At Sea

We are back for another day at sea.  We missed the sunrise since we slept in late getting up at 7:30 am, but in any case the sun was behind the clouds by the time we get on deck.  Still the sun and clouds look impressive. 

By 9:00 am the temperature reaches 80°.  We spend most of the day sitting alongside the pool reading, listening to music and watching a movie.  Later in the afternoon, the sun is still behind the clouds on the horizon.  The sun's rays are clearly seen coming through the clouds.

At sunset, there were still too many clouds way off on the horizon which obscured the sunset.  However, a little before the sun went down there were a few spectacular views while the sun was behind clouds.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Island

Today we go on the “Coast-to-coast Scenic Drive” excursion around Grand Cayman.  We had to get up very early since we arrived just off port and begin our tour at around 7:00 am which is just shortly after we anchor.  So while we are waiting on the upper decks, we were able to view the pretty sunrise. 

The ship does not “dock” at a pier in Grand Cayman and we have to get to shore using one of the tenders/life boats from the ship.  Only today the swells are big and rough and it is taking some time to get on and off of the tenders, so our 7:00 am tour start time didn’t happen until after 9:00 am.  There’s Carmen, last in line to get on.

We get to the dock and get off the tender/life boat.  I get a picture of the tender with the town in the background.  The picture does not show how rough the seas are, but just before this picture was taken, the tender was lower so the exit from the boat was level with the dock, about a 2-foot drop/rise. 

After getting to our bus we begin our tour by heading north on the West Bay Rd and made a short stop at the Tortuga Rum Co.  Inside we (or I should say I because Carmen does not drink alcohol) sampled the rum and the rum cakes.  Both were good.  I should have Carmen come with me so I can get double shots!

Just behind Tortuga Rum Co. are the Caribbean Sea and the north end of Seven Mile Beach.  With the wave action, there are some nice breakers hitting the rocks.

The waters here are a pretty blue and look very inviting.  Not so much from the surf hitting the rocky shore, but for the views.  We could have stayed here for some time watching the waves break on the rocks but, the bus is waiting.

Our next stop is Hell.  So I can now say that we have visited Hell and have the passport stamps to prove it.  Yes, we went into the Post Office where they will stamp your passport for you.  We also mailed a couple of post cards which will have the Hell post mark.

Pretty much Hell was named when a dignitary visited the location where these rock formations are located and said it looked like hell.  The name stuck.  Now the Post Office is here along with a souvenir shop, but not much else.  Oh, we also took Hell Drive to get here.

While in Hell, we saw many roosters and chickens that run free on the island.  This is one of the roosters that was nearby and had some good color.

Welcome to Hell, or should I say goodbye from Hell, see-ya.  Our visit was not very long, mostly just so people can buy and mail a postcard and see the rock formations that signify the town's name.  Now we are off.

After leaving Hell and as we continue our drive around the island, we see a number of the iguana that makes the island home.  The driver of the van we were in slowed down where several sunned on a bridge so people could get a picture.  I hear they taste like chicken!

We traveled passed the airport and then through Bodden Town to reach the coast where several “blowholes” are located.  Unfortunately, because the wave action is moving in the wrong direction, there is not much in the way blowhole activity.  We did get a picture or two when a couple of large waves did came our way.

Continuing along the coast road, we pass where the “Wreck of the Ten Sails” is located.  We are told that there is really nothing to see since the wrecks happened in the mid 1500-1600’s.  There is nothing to see, except the reef which we can see along our drive and this screw, from a ship purposely run aground for the insurance.  On to the beach.

Reaching Rum Point, our final destination at the end of the island, where we disembark and take in the beach.  There are a number of people snorkeling along the beach area.  The water is very clear with some grass on the bottom.

There are also with several personal water craft available if you choose to go on a ride.  The temperature of the waters is about 84°.

From the beach we can look out along the dock to where the sightseeing and snorkeling boats are.

As on most beaches where travelers go, there is a directions tree.  No different here.  Although, they do not point to the right direction, it merely recognizes where the employees are from.  

While walking around the beach, there are beach chairs and picnic tables.  So, while we are here, we have a little lunch at the Rum Bar.  Nearby where we ate, there are also directions to “Relax, you’re on Cayman Time”.

Instead of drinking a rum runner, we found another iguana on the beach, only this one is the painted type.  We have seen a few of these around the island and this is the closest one we have been near.

On our return to the ship, the driver of our van stops by the “shoe” tree.  Couldn’t get a good picture because we are sitting on the other side of the van and we didn’t stop.  In any case you get the idea.  Shoes going up the tree beginning at the ground up to about 20 feet above the ground.

Back in George Town, we took a quick walk around town before getting on the next tender back to the ship.  Like on other islands, here Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is prominent on the main street.  There are other places like a Harley Davidson store, but there are so many people here, we just head back to the tender.

After getting back on the ship, which took some time since the wave action hasn't subsided much and having left Grand Cayman in our wake, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset.

We stayed up late watching the sunset by the outside pool area where we had dinner at the buffet and also enjoyed the songs of the disco era along with the ship’s dancers.  

At Sea

It will take us until tomorrow to get to our first port of call which is Grand Cayman, so today we cruise the Caribbean Sea and the southeast end of the Gulf of Mexico.  Off to port (left side of the ship) we can see Cuba and the city of Havana, although I do not have my camera with me when we pass Havana. 

By the time I do get my camera Havana is gone from view but, we can see some of the mountains along the coast as we travel west along Cuba. 

While we are walking through the ship we pass the atrium and of course I have to take a picture of the atrium, so from the top deck of the atrium, I get this picture of the center hub of the ship.

I went to a wine tasting where they had a champagne, two red wines, two white wines, and a port.  Carmen did not go to the wine tasting since she does not drink wine, so I sat at a table where they had a single seat remaining.  Good thing I sat at this table because one of the women did not drink wine, so I drank hers.  Good for me.

The port was very good; again for me another of the ladies at the table did not drink her port and her husband did not like his, so she gave it to me.  Mmm Good!

After the wine tasting, I met with Carmen and sat on the open deck by the pool where we listened to music and watched a movie.  

The Sea here is very blue and very pretty – or at least to me.  We finished our day with dinner and then a show. 

Tomorrow Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

All Aboard

Well Carmen and I are off on another trip.  Today we begin our cruise to the Panama Canal.  We left Sebastian, FL at 9:00AM and winter has come to our part of Florida; when we left, the temperature was 53° - cold for our area. 

Our plan is to get to the parking lot early so we have a chance to get a shuttle to the boat without having to cram ourselves in or waiting in line for the next shuttle.  That part of the plan worked out great and was transferred to a waiting shuttle with a load of passengers on the way to the various ships.  Temperature when we arrived at the parking lot was 66°, much better than the 53° we started with.

At the ship terminal, we can see there are five other ships besides ours berthed waiting for passengers.  It is going to be a busy time departing the port.  Also from the top deck of the ship, we can see Ft. Lauderdale and some of the private “boats” that are docked and coming in and out of the inlet.

Shortly after getting on board, we found out that we would not be able to get to our room until after 3:00pm, because they are doing a deep clean and disinfecting, so after a quick lunch, on the Lido Deck.  Later we moved to the excursion desk making our reservations for the various islands, before everyone on board tries to do the same thing.

We are the second cruise ship to leave Port Everglades.  I watched from the Sun Deck as the first ship, the Serenade of the Seas, leaves and we begin to push away from the dock.  

As we begin to leave the port inlet, we are greeted with horns and flags from the condo units along the canal inlet. 

Clearing the Inlet, as we move out of the port, we have a clear view of the length Fort Lauderdale’s beach.  Nice clean beach sand all the way up and around the front of the high rise condo units. 

There are three other ships that follow us in short order.  From our vantage point is looks like two of them are fairly close to each other.

Once we cleared the port and was far enough out at sea we traveled south along the coast soon nearing Miami Beach as the sun was setting.  Absolutely gorgeous, the colors after the sun set - fantastic.

Dinner and a show rounded out our evening along with a walk around the deck of the ship.  Air temperature out at sea is 72° and the water temperature is 82°; can’t get much better than that.  As we pass South Beach and the Port of Miami the sunset still has a nice after glow. 

Tomorrow is a full day at sea and we have been invited to a wine tasting and a Captain’s event.