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.

The next island

Silver Whisper anchored in a beautiful bay off Bequia island which is part of the Grenadines. After a light breakfast, TSH and Diva took the shuttle boat ashore and spent an hour walking along the shore.

The island is only about 16 square miles with 5,000 inhabitants. Local fisherman are active - one tried to sell lobster to people on the shuttle and a group of them were seen unloading large fish from a little boat. Many of the children travel the 9 miles by boat to St Vincent every day to go to school, giving them a very long day.

TSH and Diva went back to the ship for lunch which in this case was a sandwich because of the quick turn round – its all go! The ‘a la carte’ sandwich took thirty minutes to make but was very good.

The trip round the island was on the back of an eight seater variation of a wildlife park vehicle. Some very steep and narrow roads were negotiated in a convoy of said vehicles – the brakes are said to be checked twice a year. On the steepest parts, passengers were asked to hang on to overhead bars to prevent them sliding off the back. It was as near a white knuckle ride as Diva ever wishes to get. The tour visited a couple of view points (everybody photographed the ship), with views of other islands, before going to a turtle sanctuary to see hornbill turtles of all sizes.

There was a brief stop for refreshments – rum punch (Diva is developing a taste for this) and local beer.

In view of the light lunch, afternoon tea was essential after arrival back on the ship.

TSH and Diva seem to have acquired their next trainee butler. A very charming Chinese man, who is trying very hard and sometimes missing the point. He keeps begging for shoes to clean (yes, really) but does not always remember things requested. TSH and Diva told him they drink a lot of water so he turned up with an industrial sized container of distilled water, which is probably intended for the engine.

Wildlife spotted today:  boobies, frigate birds, crabs, lizards, large fish, goats, cows

No tigers yet.