Day 529 - Barbados to Miami to Atlanta

This morning we enjoyed a nice lie-in & woke up around 1000. We went outside for one last glorious dip in the ocean. Jaco swam a LONG way out & I bobbed in the waves for a while, returning to the lounger to soak up some last-minute sun. The water looked absolutely stunning & was far too inviting to pass up. I didn’t want to leave!

We rushed back to the room, showered & packed up the room. The cab driver was patiently waiting for us as we slowly arrived with our luggage. I managed to drag a suitcase over my big toe & partially ripped it off & partially bent it backwards. Ouch. A little blood, but I’m still walking strong!

We made it to the airport in about 20 minutes. I’m not sure how fast we were driving & neither was the cab driver. His speedometer didn’t work! Jaco was impressed with the Tom Adams roundabout & I was impressed with the frangipani trees lining the sides of the road. I would love to live somewhere they grow freely!

We checked in & hooray! We were flying Business Class! That meant, 3 bags each at 32 kgs! No baggage fees! It certainly is my lucky day! We sat on a bench & enjoyed the warmth a little longer. Jaco stayed with the luggage while I walked out & sat in the sunshine for a few minutes – one last time! The air was nice & fresh, with a warm breeze to keep you somewhat cooler.

I took one last sip of my water before we passed through security. I was happy they had a little garden area so I could at least dump my water on the plants, rather than in the garbage! I think all airport security areas should have plants! Think of how many mini gardens we could feed!

Jaco found a few magazine he wanted & I found stamps for my postcards. We rushed to our gate, only to arrive in time to hear an announcement telling us that our flight was delayed by an hour. Last night we checked the forecast in Miami & they were forecasting thunderstorms. Apparently the weatherman was right for a change, as our delay was due to thunderstorms! We relaxed & passed the time with free wi-fi. I must say, I sure appreciate free wi-fi, especially when traveling!

When it was time to board, we were supposed to leave the terminal & walk out to the plane on the tarmac. As I left the building, one of the staff told me I had been selected for special security screening. Great! I don’t mind so much, but it is kind of annoying, considering that I already passed through the regular screening with x-ray machines & such & now they want to go through ALL of my bags with a fine toothed comb. The part that bothered me the most was the fact that I carry a lot of my valuables & camera gear in my carry-on. The lady screening me didn’t know what was what & managed to mess up my packing job quite sufficiently. Then she tried to rush me out of the way, when I obviously had to repack my bag with due care. When I finally had it re-packed, I joined Jaco & we headed over to the plane. It was beautiful – blue sky in the background, shiny silver plane, my handsome husband – time for a photo! I took one photo while Jaco was getting ready & all of a sudden I’m being hollered at! I can’t take a photo of the plane! What?!? Groan. AMERICAN Airlines. What is it with this country? They think I’ve never seen a plane before? They think I can’t gain access to a photo of whatever kind of plane it is we’re flying on? Give me a break! I’m taking a souvenir photo of my husband as we begin our long journey home. Which, by the way, after this moment, just got THAT much longer. Jerks.

Thankfully, once we were finally on the plane, it got a whole lot better! I’ve never flown Business Class before. It was awesome! Plenty of leg room, reclining chairs with a leg lift, cushy seats, frequent drink service, decent food (I never understood how Jaco could say that airplane food was good. Now I do!) , touch screen tv’s… I’m being spoiled now!

We arrived in Miami just past 2000 & managed to collect our luggage straight away. We had no issues passing through Customs & before we knew it, we had an hour or so to kill. Our flight to Atlanta was delayed by 1.5 hours, so we wandered around the airport for a while. We bought a few snacks & tried to go online. Wouldn’t you know it, but they charge for access. Since we only had 30 minutes before we were boarding, it wasn’t worth the money. Hopefully the hotel will have access.

As I type this, we’re on our way to Georgia. It’s only 9 degrees there! I think we’ll be quite cold, considering our previous evening cooled off to 29 degrees! (We slept with the balcony door open – listening to the waves crash on the beach all night. Perfect!) We’re in First Class, but it’s nothing compared to the previous flight. No tv’s, no food, no foot recliner… Listen to me complain. Help when I’m back in economy!

Stay tuned for tomorrow we fly ALL the way to Africa! Yay!

xxxxMaria

Last day in paradise! 

 My Baby after a morning swim

 Sigh. So sad to say goodbye to this!

 Flying fish in the airport

 Oh Yeah Baby! First Class!

 In the airport

 Leaving on a jet plane! (Shortly before I was yelled at by AA staff - apparently there isn't to be a record of their planes. ??)

 Having fun with Photobooth in Miami

 Aren't we cute?

Mini kiss.

Day 528 - Barbados For The Night

Oh it was a short night. I finally got to bed at 0330. I was pretty much packed, all things considered. It took me 5 days. It took Jaco 2 hours. I was up at 0730 to go to Immigration. Thankfully the long queue moved swiftly & I was out of there in 20 minutes.

Now that I was up, I thought I should get ready for the day, say the goodbyes I should have said yesterday & tidy up the cabin a little. I wanted to store some things under the bed, so I did my best to get them arranged. I also wanted to leave things a little cleaner for Brian.

I managed to find all the people I wanted to say goodbye to, with the exception of only a few. I know on ships it’s never goodbye, only see you soon, so I’m not too stressed about it. I had a nice chat with Vicky, the Nurse replacing Becky & I think I’ll see her again when we come back to the Sea in August.

I typed up a letter commending Brian on a job well done. I printed & signed 4 copies – one for him, his Supervisor, the First Purser Admin & the Hotel General Manager. I was very happy to hand deliver all but one of the letters. I was even more impressed when Brian’s Supervisor came & told me that he would make sure that Brian was taken care of while he was onboard. I hope he’ll get promoted!

Our taxi came to collect us at 1400. I had wanted to pop into Del Sol to see Leandre, but we didn’t have a chance. I guessed that our time would be rushed – I wanted to let her know we were going to be in Barbados for the night, but the last few days were VERY hectic! She would NOT be happy if she knew I was in town & didn’t tell her!

Our taxi was delayed when they saw how much luggage we had. We ended up waiting 5 more minutes for a van vs. a car! The Port Agent was there & he was very pleasant. He knows Jaco & they had a little visit while we waited.

The Grand Barbados Hotel wasn’t very far away. It was downtown Bridgetown & right on the beach. I wouldn’t consider it luxurious, but it was on the water & that was all that mattered! We put our luggage in the room & the swimsuits were on about 5 minutes later. We went to the beach.

The waves were crashing quite hard, but with Jaco’s help, I conquered my fear & managed to pass the crashing waves, only to discover the water was quite shallow beyond the crashing waves! It was so serene & beautiful! White sand, glorious shades of greens & blues – ahhh – this is the life! Jaco swam quite a distance down the shoreline & I fetched the camera to capture a few memories of our first night off the ship. There was a beautiful frangipani tree in the courtyard & the blossoms were dropping onto the ground. They smelled delicious & I couldn’t help but feel sad looking at all the blossoms falling off the tree. Such a beautiful sight & smell coming to an end.

Jaco had stayed here previously & wasn’t too impressed with the food. I suggested we go out for a nice dinner & remembered a restaurant Theo had suggested. I thought he’d said ‘Chalmers’, but I couldn’t find a listing for Chalmers. I did see a listing for Champers. That was it! And it was quite close! We showered & left just past 1800.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it wasn’t too busy, but the Hostess told us we most likely couldn’t sit on the waterfront area because we didn’t have a reservation & they were booked full. She mentioned something about seating us downstairs & I was a little disappointed, as I thought dining shoreside was part of the experience! We lucked out & they sat us inside, but inside with doors open & only 2 tables from the water’s edge. You could hear the waves pounding into the rocks, carved out by years of water erosion. When one woman was splashed sitting at her shoreside table, I was happy we were sat inside!

The food was absolutely incredible. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I ate a meal that remarkable. We shared 2 starters, each had a main course & of course, desserts. We shared coconut shrimp and baked Camembert with spicy apples in pastry. Jaco enjoyed a chicken breast stuffed with plantains & mashed potatoes, while I had sautéed shrimp in a red thai coconut curry sauce. Mmmm! For dessert, Jaco enjoyed coconut sorbet in an edible Florentine dish, while I had chocolate cheesecake. Oh my word. It was seriously 5 desserts in one.

1.    1. Chocolate cheesecake

2.    2. Chocolate fudge-y/pudding on top of cheesecake

3.    3. Caramel sauce to die for

4.    4. Vanilla bean gelato in an edible Florentine dish

5.    5. Ripe Strawberry to finish it off

It’s worth the flight to Barbados just for the dessert! Here’s where to go for reservations.

Filled to the gills, we made our way back to the hotel, completely satisfied with, what we both agreed, was by far one of THE best meals we’ve ever eaten in a really LONG time, if not, THE BEST meal we’ve ever eaten. Full stop.

Once we were back at the hotel room, we packed our things & weighed the luggage one last time & then settled in for our first night off the ship. We had wanted to watch the ship sail away, but by the time we thought of it, it was 3 hours past sailaway. Oops.

Goodnight all & farewell Barbados. I’ll miss you dearly.

xxxxMaria

The World cruise ship - Now I can say I've seen the world! 

 View from the balcony

 Frangipani tree in the lobby

 The pool

 The beach

 Where we went into the water

 Hmm...

 A great day!

 My Babe

 One of my favourite flowers

 Sunset

 Fountain by the lobby

 Having dinner at Champers

 Waves crashing at Champers

 Smash!

 Enjoying his coconut sorbet

 The most amazing dessert on the planet!

 A perfect night

 Well worth the visit when you're in Barbados!

Handsome Man o' Mine!

Day 519 - Aruba

You know when you’re sleeping & you’ve fallen asleep in a funny position & your arm or hand falls asleep? Well, that happened to me this morning & as my alarm would ring & I would try to hit snooze, it was near impossible! I’m using my iPod these days & you have to click, swipe & touch in order to hit snooze… It was quite the task when you’ve got a rubber hand!

I eventually got up just before 1000. I didn’t realize all aboard was 1530, otherwise I would have woken earlier. I was on a mission to return the blender & exchange the G12. The blender hasn’t worked well since the day I got it. The G12 had a black line across the LCD that shouldn’t be there.

Becky phoned & was up for a walk, so she accompanied me to the hardware store. It was a bit of a mission. The lady doing returns wasn’t very ‘chipper’, to say the least. She tested the blender, ignoring the rattling happening in the motor, tell me it was fine to blend water. She did put ice in it & used the ‘ice crush’ button, which I’ve never used. She said their return policy was 2 days & they don’t do cash refunds. Clearly seeing someone had done something to her cornflakes this morning, I asked for the Manager. He seemed pleasant enough & when I explained my situation, he said he’d have to call his boss. I thought to myself, ‘But aren’t you the Boss?’ Anyhow, LONG story short, we ended up paying a 15% restocking fee & got $87 back for a blender that should cost about $40 in Canada. We paid over a hundred dollars for the blender originally. At this point, I was happy to get ANYTHING back! The whole process took us an hour.

Becky & I motored back to the ship, collected Jaco & made our way to Boolchand’s for the camera exchange. Thankfully they were organized & all was in order. I picked up my new G12, tested it out & away we went. I do hope everything will be okay with it! I must say, Boolchand’s has been very good to me. I had some troubles with the underwater housing & the camera & they were very quick to replace the items – even when I wasn’t going back to the original shop & had to exchange the item on another island altogether! If you’re in St. Maarten, be sure to stop in & see Mike or Ravi for a sweet deal on gear!

We caught a cab from the Renaissance Hotel to the beach. The driver took us to the closest one, since it was already 1400. We went to Divi beach & it was GORGEOUS! I don’t know why we haven’t been there before! They were welcoming to cruise ship passengers, the beach was near vacant & the water was beautiful! I was so sad we didn’t have more time!

Jaco went for his usual long swim & Becky & I bobbed in the water taking the waves in stride. It was a perfect beach day! Our hour went by quickly & we were soon looking for a cab back to the ship.

We made it back with 10 minutes to spare – of course, after picking up a few postcards! Becky & I went up for a bite to eat & after she dashed away for work, I ran into Carla. She used to work on ships, is married to a Senior Officer & is sailing onboard with her daughter while they visit Daddy. We had a wonderful visit & I hope to run into her again before the end of the week.

Jaco & I spent the night talking & chilling out. I typed a few blog posts while he watched tennis, football, Piers Morgan & ET. He’s now sleeping peacefully beside me – most likely unaware that he’s drifted off & is missing the sports highlights. I do love him so.

Lekker slaap,

xxxxMaria

Day 514 - Barbados

A day of bittersweet goodbyes & happy hellos, today found Leana, Bronwyn & Larisa leaving the ship. Larisa's Mom came onboard for a short while this morning & Jaco & I were able to meet her & bid them a fond farewell as they ventured out on holiday in Barbados. Leana & Bronwyn left for sunny South Africa. Leana is starting a new job & Bronwyn is getting married!


Jaco was busy on board, so I headed off the ship on my own. I wanted to go to the beach & I thought I would walk to the nearest public beach. I didn't think it was that far, so off I went. 


On my way through the terminal building, I stopped in Del Sol. Last year I met Leandre & Tiffani, who work there & also met Collet's family when they holidayed in Barbados a year or so prior. It was a bit of a small world/shot in the dark, but we had a great chat last year & I wondered what the chances were that they were both still working there. To my delight, they were!


We had a great visit! I've missed them! We must have talked for nearly an hour! I didn't want to wear out my welcome, so after we made plans to meet in 2012 at the Calgary Stampede & then at Carnival in Barbados, I was on my way to the beach.


It was a little further than I had initially thought. I think it took me nearly 30 minutes to walk there. But once I was there! I had the entire beach to myself! I think there were maybe 3 people that came by, but they didn't stick around. I had a most relaxing time bobbing in the stunning, crystal clear blue-green water. The waves gently rolled in to kiss the white sand beach. I was about to get out when a young lad came along & hopped into the water. He started chatting to me & oh my. He had the thickest accent I've come across yet! I couldn't understand half of what he said. He has a young son, but he isn't married. He didn't seem too impressed by the girls on the island, claiming they were only after money. He works in the construction industry & doesn't live to far from the water. Of course, this was the most of what I got out of a 20 minute conversation. At one point, I'm certain he said, 'Gonorrhoea', but that certainly didn't fit into our discussion!


After walking back to the ship, I grabbed my laptop & headed back out to do some internet. I posted my postcards I had written on the previous cruise & was just finishing up the last few cards when Leandre found me sitting on a bench outside. We visited for a good hour to hour & a half! I was so touched that she spent the time talking with me after a long day at work when she could've just slipped past me & went home. 


We called Collet's Mom on the MagicJack & I surprised Peggy & Chris by telling her who I was with. It was great! After Leandre left, I phoned Mom2 & sat outside to finish my postcards. There was a frangipani tree close to the bench I was sitting on & it smelled delicious. I wish I lived in a climate that could support frangipani trees. I'd have my own forest of them!


And with that... the day was over... Lekker slaap,
xxxxMaria

 The Gals & Guy of Del Sol

See you in 2012 Girls! 

 The Cricket Stadium

 Kensington Oval

 The beach all to myself!

 Stunning water!

 The ship isn't too far away!

Mr. Gonorrhoea!