St. Lucia

We woke up this morning and it was rainy.  We had our breakfast and got off the boat to explore St. Lucia. We hadn't made any plans for shore excursions in St. Lucia so we were not sure what we would do exactly. As we were walking into the port terminal a guy yelled at us about an island tour.  So we went over to talk to him and another couple with two kids followed.  At first the guy said $40 per person for an island tour.  Don talked him down to $30.  So we were going on an island tour. We were not really sure what that entailed but the guy told us to meet him on the other side of the fence and to ignore all other tour guides that tried to talk to us.

Finally the 6 of us made it to his van.  It was me, Don, a couple from Boston and their kids Jonathon and Aaliyah.  They were 5 and 6 years old.  We were somewhat disappointed to see that Phillip our tour guide had already brought another couple and their daughter into his van.  They didn't speak English so I was thinking well maybe he is just dropping them off somewhere, because we have had tours do weird things like that.  So we all piled into this van.  Phillip was in the front with the man that didn't speak any English.  Don, the couple from Boston (I can't remember their names) were in the middle row of seats.  And the woman her daughter, the 2 other kids and myself were in the back row.  It was extremely crowded.

So from 9 am until about 4 pm we were cramped inside this van.  We got out in various locations to take pictures. I will try to remember the route we took.  We started at Castries.  From there we went down the west coast, the Caribbean side.  The next town I remember was Soufriere.  Along the way we took pictures with a man and his boa constrictor and views of the pitons.  Phillip also took us to a banana field and told us a bit about the banana crop.  I tried the local beer here called Piton. It was pretty good. The views of St. Lucia were amazing, absolutely beautiful.  That made up for being cramped into the van.  Here are some pictures from the Caribbean side of St. Lucia.

Then we made our way down near the airport.  At one point I thought he was going to stop and take pictures by the airport and I was thinking to myself "awesome, now is our chance to pay Phillip and get a cab out of this awful cramped van!"  But that didn't happen we stopped at the lighthouse near the airport to take pictures of the Atlantic side of St. Lucia.

We made our way up along the Atlantic coast.  I remember going through the towns of Micoud and Dennery.  Then we went back to Port Castries.  Everyone in the van was very irritated by the time we got back.  It was way too long to be cramped up like that.  But we did get to see most of St. Lucia.  And now we know when we get an island tour next time to make sure we are not going to be cramped in a van with 15 other people for 8 hours.  Even though it wasn't the most pleasant experience, I loved St. Lucia.  I think it will be hard to find somewhere else more beautiful and I wouldn't mind going back.

Barbados

Today we got up early to go on our Tiami Sail, Turtles & Beach Excursion that I booked through Carnival. We took a bus to the catamaran.  It was a really nice boat.  It had a bar that actually had fountain soda and a beer on tap.

When we got to our first snorkeling site we learned it was more like a swimming site.  The crew didn't want us to wear fins because it scared the turtles.  We have snorkeled with turtles before and they didn't seem to be scared by fins, but whatever.  Basically we just got off the boat and swam with turtles.  Don't get me wrong, swimming with turtles was awesome.  We got some really awesome pictures and they are just amazing.  But when I booked the excursion I was under the impression we would actually be snorkeling and seeing more.  You can't really beat swimming with turtles but if you plan on booking this excursion for snorkeling there isn't any of that really.

After the swimming with turtles we got back on the catamaran and went to a beach.  The beach had the most expensive resort on Barbados. I believe the guide said the least expensive room was $1500 a night and the the most expensive was around $10000 a night.  Ridiculous.  There was no snorkeling at this beach.  We just swam and enjoyed the rum punch that the crew made us.  Don even did a rum punch bong through his snorkel. It was crazy! The beach was beautiful.  We saw a guy with a monkey on his head. He wanted us to pay him for pictures but I snuck a few without him noticing.  A rain storm passed through while we were swimming but then it was back to being sunny immediately after the rain.

On the way back to the port we had more rum punch and did a little dancing.  Of course everyone got crazy when Gangnam Style came on.  That song is so fun.  Once we got back we didn't want to go back to the ship because we wanted to experience Barbados as much as we could.  We saw Michael and Teresa getting ready to go the excursion right after us.  They booked the wrong time; they had the afternoon excursion.

So we decided to explore Pelican Village in Barbados because we knew it was pretty close to the port.  We ate at a place called Sylvester's Restaurant.  It was a buffet style place and it was delicious.  I had macaroni pie, which had a little spice to it, fried chicken and a salad.

Don had fried chicken, pork chop and rice. He tried a little bit of everything.

Everything was very good at Sylvester's.  It was a nice change of pace to have some authentic food rather than just the very Americanized cuisine on the cruise ship.

After lunch we just walked around the area.  We ended up at a market called Cheapside.  Or maybe the area was called Cheapside, I am unsure.  It was so hot in Barbados.  Just completely miserably hot.  We walked around for probably an hour then decided to walk back to the boat.  Once back to the boat we got cleaned up and then decided to go back off the boat to the port terminal to use the wifi. The wifi worked at first but it was really slow and we didn't really get to use it much.

Then we came back to the ship and went to a trivia game at the coral cafe.  After trivia we ate at the grill. We then laid out on the top deck and kind of fell asleep for a bit. It wasn't comfortable and we were tired so we went back to the room and took a 2 hour nap. Then we got up to go to some shows in the theater:  Battle of the sexes, Liars Club and a Scavenger Hunt. The scavenger hunt was fun. We had to divide up into teams and find things in the audience like an empty purse, a bra, a girl who can doing the splits, etc.  And that was our day.

Day at Sea

Today was our Day At Sea on the cruise.  I have to admit I was looking forward to it a bit because I have been tired.  My plans were to lay by the pool and that is what I did.

I went up to the deck on the 10th floor with an ice cold Dr Pepper and a slice of pizza.  I was looking forward to the pizza on the boat, but it really wasn't that great.  It wasn't horrible though.  It was neat to sit there listening to my music and drinking my favorite drink while staring out into the ocean.  But then it got hot, really hot.  So I decided to go down to the pool and try it out.

The rest of the day was spent between the 2 different pools on the ship:  the Triton Pool and the Siren Pool. The Triton pool was more towards the middle of the boat and it was where the big screen was and all the activities were held.  So needless to say it was crowded and loud.  I enjoyed the Siren Pool much more.  I was able to read here and then get in the pool when it got to hot.  And that is what I did until about 3 pm. Then I went back to the room and got cleaned up.  Don had spent some of his day at the casino.

Tonight was formal night on the ship so we had to dress up to go to the dining room. We were planning on going with Michael and Teresa but when we called them they were not going to be ready to eat for awhile and we were pretty hungry so we decided to go by ourselves.  We were seated with 2 other couples.  One was a young couple from Florida, the other was older from Seattle.  It was nice getting to know these new people.

Since last night I was very unimpressed with the steak from the dining room I decided to get a cheeseburger which was funny since it was formal night.  Don had lobster tail. We both had some kind of alligator for an appetizer.  It was kind of like a fish ball but with alligator.  Again, I wasn't impressed by the dining room.  The best part was the wine, bread and fries that came with my cheeseburger.

After dinner we went to the show on the ship.  It was a dance/singing show called City Lights.  It was okay, a little cheesy.  We saw Michael and Teresa there and we talked to them a bit after the show.  Then we went to an adult comedy show.  It was pretty funny.  I thought the Day at Sea was pretty good, but I couldn't imagine having to be on this ship much longer than a day.

San Juan Puerto Rico

Today I intended to wake up around 8 am but forgot about the hour time difference and got up at 8:30.  There was no hot water in the shower.  That was very disappointing.  Then we decided to go out for breakfast.  We found a diner like place down the street from our hotel.  I had 2 fried eggs with ham and toast.  Don had 2 fried eggs with bacon and toast.  It was okay breakfast.  I can’t remember the name of the place. 

After breakfast it was around 1030 and we decided to try to figure out what to do with our luggage while we explored more of San Juan. We had to check out the hotel at 11.  We talked to the hotel manager and she said we could keep our luggage in their luggage room until 4 pm, so that was perfect.  We got our luggage all situated and then checked out to explore San Juan for the few more hours we would be there. 

It was so hot outside! We couldn't decide what to do.  We knew we wanted to get on the boat around 2 or 3 to check in.  So our options were check out a couple of forts or the Bacardi Factory Tour.  We could see one of the forts from where we were standing and it just looked like the sun was beating down on it.  I knew the Bacardi Tour was free and I had seen a sign for it earlier so I convinced Don we should do it.  He was a little unsure of it because we had a feeling we had to take a ferry to get to it and he was worried about time.

We went to the port to check it out.  The guy said the boats run back and forth every half hour and the tour was only 45 minutes.  So we decided to go for it.  The ferry ride was 50 cents each way.  The next ferry was taking off at 1130 so we had about 15 minutes.  

In the ferry terminal a young woman came up to us and asked if we were going on the Bacardi Tour.  She said she heard you had to take a taxi once you got there to get to the actual factory.  We didn't know this; we just thought the ferry would take us right to it.  She asked if we wanted to share a cab and we decided yes. Her name was Anda and she was from Romania. We started talking while we were waiting and a man came up to us and introduced himself as Larry from LA. He had a friend with him named Anne.  We all started talking and decided we would try to fit in a taxi together.

On the ferry over to Catano we made friends with an older couple of women. They were also leaving on the Carnival cruise with us later.  I can’t remember their names right now.  I wonder if we will see them on the boat sometime.  They gave us some tips since this was like their sixth cruise. 

Once we got to Catano we were hurried to a taxi, which was really like a shuttle bus so we could all fit in it.  It was $3 per person. Once we got to the Bacardi Factory we signed up for a tour.  We had to wait for the English speaking tour so we had a 45 minute wait.  They gave us each 2 tickets to get free drinks at the bar. We all quickly went to the bar and got a drink. Don and I both got Bacardi Coconut with pineapple juice.  It was delicious, much better than Malibu I think. Don, Anda, Larry, Anne and I all sat at the same table and talked and enjoyed our drinks. The grounds of the factory were beautiful so we took a lot of pictures. My second drink was some kind of raspberry mixed drink. It was good, but not as good as the coconut.

Finally our tour was called and we went on the tour. We got on a bus to go over the factory, which was a very short ride but for some reason they said you were not allowed to walk. The tour was pretty good. I learned a few things about rum. The highlight of the trip though was the free drinks and meeting the people. Once we got back from the tour we checked out the gift shop. Then somehow we all got another free drink. I got the coconut and pineapple again because it was so good. We hung out for a little bit because it started raining. Once the rain seemed to have quit some we all ran to the shuttle bus. Once we got off the shuttle bus it was pouring. The ferry was leaving in 5 minutes so we all quickly paid and ran to the ferry in the rain. Then we got back to San Juan and said our goodbyes. We exchanged emails and names for facebook.

Then Don and I went back to the hotel to get our bags to take to the ship. It was raining. We got our bags and walked in the rain to the ship. It was about a 10 minute walk. Luckily the rain started slowing down. We went through the whole check in process and that took probably an hour. We saw our room. It is on the 1^st floor and has no window. It is pretty small but we expected that. Then we decided we would go to starbucks back up on shore so Don could do something for work online. We had been to starbucks earlier and there was a free wifi connection. The wifi on the boat is very expensive. So we got off the boat and went to starbucks. Of course the wifi was not working. And we both ordered ice coffees and they were horrible. So then we went to CVS down the street because we found out you can bring bottled water and soda on the boat. I got an 8 pack of Dr Pepper and we got a 12 pack of water. It’s just easier to have your own water for excursions and stuff.

Then we got back on the ship and Don had to suck it up and purchase some internet. We figured the best thing for us would be just to use the 75 cent per minute package. We won’t use that much. Around 630 pm Michael called our room and we decided to meet for dinner at 730.

We had dinner at the buffet. It was pretty good. We were so hungry since we hadn’t eaten since the morning. Then we just walked around with Mike and Teresa and explored the boat some. At 915 pm we had to do the mandatory safety thing where everyone has to go watch how to put on a life jacket and see where they go if there is an emergency.

After that we went back to the top of the boat to watch the boat sail away from San Juan. Don and I got some beer and we all went to the very top. We found a pretty secluded spot and we gave each other our own space. Then we looked over and Mike was down on one knee proposing to Teresa. We knew it was going to happen we just were not sure when. She was so surprised. So now Mike and Teresa are engaged!

After all that we went back to our rooms and slept because we were freaken tired.

San Juan Puerto Rico

Today we woke up around 5 am and quickly got ready.  We ran to kinkos real fast to print another luggage tag for the cruise.  We decided to check a bag with our fins. Then we got in a cab to head to O'hare. 

We had a some breakfast and then had about an hour to spare before boarding.  We started boarding on time at 8 am.  Once we started moving and getting ready to take off though we sat in one place for a long time.  Finally the captain said we had to go back to the gate to get a mechanical issue checked out.  That was annoying to hear but also scary. 

We went back to the gate and sat.  Why is sitting in an unmoving plane so much harder to do than when you are in the air?  I get so irritated.  Luckily the problem was fixed quicker than I thought it would be.  We finally took off around 930 or 10. 

The flight was about 5 hours.  I hate long flights!  We sat next to a family that had 3 young kids.  They were cute and luckily they were also well behaved.  We landed around 3:30 pm, an hour later than scheduled. 

We got outside in San Juan and it was hot!  We got a taxi to our hotel.  It took about 20 or 30 minutes to get there.  I was so tired and hungry. 

Our hotel looked very cute when we got here.  It's called Casablanca Hotel.  We picked it because we could get a night here free through Hotels.com. The guy at the front desk is from Indiana.  He asked how the weather was in Chicago.  We found out our room was on the 3rd floor and no elevator.  We are used to that by now.  I was shocked at how small the room was.  It is probably the size of our living room if not smaller with a bed, couch and a tiny tv.  It looks nice though. 

I quickly changed into some more weather appropriate clothes and got ready to go out.  We started walking around Old San Juan.  The area is very cool looking and everyone walks.  Things are very close. We saw where the cruise ship will take off from. 

We were having a hard time finding a place to eat so finally we asked these 2 guys.  They gave us 2 restaurants that were authentic Spanish food.  We decided on Mojitos.  It was pretty  good. We had a mashed plantain appetizer.  I had skirt steak with fries. Don had a pork chop with rice and beans.  The food was good, I ate all of it!

Then we started walking around more.  We went down by the water and came to a plaza that had vendors selling food and purses.  We got a bag of churros.  They were delicious.  Then we sat down for awhile because it looked like a concert was getting ready to start.  But after sitting for a long while we decided to go back to the hotel because we were tired. 

Now we are just chilling in the room.  Not really sure what we are doing tomorrow before we get on the ship.

Belize-Snorkeling-Silk Cayes

So today was our last full day in Belize and we went snorkeling again. When I woke up my sunburn on my arms felt better and it wasn't really red but the back of my thighs hurt like crazy!  It was such a weird sunburn, none of it is very red.  Maybe the medication I'm taking for Malaria prevention is making me sensitive to sun.

We were able to eat breakfast because Splash Diving wasn't picking us up until 8.  They had even called to see if we wanted to cancel because it was going to be rainy off and on.  I'm so glad we didn't cancel.  The guy who picked us up was really cool.  We talked to him a bit and found out he used to live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

I thought the dive shop was a lot better looking that Avadon's.  It seemed newer and bigger.  The boat we took today was much smaller though.  The seats were a lot more comfortable though.  The group we went with was also smaller, probably because of the weather.  There were only 2 divers and 3 other snorkelers besides us.  Everyone was from Spain also.

The weather was very stormy looking while we on the boat ride there.  When we got to the island it was clearing up a little but still pretty overcast.  This made me happy though because I didn't know how much more sun I could take.  The island was like nothing I've ever seen in real life.  It was very small, like maybe 100 feet long...it was very picturesque.  White sand, palm trees, a few picnic tables, one grill and one bathroom.  That's all.

We saw a lemon shark in the water off the shore immediately when we got off the boat.  That was so cool for.  I love sharks but have only seen them on TV or in the aquarium.   We got ready for our first snorkel of the day with our guide Brian.  We saw a lot of sea life. Tons of different kinds of coral and fish, a lot more than the day before.  We saw one sting ray that was pretty cool looking.  It was light brown with black spots. We also saw little squid that looked like cuttlefish.

Then we got out and I was applying sunscreen like crazy.  The sun was hurting me so I was also trying to stay covered up.  While we were waiting for lunch to be made Don got in the water and tried to get a picture of the lemon shark that kept coming close to shore.  He never got a good shot though, but all throughout lunch we could see the shark.  That was very cool.  Lunch was bbq chicken, cole slaw, augratin potatoes and watermelon.  It was much better than the lunch Avadon served us the day before.

We saw a bunch of the cutest hermit crabs on the island.  I love hermit crabs! We stayed on shore for about an hour and then we got back in for our second snorkel.  We saw more fish, but the highlight of the snorkel was seeing a nurse shark.  It was so fast so we chased it for awhile.  Finally we got close and it turned around.  It was coming right at me from about 8 feet below.  I got a picture of it.  I thought I was taking a video of it swimming below me.  It would have been such a cool video...but I guess in the excitement of it all I didn't hit the record button.  So then we went back to shore so we could get back on the boat.

We took the boat out a little ways to where another boat was throwing bait into the sea to attract turtles, rays, and sharks.  When I jumped in the water I couldn't believe what I saw!  A huge sea turtle right next to me and about 8 nurse sharks all around.  I was so excited!  It was the coolest thing I have ever seen or done.  When I went to the other side of the boat I could see there were about 4 sea turtles, 6 rays and maybe about a dozen nurse sharks total.  We took a bunch of videos and pictures.  It was amazing. The rays were giant.  They were mostly Spotted Eagle Rays, there was a gray one there also that I didn't catch the name of.  We swam right next to the turtles and over the sharks.  One of the coolest days ever!

When we got back we prepared for our last dinner in Belize.  We couldn't decide where to go but eventually decided on Mangos.  We walked the beach there.  I got a cheeseburger, it was very good.  Don got the fried chicken and rice.  It was a much better experience than last time at Mangos because there were hardly any fries.  I love the waitress at Mangos she was so nice and cool.  We decided to walk the beach back, it was pitch black.  So Don used his flashlight on his phone.  I have to admit it was a bit scary not knowing where you were putting your feet.  We saw a ton of crabs!  It was pretty cool.  And there were so many stars in the sky.  I'm glad we took the beach walk back to the hotel even though I was a little scared.  It was a good end to our vacation.

Belize-Snorkeling South Water Caye

This morning we got picked up at 7 by Avadon Divers.  We didn't have time for breakfast. We met another young couple that was staying at our hotel, Andrea and Kyle from Michigan.  They went on this snorkeling excursion with us.

Once we got to the dive shop we filled out paperwork and got sized for fins.  We brought our own snorkels and masks.  When we finally got on the boat, it was awesome.  It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be.   I had an upper deck and a bathroom.  They set out some coffee and banana bread for breakfast.  When the boat started moving we stayed mostly on the bottom.  We went up top for a little while, but I really wanted to stay out of the sun.

The first snorkel site was really cool.  It was a small island that had a marine biologist resort there along with a couple of other resorts.  Our guides James and Giovanni did their best to point out the different sea life. We saw a couple Barracudas and many smaller fish.  It was really cool to see the coral because I've never really seen anything like that in the wild.

The island looked so cool but after the first snorkel we got back on the boat for lunch.  They had made tuna, chicken and egg salad to choose from.  I had the chicken and the egg.  It was pretty good, although I have to say I was expecting a better lunch from some of the reviews I read.

For the next snorkel location we were in the middle of the sea and jumped off the boat.  The water was deep, probably around 15 feet, but you could still see the bottom perfectly.  There was so much coral and so many different types of fish.  We saw a sting ray!  During about half way through the snorkel I could feel the back of my arms getting burnt.  It was such an intense burning feeling, like nothing I've ever felt.  Pretty much every time I've gotten burnt I haven't felt it until afterwards.  This was like my skin was frying. It was pretty bad, some of the worst skin pain I've ever felt.  It made the snorkeling not so great but I didn't want it to ruin my trip so I tried to ignore it.

We got back on the boat and James cut up a variety of fruits for us.  My arms felt like they were on fire.  I've really never felt anything like it.  If any sunlight touched me I felt like I was burning, like a vampire.  I sat with my towel draped around me.  It was so uncomfortable. Sometimes it felt like I was getting an Indian Burn over and over.

Once I got off the boat the sun was so intense I just wanted to hide from it.  We took a picture with the guides and got in the van to go back to the hotel.  By now I am feeling the burn on the back of my arms and the back up my legs right below my butt.

After getting cleaned up we biked to the grocery store to look for aloe.  There was none.  So we biked to Singing Sands Inn because Don said their gift shop had a lot of stuff.  Luckily they had a bottle of aloe.  We also bought tshirts from our hotel that we could wear the next day because we booked another snorkeling trip.

We ate dinner at the hotel.  I had a spicy chicken sandwich, which I didn't really like at all.  Luckily Don shared half of his pork sandwich with me.  What a nice husband.  My sunburn just felt weird...and wasn't very red when I went to bed.  I really lathered on the aloe.