St. Kitts, Sint Maarten, British Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica
Basseterre, St. Kitts
We’ve reached another island and another country. Yesterday we got our blog out and in doing so we found out that there are 13 independent countries within the Caribbean Islands. The Islands are made up of 13 sovereign states, 12 dependencies, 7 overseas territories and various disputed territories.
There are two other ships in port with us: one with approximately 6000 passengers and another with about 2500. At breakfast we watched the never-ending stream of people disembarking the two ships. The nice thing is that more people means the taxi/tour drivers are a little less pushy. The sling I’m rocking also helps; might have to keep wearing it once I’m mended.
Today we were on a mission to find more Ibuprofen and more bandages for my knee. The shops at the port were packed and there were people everywhere, so we got out as quickly as possible. We walked along the waterfront to the Rams grocery store and the Pharmacy. Afterwards we looped around into downtown, stopped by Independence Park to take some photos and headed out to the War Memorial. It was hot, but we had a nice long walk. We found Ibuprofen at the first Pharmacy and bandages at another on the way back to the ship.
We were back on the ship in time for lunch and then we went up to the pool deck for a little while. I managed to wash my hair and shave my legs without too much issue and my arm is feeling pretty good.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was the movie tonight. It meant a later night for us, but still a good movie.
Day two in Basseterre was uneventful for me. I am trying to give myself time to heal and to allow myself to stop when I need to. Today I was feeling a little sorry for myself and decided to stay in. Mike and I spent a lovely quiet morning together and then he went off for a walk on his own while I stayed back and watched a movie.
Mike ventured out to find a beach with sea glass. He wandered down the coast and then down an overgrown path with tires for steps and a rope guide to find the beach. He said it was nice, but kind of underwhelming and there wasn’t as much glass as he expected.
On the way back to the ship he stopped to buy a local bottle of rum and use up the last of our East Caribbean dollars. We’ve been collecting bottles of rum from pretty much every Caribbean Island we’ve been to. I’m sure we’ll eventually get around to drinking it…lol.
Dinner was in the sit-down restaurant this evening and we opted to eat on our own. It is a fairly lengthy experience usually and sitting at dinner is uncomfortable in the sling. We hung out in the ‘living room’ after dinner and went to bed early because we have to be up early tomorrow.
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
After 3 connecting flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and a weeklong Atlantic crossing we’ve finally made it to the Netherlands! Okay, sort of. Sint Maarten (Saint Martin) is a very unique island in that it belongs to two different countries. Saint Martin is the northern side of the island, and it belongs to the French while Sint Maarten is the southern side and belongs to the Dutch.
Our ship is docked on the Dutch side of the island for two days, but we took a tour today that took us to both sides of the island. We stopped at the Amsterdam Cheese and Liquor Store and wandered the beach and shopping area in Philipsburg. Our next stop was a photo op of Oyster Bay followed by a stop at Rotary Lookout Point. We stopped to see a roadside family of iguanas and then spent an hour at Orient Beach which is known for its nudist options. After another photo lookout we headed into Marigot, the main city on the French side for lunch. Our guide recommended Strictly Lokal and it was delicious. After lunch we went to Maho Beach which is quite literally at the end of the airport runway. It was absolutely insane watching the planes land and take off right over us. Finally, we went to Topper’s Rhum Distillery where we bought Banana Vanilla Cinnamon Rhum, Mocha Mama Rhum, and a Rhum Cake. We finished up the trip with a viewpoint overlooking Philipsburg and then back to the ship. It was a busy day, but a great way to see the Island. Our guide Chris was fantastic, and we really enjoyed the day.
Day two in Philipsburg started a little slower. I read a book by the pool while Mike hiked up to Pelican Peak, a lookout next to the port that offered amazing views. Once he made it safely down, we had lunch and then headed back into town. We were going to spend the afternoon at the beach along the boardwalk, but it started raining just after lunch. Instead, we wandered through the boardwalk and shops and then made our way back to the ship. We made it back just before the next swath of rain came through.
Road Town, Tortola (British Virgin Islands)
Today we arrived in Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The unique part is that we did not arrive until 2:30pm. Normally we arrive in port around 8:00am and we are usually still in bed. It was really cool to be able to see the ship come into port and tie off. In order to reach Tortola, we had to sail between several small islands: Cooper Island, Salt Island, and Peter Island. Mike took some great photos and video as we passed through the Islands.
Once the ship was cleared, we headed off to check out Road Town before dinner. There was another large cruise ship in port when we arrived, but they are leaving around dinner and had mostly returned to their ship already. We had a nice quiet walk around town and took some pictures in front of the BVI and Tortola signs. Dinner was in the sit-down restaurant, so we didn’t want to stay out too long.
After supper we headed to the Coral Club to watch the Cowboys vs Cowgirls game show. We did not participate, but we had a blast watching.
Our second day in Tortola we actually left the country. We have a dear friend that lives on the US Virgin Island of St. Thomas, so we hopped on a ferry to go visit her. It was an hour-long very ride that provide a unique view of the island from the water. We spend the day catching up with DJ and her good friend Dr. Chenzira. They gave us a brief tour of St. Thomas and the University of the Virgin Islands where Dr. Chenzira works. It was a short visit as we had to catch the evening ferry back to Tortola, but it was lovely. We are incredibly grateful that we were able to make the trip.
We had a bit of a hiccup returning to the British Virgin Islands. It turns out there was a bit of miscommunication, and the ship did not notify Immigration that we had collected our passports and planned to leave the country for the day. Therefore, Immigration wasn’t keen to just stamp us back in when they hadn’t been informed that we left in the first place. After a call to the Port Agent for the ship it was all sorted out and we were allowed to return to the ship. It ended up being a learning opportunity for everyone. We had informed Reception on the ship of our plans, and they had simply handed over our passports and said, ‘have fun’, so we were unaware that Immigration needed to be informed (and that they were not). In the end it wasn’t a big deal, but we know better for next time.
The one thing that kept popping up as a ‘Must Do’ in Tortola was The Baths on the nearby Virgin Gorda Island. The Baths is a natural area featuring boulders and caverns that you have to wind through to reach hidden rock pools and the beautiful beach at Devil’s Bay. It can be challenging to maneuver around, under and over the boulders, so unfortunately, I had to bow out on this excursion. My arm is still healing, and I likely would have tried and reinjured it if I had gone. Mike ventured out with a group of fellow residents early in the morning. Our ship is leaving today, so they had to get an early start. There is also another 6000-passenger ship arriving today, so they wanted to get a head start on the masses.
While Mike was off exploring, I caught up on some housekeeping items and generally had a quiet morning. After lunch Mike and I went into town to check out the shops and of course look for rum and popcorn. We wrapped up the day by watching Grease and listening to a Port Talk for the Dominican Republic.
Sea Day
We had our first sea day since arriving in the Caribbean and it was a nice reprieve. It was a great day for recharging, and we spent all afternoon in the pool!
Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic
Our original itinerary had us anchoring in Punta Cana today; however, the predicted wave heights would have made tendering too dangerous. The captain decided it was best to move along, and we anchored at Casa de Campo instead. The anchorage is in a protected bay and much more comfortable.
I was a little worried about the tender because I’m one arm down, but I made it safely to shore and back no problem. As this was a last-minute change, I think it was slim pickings for where we could spend the day. Casa de Campo is beautiful, but it’s also known for its exclusivity and being the playground for the rich and famous. It is mainly resorts, villas, and private properties, so there really wasn’t much to see. We wandered through their little village with shops, a cinema, and grocery store, but that’s about it.
We are grateful to be in a comfortable anchorage for the day but looking forward to moving on to La Romana where we can really start to explore the Dominican Republic.
La Romana, Dominican Republic
We are docked on the Rio Dulce River in La Romana. There is a pretty fancy cruise terminal, but we are across the river at a more commercial pier. Good news is we are on the same side as Jumbo (a massive grocery store similar to Walmart). We spent the morning exploring Jumbo and stocking up on popcorn/beer/rum. In the afternoon we tried to walk to the cruise terminal on the other side of the river, but we took the wrong road and because we aren’t from the ship currently parked there, they wouldn’t let us in the entrance we went to. I’ve started exercising my arm now that I’m past the 2-week mark and it started aching, so we decided to head back to the ship instead of looking for the main entrance to the port.
Mike went out again in the early evening with a group of residents to view the Christmas lights in town. I stayed back and iced my arm!
For our second day in La Romana, we went on a full day snorkel tour with eight other residents. They picked us up at the ship and we sailed out to Catalina Island. They moored for snorkeling on one side of the island and then we moved over to the other side of the island for lunch and beach time. Mike said there were lots of fish, but also a lot of trash on the reef. For the afternoon at the beach, we had to transfer into a small, long boat for transfer to land. If I had known about that part I probably wouldn’t have gone, but I managed with the help of our guides. They served lunch on the beach, and we lazed on the beach in the shade and enjoyed a few drinks for a few hours. I went into the water but was careful to not get tossed around too much.
All in all, we had a lovely day and I’m proud that I made it through without aggravating my arm. We are worn out and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow! The only downside for the day was that Mike’s silicone wedding band came off while he was snorkeling, so now we’ll be on the lookout for a replacement.
For our final day in La Romana, we decided to head out to the Cueva de las Maravillas (Cave of Wonders). Other residents had gone the previous days and recommended it. It was a half hour cab ride to the entrance, and we arrived about 20 minutes before the next tour was scheduled to start. I was headed to the washroom when I was waylaid by the cutest little kitten. I spent the 20 minutes cuddling the kitten and Mike almost left me there.
The walk down to the cave was interesting with all of the tree roots hanging everywhere. We descended the steps into the cave which was beautifully lit. The pictures speak for themselves, but the caves were discovered in 1926 and contain ancient paintings from the Taino Indians. The complex around the cave is also home to an iguana sanctuary, so we got to see a ton of iguanas in all sizes.
We headed back to the ship for lunch and then went back out once more the supermarket for more popcorn, more rum, and to see if they happened to have any men’s rings, they did not. Tonight, we’ll be moving further down the coast to Santo Domingo.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
We got the cruise port! There doesn’t seem to be a lot of cruise ship traffic in Santo Domingo, so we are fortunate enough to have the cruise pier for the three days we here. They also arranged for us to have a shuttle from the cruise terminal to the Colonial Zone.
Today we went with a group of fellow residents to the Colonial Zone and did a self guided walking tour of the main sites. We toured the Fortaleza Ozama and learned a lot about the history of the city. At the Parque Colon we had lunch and tried some local cuisine. The camarofongo, tostones, and fried plantains were all lovely. After lunch we hit a few more highlights and enjoyed the Christmas décor. We headed back to the ship around 3pm to get cleaned up and just relax for the rest of the afternoon.
There is a new entertainment group on the ship; a duo from Trinidad called Duo Deelite-Inn. They were performing on the pool deck, so we hung out for a bit. We enjoyed their music, and the weather was great for sitting outside in the evening.
On day two in Santo Domingo, we wanted to walk an hour through a park to the Parque Nacional Los Tres Ojos (Three Eyes National Park), but one of our residents tried the previous day and was stopped by two different police officers and told it wasn’t safe to walk. Plan B was to share a cab with another couple we spend time with, and we were going to decide at breakfast. While we were having breakfast another resident came in and said they’d arranged for a shuttle bus to the park, and it was leaving in twenty minutes. We rushed back to our cabin, changed our clothes, grabbed the cameras and headed for the shuttle. There were 24 of us in all and it worked out great. On the way there we drove past the park we had planned to walk through. It really didn’t look that bad aside from a few ominous looking buildings; however, I felt better heeding the warnings from the authorities.
The Three Eyes National Park is home to four (despite the name) lakes or cenotes in a limestone cave/sinkhole. I was very careful on the stairs going down and the views are stunning. The fourth lake can be seen from above or you can take a raft over the third lake to reach it from under ground. Of course, we took the raft. To top it off, there were two cats hanging out by the third lake. It only took a couple of hours to tour the park, but we really enjoyed it. We caught the shuttle back in time for lunch and we just beat the rain home as well. The afternoon was quiet and relaxing.
For our final day in Santo Domingo, we returned to the Colonial Zone to see a few things we missed on the first day. We walked around the ruins of the Monasterio de San Francisco which is undergoing restoration. Then we went to the Puerta del Conde and the Altar de la Patria which is a mausoleum housing the country’s founders. Afterwards we tried to go to the supermarket, but the block it’s located on had lost power, so they were closed. Instead, we went to Kah Kow Chocolate Experience; we wanted to do the tour, but we also wanted to catch the next shuttle back to the ship. We settled for buying a 500-gram bar of 70% dark chocolate: hopefully it’s good! With a little time to spare before the shuttle we headed back to the supermarket which was back online. We had to powerwalk through the rain to reach the shuttle back to the ship on time, but we had a good afternoon.
