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 508 - Tortola

I LOVE a good dive day & today was no exception! In fact, it was my first wreck dive! Bronwyn, Leana & I went to Salt Island & dove the HMS Rhone. It sunk in 1867 - the same year Canada became a country! 

The ship had quite a story to it - supposedly 'unsinkable' & well, you can read all about it here. The dive company was exceptionally efficient. They had all of our gear sorted out for us & our tanks were labelled with our names, already hooked up & ready to go. It gave me confidence in the diving crew! Additionally, the crew were very knowledgeable & the dive briefing was very thorough with a map of the wreck site, which also added to the confidence & comfort of what we were about to do! 

I was thrilled to see the 'lucky' porthole, with glass still intact & the Captain's teaspoon lying on the wreckage. We swam past the propeller's & the mast, along with a few swim-throughs, which were enthralling! I haven't been in a tight diving space since the cenotés dive in 2005. It was beautiful to see the air bubbles trapped, shining like liquid mercury discs and the escaping bubbles streaming up from holes in the hull of the ship. It's a whole new world under the water. If you've ever wanted to scuba dive, go for it! It's amazing & I'm so grateful to have the chance to do it!

I was amazed to dive with a fellow named Roger. I don't know how he lost his leg, but he dove with one leg! There were strong currents & I could barely keep up at times with 2 legs! What an inspiration he is to overcome his disability & carry on making the most out of life! He buddy breathed with our Divemaster on the way up & I can understand why! He had to swim with his arms & with the currents, it is no wonder he used a bit more air than the rest of us! Respect to you Roger & happy diving in the future!

After our dive, we went for a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant where Nic found us. We finished our meal & headed to La Dolce Vita for gelato. Wow. I think they have the best gelato in all the Caribbean. It was the perfect post-dive treat. Bronwyn, Leana & Nic headed back to the ship & I swung by the British shop to pick up a few things for Jaco. 

Weighted down with Ceres juice, jelly babies & wine gums, I made my way back to the ship. Jaco was already in the clinic, so I went straight to making taco meat for supper. It is yummy. Even Jaco thinks so! I'm so happy when he eats something that I've made & actually enjoys it! It's really quite simple. You take walnuts that have been soaked & dehydrated (to release the toxic enzyme inhibitor) & you blend them in a food processor with chili powder, garlic, bragg's aminos & I think that's about it! Then you slice up red pepper, cabbage, sprouts, carrots or whatever else you want in your taco & roll it all up in a lettuce leaf! Butter lettuce is my favourite to use. Let me know if you fancy the recipe!

xxxxMaria

 Leana

 Great day for a dive!

 Bronwyn struts her stuff!

 Nice place to spend - forever?

 Dive buddies!

 Dive boat

 Crow's Nest - the mast

 Here we go!

 Ok!

 Swim Through

 Tight space!

 trapped bubbles

 Captain's teaspoon

 Lobzilla

 Lucky porthole!

 The glass is still intact

 Another swim-through

 bubbles!

 Roger - what an inspiration!

 Coral formations

Organized dive company!

 The girls!

 Passing the cigar under the table. No one will notice. The smell?

Smiley Guy - Nic

Obeying all the rules