Four ports in four days Jan 29 - Feb 1, 2013

REFLECTIONS ON MY FOUR PORTS IN FOUR DAYS – AKA – MY VISIT TO ST. THOMAS, VIRGN ISLANDS, ST JOHN'S ANTIGUA, BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS AND PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD JAN 29 – FEB 1, 2013

First of all, I have been to the first three ports mentioned on more than one occasion so finding something to do that hadn't been done and with the exception of St Thomas that is what I achieved.

Here in short form are a few highlights of the tours – all were Princess Excursions.

St Thomas – I booked a city tour with stops at the various viewpoints above the city and a visit to the Great House and the Top of the Mountain viewpoint where I decided to try one of their world famous banana daiquiris – no such thing as a jigger for measuring the liquor – it tip the bottle and let it pour – I elected to get dropped off in town because I was on the hunt for particular perfume that my friend Marla Face booked me about seeing if I could fine it for her – she seems to think it is only available in that port – no luck in town or in the shops at the Havensight Pier where we docked.

There are 6 ships in town today – 3 at Havensight, 2 at Crown Point and one at anchor.

I hit a grocery store to pick up some pop and had lunch at Wendy's which is located just outside the port area.

Then it back to the ship and on deck to watch the sail away

St John's Antigua Jan 30, 2013

I hadn't booked anything here until I got on board when I decided to do a catamaran excursion to nearby Bird Island – a rocky islet located off shore from the main island. It was a good trip – while I don't snorkel we stopped at the reef off shore and those that wanted to snorkel were given about 45 minutes to enjoy – once this was completed we headed for the island but first there was food to be had – we started with cheese or tuna sandwiches and our choice of beverage – adult or otherwise and it was basically an open bar.

We then dropped anchor at the island which is uninhabited except for a vendor who has set up shop and was trying to sell his wears.

Before we got off the boat we were then served a full lunch – sweet yams, mac and cheese, chicken and rice – yes I had seconds of everything except for the yams and I washed it down with both Diet Coke and a Carib beer.

We were then given about an hour ashore – I explored the island by myself – hard to get lost as it is only 40 or so acres in size but it did have a rocky ridge that takes about 10 minutes to climb up – the views were great in all directions and the weather has cleared from the early passing shower – not uncommon on these islands – while the rest of the tour either snorkelled, sun tanned or followed the tour leader up the ridge I explored it to near it's end – it was good to get some exercise.

Returning to the catamaran we then sailed back to our starting point which was next door to the cruise port.

I then toured through the kiosks that are located adjacent to the pier which was super busy as there are 4 ships in port today.

Back on board and once again on deck for sail away.

Bridgetown, Barbados Jan 31, 2013.

The only thing that I had planned here was a tour to the Harrison Caves which I couldn't do the last time because they were still under reconstruction.

Usually when we dock in Bridgetown we can just walk off the ship and into the welcome centre and then into town.

Because there were once again 3 other ships in town while we were berthed in the cruise port area we were far enough into the working port area that we had to shuttle into the port area – for those with either early ship's tours or private ones there was a considerable wait to get off the ship – my tour was later so it was much easier to board the shuttle – then it was off to the caves which is one of Barbados' top sightseeing attractions – after a short bus ride we are at the Caves – we are first shown a brief film on the history of the Caves and then we board the small trolley or tram cars for the ride through the caves – I am taking lots of photos but with movement and the dim light not all are of good quality – well at least with digital it is easy to delete – we do stop in a couple of places for official photo stops – we aren't suppose to take any video but that didn't seem to stop a guy in front of me from doing just that.

Then it was back up the elevator to the entrance – an awaiting glass of orange juice and back on the and back to the port.

I wandered around the port area and its shops – had a cold Bates beer – local product and then decided to see if I could take beer back on board – official policy is wine only but indications are that beer in small amounts isn't usually subject to seizure – my 6 pack got on board without any problems.

Next up – the last of the 4 ports and the first new one for me.

Port of Spain Trinidad – February 1, 2013

This is a new port for me and as we approached the pier I saw a vibrant area with many newish glass towers – this is a country reliant on oil wealth for their economy – in consideration of their Caribbean neighbours who don't have the energy and manufacturing capacity that Trinidad has they haven't heavily promoted their tourist potential.

For this port I have selected a ship excursions to the Maracas Waterfall with a stop at St Joseph the Protector church along the way – actually also a restroom break as there are ones at the church. This area of the country was actually the site of the first government.

After a brief visit to the church we continued on our way towards the trail head but we stopped about 2kms before it at a police station. After about 15 minutes we get underway – seems that they have been a rash of vandalism to vehicles in the area and the police are escorting tour buses to the trail head – the police in this case are armed but don't follow us on the trail.

We get our trail instructions – it has been raining, the trail and rocks are slippery, step on the cracks between the rocks and not the rocks themselves, follow the most worn path – be careful. Etc.

I am wearing my light weight hikers with a reasonable tread but that doesn't stop me from slipping on an rocky patch where we have to cross a creek – I fall and land hard on my knees – the same one I fell on back in Seattle – I pick myself up and are reminded by the tour guides to watch where I walk – they had suggested a different path across this creek bed which interestingly enough didn't help another hiker on the return trip who fell in the same place as me who was being helped across by the tour guide.

The trail continued upwards and then levelled out and before long we could see and hear the falls – these high waterfalls – some 300' flow in different manners – this one was more along the lines of sheets and ledges rather than a straight drop into a deep pool at the bottom – other people have also hiked up to the falls – we spend some time admiring the splendour – some even climbed over a few more rocks and soaked up the spray from the falls.

We had perhaps 45 minutes at the falls – then its down the trail, back to the van and into town. The hike itself was probably only about 5KM return with a good elevation gain – it was more technical because of the rough terrain than difficult because of length or steepness.

I board the ship, drop off much of my gear and then head out with camera in hand and explore some of the area around the pier – I see the ultra modern Parliament Building office complex which is basically next door to the pier – find and walk through Independence Square with many street vendors selling their wares – I then walk past the old “ Red House” - the former Parliament building which is being renovated and several other historic landmarks – you are never far from the sound of the steel drums and there are many Carnaval sites starting to set up.

By now it is close to sail away time so I return to the ship sans lunch which I remedy with a pig out meal in the buffet. I do enjoy a quick Stag Beer – another local brand by the Carib beer folks whose brewery is just ouside of town. Picked up a couple to go at US$2.00 a bottle.

I am tired and sore and glad that we now have 4 sea days coming up – I will use some of that to rest up and heel but I have never handled sea days all that well.

I am not the type that can sit still and while I have a number of books with me it remains to be seem how I handle that time.

Cheers

D