day when I both add something to my proverbial bucket list (because I had not previously been aware it was magnificent to be included) and I check it off at the same time. Seeing the Pitons and diving them is without a doubt one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever done. How could tomorrow possibly measure up? I guess it’s best not to compare, and just enjoy each day for what it brings.

If you listen- even the waves have rhythm. I would’ve liked to have penned that clever line, but alas we saw it painted on a building in Barbados  by someone who is obviously more of a wordsmith than I.

I was somehow most excited about visiting Barbados, and the reason (although I almost hate to admit it) lies solely in the name. It just sounds so exotic, and it’s the only port not named after a saint. My first glimpse of Barbados, however, did not fit the image I had created in my head. I saw a green landscape with large rolling hills with ports and what looked to be factories near the coastline and house packed onto the hillside as far as the eye can see. This actually appeared to be the most industrialized island I’ve yet to see in the Caribbean. Although the island is roughly only the size of the metro Jackson area, it feels much bigger. This is the island closest to the equator that we will visit on this trip, and even the early morning air was warm and humid. The water was also some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It was exactly the color pools are going for when they put in a bright blue/turquoise liner that changes the color of the water. When I was a kid, I didn’t know water that color actually existed besides in pools. We docked at what looked like a warehouse. Barbados is an entry port and Citizens of the UK and of Barbados board here instead of San Juan. About 150 people ended their cruise here today, and roughly the same number would begin theirs. The bulletin they leave in our cabins warned us not to wear or bring any camouflage onshore, as that would be illegal and would be enforced. It also warned us to wear bug spray because of something here that can be caught here that seems to be similar to West Nile Virus.

After leaving the ship, we took a cab to the dive shop where I had booked a snorkel trip for us. We were early (as we usually are) and the dive shop was running behind (as dive shops usually are) so we waited outside the dive shop at the picnic tables (and hammock for Mallory) watching the turquoise water and the birds and enjoying the beautiful morning. When we finally left we found ourselves on a small boat with one couple from the UK. Barbados was given their independence from England in the 60’s but they are still part of the commonwealth of the UK and most tourists here seem to be British. Even the locals speak with somewhat of a British accent mixed with a Jamaican like flair.

Our small boat took us not more than half a mile down the coastline to our first snorkel spot. Their is apparently no law against feeding the marine life here as in many countries, and the guides had bags of fish in hand as we entered the water. The first large, majestic hawksbill turtle came swimming rapidly toward the boat as soon as we stopped, and a few more had joined him by the time we were all in the water (they knew about the bagged fish apparently). We were allowed to get touch the turtles (being aware they may bite our hands looking for food if we came near their heads). It was such a surreal experience, these huge, beautiful turtles swimming right up to us. These turtles are very accustomed to people and were not shy. I got some phenomenal pictures and I can’t wait to see the gopro footage. After some time spent just swimming around with the turtles we boarded the boat to make our way to the next spot. A nearby marine park was the site of our second snorkel. Three sunken boats (the oldest from 1918) were in shallow water and had a variety of coral and fish living in and around them. The guides sprinkled crackers in the water to attract the fish. Sergeant Major fish were the primary species, and their yellow and black striped bodies would become so thick we couldn’t see past them. We also saw Bally Hoo fish swimming in schools just under the surface with their silvery bodies and long “noses” that made them look a little like tiny Marlins. The most interesting fish we saw was a Scrolled Filefish, it’s blue and black spot seems to glow when they swam near the surface and the light hit them. The oldest boat was actually very intact, and looked a little like what I might imagine an old pirate ship would look like. As divers we don’t often do a lot of snorkeling (because going deeper with diving usually gives us more to see) but this one was well worth it.

After returning, we spent a little time at the beach near the dive shop. Because Barbados is an island of limestone (and not volcanic) the sand is the most fine sand I’ve ever seen, with grains so small they are not visible to the eye and you can’t feel them with your feet. It feels like walking on a smooth floor, with flecks of pink sprinkled throughout. On a wall of stones near the water, there were thousands of the tiniest sea shells I’ve ever seen with snails curled up inside them. The remains of a huge old pier (presumably destroyed by a hurricane), formed a wave break to make the water calm and crystal clear over the magnificent sand.

When we had our fill of the beach, we took a cab into Bridgetown. So named because of a series of bridges spanning a canal that is cut right through the downtown area from the sea. The shopping district consisted of high-end designer jewelry and apparel shops on Broad street and knockoffs of the same things on the pedestrian street that paralleled it called Swan Street. Our cab driver recommended a local restaurant and we dined there on flying fish, jerk chicken, chunks of fried plantain, and green peas and rice (in which the peas were actually brown). I always enjoy sampling the local food, and the fact that we the only non-local customers here suggested the food was indeed authentic.

We returned to the boat and dressed for dinner. After our daily siting of elliptical lady, we had dinner and at one of the venues onboard we found Vinnie, our favorite musician on the ship, and listened to him for a while. After his set, he suggested we go see the singer brought on board just for tonight, who was phenomenal. As much as I’d love to stay up late and listen to music, these days in the sun and water are very wearing. We returned to the our cabin to find a cute little towel animal, the amusement this provides seems a little childish but we can all use a little childlike glee. Bedtime came earlier tonight – since we are scheduled to go diving once again tomorrow, I want to be well rested for it. I have no idea what to expect from St Lucia, but I’m always up for a new adventure.

My overall impression of Barbados was not what I expected. It’s completely different from any other Caribbean island I’ve ever visited. It seems like a tiny, tropical version of Manhattan with people walking everywhere. And while there are things for the tourists to see, they seem incidental and tourism doesn’t seem to be their biggest industry as it is in much of the Caribbean (we couldn’t even find any Barbados T-shirts except at the tourist shops at the pier). The water and the sand are probably the best I’ve ever seen, and if I visit again I plan to spend an entire day in the water, hopefully with the friendly turtles.

When I agree to not setting an alarm, it solidifies the day as unscheduled. I’m a firm believer in alarm clocks because I can’t help but feel like I’m wasting my day if I sleep past 8. I don’t try to make everyone else to conform to that guideline (I try not to anyway). I guess I can truly be called a morning person because I love getting up and getting the day started (my recent 1:15 am rising time excluded). I woke up at 5:30 and managed to stay in bed till 6:30,when I couldn’t stand it any longer I snuck around the cabin in the dark so I wouldn’t wake anyone and dressed and headed up to lido looking forward to hot tea and sitting on the deck watching the Caribbean go by. A surprise greeted me on deck with an army of every type of towel animal imaginable that had been left in the deck chairs around the pool, there’s no way not to be amused at that one. I returned around 8:30 to find everyone up and ready to go to breakfast. We decided on the formal dining room for breakfast and Christian ordered his obligatory 4 eggs benedict. Mallory had froot loops encrusted French toast, which she was thrilled with. Olivia and I had chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes respectively, with whipped cream naturally. Next was the ping pong tournament,which Christian always looks forward to. The girls and I claimed lounge chairs on the deck near the ping pong table to watch. Only serious ping pong players show up for the tournament, so it’s not for the faint of heart. Christian was put out after an exciting game in which wind gusts off the Caribbean often carried the ball in strange directions. But who can really complain about having the Caribbean as your backdrop, that makes almost anything that happens rather inconsequential. Actually, I think he may blame Michael Hebert for not having given him any good competition lately. 😉

The next item on our agenda was a cooking demonstration in the steakhouse. I suspect it’s a thinly veiled infomercial for the steakhouse, but since we actually enjoy cooking shows we couldn’t pass up a live one. We showed up early, as we do most places if Christian has anything to do with it, so we snagged seats on the front row. Our recipe pamphlet we received upon entering the restaurant outlined the dishes we would see. First up was a mushroom cappuccino, which turned out to be a mushroom soup served in a cappuccino cup. We were shocked when they began to hand out samples of the dish! The same went for the spinach salad, chicken supreme with potatoes and macaroni, and finally tiramisu. To say these dishes were good would be an enormous understatement. With each dish I would taste it and think, wow- I’ve got to make this at home. But by the time the chef reached the 12th step and the 14th ingredient, I decided some things were better enjoyed out. I’m pretty sure I’d be so frustrated by the end of the cooking process that I wouldn’t fully enjoy the food this much anyway. But the light lunch we ended up having here was perfect after a large breakfast.

Next on our busy schedule came a nap. We set an alarm to get up for afternoon tea and just after we awoke there came a knock on the door. “Room service” came the heavily accented voice. What? I don’t think we ordered any room service. When I opened the door, a domed tray was suddenly in my hands and our mystery room service deliverer was off. No one admitted to ordering it, but we’d take a peek at it anyway. Strawberries covered in smooth chocolate and rolled in red velvet cake crumbs, strawberry macaroons, and chocolate truffles greeted us. We forgot about our concern that someone did not receive their room service and dug in. Unexpected treats can be the best, who cares whose it might have been, and we still had time to make it to tea. (We did later find out it was actually meant for us) Relaxing on the lido deck was next, listening to a talented guitarist/singer we first heard on day one couldn’t have made the afternoon any more perfect. Vinnie, the musician, was incredible and would turn out to be a favorite all week. A conversation with him on a break revealed that he was self-taught thanks to YouTube and couldn’t even read music, but he was always surprisingly creative and put his own soulful twist on every classic rock (and pop) song he sang. The sport of people watching doesn’t get much better than on the pool deck of a cruise, simply watching a vast array of people all gathered in one place provides endless fascination.

I finally had to leave the pool deck to get ready for dinner. Four people in a cabin can be a little tricky, but if you plan well it’s not too bad. We’ve done it both ways, with one cabin and two. And while there are pros and cons to each, we decided we didn’t have many more vacations with just the 4 of us and we would take advantage of every moment of togetherness we could squeeze out of this trip (a decision I usually questioned when 4 people were trying to get ready in 25 square feet). When we were all showered and dressed we went to the promenade to take family pictures since it was “cruise elegant” night. The dress code is not strict and we saw dresses that could pass for wedding or prom dresses, and many (like us) who just looked like they were going to church on Easter. After a few pictures we hurried to the comedy show by our favorite comedian on the cruise, then it was finally time for dinner. Cruise elegant night promises strawberry bisque as an appetizer (Mallory’s undisputed favorite), lobster tail, steak, and creme brûlée, and we were not disappointed. (Especially when we got in a siting of elliptical lady). We waddled back to the room after dinner and decided we could still make the 10:15 show! (For us that is a time we rarely see). We make a game of picking out our favorite dancers, since we are now qualified dance judges thanks to “dancing with the stars”. Tomorrow is Barbados and we can’t wait to snorkel with sea turtles, so better late than never to get some sleep….

The US virgin island of St. Thomas is beautiful in a way few others places are. We were docked in a harbor with boats anchored in random places, behind the boats the forested hillsides rose gently out of the water with stunning houses peeking out from the trees. The turquoise water, emerald green trees and white sailboats collectively made a scene that must have been painted thousands of times, because I have the feeling I’ve seen all this before, although the in-person version is better than any painting could ever be. We had breakfast on deck and stood and admired the view for awhile. The time finally came to meet our dive group and head out. It turned out that there were only 5 of us on the dive boat this morning (the Browns plus one). This is an incredible way to dive for us, although probably not so much for the owner of the dive shop. He reminded me of Hemingway as he is depicted in his later years. White hair and tanned, leathery skin testifying to his love of the ocean. Our dive master was Juan, a fun and funny Florida native who kept us entertained even through the coast guard warnings he was forced to go over. Our first dive site was Spratt Reef. This would be Mallory and Olivia’s first dive without their wonderful dive instructor Adolfo. But if they were nervous, they didn’t show it. Adolfo made them perform their dive skills so many times, they were completely at ease with them. The water was just the right temperature, refreshing but warm enough to be comfortable. Juan took us through overhead formations (like going through a small tunnel) in the reef and pointed out a turtle playing by the reef. He let Mallory and Olivia hold a sea urchin and a small crab that looked more like a spider. The shallow water of the reef meant we stayed on the bottom until our air tanks became low. We emerged excited and ready for the next dive. Two sunken navy barges from world war 2 were the site of our next dive. I’ve never seen sunken barges underwater and I really didn’t have great expectations. But what I didn’t understand is how much coral could really grow on the old metal frame in 50+ years. It looked like a barge shaped coral reef and there were many narrow tunnels and what I can only imagine used to be interior areas of the barge to explore. Sea life of every variety have found hiding places among the barge. Several large eels found Christian’s gopro invading their hiding places. The eels only defense was to attempt to bite the camera, which makes for some pretty good footage. My favorite was a large trumpet fish that seemed just to float freely, oblivious to our presence. Fish of ever shape and color swam within the nooks and crannies, and Juan investigated many dark places for us that I wouldn’t have been brave enough to go into. Back on the dive boat we all chattered excitedly about what we had just seen. Juan and our one dive companion (a very experienced diver himself) praised Mallory and Olivia for such smooth dives. Many divers who have just been certified are still very anxious and often have difficulty with basic diving skills (which would describe me the first couple of years I dove). But this was not the case for them, and we once again appreciated the superior dive education Adolfo had given them.

The dive boat deposited us back at our ships pier, so we couldn’t resist going back for another guys burger since we were all hungry after the dive. After lunch we made our way back off the ship and took a taxi to town. Although St. Thomas is a US territory, we quickly discovered that the traffic laws are decidedly European. Driving on the left side of the road in a small open air bus was as nerve racking as the taxi ride in San Juan had been. Going far too fast for the situation and narrowly missing vehicles and pedestrians alike, we were glad it took only about 10 minutes to reach the downtown area. The first open air market we went through was reminiscent of China town in NYC as far as the merchandise went. Knock off designer purses and sunglasses were everywhere. We left the market to walk along the ocean front street of shops. Jewelry shops are most prevalent here, and I don’t mean silver shops like in Mexico, fine jewels seems to be the big seller here. We went in a few and were pretty surprised at the vast assortment of jewelry. The salespeople, however, were a bit on the overbearing side and we didn’t make it long before we tired of their constant “attention”. We stopped for smoothies and sat and chatted with the lady that owned the stand. She was from the US and had come to the Virgin Islands several years earlier. We always love to hear the perspective of someone who lives in a place, and she indeed had interesting stories to tell. Our cab ride back to the ship was no less exciting than the first ride had been, but in the end we made it in one piece.

Back onboard the ship, Olivia continued the campaign she had begun to get us to accompany her to the steam room. So Mallory and I relented (the steam rooms are gender specific) and we left Christian to nap while we went to the spa. About 2 minutes after entering the steam room, Olivia commented on how hot it was. WHAT?! What temperature did you think a “steam” room would be? Rivulets of sweat were flowing freely, but we were determined to make it 20 minutes. At the end of the time we were all soaked and extremely glad to step back into the chilly air of the spa. Showers were a must before dinner. We were excited to have our first siting of “elliptical lady” at dinner, and after dinner we saw 2 (clean) comedy shows which were actually really funny. The girls and I were ready for bed, but since Christian had napped while we sweated in the spa, he was ready to go to more shows. He left us to go to sleep. Tomorrow will be our only day at sea, and we are already trying to plan how to cram all the things we want to do into one day, but it will no doubt work out and be a fun day besides.

(since I never had good wifi on vacation- everything will post about a week late)

The second day of vacation brought us another beautiful day. We took our time getting ready, knowing there was a gap between check out time and embarkation time that we would have to deal with. The guest house manager kindly agreed to keep our luggage after we checked out so we could walk through old town unhindered before going to the pier. We browsed several cute shops where we considered buying white linen clothing and Panama hats, but reason won out and we left empty handed, Such purchases can seem fun on vacation but unused clothes in the closet from previous impulse buys have taught us a lesson. Our next stop was Starbucks, which we only visit in other cities besides our own, to have coffee and yogurt for breakfast and not ruin our appetites for the famous Guy Fieti burgers waiting for us on the ship. We returned to pick up our luggage and pulled them the mile to the pier, it seemed a little too early but we could wait there as well as anywhere. We actually boarded the ship around noon and set off to find Guy’s Place- undoubtedly the best burger restaurant on the planet. Christian was proud to be the very first guest on this cruise to order a guys burger (we are easily impressed). The rest of the day held exploring the ship and napping (for me). Mallory and Olivia entered a raffle in the spa and we returned late in the afternoon for the “must be present to win” drawing. With 50-75 people crowded into one small corner of the fitness center waiting for the drawing, one lady decided this would be the perfect time to try out an elliptical trainer, which she did not seem familiar with. So while waiting for the drawing to begin, we all (I mean all 50 of us) watched the 60-something lady learn and slowly ride on the elliptical, all while holding onto her purse. I admired her courage (or maybe it was cluelessness as to her audience). Sadly, we did not win anything in the raffle, but we unknowingly developed a new game that would last all week, we called it “spot elliptical lady”. A little like finding Waldo on this size ship, but it would prove entertaining. We headed to dinner, ordering whatever you want off of a menu and not paying for it afterwards is always fun (for Christian and I anyway- that describes the girls dining experience anywhere they go). Before the ship sailed, we are required to participate in a safety briefing. The safety briefing is always a somewhat dreaded but necessary evil where we gather at our assigned lifeboat station and learn the procedure in case we hit an iceberg like the titanic, which seems unlikely in the Carribean. Sailing away from San Juan was a beautiful sight from the top deck. We could see that enormity of San Juan with is brilliant lights surrounding the harbor from which we were leaving. Before bed we gathered all our dive gear in preparation for the early dive in St. Thomas in the morning. The anticipation of the myriad of fun activities in tropical locations we have never before visited danced through our heads as we turned in for the night, excited to be in the Virgin Islands the next day….

The first day of vacation! That eagerly anticipated, almost magical, day that anyone going on a trip looks forward to. Ours began very early when my alarm buzzed at 1:15 a.m. Booking the early flight from New Orleans seemed like a great idea several months before, but now I was doubting my decision. Spending the night before the flight was out of the question because of my nephews graduation last night. And having done that before, I know it can be more hassle and expense than it’s worth. So with 3 hours of sleep to my credit, I hopped out of bed and concentrated on the fun we would be having very soon. Getting everyone else out of the bed was surprisingly easy, thanks to what the day had in store for us. Our planned departure time was 2:15 a.m. and we hit our first snag at 2:05. Christian was trying to fit our considerable luggage into the trunk of my hybrid. I had considered gas mileage but not space, and there was no way it was going to work. A change to Mallory’s small SUV cost us about 10 minutes. I drove the first hour of the trip and then Christian took over. We were both more alert than we would have thought possible at this hour. Of course Mallory and Olivia didn’t make to Chrystal Springs before they were sound asleep. Our next snag came as we turned into the New Orleans airport. Our intended parking lot seemed to have been converted to a rental car lot. After a few loops around the airport we ended up parking in the long term parking garage, which would cost us a little more money but we deemed it to be totally worth it to avoid further frustration. We checked in and boarded the Atlanta bound plane at 6:30. The trip was smooth, but we were beginning to feel our lack of sleep. And having had breakfast at 2 a.m., we were also getting hungry. As we stood in the aisle waiting to deplane in Atlanta, I heard Olivia say (in a slightly disgusted voice) “did you just lick my neck?” There are some things you never expect to hear, and this may be in the top 10. But “lovingly” annoying each other is common behavior for my children. When we made it to Atlanta at 8:30 (9:30 eastern time), we decided Mexican for “lunch” sounded perfect. We we killed some time until our next flight with nachos and quesadillas. The San Juan leg of the flight went smoothly and we made it there around 4 p.m. We grabbed a cab to get to our hotel in Old Town. Riding in a cab outside the U.S. is always an adventure. We must have a lot more traffic rules in the US than most of the world. I tried not to watch most of the ride but I did manage to see several near misses anyway. Our driver was somehow chatty and helpful with information, directions, and points of interest all while avoiding about 72 wrecks. When we arrived in Old San Juan we were awed by its charm. Rows of colonial style buildings (most connected) on each side of narrow cobblestone streets. We finally found our guest house; we had to enter inside a silver shop. This turns out not to be so unusual, there are apartments and guest house behind and above most of the shops and restaurants lining the streets. After settling in, we set out on foot. We soon found the restaurant recommended by our driver. We dined on authentic Puerto Rican cuisine of chalettta kon kon (translated super giant pork chop) and toranado (steak stuffed with mashed root vegetables and topped with shrimp) and mofongo on the side (plantains fried then mashed with vegetables). It was all delicious. After dinner we walked the crowded streets. We watched people taking comical pictures with a flock of parrots, an artist doing performance art with spray paint, and a young troop of extremely energetic dancers. It was all so festive and so fun, but the long day was seriously wearing on us. We turned in for the evening, looking forward to boarding our ship tomorrow and starting the next adventure!