Barbados, Antigua and Puerto Rico

Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados retains a very British atmosphere. Afternoon tea is a ritual and cricket is the national sport. Barbadians are a warm, friendly and hospitable people who are genuinely proud of their country and culture. Beaches along  the island’s south and west coasts are picture-perfect and open to cruise passengers. On the rugged east coast, the Atlantic Ocean attracts world-class surfers. The northeast is dominated by rolling hills and valleys; the interior of the island is covered by acres of sugarcane and dotted with small villages.

Entrance to Sugar Cane Plantation

Atlantic Ocean Beach

View From Atlantis Hotel

Eric’s shore excursion was 4 x 4 beach Safari which took him to the Atlantic side of the island.  Judi’s shore excursion was a Barbados photo adventure with famous Barbadian photographer Ronnie Carrington.  They were both excellent shore excursions, with magnificent scenery and a taste of the famous Barbados rum punch. The weather was spectacular and it felt so good to be rid of the hot, humid temperatures.

St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda

It is so nice to wake up each morning to a new port. St. John’s is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda. It is one of the most developed and cosmopolitan municipalities in the Lesser Antilles. We both took the same shore excursion, 4 x 4 Luxury Beach Safari and got a spectacular ride around the more isolated spots on the island. This is a beautiful clean island and we could see why it is such a popular tourist destination. The beach portion of the tour took us to a lovely beach destination where we were able to swim for an hour. The nice part about going off-road was that we were able to drive to some high hills for wonderful views of the towns along the water.

View of Harbour from Hilltop

Our Beach Stop

Abandoned Sugar Mill

We drove back to the ship at 5 pm and got caught up in the Santa Claus parade. While we were stopped, we were able to enjoy the local culture.

Friday Rush Hour

San Juan, Puerto Rico

We had been to San Juan before, so we chose not to wander the streets …. which is so much fun. Instead we chose a trip to the rainforest. El Yunque National Forest. It was a 45 minute drive from the port and just as we turned the first corner I saw a Tim Hortens and Scotiabank.  Actually we saw Scotiabank at pretty well each port town, even in Brazil. The island is very busy and thankfully it was Saturday so the roads were only moderately crazy. The National Forest, run by the US, was excellent.

At the National Forest we visited the visitor’s center, stopped at a waterfall, did a 30 minute guided walk through the rainforest and went up an observation tower.  This was a very good experience and of course I have lots of good photos.

El Yunque National Forest Welcome Center

Waterfall at National Forest

Love the Rainforest

We left San Juan at 9 pm and about 1 pm I awoke when I heard the side thrusters on the ship. This was not supposed to happen at sea! Then I realized the ship had stopped.  Well, we were back at San Juan as a lady had had a bad heart attack and they had to get her to port. An ambulance was waiting for her and they took her, her husband and all their luggage off the ship. By now we had lost 8 hours and the captain is trying his best to get us to Miami on time. Many of us have flights out on Tuesday and people are getting a bit nervous. We’re not concerned as this would be when our trip interruption insurance would kick in. Eric has been doing the math and figures we are okay. Never a dull moment while at sea.

The seas are calm and right now we are passing close to Haiti and then Cuba.  All for now …..