CROSSING THE ATLANTIC

We had five beautiful days for our crossing from the Canaries to Barbados.  The weather was sunny, the seas were calm and the temperatures ranged from the high 20's to the low 30's.  The sun was on our deck each morning making it too hot to sit outside.  However, the afternoons were great for reading and sleeping.  This picture shows early risers having breakfast outside.

Our livers seem to be surviving although we are giving them vigorous workouts.  Betty and I attended a Cellar Masters luncheon (using up most of our shipboard credits) which started with a glass of Kir Royale and then 6 very expensive, rare wines were matched with a six-course meal.  Although this was a wine-tasting the sommeliers filled your glasses like you were dying of thirst.

 Lu and Mike have a drinks package that includes cocktails in all the bars.  They seem to be challenged to try all of them (an impossible task unless one were on an around the world cruise).

There is lots to do on sea days.  Here is a picture of Lu and Mike participating in a spice identification contest at a country fair held on the pool deck.  Then a couple of pictures from a fashion show in the Atrium.

Everyone on board is spoiled.  Betty completed a mid-cruise questionnaire in which she complained that the shampoo bottles were hard to squeeze with her arthritic hands.  A few hours later new toilitries appeared on our bed and then the head housekeeper knocked on our door and asked if these were satisfactory.

Our first stop on the American side of the Atlantic was Barbados.  This is an island of beaches, and many passengers spend the day on one or the other.  Instead, Lu, Mike and I walked the mile into the city of Bridgetown, a not very pretty or interesting place. 

 It was very hot so part way through our walk we took a respite in an air-conditioned grocery store.  The prices made this stop interesting.  It is cheaper to buy a bottle of rum than a stick of deoderant.  Apparently, in the time of the very rich plantation owners, it was common to bathe in a tub filled with rum.  Hence the expression "Don't drink the bathwater".

A more interesting stop was in St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda.  Although the city was ordinary, the countryside was beautiful.  Here are pictures of Nelson's Dockyard and Eric Clapton's house.

Our final stop before heading back to Miami and home was in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  San Juan is a clean, colorful city.  Lu, Mike and I walked the hot mile into the old city.  However, there were 4 cruise ships docked in the port (totaling over 14000 passengers) so it was more like pushing your way through the crowds than taking a leisurely stroll

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I thought I would end this blog with a picture from inside one of the ship's Men's Rooms.  After all when did you last get a picture from someone's john?  As the picture shows, there are lots of carefully rolled towels with which to wash your hands.