DAY 4 – Barbados

Shasa is her name and a beautiful catamaran she is.


We spent a day at sea on a catamaran captained by Jason O'Neal. Because we booked a tour with Shasa Catamaran Cruises, we didn’t see much of the island but whomever was our taxi driver, he sure did pack a lot of history in one short drive. Great guy, wish I knew his name to give him a shout out, but he made our land portion very informative.

When we arrived at Shasa we met Jason and his sea partner, who apparently has only been sailing with Jason for a week, but you would never know it. Already on board were two other very friendly New York couples that were staying together on the island.

We headed out immediately to hopefully snorkel with some turtles… and sure there were no disappointments there. There was another boat already there with a few other folks snorkeling and there were sea turtles every where. This was one of my highlights of the whole trip. Just knowing that these turtles are wild (although they certainly love the treats the captains are tossing them) made my day. Thanks to Shannon I have some great turtle shots to share.









Then we headed to snorkel a reef, but this is where my fun ended. I was sea sick. I think Dave and Shannon felt like me. Not terribly sea sick, but enough to make me focus on not throwing up at sea. I couldn’t tell what was worse, being on the boat moving up and down or swimming on the swells themselves. I tried both. Both made me nauseous. Ian tells me the snorkeling was pretty good.

The day ended with some shopping at some cute shops near the port. That night Shannon and I enjoy the hot tub and later that evening… the infamous late night Mexican Buffet. Which was basically eating in the middle of the night when you are not hungry. I am not sure why I participated but really…. Why can Carnival serve my favorite food at lunch time! J


Services: Shasa Catamaran Cruises, good day, aside from being sea sick. Score: 8+

The captain, Jason, was a really nice guy, fun and professional. I actually would have liked to get to know him better. I bet he was full of more information about Barbados, the turtles, etc. Drinks were great, if only I could have enjoyed them!

On an interesting note: He stated that he ignores online reviews, and I don’t blame him, but what Shannon and I thought was funny was that in one breath he said: You just give people what you tell them and don’t worry about reviews. And in the other breath he mentions that we are not going to do the shipwreck stop since it will be crowed and it is a bit corny anyhow. Hummm…. interesting. I actually believe him that it was probably not the greatest stop but why advertise a place that is really nothing worth seeing. Frankly, I didn’t really care. But I did find the comment or tactic an interesting one.

Still, great boat, great captain, good drinks, and the turtles exceeded my expectations so I was happy… even if half my day was wishing I was on land (or on a really big cruise ship!).

Overall score for the day: 8+ (probably would have been a 9+ if I wasn’t sick)

DAY 3 – Dominica

The morning starts off with Shannon swearing that she shall never drink again, at least on the cruise. We have a hike to conquer today and it is not clear if Shannon will make it. But it only takes her the morning to shake it off.

Our tour was with Bumpiing (yes with two ii’s) Tours and our guide is Levi (aka: Bumpiing) himself. We are in a small group of 8 people.

We hiked Middleham Falls, explored Titou Gorge, and visited Trafalgar Falls… oh and a special stop for Shannon to the squished bus.

Middleham Falls was so worth the trek. There was a little (or maybe a lot!) of complaining the next day about calf muscles being sore but everyone agreed that it was so worth it. The flora was incredible and there was an incredible waterfall at the top We swam in the natural quarry like pool at the bottom of the falls and some adventurous people (Shannon and Dave) jumped from the cliffs into the pool. What a tour.







Titou Gorge was a relaxing spot.

It is also a spot where part of Pirates of the Caibbean 2 was filmed. This place was really neat. You essentially jump into this cold but fresh water and swim into these caves. The caves open up and in there you have this waterfall. If you have the strength (like Dave and Ian) you could climb up a cliff and see another waterfall around the bend. I was content to just float about in the cave.


Trafalgar Falls was an easy hike to view a couple of amazing waterfalls. And we ended the tour with a nice soak in a hot mineral bath… ahhhh.


Services:
Bumpiing Tours, arguably the best tour of the week, highly recommended. 10+

Levi is an awesome tour guide! Really this guy is awesome. Not only is he handsome, muscular, and fit, but friendly, supportive (to those that fell a little behind on the hike), and very informative. You learn a lot about the island and although I did not take the carnival version of this tour, we did see them on the hike and there were about 30 people! I prefer the small setting and there is no way Levi will let you miss the boat so there were no worries there.


Overall score for the day: 10+

DAY 2 – St. Thomas/St. John

Our first cruise stop is Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.
Our plans are to take a taxi to the ferry and head over to Trunk Bay in St. John for some snorkeling but when we wake, it is still rainy. Ian and I decided to get off the boat just the same. We sat under an awning at a restaurant while we decided if we really wanted to do this. It was raining pretty hard but not pouring. Rather than a $20 taxi ride to Red Hook for the ferry, we decided to try to catch a local bus which was only going to cost $2. After asking several friendly people, we finally figured out which direction we wanted to go and how to get on the bus. Should be easy, but there was no actually bus stop, you just wave at this safari looking truck that says taxi on it (go figure!) and it stops and picks you up. They have dedicated stops too but apparently you don’t actually need to be standing at one of them.

Anyhow, this was a great way to see St. Thomas, or at least the non-touristy places in St. Thomas, and I love the way they say good morning to everyone when they get on the bus and although it takes some getting used to, they give a friendly beep at everyone! Beep beep, hello. Beep beep, good morning. Beep beep, I am passing you. Beep beep, have a good day. Much different than the USA horn!

So we end up taking the ferry over and by this time, it is lightly raining and the sky is changing from gray to gray blue. I’ll take it. We met a really nice couple from NH on the ferry and the woman was co-workers with our cruise companion Shannon! Small world.

We made it to Trunk Bay.


It is in a national park and although they let us enter, the snorkeling trail was closed.

Bummer but they at least didn’t charge us to enter the park. Although, now that I think of it, we should have donated some money just to support the park; but we didn’t. By this time, it had stopped raining and the sky was cloudy but blue. The weather was still warm and not one time during our stay in San Juan or in St. Thomas/John did the rain make me cold.

Ian enjoyed our stay at Trunk Bay.


It was still beautiful, not crowded whatsoever because of the weather, and a pelican landed right next to us while we were swimming and searched for fish. Very neat.



We left before noon and grabbed a bite to eat at some place near the ferry at Cruz Bay. Can’t remember the name of it but it wasn’t that great, pricy, and took a long time to get our food. But we were seated outside and the sun was fully out by then and it was a nice to be enjoying the outside. We poked around a few shops while waiting for the ferry back.

These beautiful flowers were everywhere. I love them!


Our return to the boat was easy, as well as grabbing the bus back.




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That evening… drinks. Lots and lots of drinks! You know what they say about Vegas… well this isn’t Vegas so here is my photo journal of the night. Fun times!





There was also a dance contest that Shannon should have won with her fancy slide move, an elderly man who we danced with (some of us remember him, some of us don't!), a piano bar, and a friendly couple from Texas (Melanie and Chris).

Fun night!!!

Services:
St. Thomas Local Bus: 10, take this over a taxi if you can. Much more enjoyable.

St. John taxi service: it is all government regulated, so no hassling over prices… that I am aware of.

Red Hook to Cruz bay (and back) Ferries: I think this is too standard to grade. But sure it was nice, no complaints.

Overall score for the day: 8+, nice day but with better weather, I am sure there is so much more here.

DAY 1 – Victory leaves San Juan

The following morning was still rainy, which apparently is not normal Puerto Rico weather. We had planned on visiting El Yunque, a rain forest in the Caribbean National Forest. But it was raining and we decided not to go. Actually, we were just tired, tired of driving in circles, and at this point we just wanted on the boat. So we wandered into Old San Juan for lunch, ended up at La Bombonera, which apparently was featured on one of Rachael Ray’s shows. The food was good, not super great, but definitely good. I did order a half a pineapple and it was so fresh… mmmm!


Dave & Shannon enjoying their La Bombonera lunch:


We also did some window shopping and enjoyed a free trolley ride around the “town”. That was enough for us, by 1pm we were on the boat.


Embarkation was very fast, smooth, and had some nice cocktail taste testing we enjoyed. Mmmm… Apple Rum. I also love that you are greeted with that Carnival friendliness. Just love that first smile and welcome. You have that feeling of… ahhhh…. I am on vacation and these people are going to take care of me for a whole week.



Dinner on the boat:


Ian and I practicing our Muster cry that evening...



See you San Juan:



Services:
United Airlines: smooth flight, no issues. 7 (airlines can’t possibly score any higher, so this is actually a decent rating).

Charlie’s Car Rental: 9…. The people weren’t overly friendly but nice enough. The service was prompt, car was as expected, would have been nice to be given a map and directions to our drop off place, but the perks were that you could pick up at the airport and then drop off near the port. They then gave you a free shuttle to the pier. I would rent again from them and I would recommend them to others.

Howard Johnson’s Cardiovascular Center Hotel: 7 --> 7+. Decent room actually. Desk guy was nice. But finding the place sucked, it is not marked, there is limited parking, and the fire alarm apparently goes off frequently. I moved it up to a 7+ because if you suffer a heart attack during your stay, there is really no better place to be.

El Morro: 10+. This place is a MUST see. Incredible. If it weren’t dreary out, I imagine the views are stunning. The staff was very friendly. And be sure to use the bathrooms there, because you will not get a better view from a bathroom… no seriously.

Overall score for the two days in Puerto Rico: 8 (this is all relative… the day was still good, I mean “It’s Puerto Rico” for goodness sake!).

CRUISE! Eastern Caribbean

Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Carnival Victory

DAY 0 – Arrive in San Juan a day early
DAY 1 – Victory leaves San Juan
DAY 2 – St. Thomas/St. John
DAY 3 – Dominica
DAY 4 – Barbados
DAY 5 – St. Lucia
DAY 6 – St. Kitts
DAY 7 – St. Maarten
DAY 8 – Victory arrives back in San Juan
DAY 9 – Newark New Jersey airport
Day 10 – Finally home

What a trip… again! It is hard to believe it is over. Last year we cruised for the first time and had such a great time, so it was an easy decision to cruise again with friends Dave and Shannon.

The excitement and planning leading up to the cruise was even fun but I will spare you those details.

DAY 0 – Arrive in San Juan a day early
On Saturday March 6th we flew out of Logan airport directly to San Juan. It was an easy flight and you couldn’t have asked for anything more straight forward. Easy on, easy off. I think we were even 20 minutes early. Those people that complain about air travel really have nothing to complain about; or do they?

We arrived in San Juan early afternoon, rented a car from Charlie’s Car Rental. The rates were good, the car was nice, and best of all we could pick up at the airport and drop off near the cruise terminal, where they then shuttle you to the cruise terminal. Nice staff and would rent again from them.

San Juan was rainy but that didn’t stop us from having a good time. We visited El Morro but didn’t have time for San Cristobal. El Morro was incredible and because it was rainy, not many people were out.













And we did see a wedding while wandering around the streets. The wedding party was outside and these two Puerto Rican guys were helping park cars. There was this tourist looking guy in a car behind the commotion and he was getting impatient, so he laid on his horn. And the two Puerto Ricans, without missing a beat, just put big smiles on their faces, with their hands shrugged to the air, and said in a relaxed Puerto Rican accent (in unison) “It’s Puerto Rico!” I am sure I am not doing the comment justice, but we loved it so much that we used it on almost every island thereafter… something went wrong… “It’s Puerto Rico” (even if it wasn’t). I love that attitude. I have always loved Puerto Ricans and never really new why, I now know.





We had a nice dinner in Old San Juan and before we knew it, it was time to head back to our hotel to get some sleep. Finding our hotel was an adventure in itself. We stayed at a Howard Johnson’s in a cardiovascular center. Really. It was as weird as it sounds. The hotel was nice, but finding it was a whole other story. I will try to not reminisce about the bad parts of the trip, so let’s just say, after turning around several times, asking directions several times, we eventually found ourselves snug in our beds. Until 5am when the fire alarm went off. But it stopped. Then went off again. At checkout in the morning the desk guy said not to worry it happens all the time. Helpful to know. Next time…. The Sheraton. Three times the cost would have been worth it.

Kaiden Hearts Horses

Kaiden still loves horses. He rides at a stable a lot closer to home. And he has a great connection to a large pony name Luke and we his trainer Julie is great too. His riding is getting a lot better since he learned to ride a bike. His legs are a lot stronger and his balance is great.

A shout out to all you hard working teachers!

Kaiden and I volunteered to put a bunch of mini books together for his class... we did about 1500 of them! We did them in small groups throughout the month so it wasn't so bad.

But to all you teachers, here's a shout out from Kaiden:
“Mini books are hard work. I use to think I wanted to be a teacher when I grow up. Now I realize it is too much work so I think I just want to be a principal” ~Kaiden