Into the Caribbean

It is ironic that the weather around the south part of South America surpassed expectations – warmer than it could have been and with little rain, wind or rough sea. But the Caribbean has produced the roughest night of the whole trip, most of the rain and some strong winds – it is not even the hurricane season. No problems for TSH and Diva but this is not going according to plan.

Oh, yes, the plan. This blog has already told of one future change of port but Captain Arma has now told the guests about his problem. When leaving Rio, a propeller was damaged, so Silver Spirit cannot travel as fast as normal. So the itinerary for the last leg of the cruise cannot be achieved. Bonaire will be omitted and a day at sea substituted. A temporary repair has supposedly been carried out by the divers who attended the ship in Barbados and a fuller repair will be done at Fort Lauderdale.

TSH and Diva went on a short excursion in Bridgetown, Barbados, mainly to see the Andromeda gardens, which are very attractive. There was an unfortunate incident with an animal that Diva is phobic about and another one when TSH and Diva were refused a rum punch without ice (which is potentially full of bacteria). ‘Ice’, they were told by the waitress, ‘is mandatory’. Eventually, the manager appeared with an apology and the offer of an ice-free drink. There was no more time for this, but there is a plan for rum punch in the Silver Spirit bar later. But a reasonable tour on the whole. Diva saw a green monkey in a garden.

Crew members all seem to know Diva by name and keep offering her Earl Grey tea. Her complaint about the lack of supply at some stages of the journey has obviously been communicated to all. There is a suggestion that the pool deck bar has a special box of it kept for her personal use.

Other cruise ships in Barbados: P&O Britannia and Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas. And a luxury yacht – Wind Star.

Around the hotel

The hotel is providing adequate food – the pineapple and bananas are particularly good, as you might expect. The omelettes made to order in the morning are excellent and Diva loved her ‘well done’ one.  A lot of the food is deep fried or battered or both. A sandwich with cheese, bacon, chicken, ketchup and fries was labelled ‘healthy option’!!

The first full day was an unusual one of heavy rain. Half the car park flooded and the approach road was deep in water.  But with that out of the way, the climate is very pleasant. Low 30s, with a breeze and some cloud seems constant day and night. The balcony is always in the shade, which makes it very pleasant. The view from the balcony is of Bridgetown and the cruise ships, which look impressive after dark at about 18:00. In the early mornings, a troop (??) of black horses is taken for a swim and only the heads can be seen for a while.

During the Little England tour, TSH and Diva saw many remnants of the sugar industry, which is now in decline. These included a windmill dating from the seventeenth century.

The driver on the Little England tour said that major hurricanes are rare here and the last one was in the 1950s. So why does the room have a document describing a four-phase hurricane alert system? At one level, guests are required to pack and then seal their suitcases in plastic bags, before proceeding to the hurricane shelter.

Bridegtown was disappointing – TSH and Diva were hoping to spend the day there. But there is really only one street, with a few international designer names and not really much else. There are a few interesting and horrifying plaques marking the place where the African people were disembarked and placed into cages. Names ‘Cave’ and ‘Shepherd’ on some shops reminded TSH and Diva of two of the names they heard yesterday at the plantation. So maybe the same old families still own a lot of the island.

Around the hotel

The hotel is providing adequate food – the pineapple and bananas are particularly good, as you might expect. The omelettes made to order in the morning are excellent and Diva loved her ‘well done’ one.  A lot of the food is deep fried or battered or both. A sandwich with cheese, bacon, chicken, ketchup and fries was labelled ‘healthy option’!!

The first full day was an unusual one of heavy rain. Half the car park flooded and the approach road was deep in water.  But with that out of the way, the climate is very pleasant. Low 30s, with a breeze and some cloud seems constant day and night. The balcony is always in the shade, which makes it very pleasant. The view from the balcony is of Bridgetown and the cruise ships, which look impressive after dark at about 18:00. In the early mornings, a troop (??) of black horses is taken for a swim and only the heads can be seen for a while.

During the Little England tour, TSH and Diva saw many remnants of the sugar industry, which is now in decline. These included a windmill dating from the seventeenth century.

The driver on the Little England tour said that major hurricanes are rare here and the last one was in the 1950s. So why does the room have a document describing a four-phase hurricane alert system? At one level, guests are required to pack and then seal their suitcases in plastic bags, before proceeding to the hurricane shelter.

Bridegtown was disappointing – TSH and Diva were hoping to spend the day there. But there is really only one street, with a few international designer names and not really much else. There are a few interesting and horrifying plaques marking the place where the African people were disembarked and placed into cages. Names ‘Cave’ and ‘Shepherd’ on some shops reminded TSH and Diva of two of the names they heard yesterday at the plantation. So maybe the same old families still own a lot of the island.