Where's Grand Turk?

We woke up and were ready to visit another favorite place in the Caribbean, Grand Turk and to have a day pass at a nice little B & B that's owned by two Australian sisters, Katrina and Sandy, The Grand Turk Inn. Check it out online. It's one of Jimmy Buffet's favorite places to stay in the islands. Buzz and Woody were excited too, mainly  about the prospects of laying in the little hammock that was made to fit them.

    re-enactment photo ( taken in 2007)

 The last time we were here was in 07 I think in the previous blog of Tortola I had written 06 but that would be incorrect sir.

So, any way we looked outside the port hole and saw the island of Grand Turk not too far off and then we noticed . . .  duh duh duh dunnn  . . . we weren't getting any closer but actually we were, GASP,  going away from Grand Turk.

                                                                    
 "Ding Ding Ding" over the loud speaker the Captain explained the seas were too rough and that he had been trying for more than hour to make the approach to the dock but alas, it was not to be. Yes King Trident and the mer-people decided that they wanted to cause a bit of havoc and so the ship was not able to dock.  This did not sit well with our two cabin mates. Their dream of laying in the hammock would not materialize this day.

 

Yes, Buzz and Woody had a bit of a melt down . They were telling me how I had let them down, and that it was my fault . . . and that I didn't understand them . . .  and that they didn't like me  . . . and that I snored !! Well you get the picture. Any way instead of frolicking in the waves and enjoying Katrina's nice lunch we had to stay on a boat, in the middle of shark infested seas.  Okay so we didn't actually see any sharks but is was a big boat, and boy we had to read  . . .  by the pool  . . .and then we had to eat and then we had to eat some more and read some more and OH MY GOSH, it was just plain torture. But somehow, we survived. I know it was a horrible way to spend a day. Lounging by a pool. Sunny skies overhead, dipping in the heated salt-water pool. Sipping exotic drinks and having grapes fed to you. (okay well maybe no one actually fed me the grapes) Needless to say, we made the best of a most difficult situation. I know we were sooooo brave.

As we had two days to make it to Miami instead of one, the ship slowed it's speed down  so that made the seas not seem quite so rough. As we were traveling back towards Miami we passed Cuba and let me say it's big!! I never realized how long of an island Cuba is, sorry no photos of Cuba.

 

Back in Miami

So now the time has come to say good bye to our ocean voyage in the Eastern Caribbean.

Stay tuned as in a few weeks Buzz and Woody and I will be joining two of my sisters and a niece to the Emerald Isle.  My one sister has commented that she's enjoyed looking at the photos on this blog. We'll see how much she enjoys it when I'm taking snaps constantly and asking her to hold Buzz and Woody's hands. 

: ) Ciao.

Dominican Republic

 First let me say that we visited the Dominican Republic the day before the earthquake hit Haiti. If you have the chance or are able to afford to help those people please do so. They are some of the poorest of the poor living there.
The ship was rolling a bit and the skies were gray. I went for a walk, for a walk . . . sorry just singing to the Mamas and the Papas.  Yes a squall of some sort not major by any means but definitely a downpour of  rain has hit the island of Hispanola. The island that we were to tender to is too difficult to get to because of the rough sea, so we sit in port watching the fisherman fish and those brave folks willing to go exploring in the pouring rain.

Fortunately Peter and I were not planning on disembarking today but to just enjoy a day on board the ship. 9:30 a.m. I headed to the spa and had a wonderful pedicure. Someone else had a pedicure that day too. His first pedicure, he was nervous but he did go through with it. I didn't help him through his fears as I was telling him about the razors they use to make your heels so silky smooth. : )

After the pedicure we enjoyed our time in the spa's thermal pool and just reading on a private deck.

such a flattering picture I know. : {

 then it was off to tea.

Then we just enjoyed the evening .

and please don't think I forgot about Buzz and Woody

Here they are planning their escapades for Grand Turk.

Their favorite island getaway.

Tortola Mateys

We arrived in Tortola and met with our driver, David where he took us to Brewer's Bay. We had met David on our previous trip to Tortola in 06. He is just as kind and generous as we remembered. We had our snorkeling gear and we were ready to go out into the water and have some fun. Buzz and Woody were excited to go too.

We were in the water and then relaxing on the beach, Peter reading back issues of the NY Times and me a book for my book group when a rain storm came through. Peter decided to go back in the water and I decided to head for some shelter. David came by to pick us up and take us to Banana-keet for a bit of brunch. Last time we dined there and watched the sunset. It was lovely. This time it was as beautiful as ever but in full daylight. After a pleasant brunch, David returned and brought us back to the ship. We were so thankful for his driving skills as the roads are really tight and mountainous.

below Brewer's Bay great place for snorkeling

 

view from Banana-keet

Buzz and Woody enjoying themselves at Banana-keet

Next stop Dominican Republic

St. Barts

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is St. Barts.  A lovely destination. We did a combination beach day and spa day. We started out on a beach near Flamands beach.

 

 

 

 

 A small cove and we tried out our new snorkeling gear. We stayed there for about an hour and then went up a goat size trail to try another beach spot and I became a tad terrified of the height and broke down in tears. At this point Peter suggested it was time for a spa day. : ) So we went to the Hotel Christopher for a spa day. IT WAS AMAZING. The pool was lovely and looked over the Caribbean.

Below are the views from Hotel Christopher. 

Buzz and Woody were busy through out the day poolside. Chatting with folks from tinseltown and Europe. Just trying to make sure they had the best set up for the next film deal. Some tense moments but they did seal the deal for the next project, a movie deal, Toy Story 4 land of the Sharks. Should be shown on Discovery Channel during Shark week. Other actors on the IMDB page include Nemo and Bruce the shark, from finding Nemo. 

 Touring the island

Heading back to the boat. Next stop Tortola.

Buzz and Woody in Antigua

We arrived on the beautiful island of Antigua rather early in the morning. The port was hoppin'. Lot's of folks trying to sell you the best   _________.  We found the car rental agency and rented the car for the day. Peter drove with me reminding him on occasion, Left, Left LEFT side of the road. : ) He did a great job. Especially when you had to  not only remember to drive on the left hand side of the road but also watch out for the hundreds of wandering goats and sheep that were allowed to go where ever they wanted to. Fortunately, the horses and cows were staked or behind fences.  We traveled through out the day stopping here and there at different resorts as well as picking up some snorkeling gear at a dive shop and having the best mango smoothy at "Grace Before Eating" a small hole in the wall kinda joint that was serving the most amazing food.

 The world is getting smaller and smaller. On this part of our trip we met a couple from State College, PA. That's where Penn State University's main campus is located. We also met a young woman at the dive shop from Princeton, NJ.  We didn't get the chance to snorkel today, surf was a bit rough hopefully tomorrow. We finished up our trip with getting directions from three different people at a "petrol" station. It was rather amusing as the only question we asked was . . . could you show us on the map where we are? We passed by a huge cricket stadium. It was as large as Qwest Field in Seattle. Who knew cricket was so popular. We returned to the ship for a quiet evening and waiting for our next port of call . . . St. Bart's.  Peter wants to take us for a spa day at a very nice hotel and I would love to just read at the beach, and try out our new snorkel equipment. : )

Peter enjoying the sand and surf.

 

And of course Buzz and Woody in Antigua

Virgin Gorda

We tendered to Virgin Gorda, the Caribbean is still tossing us about but it's beautiful. We traveled to the our destination on the island via a cab and ventured down the trail to the ever famous Baths. I was looking forward to some solitude and quiet, hearing the gentle surf kiss the shore. ( cue birds singing etc)  I have a feeling I wasn't the only one with that idealistic dream as I think every passenger on every cruise ship in the Eastern Caribbean had disembarked and came to the Baths. Let's just say the shoreline was littered with bodies of every shape and size and lot's of east coast accents were in the air. I was waiting to hear someone call out " Yo, Vinnie howbouta slice?"

After a bit of refreshment, in the form of a Pina Colada, we walked about 20 minutes down the road to Spring Bay Beach. I was hoping that I  wasn't hallucinating, as we heard Calypso music and on the breeze was the smell of some awesome BBQ. (Why is it food always smells so amazing when it's cooked over a fire?) We knew this was the place as there were only about a dozen people on the beach. We chatted with a lovely woman who has a vacation home on the island but is originally from Bryn Mawr, PA. She told us she comes this time each week to listen to the music which is supplied by Little Dix Resort.  As Peter explored the rest of the beach area I decided that Buzz, Woody and I would lay out our towel catch some PTRs ( Prime Tanning Rays) and enjoy the novel I brought.

After a number of chapters read, Peter reappeared and we trekked back to the Baths and grabbed an open air taxi to Little Dix resort. We walked about the compound. Did a bit of shopping and then headed back to the docks and boarded one of the last tenders to our ship. Peter and I were both amazed on the amount of young people( as in younger than us)were on the tender. We hadn't seen more than 20 folks our age or younger on the cruise. ( that was including two kids under the age of six)We were wondering where they had been hiding and then realized they were part of the crew. : ) We made our way back on board  and with time to spare, highly unusual for us.   We await the adventure  that tomorrow brings, of driving on the left hand side of the road of Antigua. Peter driving and I'm his navigator . Which I've told him, I'm not a great navigator I'm a better pilot. : } To be con't

One more day before landfall

The Adventure Begins

It's the second day at sea and Buzz continues to make life interesting here on the Regatta. His latest escapade was trying to find the forward bow of the ship and shouting at the top of his lungs "I'm king of the world!" which Woody just shook his head and told him he needed to come down before he was put in leg irons and escorted below deck. Woody's knowledge of being on ship seems to come from watching Pirates of the Caribbean one too many times. Which I commented to him and he replied that he and John Lasseter, "That's Mr. Lasseter to you Jennifer", enjoyed kicking back and having a beer and marveling at how life like the animation of Captain Jack Sparrows character was. I had to remind him that, that was because he was actually a live actor, with a look of scorn he grumbled off to the cabin saying "John wouldn't treat him this way." Which I responded "John didn't have to share a cabin with you." "It's MR. Lasseter to you!" he bellowed. I think he's getting a bit stir crazy or maybe he isn't the nice guy we all think he is. Tomorrow we head off to the British Virgin Islands for a bit fun on the beach. Pictures to follow.