Cruise 2011 - Day 8/9 SAN JUAN, PR & HOME

FAREWELL CARNIVAL VICTORY!!!

"End of cruise" faces

It was bittersweet to wake up for the final time on the Carnival Victory. I love being rocked to sleep on the waves but all good things must come to an end and it is always nice to get back home. We were up around 7:45am and packed up the last of our remaining luggage and went to the dining room for breakfast. We took our time as our debarkation group was number 15 and wouldn’t be called for quite awhile. We had a great chat with our tablemates from Utah. They were very interested to hear about the Bay of Fundy and our incredibly high tides. We did our part to encourage some New Brunswick tourism ☺

After breakfast, we made our way to the Caribbean Lounge where they announced that we could sit and wait until our group was called. We found a seat but were only sitting for about 5 minutes when they made an announcement that any non-US citizens in the lounge could head to Deck 3 to disembark. Sweet!! We got off the ship and went through customs without a hitch. We then headed to the huge warehouse area where all of the luggage was stored. It took a little bit to find all of our suitcases but it wasn’t too long before we made our way out of the cruise terminal and grabbed a taxi to the Comfort Inn in Condado. We were there by 10am, which was definitely way too early to check in. The front-desk clerk helped us store our bags and we headed straight to the pool area and made ourselves a home on the four loungers. We had Heather’s little computer and enjoyed the hotel’s wireless to Skype with some family and check email, etc.

Late morning, Rebecca and I decided that we would head up to the park near Condado Beach as one of the other hotel guests had told us that there was a local market set up. We picked up some bananas, watermelon slices and pineapple and wandered through the tents checking out the local crafts and food kiosks.

Then we walked up Ashford Ave to the Walgreens and picked up some snacks for the plane trip home the next day. We had just returned to the hotel and were talking about going out to get some lunch when the front-desk clerk came to the pool area and told us she had a room ready for us. Perfect!! We were able to get our suitcase and take all of our stuff to the room before heading out to find some lunch!

Lunch at Wendy’s was a pretty big let down from our delicious cruise fare but we made the best of it and then headed to the beach for a couple of hours.

We had a late supper at a local Chile’s just down Ashford Ave and watched some of the Superbowl while we ate. On the way back to the hotel, they had a huge video screen set up in the park and a big crowd was watching the game. We did the same…but from the comfort of our room!

The following morning, we were up a 6:45am, had some free continental breakfast at the hotel and caught a cab to the airport.

Bags packed and ready to go : - (

Our flights went smoothly and we arrived early in Halifax.  We had a little problem getting into our car as there had been two snowstorms while we were gone and we were a bit blocked in.  We needed help to push the car out of the snow but were on the road by 5pm for our two and a half hour drive home.

Welcome home!!

Another incredible cruise adventure and we were blessed with calm waters, good food and great friends for company!

Cruise 2011 - Day 7 SINT MAARTEN/ST. MARTIN

Our final stop on this fantastic cruise and it was at my absolute favorite island – St. Martin. This island is actually split into two parts – one owned by the Netherlands (Sint Maarten-Dutch) and the other is owned by France (St. Martin-French). You can pass easily between each side – there are no checkpoints or obvious borders.  Most ships dock in Philipsburg on the Dutch side.

We were up around 8am again today as we did not want to miss a minute of our final day! There was much to be accomplished. We went to the Pacific Dining Room for breakfast and I had Belgian Waffles with Strawberry sauce, bacon and hash browns. Yum!! We were off the ship around 9:45am and we headed directly to Rebecca’s favorite spot – the Coconut Smoothie kiosk on the pier.

Rebecca has been dreaming about coconut smoothies since her last cruise over three years ago. If you like coconut, without a doubt, this is a necessary purchase!! Once the coconut monster had been fed, we enjoyed a leisurely 15-minute walk to downtown Philipsburg. There are tons of cabs at the pier that will take you into town for around $3 per person but we enjoyed the walk. There is a small shortcut with a bunch of little shops and bars done up in delightful Caribbean colours.

The view across Great Bay

Once downtown, we did some browsing along Front Street (the main street that runs closest to the water) and then hit Old Street for a bit. Our goal was the bus stop that is situated at the far end of Old Street.


Old Street

The local buses are white vans and way cheaper than taxis. Check the license plates as buses have license plates that start with “BUS” and taxis start with “TAXI”. The destination will be on a sign posted in the front window of the van. We hopped on the bus and told the driver we were heading for Mullet Bay Beach…and he immediately changed his sign to “Mullet”. Cab drivers on the island will try and talk you out of taking the bus and tell you that it takes an hour to get where you’re going. Actually, the only difference between the bus and taxi is that a bus will stop to pick up and let off people but they all still have to make their way through the same traffic so a cab would not be much faster. One other element to consider is that the buses don’t go very close to Orient Beach so it is best to take a cab if you want to go there. It cost us $2 each to get to Mullet Bay instead of $7 each by cab.

We soon arrived at Mullet Bay Beach and immediately rented a couple of loungers and an umbrella (for $15). I just can’t do justice to any description of the water on St. Martin. It is an unreal colour of turquoise and is so clear you can see all of the small fish swimming around your feet. Even pictures can’t quite capture how beautiful it is! We spent the next three hours swimming, walking the beach, reading, chatting with some “lounge neighbors” and watching the planes on their approach to the airport near Maho Bay, just down the coast. The beach has some BBQ spots so the guys grabbed themselves a couple of delicious hamburgers for $4 each. There is also a bar at one end of the beach and washrooms in the opposite direction. Let’s just say that you will not want to hang around the washrooms too long as the cleanliness leaves much to be desired. On the positive side…they have washrooms! Another thing that you will run into at a lot of beaches are the beach vendors. Usually, a polite “No, thanks” will send them on their way but if you show any interest at all in what they have, you will find yourself looking at tons of dresses or necklaces and having a hard time getting them to leave. They can be very persistent!



Mullet Bay Beach



It was getting close to 2pm by the time we packed up our stuff and walked down to Maho Bay (10 minute walk). Maho Bay Beach is located directly in front of the runway at the Princess Julianna International Airport. It is one of the craziest and adrenaline-packed experiences that you will ever have when you are standing on the beach and a huge 737 flies directly over the top of your head!! The first time I did this, my knees completely gave out and I found myself kneeling in the sand without ever really intending to. Sunset Beach Bar is located at the far end of Maho Beach and has all of the day’s flights listed on their board.  The best time to see the most large planes is between 1pm and 3pm.


Maho Bay Beach (Sunset Beach Bar at far end)

"Danger - Jet blast of departing and arriving aircraft can cause severe
physical harm resulting in extreme bodily harm and even death!"

One of the funniest things that happened on this trip was when we first arrived and were just standing in front of the runway checking things out. A large plane taxied toward the end of the runway and I said “We do not want to be here when that thing takes off!” and I picked up my stuff and ran down to the far end of the beach. Rebecca looked at Dave and said “Is Angie exaggerating??” and Dave told her that I was slightly exaggerating. Well, she soon found out that I wasn’t!! When the plane fired up its engines, the wind was incredible and the sand started pelting all of the people who hadn’t moved out of the way. I crouched behind a car, doubled over with laughter as I watched Rebecca bookin’ it madly toward me…her beach bag swinging from one hand, her sandals from the other, her towel was streaming behind her and her sunglasses were hanging crookedly on her face. I was laughing so hard that I forgot to video it with my camera so everyone else could enjoy the image that is now imprinted in my brain. Trent had run down the edge of the beach into the water to stop the sand from blasting his legs. Needless to say, the next time a plane took off, they stayed near the end of the beach ☺

Rebecca covered in sand from her encounter with jet blast

 

Dave and Rebecca headed into the water to wash off the sand

 

Crazy tourists!!

 

Airbus from Paris

 

We watched planes land for about an hour and then headed back to the main road to catch the bus back into Philipsburg. You just have to stand by the road and wave down any bus that has the sign “P’burg” in the window. We had the bus drop us off in front of Rima’s on Salt Pond Rd (right along the bus route). Rima’s is a large tourist shop that carries every possible souvenir or clothing item that any tourist may want. We always wait to get our souvenirs here as they have much better prices than other places. Actually, word is that the beach vendors buy their inventory here and then mark it up for sale at the beaches. We spent about a half hour and grabbed some mementos for our nieces and nephews and then made a quick stop at the Belgian Chocolate Shop on Old Street to pick out some delectable chocolate treats. They even had white chocolate so I could indulge too!! We were running close to ‘all-aboard’ (which seemed to be the trend of this cruise) so we hustled back to the pier. However, we had to make yet another stop at the Coco shack to get a smoothie…well, three! So delicious and refreshing after a hot day in the sun!

Supper was Mango Cream Soup, Fatoush Salad and Southern Fried Chicken (oh man, if you ever have the chance to try this, definitely do). Dessert was a Grand Marnier Soufflé. We had to head back to our cabins to pack (sob!!) and get things settled up for our debarkation in the morning. We went to see the Carnival Legends karaoke show where all of the passengers, who had tried out for the show earlier in the week, dressed up like a star and sang for the audience. They had Elvis, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra, to name a few. For amateurs, they did a great job! We put our suitcases out in the corridor and only kept the things we would need for the morning. Our final night to be rocked to sleep on the Caribbean Sea!

Sint Maarten/St. Martin is a wonderful island to visit! This is another island that I could easily spend a week at as you can also catch a ferry to the nearby islands of Saba and Anguilla. The water is so blue, the sand so white and there is so much to see and do on this island. If you want to find out more, you can check out my detailed St. Martin blog posting for a summary of beaches, excursions, etc.

Cruise 2011 - Day 6 - ST KITTS, WEST INDIES

View of Basseterre from the ship

We all were up early again for breakfast and were off the ship by 9am. We were on the hunt for Daniela from “Ride St. Kitts” where we had reserved two scooters for a tour around the island. We were torn between excitement and a bit of nervousness over all of the horrible stories we had heard about people getting injured on scooters while on vacation. I kept saying that I probably would not do this on too many other islands as there is just simply too much traffic. On St. Kitts, once you get out of Basseterre, there is one road that goes around the entire island so I didn’t think it would be as risky.

We didn’t spot Daniela so we started walking down Bay Road (which is the front road stretching along the waterfront) following the map that was on their website. After a couple of stops to make sure we were heading the right way, we found their storefront about a 7-8 minute walk from Port Zante, where the cruise ships dock. Daniela went over the map of the island with us and gave us her overview of her perfect day on St. Kitts. We wanted to head to the beach right away but she recommended that we do the route around the island first and head to the beach in the afternoon. We bowed to her greater experience and took her advice, which we were glad we did!

When we arrived, Daniela told us that the government on St. Kitts had just implemented a new requirement for visitors to have a temporary driving permit for scooters. It was going to cost an additional $24 for each driver.  We figured that we might as well go ahead with it as we had been looking forward to this outing all week. Daniela got the guys geared up to take them over to the fire station to get their permit. Another couple had also arrived and were getting ready to leave as well. Unfortunately, I don’t think buddy was as experienced as he thought and he hit the gas instead of the brake, lurched across the road and ran into two scooters parked on the opposite sidewalk. The bike fell over and the wife’s leg was underneath the scooter! Fortunately, there were no major injuries, a pavement burn on the wife’s leg and definitely some aftershocks to deal with but they decided not to go. We were all a little shaky after seeing that and I think we all questioned whether we were doing something crazy or not. We marshaled our resources and forged ahead. Dave and Trent went with Daniela on the scooters to the fire station so that they could get a feel for the bikes and get used to them before Rebecca and I got on the back.   They were only gone a short time and had their permits in hand on their return. After some last minute instructions from Tim, we headed out on the highway…♫♪lookin’ for adventure♪♫.

The first part of our drive was the longest on the scooters. It gave us a chance to get used to driving on the left side of the road and get a feel for how the scooters responded. We made a couple of stops to take photos of the gorgeous surf on the Atlantic side of the island.


What a gorgeous coastline!

We traveled almost all of the way up the Atlantic side heading for Black Rocks. At one point, we went straight and found out very quickly that we were going the wrong way. We figured this out because we drove by a small park and a lady sitting on a bench yelled out to us “You’re going the wrong way!!”. Oddly enough, we weren’t entirely sure what she meant so we kept driving. We didn’t get too far down the road before another lady jumped out of her car and yelled “You’re going the wrong way!!”. At that point we figured…we must be going the wrong way ☺ We stopped and the lady told us that we should have followed the white dotted lines which marked the highway and had turned to the right when we had gone straight. She gave us directions to head back and turn left further down the road. We did what she told us and got on the main road again!

I must say that a fabulous part of touring the island this way is the close contact with the people! You drive through lots of small towns and the locals wave and tell you to have a good day or ask if you are enjoying their island. You just do not get that kind of contact when you are taking a tour in a van or car.

Our first stop was at Black Rocks which are volcanic rock formations along the Atlantic coast. The rocks are very chunky and rough looking and some of them are located out in the pounding surf. It is amazing how hard the waves crash into the shore and it is kind of mesmerizing to sit and watch them for awhile.



Black Rocks

We checked out the touristy stuff near the lookoff and Rebecca indulged her addiction to coconut and picked up a bag of freshly chopped coconut for a snack. Mmmm!!

We hopped back on the bikes and headed up the coast to Dieppe Bay and the Golden Lemon Inn (recommended by Daniela). Dieppe Bay is the spot on the island where the currents of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. You can look out into the water and see white caps coming in one direction and other white caps meeting them at almost a 90 degree angle. Very cool! We spent some time on the black sand beach and then walked over to the inn to check things out.

Black sand beach at Dieppe Bay

The Golden Lemon Inn was a delight! It is a 17th century stone building peppered with lemon yellow doors and shutters. They had no problem with us wandering around the hotel and we headed upstairs and found a cozy library/reading nook and a sitting room furnished with old portraits and antiques. We also checked out the large front porch that had a fantastic view of the beach from the second level.

Rested and re-hydrated, we got back on the bikes and headed to the western side of the island and Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor.

The Manor is set at the base of a stretch of mountains located near the centre of the island and boasts some gorgeous gardens that you can wander through at your own pace. There are also some ruins of an old sugarcane plantation as well as Caribelle Batik, which makes gorgeous batik fabrics and has a wide range of clothing and other batik offerings in their gift shop. If you want a unique souvenir that is truly local to the island, this is the place to pick it up!

We spent some time around the grounds and watched a demonstration of how they make the batik fabrics. There was a deluge of rain while we were there but it didn’t last very long. Most people were running for shelter but I was so warm that I stayed right out in the middle of the rain for awhile and cooled off!

Batik demonstration at Caribelle Batik

After the rain had passed, we got on the road again and finished the loop back to Basseterre. We passed through the town of Basseterre and headed for Timothy Hill, which is a gateway to the south end of the island where most of the popular beaches are located. Timothy Hill has a great lookout spot with a gorgeous view of that end of the island. It overlooks the spot in the Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are the closest, without actually touching. They come within about 600m of each other.


View from atop Timothy Hill

We maxed out the scooter power and got to the top however we noticed right away that Trent & Rebecca were not behind us?? We looked down the road but it was so curved that we could not see very far down. Dave walked down the hill looking for them but came back up because he didn’t spot them. I was chatting with a couple of German tourists who pointed out what looked like a scooter on a little outcropping on the side of the road quite a way down the hill. Dave and I hopped on our bike and headed for that spot. Sure enough, there were the intrepid duo…their scooter had quit partway up the hill and they had to pull off. Dave went back up the hill to see if he could find a cabbie to borrow a phone and call Daniela or Tim. He finally found one and Tim arrived very quickly within about 15 minutes. He found the problem very quickly and replaced the spark plug that had shaken itself out of its holder. With such a quick response, we were back on the road in very short order.

We made our way down the other side of the hill and over to South Friar’s Bay to the beach. Rebecca and I had heard that they gave massages on several of the beaches on St. Kitts and were very keen to get one. Funny enough, we were just getting off our bikes when a guy walked by and we found out his name was “Magic Fingers” and he and his mom, Laverne, gave 30 minute massages for $30. We made an appointment with him and then we set off to the beach. Before we even got there, we came across a bunch of monkeys hanging out around the Shipwreck Bar. They were getting fed some bananas and the tourists were madly snapping photos. Of course, I had to join in because that is not a sight you see every day.


A monkey having a snack!



South Friar's Beach

We eventually made our way to the beach and found a quiet spot and got right into the water. Ahhh….we were so hot and sweaty and the water was so wonderfully refreshing. We stayed there until Magic Fingers found us and then Rebecca and I endured the torturous task of getting a massage…on the beach…with a beautiful tropical breeze. Well, someone has to do it : - ) One suggestion if you decide to do this – set your price and time frame in advance because you may hear that the $30 for 30 minutes only includes your feet and legs and you need to pay more if you want your back done. As long as everything is clear up front, they give a fantastic massage!!

We enjoyed a bit more time in the water before we got back on the scooters and headed back into town. We delivered the bikes to Ride St. Kitts and said our thanks and farewells to Daniela and Tim (who are fellow Canadians…did I mention that???). We walked back to Port Zante and found an internet café so we could find out what was going on in the ‘real world’ at home. We were back on the ship with just a few minutes to spare before ‘all-aboard’ at 5:30pm.

Supper was Chicken Tenders marinated in Thai spices, Tomatoes & Buffalo Mozzarella, Roasted Tom Turkey and a mouth-watering Apple Pie with ice cream for dessert. Checked out a couple of activities and decided we should close out our fabulous day in the hot tub!

We were glad that we didn’t let our nerves dissuade us from doing the scooter excursion because it turned out to be a true highlight of our trip. Daniela and Tim were so helpful and Tim’s quick response to our scooter ‘emergency’ kept it from being more than a small blip in our day!!

Two things I would recommend if you want to do this outing: one is that you MUST have had some kind of experience with motorcycles and/or scooters; second is to take it slowly at first and get used to the scooters. I would add a third thing as well…reapply your sunscreen often!! If you do that, you will have a stellar day on St. Kitts! 

If you want to find out more information about what to do on St. Kitts, check out my St. Kitts port-of-call post on this blog.

Cruise 2011 - Day 5 ST. LUCIA

The Carnival Victory docked in Castries, St. Lucia

None of us could be slug-a-beds on this morning. We were all up around 8am, had breakfast in the Mediterranean Buffet and got off the ship to meet our favorite tour guide, Herod, for his Land & Sea tour at 9:15am. The very first time we visited St. Lucia was with Trent & Rebecca in 2004 and we just grabbed a cab to Reduit Beach and thought that the island was nice…but nothing spectacular. The next visit, I had actually done more research and came across a tour guide named Herod Stanislas so we decided to do an island tour with him. Well, that was about five years ago and we have stopped on St. Lucia every year since then and have done a tour with Herod every year!! He showed us the sights that make St. Lucia so memorable and we rave about him to anyone who may be planning a visit to St. Lucia. We usually take a private land tour with Herod but this time we decided to take his Land & Sea tour.

Hurricane Tomas hit St. Lucia in October of 2010 and caused significant damage to homes, roads, etc. on the island. The island received over 23 inches of rain in a 24 hour period and there were some landslides that blocked off some main roads for several days and resulted in the deaths of several residents of the island. We were glad when we met up with Herod as he had a good-sized group of 21 people for the tour and he said that things were starting to get back to normal on the island and with his business.

One of the larger landslide areas

Herod had rented a large van for the day so he could fit everyone in.

We all climbed aboard and our driver, Charles, drove us through the morning traffic of the port city and capital, Castries. Our destination was the town of Soufrière (Herod’s hometown) nearer to the south end of the island. The roads down the coast are incredibly twisty. They have to replace their brakes and tires every three months due to the wear and tear!!! The trip down the coast went slowly as we stopped in several spots to see the sights.

The interior of the island is uninhabited and a protected rainforest

We stopped in a valley where there were 400 acres of bananas that are exported to the U.K. The land is owned by over 100 families. We ate some fresh bananas and, let me tell you, there is nothing like a banana eaten right where it is grown!! They are so sweet and flavorful. According to Herod, the bananas that we eat get shipped while they are green and when they get to their destination, they are gassed and sprayed to ripen them.

Herod giving us some information about the banana plantation



We also stopped at an overlook above Marigot Bay, one of the resort areas on the island.


The view from above Marigot Bay

There was a small tourist stop there so we had a bit of a breather out of the van. Dave quizzed Herod about the hurricane damage on the island and we discovered that my absolute favorite spot to go to, the warm waterfall (aka Fountain of Youth), had received damage in a landslide and was not open for business. Total bummer! I told Herod how disappointed I was because I was really looking forward to it and he said that he thought he could line up another option for us, if we wanted.   We got back on the bus and continued down the coast with stops at a few overlooks for some photos, a local bakery where Herod got everyone some Creole Butter Bread (yum!) and a spot where a guy had a ‘baby’ boa constrictor that he let the tourists put around their necks and take photos…for a small fee. 

The world-famous Pitons near Soufrière, St. Lucia

We finally made it to Soufrière around noon. Our first major stop was at the ‘drive-in’ volcano.

There was landslide damage to part of the road so you couldn’t actually drive in as far as you could last year. The volcano is not active but it does have boiling black water in the caldera. While the rest of the group took a tour of the volcano area, Charles took us down the hill to the mud bath that Herod had lined up to replace the warm waterfall. Dave, Trent, Rebecca and I all got into a very hot pool of black water that is full of minerals and sulfur from the volcanic content of the soil. The next step was to smear ourselves with the volcanic mud, dry in the sun and then return to the pool to wash off the mud. It was one of the highlights of the trip, I must say! One of the guides gave us some gray mud instead of the black stuff everyone else was putting on out of a pail. He said this was “the good stuff”. It was very dense and gritty so you got an exfoliating treatment as well as a mud wrap : - ) We could not believe how soft our skin felt when we got out…just like a baby’s.


The mud and mineral bath

Herod had sent another driver back to get us so we hopped in with him and headed to Herod’s parent’s home just outside Soufrière where his Mom had been cooking since 5am to prepare a St. Lucian meal for the group. Man…she is a good cook! She had so many different dishes and by the time you took a bit of everything, your plate was full. There was stewed chicken in tomatoes, saffron rice and beans, fried kingfish, fried plantains (like hard bananas), taro (a starchy root that they cook up and eat), green sweet potatoes, fish cakes and some other dishes that I can’t remember now. Herod also served us a local grapefruit drink.


Some of the delicious St. Lucian cuisine prepared by Herod's Mom.

After lunch, Herod took us down to Soufrière Harbour to take a speedboat over to Jalousie Beach, which is located between the world-famous Pitons.

We were running behind schedule so we only had about a half hour on the beach. We usually snorkel at this spot because the coral and fish are incredible however, we didn’t want to get all wet and ride back to Castries in wet clothing. We found a shady spot on the beach and just relaxed…well, the guys relaxed. Rebecca and I walked the beach and I took photos like a mad woman : - )  All of the beaches on St. Lucia are rocky with black sand but many resorts will haul in white sand because that appeals best to tourists!  Our boat driver told us that Jalousie brings in sand from Trinidad at a cost of $300,000 a year.  I don't have independent confirmation on that figure but I imagine it does cost a pretty penny...or two!!

Jalousie Beach

It was over too quickly and we boarded the boats for our return trip to Castries. This was the reason that we took the Land & Sea Tour...so we could go back by boat instead of by van on the twisty roads. A lot of people tend to get motion sickness on the return trip because you don’t stop turning for about an hour.


The view of the Pitons from the water

The swells were quite high on the way back so we had a wild ride but it was lots of fun to see some sights from the water. Herod showed us Jade Mountain Resort which is the most expensive place on the island. A room runs about $1,200 per night…whew! A new company bought the Jalousie Plantation and are in the process of renovating a lot of the villas. I have heard that they will call it Sugar Beach Plantation but that could change. Once it is complete, the new resort will likely be the most pricey spot.

We pulled up to the dock, not far from the Victory, around 4:20pm. We made it in time for the all-aboard call at 4:30pm. Herod is always aware of the time and has never made us late for all aboard. We didn’t even worry about being late!!

We had just enough time for a (very) short nap and a shower to get ready for our second formal night and supper at 6:00pm.

Supper was Cream of Broccoli Soup, a green bean, tomato and mixed green salad, Chateaubriand with Bernaise Sauce and Baked Alaska for dessert. We made a tour of the ship and checked out some of the activities going on and headed to bed in good time.

It was an action-packed and totally memorable day on the gorgeous island of St. Lucia!  If you would like more details on what is available on St. Lucia, please check out my St. Lucia blog posting on this blog under 2010 posts.