Today, Friday, April 24, we are in Bridgetown, Barbados, the beginning of our final run up the Caribbean toward home. 

We didn't do much today except go into town so Bonnie could do some watch shopping. She was quite successful and you may see her triumph sometime after we return home. We also had lunch at the same little place on the waterfront in town where we ate two years ago on our run up from the South America/Antarctica tour. Tomorrow is St. George, Grenada.

Saturday, April 25. St. George, Grenada (gren-A-da, not gren-AH-da; the island is in the Caribbean and the city is in Spain).

This is or second or third stop here and we were not too interested in sightseeing the island. This was especially true as the temperature was over 90° by 9:00 in the morning. We did go ashore and buy the obligatory package of nutmegs in the small, but bustling street market. Then we hiked up to the top of Fort George for some scenic views (and to try to work off some of the excess adipose tissue we seem to have accumulated over the past four months…). It was time to go back to the shelter – and air conditioning – of the ship for lunch and a rest.

From the top of the fort in St. George's.

The interior harbor (called the "Careenage") at St. George's.

Tomorrow is Castries, St. Lucia.

Sunday, April 26. The last time we were in St. Lucia was many years ago when we were on a sailing cruise through the Caribbean. All we got to see that day was Marigot Bay and Harbor – we remembered that day as being an example of the exquisite locations available in the Caribbean, but not much else about St. Lucia itself. Today changed that. The sip offered the World Cruisers a complimentary tour of the island including a luncheon. Well…for free, take…

Locations of the stops on our island tour.

The tour began with a drive through Castries and out of town up into the surrounding mountains.

Wow, what we had missed the first time around. Gorgeous volcanic scenery and steep climbs and droops all around us. We did make a scenic overlook stop at Marigot Bay and were once again reminded of how lovely and lush it is.

A short drive down the coast to Anse La Raye took us into a typical local fishing village. We were fortunate in that one of the locals had just come ashore with his catch and we were able to watch them sort and skin some of the fish. He also had caught several lion fish (poisonous) and a Moray eel along with a bunch of small trash fish (mostly tropical and a few small bony fish that you see the players on “Survivor” getting by on). There was then a brief stop at a cassava factory. This turned out to be a private homer/workshop where the family (the only ones on the island we were told) take cassava root and make cassava flour, cassava starch, and tapioca. Cassava is a relative of the Yucca and is both sugar- and gluten-free, making it ideal for people on restricted diets. We had an opportunity to taste some cassava bread and it was actually quite good.

The day's catch at left; removing the skin in center; lion fish on right.

We finally arrived in the Soufriére (sue-frear) area and had a visit to the world’s only drive-through volcano. Actually the entire island is a volcanic remnant, but the southern part was last active as recently as the 18^th century (circa 1750). That blast created a large caldera that has since vegetated over except for a number of bubbling hot springs and smoke vents. The guides told us that as long as the earth can vent through these holes, there is little danger of another eruption. Apparently, there are a number of geologists from around the world who visit this area on a regular basis to do research and to check on the volcanic activity. Bonnie and I both immediately thought of our visit last year to Rotorua in New Zealand where we saw very similar bubbling pools and smoking vents. The sulpher small was not too bad, but we cannot help but think that the guides and locals are affected by the constant presence of H₂S gas and other noxious stuff floating around. Actually, Soufriére means "land of sulfur air."

The lunar-like landscape at the Sulfur Springs.

After leaving the volcano, we were taken to the Botanical Garden and the almost-world-famous “Diamond Waterfall.” This is a relatively small waterfall that is part of the aforementioned bubbling springs’ system. In addition, the gardens contain specimen plantings of most of the indigenous Caribbean plants and flowers set in very attractive beds and in natural settings.

Finally, it was off the Soufriére Estate for a luncheon of Caribbean specialties and a dance exhibition of the local quadrille dances. After lunch, a loooong drive back to the ship and a nap.

The "Pitons," St. Lucia's famous twin peaks. These volcanic leftovers have been attracting people for decades.

The Diamond Falls. The rocks along the back of the falls change color based on what minerals are dissolved in the water coming over the falls. It may be black one day and orange the next. These falls are fed by the same water as we saw at the Sulfur Springs.

One of the dancing couples at our Caribbean luncheon.

Tomorrow is Gustavia, St. Barts.

Monday, April 27. Another hot, humid day in the Caribbean here in St. Barts. Gustavia is the capital and is a small, but elegant city – after all, it’s a French island… If all you have heard about St. Batrs is that it is the sybaritic capital of the Caribbean, then you know all you need to know about it. It is a small gem of an island, a land of beautiful boats (yachts – BIG yachts), beautiful stores, boutiques, and shops, and of course beautiful people. It is now late in their season and most of the BPs have gone on to other pleasures, but there is still enough of a buzz to understand why the rich – very rich – and famous like it here. Bonnie wanted a day off, so I took the tender in to Gustavia for a walk around and to see if it had changed much in the ten years or so since we were here last.

Nope. Nothing’s changed except the prices. They have gone up as might be expected. IO happened to glance at a menu at a waterfront café and saw that a burger was listed at €22. At today’s exchange rate, that comes out to about $25. It would have to be SOME burger to get me to spring for that… OK, I thought, let’s see if I can add a refrigerator magnet to our growing collection. I finally found a combination convenience store and clothing boutique (I could not possibly make a combination like that up) and they had a small selection of magnets – starting at €6 and going up. Oh well, we can live without a magnet from St. Barts.

After a walk along the three main streets of this small city, I tendered back to the ship for one of our burgers – included in the cost of our cruise. Call me cheap, or whatever you like, but I just can’t get my head around that type of profligacy.

The last stop on this cruise: San Juan, Puerto Rico. I believe I will be able to find a magnet there – except that we have been to San Juan a number of times in the past and we already have one.

Today, Wednesday, April 28, we stopped in San Juan. We headed straight for Castillo San Cristobal. We have been to Morro Castle several times, but wanted to see the other end of this huge defense line. Fortunately, we are the only ship in today and all the tours are going to Morro, so we pretty much had San Cristobal to ourselves. Although not as large or as famous as Morro, San Cristobal served a vital purpose in keeping San Juan safe from land-side attacks. Morro was good for naval defense, but San Juan was overrun twice when enemy forces attacked by land - it was the "back door." San Cristobal was then constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was also used more recently during WWII as a listening and forward observation post.

San Cristobal sandwiched among the new/old San Juan Viejo (Old City) buildings. 

After a hot walk around San Cristobal, we took the free Tourist Shuttle to the Catedral area and had lunch at a little tapas place we had found a few years ago. The beer was colder and better than I remember, but it might have been the heat. Then it was back to the ship to gather our strength for the World Cruisers Farewell Dinner in the evening.

La Fortaleza, remnants of the 16th century original Spanish occupation. This is all that's left after several disastrous fires in the 17th and 18th centuries.

El Morro - need I say more???

The farewell dinner was bittersweet. A four-month cruise has an entirely different dynamic among both the guests and the crew than does a short one - that is, a week, two weeks, even a month or six weeks. You get much more friendly with both sets and it becomes much more familial. we are often asked what was your favorite port? That is difficult because so much on this cruise was new to us. Probably our most vivid memories will be of the people we met and the new friends and acquaintances we have made. We already have a lunch date with a couple of Aussies...

We were discussing at dinner how quickly this last week has come upon us. When we started (four months ago), we knew we had a long and exciting trip in front of us. We have, indeed, seen much, explored much, been to several places where not many people have an opportunity to go, and experienced some pretty interesting adventures along the way. A smile, a few words in native tongue, and a positive attitude have gone a long way toward making this type of trip an unforgettable experience.We have also met some very nice folks, both on-board the ship and ashore. 

We had a few hiccups along the way: one port (Ascension Island) was too rough to tender into so we just sat out there all day and made it a sea day; we had several stops in places where no one really wanted to go off on their own, but that no one wanted to miss, either. All in all, a very successful trip and one for which we shall carry many fond memories (and more than a few souvenirs) for a long time.

This is our magnet wall in the suite. We have been collecting a refrigerator magnet from every stop where we they are available. I plan to mount them in a way that will become a permanent memento of this trip.

Unless something really out of the ordinary happens in the next day or two, this is my last entry in this blog. Thank you for being part of the journey and we are looking forward to re-living some of the more spectacular parts of it when we meet again to show you our pictures – the ones we didn't

post in the blog. We really appreciate all who have stayed with us so far and we are looking forward to being back home - and planning our next adventure.

We are at Devil’s Island off the coast of French Guiana. We had been there two years ago on our trip around South America and Antarctica and were not disposed to get too excited about revisiting. We’ll see…

 

Here are a few photos of Île Royale and Île du Diable. 

As I said, not very exciting, especially the second time around. There are a number of folks on this cruise who have also been to Devil’s Island before and the ship, although technically at anchor, is a lot like a sea day – few have gone ashore.

Devil’s Island is actually three islands off the coast of Guiana. The Îles du Salut consist of Île Royale, Île du Diable, and Île Saint-Joseph. This notorious prison camp was still in operation as recently as the 1950s. Although Île du Diable is the best-known of the islands, the entire complex was known as Devil’s Island,, including the land-based prison farms as well. Currently, aside from some caretaker personnel, none of the islands are inhabited and only Île Royale is accessible by any means – including by boat. Île du Diable had its supplies ferried over via line and pulley, a tower of which is still extant on Île Royale. Makes one wonder how they got the mostly political prisoners over to Île du Diable.

Tomorrow another sea day and then five ports in a row! We will be making stops at Barbados, St. Lucia, Granada, St. Barts, and San Juan. We have been to all of these at one time or another, but not recently. I hope to have new and exciting things to report from all of them.

P.S.: If you have really sharp eyes, and if you had read my blog about our South America, Antarctica, and Amazon trip two years ago, you may recognize some of these pictures (we cheated and made it a sea day...).

Stay tuned…

St. Helena…the island that bills itself as the most remote place on earth. It is, however, a shrine of sorts for philologists. Apparently, first day covers and regular postage stamps are highly sought after by those who enjoy such pastimes. Other than that, St. Helena boasts itself as the last place on earth that Napoleon lived. He was actually buried here for several years after his death, but was dug up and moved to Paris where he lies in state at Les Invalides. His grave and the home, Longwood, in which he lived out his exile are still, however, scrupulously maintained by the St. Helena Historical Society for the benefit of the few hardy tourists who do manage to get here.

St. Helena is a British Protectorate and is lumped in with Ascension Island and Tristan de Cunha. These other two small islands are also flyspecks in the Atlantic. Our next stop is Ascension and it is the only place in the world where there are no natives or permanent residents. More on that later.

Our stay at St. Helena is brief. We land at 8:00 AM and weigh anchor at 3:00 PM. Our proposed tour of the island got cancelled for lack of interest. It seems that we were the only two to sign up. So we took the tender in and just walked around the small town (village?) of Jamestown, the main settlement on the island. There are only about 4000 inhabitants total on St. Helena, of which about 800 live in Jamestown. Our tour of the town was also brief. We spent most of our time in the small, but very well curated, museum. The museum contains exhibits on St. Helena’s history and has many original artifacts going back almost two centuries. In its rather interesting history, St. Helena has served as a way station for sailing vessels, a prison (Boer prisoners from South Africa during the Boer War at the turn of the 20th century), and a staging area for one of the shortest wars on record.

Our first glimpse of St. Helena from our balcony. The main town, Jamestown, is in the cleft at the center and is the commercial center of town. The main residential areas are on the hilltop to the right.

You can see from the maps that St. Helena lies about halfway between Great Britain and the Falkland Islands. That position was of critical importance to the British several decades ago as they sought to quell the Argentinean takeover of the Falklands. Without a supply base at that location, the war might have gone on longer and had a different outcome. Ascension Island played a major role in that effort, but St. Helena was critical since many of the military base work force came over from St. Helena to Ascension since they have an airport and St. Helena does not – yet. Stay tuned for 2017 when they are supposed to get one.

Aside from the occasional visitors from cruise ships and yachts coming from South Africa and other places in Africa and southern Europe, the Saints, as the St. Helenians call themselves, don’t really have much to do except fish, print stamps, and just hang out. Not a bad life…I suppose… here are a few street scenes:

After our short wander through the museum, a stop to peek in the local church, and a short walk up the “Jacob’s Ladder” staircase (699 steps from bottom to top and then back down again 699 steps), we retired back to the ship and some St. Helena-style relaxation. We did make one very important decision: if we ever get back here, we will hire a car and see the rest of the island at leisure.

Jacob's Ladder from Jamestown to Hilltop - 699 steps. It used to be a cableway that was used to haul supplies up and garbage down.

Yep! That's me on Jacob's Ladder. As long as no one asks me if
I walked all the way up and all the way back down, I won't have to lie...

Tomorrow a day at sea and then another short day at Ascension Island.

Well, today's short stop and look around Ascension Island was a washout. Because of the very high swells dockside, the Captain made an executive decision in favor of passengers' safety and canceled the landings. So this becomes another day at sea. We will hang out for a short time and then begin our final cross-Atlantic trek to Devil's Island and the Caribbean.

Since I had gone to the trouble of making up a map of Ascension Island, here it is:

Stay tuned ...

Have you ever been sand surfing in a 4 X 4? This morning we had a tour to the Namibian outback in a     4 X 4.  We were not sure of exactly what we would be doing when we signed up for the trip. The description simply said we would be driving through the desert to view some wildlife and see the dunes and a lake. It turned out to be one of the most interesting and exciting trips we have had.

The Great Namib Desert is one of the driest places on earth. Two years ago we visited the Atacama Desert in Chile and were told that IT was the driest; however, there may be some rivalry going on here… The Namibian desert covers about a third of the country and from our brief desert sojourn, we now want to see more of Namibia. It seems like a fascinating country. I already mentioned in the last post that it is very sparsely populated. It is, however, rich in natural resources and if they can keep the “African Disease” (read: corruption) out of government, they could have a bright future.

Our foray into the desert began with a short ride through the town on Walvis Bay (an Afrikaans corruption of the German for “Bay of Whales”) where we stopped to see a flock of migrating flamingos. There were thousands of them! We thought we had seen flamingos in Florida, but these literally covered the earth.

We then drove along the beach, almost like Daytona, but closer to the water, steeper slope, and a far, far longer drive. Our goal was to get to Sandwich Harbor, about 30 miles south of Walvis Bay. This is a natural small harbor that was home to much bird life. The ride along the beach was preceded by a short inland trek over some small dunes. Along the way, our driver/guide, Kurt, pointed out a number of local flora that are unique to this ecosystem. We also stopped for a chance to wiggle our toes in the sand and look for small animals. Oh, what fun … We (really it was Kurt) found a dune gecko who promptly dropped his tail. They do that as protection, but are then vulnerable until a new one re-grows.

 

The top two views are the desert. The bottom left is the dune gecko that I mentioned. At bottom right, Kurt demonstrated one of Namibia's natural resources. He dipped that big hand-held magnet into the sand and then shook off the excess. What is left are natural iron particles. They feel like soft fuzz or down.

After reaching the entrance to Sandwich Harbor, we found that it is one way in and one way out. If you stay too long and the tide comes in, you can’t get back until the next low tide – about 8-9 hours… Fortunately, for us, we had planned to return by an alternate route – up and over the dunes. What fun!

 

Two panorama shots of the Sandwich Harbor dunes.

Sandwich Harbor was not itself not very exciting except for the masses of birds and the refreshments that magically appeared from the lead 4 X 4. Oh, and the opportunity to climb the dunes – if you could make it in the soft sand. The dunes in this area are about 60-70 meters high (180-210 feet). Only two of our people made it to the first crest. I made it about halfway up. Actually, I would liked to have had a piece of wood or cardboard so I could sand surf back down. I did some sand surfing in Australia last year and it was easier getting to the top by going along the ridge line as it rose. Here, we only had one option – straight up the side of the dune.

After our dune climbing and birding, we piled back into the 4 X $ for the journey back to the ship. We knew that we would be going back via the dunes, but we expected some sort of road or trail – NOT!

About ten minutes into the ride, after we realized that this was indeed off-roading, we climbed to the crest of a large dune. We all thought that Kurt was going to present us with a magnificent view of the dunes, the sea, and the city in the distance. Oops…

As soon as we got to the top, we headed straight down the side of the dune – about a 50° angle in soft sand with no brakes except the loose sand up to the axle hubs. It was just like getting to the top of a roller coaster’s initial chain-driven climb and then letting gravity take over. We spent the next twenty minutes of so going up and down the dunes via the shortest routes possible – straight up and straight down. Then, just for one last kick, Kurt came up to a tall dune, immediately reversed the 4 X 4, and we descended backwards!

Then it was back to the ship and time to catch our breath, get an adult beverage, and clean up a bit for our dinner in the desert. We were going back into the desert for a very special dinner. The route was different from our morning drive and we soon found ourselves in a literal moonscape. 

We had entered the area of the Great Namib Desert that was used as a training ground for the early moon astronauts and more recently as a location set for the upcoming “Mad Max IV” film due out this summer. What a sight! As far as one could see, all you could see were hillocks, craters, dunes, and not a living, breathing thing – not even a plant.

After wending our way through this deserted desert, we came into a broad dry river valley and – Shazam! There, laid out in front of us, was a typical African “boma” or reed enclosure. Immediately outside the boma there were several local men with camels giving camel rides. Just inside the boma, tables had been set up complete with linen, napery, silver, crystal, and candles. There were even heavy cloths on the ground so that the tables and chairs didn’t scrape dirt or rocks and we could walk more comfortably. Speaking of comfort, they even had a set of Port-A-Potties discreetly set off to one side of the boma – outside the boma. Naturally, during the evening, I had to make a plumbing inspection and the P-A-Ps were the cleanest I have ever encountered.

 

Top left was what greeted us as we came to the dinner. Top right was inside the boma and the youth chorus. Bottom left was a shot I couldn't resist - one of the driest places on earth and we got a rainbow from a distant shower. Bottom right was after dark in the boma.

At one end of the boma, there was a clear space, set off by more ground cloths, in which a local youth chorus was singing and playing for our entertainment. These kids were wonderful! SO wonderful that Bonnie and I used all of our remaining South African Rand (they take either Namibian or South African Rand in Namibia) to donate to the organization and we scored two music CDs for our donation.

The dinner was served as a buffet, but what a buffet: local delicacies like kudu steaks and spicy chicken; an assortment of cold salads; an assortment of hot vegetables, including one of the best butternut squash casseroles we had ever had; and, an assortment of desserts. Of course, the wine flowed like… well… wine.

During dinner, a local corps of fire twirlers came out to demonstrate their prowess with flaming torches and flaming batons. Cool, but frankly, we enjoyed the youth chorus more.

 

Bonnie and me at Sandwich Harbor on left. At the apex of my dune climb in the center. Yes, I tried a camel on the right...unfortunately, it didn't work because I got a back spasm as soon as I swung my other leg over and I had to dismount. Next time, I will try to use a small stepladder...

By that time we were ready to say our goodbyes to the desert and return to the ship. All in all, one heck of a great day in Namibia. It made us want to see more of the country and was such a surprise after sleepy Luderitz the day before.

We now have, thankfully, three sea days to recuperate fully from our African adventures. The downside is that just brings us closer to home. It is not that we are not anxious to get back and see our friends and get back to our routines, but this has been such a fantastic cruise that we really don’t want it to end.

Our next two ports are St. Helena and Ascension Islands. These are two tiny specks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that do not get much cruise ship traffic. Stay tuned…

We had a half-day stop in Luderitz, Namibia. Aaah, Luderitz, a metropolis on the Namibian coast – just kidding…

Luderitz is a small city of about 20,000 inhabitants in a country of only about two million total. Namibia is the second-least densely populated country in the world (Mongolia is first). The lure of Luderitz is twofold: wild horses; oysters.

Luderitz offers a gateway into the Namibian desert to view a band of feral horses that were released when the local diamond and gold mines petered out in the middle of the 20^th century. The horses have adapted over the years to the harsh desert conditions and appear to have thrived. Although we would like to have gone out to view them, it was a three-hour round trip in a bus for only about an hour to see the horses. As you might suspect, we opted for the oysters.

The oysters were a five-minute drive from the pier to the oyster farm/factory. Namibian oysters are grown in the cold waters off the nearby coast and are mostly shipped to Cape Town and environs. They guarantee viability for up to five days after shipping, so they can’t go too far. During our visit to the oyster factory, we found that the Chef on board the ship has ordered 800 oysters for delivery to the ship as an appetizer for dinner this evening. Let’s see, with only about 200 passengers aboard, that’s only four oysters per person. Of course there will be some who do not eat raw oysters, so we can probably count on at least two servings…

After a short tour and schooling by our guide, we were led upstairs in the factory building to a rather nice oyster bar set up with picnic tables and a view of the water. At about 10:00 AM we were eating oysters that had been in the water only 20-30 minutes earlier accompanied by either white wine or champagne. It doesn’t get much better than that!

We then took a short stroll through town to try to find the obligatory refrigerator magnet. The entire trip from oysters to magnet only took about an hour and a half and we were back on the ship. We spent the afternoon recovering – travel can be so exhausting…

 

Some views of the colonial German architecture in Luderitz. Remember, Namibia was once part of German West Africa in colonial days.

Left picture shows rush hour in Luderitz. Right picture shows main street scene. The fountain in the foreground was built to commemorate the first water main laid in the city; however, there is not enough water to turn it on.

Tomorrow we are in Walvis Bay, Namibia for our last Africa stop before starting back across the Atlantic. Here is a map showing the itinerary for our final leg.