Thursday November 24 Granada

 Thursday November 24 Granada

A bit more rain greeted us this morning as we motored up to the island of Granada, the lush green hills testament to the amount of rain in this region.

Kirsten and I went down while Shawn and Carm went up to the buffet. Our excursion was scheduled for 8:50 so we had to speed things up a bit! Luckily, our last excursion is tomorrow afternoon so we’ll be able to sleep in a bit :-)

Another little van/bus hurtled us up, down and around the beautiful island, although today’s driver was a little less frenetic than yesterdays… still, I could hear Carm do a few hail Mary’s at some of the steep hills and hairpin turns.

Our first stop was a rum factory - the ambrosial smell of molasses was strong in the first section of the original factory - they export it all over the world. As usual there was a tasting at the end ;-) I bought 2 bottles of high proof rum to make infusions…

We loaded into the bus for the trip to the ‘Tower’ great house and garden. The driveway was a little gash in the foliage with barely room for our driver, Vincent, to turn around, but by some sort of miracle he did! The house itself was lovely with restored mahogany floors and 14 foot ceilings. The woman giving the tour was a charming descendant of the original builder from over 300 hundred years ago.

Unfortunately the rain was coming down in buckets so the garden tour was given from the wide veranda. Mangos, avocados and a myriad of flowering bushes and trees lined the grassy lawn… the only flat spot on the island I think!

We made it back to the ship in one piece, grabbed coffees, and crashed in our room.

My ears are still screwed up from the up and down! And I’ve got an intermittent jabbing sharp pain under my left ear.

Back at the ship I rested for a while (Carm climbed up to the 16th floor for some swimming), then Kirsten and I wandered around the ship aimlessly until we decided on some fruit and tea. We rested some more (I’m reading a great book by Graham Norton!), then met up for drinks and dinner.

Right after dinner, at about 8:30, Kirsten and I left the boys at the table with their dessert while we retired to more comfortable quarters to indulge in some ‘Love Boat’. We laughed ourselves into coughing fits!

Awesome

“the views!“

"My negative COVID test"

“turkey dinner”

Wednesday November 23 Dominica

 Wednesday November 23 Dominica

Grey clouds with a bit of rain obscured the sky as we docked in Dominica. We crossed our fingers that it was only temporary… (it wasn’t)...

Kirsten and I headed down to the IC while Carm and Shawn went up to the buffet. I seriously could not face 7 flights of stairs so early in the morning! Also, the breakfast at the IC doesn’t have the overwhelming selection of the buffet and it’s easy to make some healthier choices.

It was a morning of hurry up and wait as we filed into the theatre to get our stickers for our excursion and then file onto little rickety vans to wait a bit longer for the road to clear. Soon we were hurtling up, down and around narrow roads as we wound our way around the volcano to the rainforest on the other side of the island.

The drive was hair raising!

I have been feeling nauseous for ages but when paired with a bit of motion sickness I was woozy when we got off the bus for a walk to the Emerald Falls. The walkway down to the falls (a 10 minute walk) was gravel and flagstone - somewhat slippery but better than what I was expecting! In my mind we’d be climbing over slippery rocks so I was glad to see the manicured path. Down down we walked… I stopped halfway as my legs were totally rubber and my stomach wanted to heave from the driving! Kirsten, Shawn and Carm made it to the bottom and back up again - they are obviously stronger than I am!

Next stop - a black volcanic beach where we swam and lounged by the ocean… in the rain for some of it! We had 2 hours of relaxation before reboarding the bus for the trip back to the ship. I sighed with relief when we were safely stopped.

Our guide was a charming Indiginious man - he told us all about the island with an easy laugh and smile. Perhaps our best guide ever :-) He had some stories to tell… first about his experience in the hurricane that basically wiped out the island several years ago. He’d been pinned under a fallen concrete wall and fractured his spine. It sounded terrifying. He’d also been an extra in one of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' movies - the scene with the cannibals I think. He met Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. Next time the movie is playing we’ll look for him!

We had a few hours till supper so Carm swam and I relaxed in our room. Whew! 

Supper was early tonight with the plan of getting to bed a bit earlier, unfortunately service was really slow so we didn’t make it out in time for the early show :-(  So we mooched around the ship shopping and listening to music till it was time to grab some seats in the theatre. The show was great (Five Skies) but of course ended so late - another late night with an early morning tomorrow.

Poor Kirsten is struggling with a cold. She’s tested herself for covid which was negative but that doesn’t cure her… She’ll end up hating cruising!

Awesome

“Kirsten’s negative covid test”

“breakfast at the IC - green smoothie, chia pudding, eggbite”

“making it safely back to the ship!”

Tuesday November 22 St Thomas

 Tuesday November 22 St Thomas

Another beautiful day - hot, sunny and humid. We were up earlyish and had a leisurely morning on the ship before disembarking at 11:30 ish for a walk around town.

Stepping out of the ship was like stepping into a sauna - blessed heat! The crowds were thick as we wandered in and out of the tiny shops selling all manner of chatchas (including some really rude, and by really rude I mean REALLY rude pipes!). Kirsten, Shawn, Carm and I left the maddening crowds for the 2 mile walk into town. 

First stop, a dollarama type shop for cheap bottles of water. By that time the sweat was soaking our shirts so the first bottle was guzzled. The first bit of road was horrible with a narrow sidewalk and traffic whizzing by… I had visions of one of us being wiped out by a car or big truck. Eventually the sidewalk took a turn to the water and widened out to a nice promenade.

I thought we’d never reach the old town but we did. A barrage of jewellery shops lined the narrow cobblestone road - there must have been a hundred shops selling both high end jewels and cheaper stuff. In and out of the bedazzled merchandise we wandered I found a pretty necklace and earring set at one of the cheaper stores!

Some of us were limp with exhaustion as we faced the 2 mile walk back to the ship. I didn’t think I’d make it! Unfortunately I was too hot and sweaty to take advantage of the great prices in a little shop with rash guards and swim trunks. 

I could barely make it up the 4 flights of stairs back to our cabin - we’d already done 10 flights up and down in the morning! I collapsed on the bed - Carm changed into his bathing suit and climbed another 7 flights to the pool. We sure earned our supper!

Supper was great again - I had a tom yum type soup and scallops, Carm had a steak. By 8:30 we were finished (I was really finished!). Kirsten and I skipped the show in favour of an early night - Carm and Shawn found a bar for more conversation.

I’m actually writing this Wednesday morning as I couldn’t think straight at the end of the day yesterday - my head had hardly hit the pillow and I was asleep. No ‘Love Boat’ for me last night!

Awesome

“everything”

“walking in the sauna like heat”