Day 524 - Tortola

Hmpf. Today was supposed to be a brilliant day at the Baths in Virgin Gorda. Unfortunately the tour was cancelled. The ferry across to the Baths was $40. I didn't have that much time to waste & I didn't want to risk holding up/missing the ship, so I didnt' go. Boo. I was after a specific shot & I guess I'll just have to wait until another year before I can get it. Bummer.


Instead, I wandered into town & went to the Cane Garden Surf Shop. I visited my friend Maureen from Jamaica. She's been a sweetheart every time I walk through the doors. I'll miss her smiling face! She remembered me from the previous year when I bought a little dress from the shop. We exchanged details & maybe one day she'll visit us in Canada. 


Other items on the day's agenda included stops at the South African & British shops. Yes, that's right. On the little island of Tortola there is a shop catering to the South African clientele. They carry Ceres juice, Mrs. Ball's chutney, Astros & Peppermint Crisps, Rusks and even Grenadilla Twist! Jaco has me pick up a few litres of Litchi juice each cruise. The British shop carries numerous foodstuffs from the UK. Jaco likes the licorice allsorts, wine gums & jelly babies. 


After I'd cleaned out the cultural snack shops, I headed over to the cultural ice cream shop - La Dolce Vita - serving the best gelato in all the Caribbean! I always come here & have a dish of grapefruit & passion fruit. Yum!


I hauled the sweets back onboard for my Baby & headed up on deck. I was having a bite to eat with Paloma, one of the Photographers. We worked together on the Diamond Princess back in 2005. I haven't seen her since, but we have many mutual friends from various ships & contracts across the globe. She is also recently married - in fact, she married only 2 days before us! How crazy is that?! Her husband is also working onboard as a Chef. He is from New Zealand & has the most intense icy green eyes I've ever seen! They are soon finishing up their contracts & heading back to New Zealand. It was great to catch up with her!


I popped into the Medical Centre to say hi to Jaco & found Carla & Alessia there. We had a great visit again & I enjoyed meeting Miss Alessia. She was entertaining Becky all over the Medical Centre. It was quite cute!


The balance of the evening was spent packing. Ugh. I'm up to my neck in stuff & have no idea how I'm going to get it all off the boat. I'm happy I still have a few more days to sort things out!


xxxxMaria

 Maureen & me at Cane Garden Surf Shop

 Sunset leaving Tortola

Day 523 - At Sea

Hmm. A fairly uneventful day. Did laundry. Packed a little. Tanned a little. Uncooked a little. That about sums it up!

I packed up the seeds & spices. I’m not sure how on Earth we’ll get them to SA just yet. It’s a fairly hefty weight! We’ll see! I washed the scuba gear for the last time & it’s drying out as I type.

I washed three loads of laundry, so there will only be a few things left to wash come Sunday.

Up on deck for one hour today, I found it quite windy. After I settled onto the only free lounger at the back of the ship, I tried to read. It was too windy & blew the pages all over. I tried to write postcards, but they were bent out of shape by the wind. I then resorted to playing solitaire on my iPod. When I finished, I looked up at the sky & my eyes were playing tricks on me. The moving clouds in the sky made the railing of the ship look like the back end of the ship was moving up, up, up into the sky! Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty weird!

Lastly, I made walnut tacos tonight for dinner. Jaco likes the taco ‘meat’, so we both enjoyed a nice meal. I used the raw sundried olives & they gave a nice ‘cheese’ texture to the tacos. Shredded purple cabbage, sliced red peppers & sunflower sprouts all rolled up in a butter lettuce leaf. They were delicious! I was quite pleased with the flavor of the taco meat that I took it to the Medical Centre & Rebecca & Becky both tried it & gave it thumbs up! Becky is quite picky, so I was impressed that she actually liked it! Rebecca even had a second spoonful!

Tomorrow is Tortola & I’ll attempt to travel over to Virgin Gorda again to see the Baths. Here’s hoping I can find the ferry in time!

xxxxMaria

Day 522 - Jamaica

This morning Jaco rang me to let me know I had a tour in one hour. Yay! I was going on a little cruise to Paradise Cove! I haven’t previously done the tour, so I was excited to do something new in Jamaica.

It was a RIOT! I was a little concerned, as the catamaran I boarded was quite full. I’m used to small groups on smaller catamarans. But they made it work!

We sailed down the coast for an hour & on the way we passed a home formerly owned by Mick Jagger with a beautiful waterfall cascading into the ocean. We also passed the infamous Dunn’s River Falls & witnessed the first group of tourists starting their climb up the falls. Shortly after the falls, we arrived at our swimming spot.

It was beautiful! I had taken my snorkeling gear – mostly because I’m a poor swimmer & with my fins & mask I feel much more comfortable! They made us tie on a lifejacket around our waists, which suited me just fine! By the time I let all the other passengers get into the water, some were climbing out already! What gives? The water was BEAUTIFUL! It was so refreshing! I didn’t want to get out! I asked the guides how long we would be in the water – thinking it would be an hour – 25 minutes was the reply! 25 minutes! That’s nothing! I told them I would be the last one out of the water! And I was!

By the time I climbed back on board, the passengers had devoured all the fresh fruit. Oh well. I think I’ve got a nut bar in my bag! I took a few more photos as we sailed down the scenic & stunning coastline. When they announced they were going to sail out into the ocean, I guessed that the waves would be splashing over the front of the catamaran. I guessed right!

I went to put my camera away & join a young girl sitting on the mesh at the front & by the time I returned, the area had cleared! There had been a few big splashes & everyone left! Perfect! I had a blast! It was just like a catamaran tour I did in Barbados with the Photo Department. The highlight was sitting in the front getting splashed! Today was the sequel!

One other fellow sat up front with me, mostly because it was too rough for him to stand up & move elsewhere! He kept getting salt water in his rum punch. I was squealing like a little kid on Christmas morning! When I left the catamaran, the dried salt felt like shards of glass on my skin. All that was missing was the tequila & lime!

I showered & headed back out to visit Island Village one last time. I found a shirt for Jaco at Margaritaville – yes, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. It looks great on him! (Jaco, not Jimmy Buffet!) I found a few of my friends from the shops & visited with them until I felt the sun piercing my skin. Wow. It is SO hot here!

I left for the ship, got hassled on the way back – as you do in Jamaica – and then went to the Medical Centre to take a few x-rays. Yes, that’s right! I didn’t do the x-rays myself, but one of the Nurses needed a digital file of his wife’s x-rays, so he asked me to take the photos on my higher resolution camera. It was a fun challenge & I edited them straight away.

Once I was finished with that, I helped my Shorex pals for 20 minutes or so & then it was back to the cabin. To begin, ugh, packing. It’s that time. I’ve packed a lot this evening. I still have a LONG ways to go, but I’ve put a pretty big dent in things. At least the cabin steward won’t have to do too much tomorrow! There’s no room to clean anything!

It’s one hour forward tonight, so I’m losing sleep as I type! That’s me for a great day in Jamaica!

Lekker slaap!

xxxxMaria

 The home away from home.

Dolphin Discovery

Mick Jagger used to own this property!

The Infamous Dunn's River Falls

 Not much to see under the water. A shell & one urchin.

 Interesting way to take the rope back!

Yah Mon! Everyting Irie.

Day 521 - Grand Cayman

Today was quite possibly the best dive day I’ve ever had. It was certainly the best dive I’ve done in the Caribbean this year! The dive was with Don Foster’s Dive Company. I went with Casey, the Videographer from the ship. It was her first dive since certification, so she was pretty pumped!

I was nervous, as I seem to get horrible headaches after each dive, which is VERY frustrating. Today was no exception on that note! The diving, however, was phenomenal. We saw 4 turtles & 6 barracuda on the first dive. There were tons of fish everywhere, great visibility & the coral was very much alive.

The second dive was even more incredible. It was called Devil’s Grotto & had these beautiful swim-throughs. The coral rose up, nearly meeting the surface. The formations created nooks & crannies, bridges & gaps – some wide & some narrow. We swam through several of them & I was quite nervous, as they were small in places. My tank actually bumped a few times as I went through! It was eerie & beautiful at the same time to see the way the light filtered through & the bubbles rose up. Of course, the large fish just chilling out, staring me down, didn’t make things any less eerie! They were surrounded or followed by a school of smaller fish. We also saw a HUGE turtle! I’ve never seen one so big! He was just chillin’ out. Unfortunately my ears acted up on the 3^rd swim through & for the last half of the second dive I had an expensive snorkel. I just could NOT descend deeper than 14’. It was so painful! I’ve never experienced such horrific pain! It was brutal! Thank goodness there was still plenty to see near the surface!

After the dive I headed back to the ship to meet Jaco. The dive had run a little later than planned, so I was hurrying to get back. When I did, I found a note from Jaco. He’d left the ship half an hour ago. Bummer. We were supposed to meet Lindsay, Lawrence’s daughter, & go to the beach & Butterfly Farm. I phoned Lindsay & made plans to meet her in half an hour. I hopped on the tender & was at our meeting place 20 minutes early. I waited & wandered around the area to pass the time. I’d never met Lindsay before, but I had seen photos of her, so I had an idea of what she looked like.

While I was waiting, I noticed some local shop staff standing on the sidewalk taking photos with their phones looking down the street. I finally got up to go & see what the commotion was all about. When I got there, there were 2 police cars turning the corner. I figured someone had an accident & returned to my waiting spot. Not two minutes later, I noticed a commotion coming towards me. I looked a little harder & amongst the buzz of people, I spotted a white-haired fellow who looked a lot like Bill Clinton. Wait! It is BILL CLINTON! No way! I started chuckling to myself & dug my camera out of my bag. It was still in the underwater housing from the dive – a bit bulky, but I didn’t have time to rinse & dry it! So I hoist it up & snap a paparazzi photo of Bill. I notice people shaking his hand, so away I go. I thrust my hand out to shake his & give him a big grin. I said, ‘Hello! Nice to meet you!’ He said, ‘Hi there. Nice to meet you.’ And then I said the most hillbilly thing I could have possibly come up with. ‘Well. Fancy meetin’ you here!’ And away Bill & his plain-clothed bodyguards went, followed by a buzz of tourists & fans.

About 1 minute later, I spot Lindsay. I call out her name & we introduce ourselves. I tell her that I just saw Bill Clinton & she’s flabbergasted. She tells me that she’s lived in the Caymans for 2 years & she’s never met anyone famous! We march around the corner to try & find Bill, but he’s long gone. Oh well. We tried.

We returned to our meeting point, she had her parking pass validated & we went to her car. Neither one of us was very decisional, so we just got in the car & started driving. Once we were on our way, driving down the road parallel to 7 Mile Beach, I noticed that we were following a cop car. Wait! Another cop car! And 2 black SUV’s in between! We were following Bill Clinton! Next thing we knew he was pulling into the Ritz-Carlton. So, I got my camera out again – still in the housing – and we pulled over on the side of the road & waited for Bill to get out. The bodyguards were there again & sure enough, there was Bill! I no sooner snapped my photo when another police car behind us honked the horn & we knew we had to boogie! Bye bye Bill!

Lindsay & I went to her place & had lunch at the outdoor restaurant on the complex where she lives. It was a great meal & great surroundings – wet bar, 2 pools, on the ocean – and the company was great! Lindsay & I enjoyed a wonderful visit getting to know each other.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the ship. She whisked me back to the terminal & we said goodbye. I crossed the street & no sooner turned around & there was Jaco! He’d been to the beach & walked most of the way back. (He was at 7 Mile Beach, remember!) I told him of my excitement for the day & he was disappointed that he’d missed Lindsay & Bill!

We were slightly delayed on the tender heading back to the ship. It was the last one & they didn’t have the right passenger count. There was one passenger missing. I think they finally realized that I was a passenger & not a crew member!

Jaco headed straight to clinic & I went to help my friends at the Shorex desk. They were just finishing up for the day & didn’t have any work for me to do, so it was a quick visit.

Becky found out she was going to be sent to another ship on the same day as Jaco & I were leaving, so she asked me to go for a drink with her at one of the passenger bars. We had a lovely visit & I’m going to miss her, even though I would have been leaving the ship anyway! I know there are many others on the ship that will also miss her!

Since she’s leaving in less than a week, I thought we ought to give her the birthday gift we bought for her sooner rather than later, as it’s a spa voucher for this ship! Her birthday is 2 days before she leaves the ship. I asked Jaco to call her into the Medical Centre after our drink, as the other 2 Nurses were also there. She was tickled pink!

What a day! Enjoy my crummy, but authentic photos of Bill! And Lindsay!

xxxxMaria

  

 I always loved these random signs pointing towards home... or elsewhere!

 Inspiring plaque at the bottom of the mooring line

 Lion Fish - Not native, no predators & very poisonous!

 Crush

 Casey

 Funky & friendly little fish

 Swim-throughs

 Yes, It's really Bill Clinton

Just before I shook his hand

Just after I shook his hand

 Following Bill's convoy! (by accident! I'm no stalker!)

 Pulled over for a quick Paparazzi style photo before we were honked out of place! 

My partner in crime & fellow stalker/paparazzi/getaway driver - Lindsay. Oh & lunch date too! :o)