Day 490 - Bonaire

This morning M&D2 went on a snorkeling tour to Klein Bonaire. I, however, did not join them. I went scuba diving this afternoon with the Nurses – Bronwyn & Nik, and the Doctor – Leana. We went with Wannadive & it was brilliant! We did a drift dive down the coast starting at Bari Reef.

We saw angelfish, tarpon, sea cucumbers, parrotfish, flounder, blue tangs & plenty of other fish I don’t know the names of! I had a few mask issues, so when I surfaced, all the water that had sat in my nostrils & mask for the duration of the dive, led to a little draining of the sinuses – to say the least! I don’t remember the last time I had to blow & blow & blow my nose that much! Yeesh! Thankfully I was with a bunch of Medics & they are used to bodily fluids!!

On our way back to the ship, we walked to the road & were picked up, unexpectedly, by friends of Leana’s that used to work on ships & are now opening a club in Bonaire! Leana was quite excited to see them!

Once back at the ship, the Medics went to work & I walked around town a little. I found an ice cream shop I remembered from last year – they still had Rainbow Sherbet! I also found a pretty little ring I quite fancy… Sigh. A girl’s got to have a few things on the wish list!

Back on board, I went upstairs for sailaway & just after we’d set sail, I found M&D2 on deck 7. They were going to go upstairs for dinner tonight, so I joined them & had a nice salad. Dad2 is thoroughly enjoying the dessert section of the buffet. The cookies are a favourite. Hmm… where have I seen this before!?

They are so cute. They are tired of early morning tours already. It makes me giggle. They get up at 0500 every day & now that they have to get up at 0800 for a tour, they are exhausted! I understand completely, as the sun & heat are intense, but when will they be here again? I convinced them to keep going & not cancel their tours. I know they’ll thank me later! And they have a few days to sleep in – sea days!

On that note, I’m off to bed. Tomorrow morning is another tour!

xxxxMaria

Leana, Bronwyn & Nick

Yours truly

Tanks, tanks alot

Divers Paradise Indeed!

Loading up the truck

Into the water we go!

Spotted eel

A-O-K

Nick - lovin' every minute of it!

Hmm - a pretty fish!

Coral

Yellow Snapper?

Tarpon - big fish. 4-5'

A-O-K - for Dr. Daly! Sans Bleomycin & a great dive it was!

Leana waving hello!

Unda da sea! Darlin' it's better down where it's wetta - take it from me!

Tarpon again

Divers in the deep blue

Wheee!

Here fishy, fishy!

Oh the mystery of it all...

Hello!

School of fish

Ooooh la la!

Hello little friend!

Hello again!

Parrot fish & snapper & ??

Cool blue colour, eh?

Flat fish that changes colour wherever it lands

Almost done the dive

Hiding under the rocks

Whee!

Where to go next?

Apres dive

Wannadive - great dive co.!

Nick! Watch out!

Ta-da!

Hitched a ride with some of Leana's friends

Just another day in paradise

Leana & Charlene & Doh! I forgot his name!

Sailaway

A rare silent & empty moment in Horizon Court

Little sailboats

Day 489 - At Sea

M&D2 are still recuperating from jetlag, so they enjoyed a nice lie in. I left them alone for the day & when I found them later on in the day, they had been outside for a while & started to find their way around. Dad2 went for a smoke & I showed Mom2 around the ship. She didn’t realize there was so much on the ship! They hadn’t explored too much! She was going to show Dad2 later on.

Our dinner reservation was for 1830. Jaco was later than I was, so we had a late start to our dinner. Jaco also had to do the wave tonight at the Captain’s Welcome Aboard party, so we left half-way through our dinner to watch Jaco be introduced by Captain Stenzil & take a photo of him on stage. We then returned to our table to have dessert. I think we may have had the longest dinner on record!

After our dinner, we went out into the atrium & had some portraits taken by Craig on the stairs & then by Larisa on the white background. M&D2 were so cute, as they started to take their own photo on the backdrop after the Photographer had finished. I gently shuffled them away & told them that is a big no-no in Photog territory!

I wore the Jennifer wig this evening & confused a few people along the way. Oh what fun! I’ve also lost a little more weight, as my pants were a lot looser than they were a week ago! Yay! Probably due to the fact that I haven’t been eating much, as I don’t have a blender! Jaco thought I could use one on board, but when I arrived, we discovered the extras are all in need of repair. Looks like I’m blender-less until Aruba.

Mom2 looked absolutely stunning in her navy velvet gown & of course, Dad2 looked handsome as ever in his Italian silk suit. And naturally, Jaco looked like a million bucks. I’m so lucky!

xxxxMaria

Jaco during the Captain's Welcome Speech

Trying to look smart in Mom2's new specs

Jaco looking smart in de specs

Awh! What a lovely couple!

Larisa taking some stunning portraits

Day 488 - Grenada

This morning the four of us went on a Catamaran snorkeling tour. We weren’t sure if we were actually going to dock, as there was a strong swell & we couldn’t dock at the usual pier. We ended up tendering into the harbor downtown, which is a little more sheltered. Mom2 was slightly nervous on the tender boat. I did my best to be understanding & remember that it was her first time, but it was hard not to giggle as her eyes turned to saucers each time the tender bumped into the side of the pontoon.

Thankfully we were in the Caribbean, as it pretty much poured rain the entire time! We were supposed to snorkel at an underwater sculpture park – the first of its kind in the Caribbean – but with the heavy rain, we wouldn’t be able to see anything!

We carried on a little further down the shoreline & stopped in another cove. There was a heavy swell where we stopped, but we got in the water regardless. The visibility was quite poor, due to the rain. When you mix fresh water with salt water, you get these strange swirls as the two waters mix. It makes it very difficult to see clearly. We did manage to see a few fish, but not much. M&D2 were happy to be in the warm water either way!

After our snorkel was over, we headed back down the coast & went to Grand Anse Beach. The catamaran anchored just off shore & we hopped into the water & swam around – both to the beach & around the ship. M&D2 found a stray dog on the beach & fell in love. They also found a beach peddler & bought a few necklaces for friends back home. Mom2 & I rolled around in the surf & I came out with sand in places I didn’t know I could have sand! In fact, after I washed my swimsuit in the evening, it STILL had sand in it!

We headed back to the pier, signaling the end of the tour. The boys went back to the ship, while Mom2 & I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Mom2 bought cans of tuna & lovingly fed the stray dogs in the back alley. We also bought spices from the stalls outside the pier area. Grenada is known as the Spice Island, so the prices were reasonable & the quality high.

Back onboard, M&D2 spent the night together – enjoying a nice dinner at the Steakhouse, and Jaco & I spent our evening together. Tomorrow is a Sea Day & their first formal night, so we’ll go for dinner & have some portraits taken. As you do!

Having fun in the sun! Or rain!

xxxxMaria

Heading out to sea!

The scary tenders!

Mr & Mrs Happy At Sea

My favourite fish!

Sergeant Majors

More of the same

Downpour! Doesn't matter! We're already wet!

Wheee!

Enjoy the swim!

Ridin' the waves

Trying not to drown next to my fish.

That's better! (I can touch the ground here!)

Chillaxin' on da beach

Puppy snooze

Hagglin'

Heading home

Cheese

Feeding the locals

Dinner at the Steakhouse

Cheers!

Sexxy shoes!