Final Island - Barbados and Return

I don't know if I loved Barbados the best or if what we did on Barbados was the most fun we had. Either way, our group of 11 hardy vactioneers chartered the Heat Wave, a catamaran that offered plenty of snorkling, lunch, and all the drinks we wanted. (If you are getting the idea that our new friend Suzanne liked to drink, you'd be right. She hit a homerun on this excursion.)

We boarded the catamaran, settled down to sail along a gorgeous coast to a beach setting where we snorkled and looked at beautiful tropical fish. Yes, the creatures from the black lagoon jumped in the water, emerging later looking foolish but happy.

We moved to a different site for more snorkling. This time, the men who ran the Heat Wave threw out fish pieces to attract green turtles. We romped in the water and had to be dragged back onto the boat. We enjoyed a wonderful meal, had some local beer, and eventually made our way back to the Boatyard beach. There, our party bade farewell to the Heat Wave and broke into two groups -- those who hadn't had either enough sun or enough to drink, and those of us who looked like lobsters in spite of 85 SPF sun block. I was in the latter group.

Reluctantly, the group reassembled on the cruise ship, relaxed and dressed for dinner. We had a day at sea ahead of us, before returning to San Juan and one last day together.

Terry and I spent our last three days in San Juan walking around forts and the old city. It was so beautiful that we couldn't get our fill. We took a night kayaking trip to a bioluminescent pool, traveled through a mangrove forest, and returned to our car minutes before a tropical storm wiped out the later paddle tours. We even had another tourist take our picture at the top of a fort with the Caribbean in the background.

All good things have to end. So does my recap of our cruise. I hope you enjoyed your journey with me.

Cruisin' - day one

Okay, so I had terrific plans to blog nearly daily while on vacation. Like New Year's resolutions, I didn't succeed. I managed to get one entry from San Juan, but once we boarded the ship, two things happened.

1. I realized that the ship had a hand in my pocket every time I turned around. I know from experience that drinks, shopping, and spa treatments cost extra. But Internet access???? $.65 a minute!!!!

2. I remembered that I'm cheap. I decided to wait until I had photos to share before updating my blog.


I took nearly 500 photos. I love my new Nikon camera. I shot everything that moved -- or didn't move, depending on my mood. Don't worry. I have no plans to share each photo! But, check out these flowers on the "peony" tree.



Eleven of us gathered on board ship and settled down to have a good time. I watched body language as we boarded. Many of us were closed off and up tight. However, my husband Terry (aka Kenny Rogers) and our friend Don (from snowy Salt Lake City) showed no sign of stress.

We dressed up and joined as a group for a late dinner in the dining room. Two from Nashville, five from Salt Lake City, two from Haymarket and us. Before you ask, the food was excellent, the drinks plentiful. In fact the drinks were so plentiful that the younger son of Don (see above) ran up a bar tab the first night of nearly $135.
Dad was less than amused.

And so we sailed. First port of call, St. Martin.