30-OCT-2007
barbados view
A view of the Atlantic side of the island, right before we headed back to Bridgetown to board the ship.
And there our luck ended. We spent the next couple of hours trying to sort out the problems with our cabin, neither the air conditioning nor the refrigerator worked. We ended up moving to another cabin, and keeping my meds on ice until we could get there and get the refrigerator turned on and cold. By the time we changed cabins and went through the lifeboat drill, it was time to get ready for dinner. No show for me tonight, it’s been a long day and we have a tour in the morning.
30-OCT-2007
tortoise
Natives of Barbados, these tortoises seemed very comfortable in the nature preserve, even though their numbers are dwindling outside the preserve.
30-OCT-2007
monkey
This little guy was as curious about me as I was about him!
30-OCT-2007
St. James Church.
The rain ended sometime during the night, and morning was bright and sunny. Breakfast, and a quick walk around the old fort next to the hotel. Then off for a tour of the island before boarding our ship. Barbados is a fairly small island, only 15 miles wide and 21 miles long. We visited a church and a plantation house, both dating back to the 17th century, and a nature preserve where we saw monkeys, tortoises, and deer. We also drove by a sugar mill and many miles of beaches. The blue skies gave way to showers as we headed back into Bridgetown, but let up as we entered the port.
29-OCT-2007
rain
It rained all afternoon and all evening, hard enough that water was coming in under the door from our balcony. Enough so that we passed on the local restaurant, and stayed in the hotel.
29-OCT-2007
fisherman
On our walk on the beach, we saw this fisherman standing out in the surf. He stood for a long time, then suddenly cast his net, pulled it in , and made his way back to the beach. He spread out his net, and we saw lots of small, silver fish. Bait perhaps? A woman was waiting nearby, sitting on a big plastic bucket.
29-OCT-2007
lifeguard tower
A lovely morning, sun and a pretty good breeze. Perfect for a walk on the beach, then a stop at the pool. More rain showers sent us in, giving me a good chance to download my pictures and catch up on my blog. Nothing planned for today except more pool, beach, and photo time . . . and maybe even a nap!
28-OCT-2007
the view from our room
It's lovely here at the hotel. Warm, soft breezes through the open lobby, a nice white sand beach, gentle waves. Our room has a very nice view out over the beach, nice little balcony to sit out on and enjoy the view.
I had my walk on the beach, but no spectacular sunset because of the clouds building up. Not long after we went back in, it started raining. But not for long, by the time we finished dinner it had quit. So we went down to the pool and sat in the jacuzzi for a while to help get the stiffness from the flight out, then went up for an early bed time.
28-OCT-2007
Bridgetown, Barbados
Well, we're here. Checked into the hotel and everything, despite being an hour late out of Miami. We boarded the plane, only to sit and sit and sit. First, we had to wait for luggage, I guess from some connecting flight. Also, because the flight was oversold, they had asked for volunteers to stand back and take the next flight. We thought about it, but didn't want to give up our good seats and then get in after dark. I really wanted to walk on the beach, watch sunset, etc. Someone did stand back, though, because we had to wait while they unloaded the luggage, searched for their luggage, and then reload all the bags. TSA rules - if someone isn't on the planes, their bags can't be, either. I suppose that's a good idea, but sitting on the plane for an hour was pretty annoying, too.
The wedding business is big here. We had one bride on our plane - her gown hung in the closet, then she carried it through customs. I saw at least two more women carrying large white bags through the baggage claim/customs area. Guess it would be a pretty place for a wedding if that's what you're looking for. For me, being at home with as many friends and family as possible sounds a lot better, save the exotic locale for the honeymoon.
Time to pack and get ready to go . . .
Our itinerary:
26 Oct 2007 Flight from LAX to Bridgetown
Bridgetown to Manaus
Amazon Wonders
14 Days - Silver Wind
Date Port
30 Oct 2007 Bridgetown, Barbados
31 Oct 2007 Castries, St. Lucia
01 Nov 2007 Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
02 Nov 2007 St. George's, Grenada
03 Nov 2007 Day at Sea
04 Nov 2007 Devil's Island, French Guiana
05 Nov 2007 Day at Sea
06 Nov 2007 Belem, Brazil
07 Nov 2007 Cruising Breves Narrows
08 Nov 2007 Santarem, Brazil
09 Nov 2007 Boca Do Valeria, Brazil
10 Nov 2007 Cruising Rio Amazon
11 Nov 2007 Anavilhanas, Brazil
12 Nov 2007 Manaus, Brazil
13 Nov 2007 Manaus, Brazil
15 Nov 2007 Flight from Manaus to Panama City
16 Nov 2007 Flight from Panama City to LAX
