Puerto Rico - Luquillo /day 2

 

We decided to stay put for a day and enjoy our accommodations and the surrounding area.  After making breakfast in the apartment, we took a long walk on the beach.  Then it was reading and blogging for a few hours before a swim in the waves.  Within walking distance in the opposite directions of our walks is probably the most popular beach in Puerto Rico.  Thousands of people cram into a small area where dozens of street restaurants blare their music while vehicles inch their way in the narrow street.  Though this is hardly the atmosphere that we enjoy, there was a recommended pizza restaurant that did not disappoint. A full moon escorted our walk back to the apartment.

Puerto Rico - Luquillo

 

We packed the night before, so we were all ready to disembark.  Choosing to self-assist and being right next to the gangway, we were surprised to be the third party off the ship.  We hailed the first taxi and were at the airport before mist of the rest of the ship disembarked.  Even though our pick-up time was 10am, we were able to get our car by 8am.   Unfortunately, as soon as we left the lot, we notice a low tire pressure light; so we turned around and were quickly given another car.  Then it was off to Starbucks, Goodwill and TJ max.  Our apartment in the beach town of Luquillo was not available until 4pm, so we tootled around the vicinity until check-in.  Our apartment is right on the beach, with the bulkhead 20 ft from our balcony,  The rocky shore ensures a perpetual sound of waves crashing.  The immediate vicinity of the apartment is somewhat sketchy with a lot of run down homes; but 100 yards down the beach and across the shallow lagoon, there are multiple five star resorts and miles of sandy beach.  We took a 3 mile sunset beach walk and ate dinner at a local hamburger bar.  The evening was spent on the balcony catching up with whats been happening in the world since we were without Wifi for a week.

Cruise Day 6 - Sea Day

 Our only sea day of the cruise was getting back to Puerto Rico from Barbados.  We lazed the day away with eating, reading, playing games and napping.  Several rounds of deck walking gave us a little exercise.  While we enjoyed every day of the cruise, we were ready to get off the ship and get back to a more normal diet.

Cruise Day 5 - Barbados

 Our island tour began at 10:00.  There was quite a walk from the ship to the terminal.  This was our first port where there were additional cruise ships in port.  The tour bus was quite a contrast to the previous day- a cushy coach with air conditioning and a good sound system. Our tour guide was an Italian woman who moved to the island.  Barbados is by far the most populated and developed island of our cruise.  Being consistently controlled by the British for over 300 years, the infrastructure is quite established and there is evidence of generational wealth.  The lee shore, west side of the island is much more populated, with calmer waters and long coral beaches.  Native African vegetation abounds, including mahogany trees dating back 300 years.  We caught a sighting of the African green monkey of my Nigerian childhood as there are prolific on this island.  Sugar cane fields dominate the somewhat level landscape, unlike the other more rugged Caribbean islands.  Barbados is the easternmost island of the Caribbean. We had a few stops, predominately overlooks, and one stop at Bathsheba, with its rugged coastline and violent Atlantic waves.  Early afternoon saw us back at the ship and reluctant to venture back into the city after lunch.  A nap and lots of reading kept us busy until evening dinner at the buffet.

Cruise Day 4 - Dominica

We woke to the lush hills of Dominic towering over the port city of Roseau on the western shore.  We tanked up with a late breakfast, knowing that our long excursion would not give us an opportunity for lunch.  Our tour started at 11:15, so we took some time in the morning to explore the city.  The narrow streets with French style balconies were lined with shops and the addition of small street vendors.  Buildings were well worn, but clean.  The resident population is almost entirely of African descent.  Traffic was tight, but respectful.  Being part of the British commonwealth, cars drive on the left; only on this island, the driver is on the right as you would expect.  We found out later that almost all the vehicles are reconditioned cars from Japan.  Our tour was on a small bus.  We first drove out of the city and up through lush tropical forests towered by looming hills to a place where we hiked to a waterfall and natural pool.  We were prepared with swimming suits on, so I plunged in and enjoyed the cool fresh water.  Back on the bus, we drove back down to Roseau and up another road to a spectacular waterfall called Trafalgar Falls.  We happened upon some people who were repelling down the falls.  The tour’s last stop was the botanical gardens and a city overlook.  We were disappointed that the shops were closed at 4:00 as were were planning to grab a souvenir from Dominica.  Since we were hungry, we grabbed a slice of pizza because our dinner reservations in the dining room were on the late side.

Cruise Day 3 - St. Croix US Virgin Islands

Because our excursion did not start until the afternoon, we used the morning hours to go ashore and take a long walk on the beach.  This was the first port of call that had beaches right by the pier.  Cruisers were snorkeling right next to the pier.  The sandy beach is lined with coral and crystal blue water. We walked bare foot a couple of miles and got a little too much sun.  After lunch back on the ship, we boarded a bus for an extensive tour of the island of St. Croix. An older man in a wheel chair was literally pushed and dragged up the steps of the bus.  Each island we visit is an interesting mixture of colonial and indigenous influences.  St Croix is a US territory with a Danish heritage and British traffic laws.  Much of the tour was through rural areas of former plantations.  The island had less of a tourist feel and more of a lower economic local feel.  Abandoned cars dotted much of the landscape. Our guide was very focused on pointing out the variety of species of trees on the island.  We stopped for a while in Christiansted, the other major city on the island. It was relatively empty of tourists, but had a nice waterfront area.  Back on the ship in Fredricksen, we napped, ate in the buffet for dinner and watched the state of the union address on TV.

Cruise Day 2 - St. Maarten/St. Martin

 A little later get up got us on our excursion at 9:30.  Our guide was a young man who grew up on the island and was very informative and entertaining.  We toured most of the island which is the only island in the world shared by two countries.  The road border crossings are marked, but there is no stopping.  The Netherlands and France share the island and each side has unique governments, languages, customs and currencies; but residents flow back and forth for employment, shopping and entertainment.  The terrain is mountainous with roads cutting through the valleys and coastline.  We made several stops for views of the Atlantic and Caribbean beaches, the cities of Philipsburg and Marigot. Near the end of the tour, we got off the bus to shop in Philipsburg and walk back to the ship for a late lunch and nap. We played a game of Lost Cities and read while the sun set across the bow of the ship, soaking in the warm Caribbean evening trade winds.  After a glorious sunset, it was ‘white night dress up’ dinner and we ate in the dining room again.

Cruise Day 1 - St. Thomas US Virgin Islands

 We got up early for our excursion, but were quickly thrown into a panic as Esther could not find her contact supplies. After looking everywhere, we decided that she left them in the apartment in San Juan.  She fished her old ones out of the trash can and rinsed them with water.  They seemed to work OK, but what of the rest of the trip?  Fortunately, after breakfast, we found the case in a hidden bathroom shelf.  Our excursion in an open air truck/bus took us up to a mountain lookout with views of Maggens Bay.  There was no observation area for the other side; but we snuck around and went through a gate to a spot where we could look down on Charlotte Amalie harbor.  We were back at the ship by noon, and after a lunch we took a taxi to town.  We climbed ’99 steps’ and stumbled on Blackbeards Castle and climbed the tower for a sweeping view.  The scenery is beautiful with green hills rising out of the blue ocean, with white anchored boats dotting the harbors.  After stopping at Fort Christian and browsing the shops, we walked the two miles back to the ship for a nap and our first dinner in the dining room.