Friday 27th March

From The Caribbean. 

Day 6" St John's, Antigua

Wow. We loved Antigua.  We were up early as usual and watched the ship pull into port with beautiful hills on both sides. We had booked a Tui trip to the beach. Our mini bus dropped us off at a beautiful bay with white sand and sea the colour of which I'd never seen before, palm trees and the odd sail in the distance. The bay was flanked by green hills with small chalets. It was magical. We got a couple of sun beds and decided immediately to have a dip. The sea was crystal clear and tepid.

We had a great day, our first on a beach and I over did the sun a bit despite liberal factor 30. It was roasting. We snorkeld but because of my moustache I couldn't get a tight seal on my mask and kept getting water up my nose. This was to prove prophetic later. We had lunch thrown in and after a great day on a paradise beach were picked up at 3pm. Reluctantly, returning to port (we considered missing the ship and staying in Antigua but thought Dylan and the rest of the family, galleries, Natasha's work, our mortgage supplier, estate agent, landlord etc might not be sympathetic) we called in a pub on the harbour playing rock music. Having ordered a beer I popped off to but a T shirt. Within seconds, the heavens opened. Copious amounts of rain fell in 5 minutes before the sun returned. I sheltered under the canopy of a shop where I felt obliged to buy a t shirt. I returned to the pub for my beer a little damp. 

We returned to the ship and grabbed a drink and watched the sunset over the island as we left port. 

 However,  being out in the sun all day and getting a bit cooked I felt incredibly tired. We managed to eat an evening meal of sorts and decided to call it a night. It was 8.30pm!

Day 7: Roseau, Dominica.

We had to be up early as we were off on another trip this time to Champagne Reef to snorkel in the bubbling volcanic waters with fish and turtles. Roseau was a bustling market port and we walked through the market to reach our transport. We selected flippers before boarding our Rib which was taking us out to the reef. Life jackets donned and shoes and bags stored away we set of slowly before are captain, who looked straight out of the cast of "Pirates of the Caribbean" hit the after-burners. 8 minutes later we were over a clear patch of steaming water close to shore with towering cliffs. We swapped the life jackets for snorkel jackets, put on masks and flippers and overboard we went as a "pod" following our water guide. The seabed was littered with sponges and many fish. Then my face mask problems came back to haunt me. My nose once again was filling with water and trying to clear it became a problem. I was taking water in my snorkel and hyperventilating slightly. I knew I was struggling and so went back to the boat and watched Natasha snorkel around for half an hour whilst water sporadically gushed from my sinuses. The captain said, I wasn't getting a tight seal on my mask because of my beard as I had thought the previous day! I was pretty disappointed, especially as Natasha saw many wonderful fish and also turtles. When everyone returned to the boat we headed off to another reef alarmingly known as "The Abyss." An area of Champagne Reef dropped off an edge to hundreds of feet. I decided not to bother but Natasha did. We all were handed a very strong rum punch before returning to shore.

We popped back to the ship to change out of wet gear and dump some stuff and grab a spot of lunch before venturing into town. We intended to find a local beach we had been told about but it was so hot I started to feel dizzy (I was having a bad day). We aborted the beach idea and found a pub in the shade where we came across Martin and Sheena who'd had the same idea after their Whale Watching trip.

We returned to the ship and had a few afternoon drinks on a shaded deck. We had an afternoon nap (it's hard work being on holiday) and then ate. We went up to the pool deck after food where we were having more drinks when a film came on the big screen which was the new Jurassic Park film that I'd watched on the plane on the way over. We watched part of it but with another early start in Barbados tomorrow we called it a night.

Day 8. Bridgetown, Barbados. 

Weekly were on deck at just after 6am to watch the ship pull into the harbour in Bridgetown.  The first thing I noticed on a cloudy morning was the cricket ground with its flood lights. It was changeover day on board (which can be a bit chaotic). For those leaving to fly home ,their cases have to be packed and left outside their rooms overnight. They are collected and not seen again until the UK Airport. People have to be out of there rooms by 8am and then sign immigration forms. Half the cruise leaves and new arrivals board later in the day and there are people wandering around with hand luggage and disappointed looks. To accommodate people leaving there are shorter early trips . We had booked a trip to Carlisle Beach. We were collected and delivered to a beautiful beach, welcomed with rum punch and escorted to our reserved sunbeds. Although it was sporadically cloudy it was still very warm and the sea its usual turquoise colour. We had 3 hours on the beach before we were collected and returned to port. We had a brief wander round before going back to the ship and afternoon drinks and lunch followed by a siesta. Mine was a little shorter than Natashas as I took the opportunity of some quiet time to do some watercolour sketches. It was only the 2nd time I'd had the paints out and I enjoyed an hour painting some sketches I'd done previously. I did manage a short nap before getting ready for our evening meal which we had pre-booked. "Kora La" is a Pan- Asian restaurant on board with a distinguished chef and is popular.  We booked it on the recommendation of Martin and Sheena.

The food and service were excellent and it made a nice change from some of the other evening meals we've had. We have a day at sea tomorrow but will be passing St Lucia early in the morning so, although we haven't got to get up early for anything, we probably will.

Day 9: At Sea

Got up at 6am and took a cup of tea on deck to watch the sunrise...but no! It was pissing down and murky with limited visibility..but it was still warm. Finally it cleared a little and as we passed the very distinctive peaks of a Jurassic looking St Lucia it was clear enough for photographs. It looked very mysterious in the mist and low cloud but not very Caribbean. 

We even bagged a couple of sunbeds. After a clearer hour the heavens opened again. The towels were soaked and we sat at a table under the awning out of the rain.

The day remained a mixture of sun and rain. Sitting under the awning out of the showers I took the opportunity to paint. It's hard to fit it in but a showery day at sea was the perfect opportunity. It was an unusual experience on a packed pool deck but I really enjoyed it and completed quite a few watercolour sketches, using my photos as reference. I continued for most of the morning and part of the afternoon. 

In the evening we "dressed to impress" and ate in the main restaurant. We continued drinking for the rest of the evening and retired, late for us at 11.30pm a little squiffy.

Day10: Guadeloupe "Death in Paradise" tour.

Amazingly, I woke at 5am and by 6am was on deck watching the sun rise over Guadeloupe. I left Natasha sleeping. She deserved a sleep in. We had booked a "Death in Paradise" trip but could have a leisurely start as we didn't have to meet up until 9.20am.

The island(s) of Guadeloupe are separated by a bridge and the "DIP" filming is done on the far island and are under French rule so we had to switch currency to Euro's. We had a half hour, informative trip before reaching specific and recognisable DIP locations. I apologise for readers who don't watch DIP but we do and although it was an extremely touristy thing to do we enjoyed it. We visited the beautiful beach where the inspectors shack is situated (but removed after the filming season as people try to take bits of it or people camp in there). We photographed the distinctive island in the bay (known as Mosquito Island) before moving on to the town where we visited the harbour then the iconic Honore Police Station, set out as in filming, complete with case files, desk furniture, computers, telephones, whiteboards etc and the cells. I got to be locked in the cell and to sit at the inspectors desk. Natasha even logged us on the suspects board. I did the only thing I could and bought a T Shirt. We then went down to the second most famous location, Catherine's Bar down by the beach and harbour. The tour is popular and there were several tour groups in town. Catherine's Bar was rammed. We took some photos and moved to the next bar down which was a) not rammed and b) cheaper. The harbour is beautiful and we watched pelicans glide around amongst the anchored sailing boats. I was determined to have a photo in Catherine's Bar so I went in just as a couple were leaving and grabbed their table. We hadn't bought a drink so, took some photos and left. We called at a patisserie and bought a baguette and a cheese pastie and found some shade on the beach to eat them. It was 32° and roasting. We walked back to the coach and popped into the DIP shop to swap my T shirt for a colour I liked better. On the coach journey home both of us were nodding off and we were thankful to get back to port. We decided to walk into town and find a bar in the shade with toilets and WiFi and had a couple of drinks and a chat with Dylan  before heading back to the boat. We had to go through French customs to get back on the ship which pissed us off as they were officious arses. 

We got some seats on a deck facing the late afternoon sun. We sunbathed for a couple of hours, it was still 29° and later watched the sunset set behind the hills of Guadeloupe. Ater showers we had a nice Italian meal and afterwards met Martin and Sheena for a couple of drinks before retiring. We were knackered, with my early start and the heat, I needed bed. We had another early start tomorrow with our final trip, a beach day on St Lucia.

Day 11: St Lucia

Weekly had seen St Lucia as we passed it on the other side earlier in the week. It is is dominated by its 2 distinctive peaks known as The Pitons. They are a symbol of the island and can be found on logo's everywhere. They even have their own beer called Piton beer (which we felt obliged to sample). We arrived in port on the other side of the island. Our trip was to a beach and we mustered at 8.25am.

We set off in a 12 seater minibus but the roads were really busy round the port. They are redeveloping the town and the traffic was crazy. The 15 minute journey took nearer 50 minutes. We were shown to our allocated sun beds. The sea was yards from the front row with a steep slope down and waves rushing in. It was cloudy but very hot.

We were supposed to have about 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours there but we were constantly pestered by hawkers selling jewellery.  We eventually got fed up and retired to the beach bar.

We returned to the ship and spent the afternoon on the top pool deck, drinking BoraBora with coconut rum (we appear to have invented a new cocktail,  which I'm sure will be on future drinks menu's). I took the opportunity to paint again. One of the young waiters was very interested and showed me some of his own artwork.  He chatted to me for so long he was in danger of getting sacked! We watched the sunset go down, showered, dressed and ate. We retired to our usual spot on deck 6 to watch the lights of St Lucia fade behind us and the moon reflecting on an open sea as we sipped G&T's under a starry night.

Day 12: Grenada. 

With no more trips planned we could do our own thing from now on. I still chose to get up at 5.50am and go up on deck to watch the sun come up over the Island of Graneda, known as "The Spice Island" for the many spices they grow and export around the world. Cinnamon, nutmeg, chilli, cardamon, saffron and black pepper amongst them. 

We hired an air-conditioned taxi for a tour round the island. He drove us out of town passed the beautiful looking Grenada Cricket Ground where Test Matches are played and the scenic harbour stuffed with expensive yachts but also local fishing boats. He then took us up 2000ft on a winding and precipitous road into the rain forest to see Annadale Waterfall and Country Park. We stopped at a shack selling spices. Whilst Natasha got a talk through the various spices and their applications I took a fancy to a bracelet and a turtle necklace.  We came away with a selection of spices a necklace and bracelet. 

We continued further up into the hills flanked by rain forest.  Our driver pointed out mangoes, plantain, bread fruit, cocoa and walnut trees all growing by the road with spectacular views down a huge valley between verdant hillsides to the sea. He stopped to show us a "Rainbow Eucalyptus tree" with a smooth trunk in many different colours There were huge palm trees growing up from a precipitous drop and the roads were narrow and under repair. There is no public transport on the island so there are many cars and taxis. The construction traffic made the drive "interesting" as they tend not to care about other traffic and bomb along as if it was a dual carriage way. It wasn't and reverted to single track sometimes.

We eventually reached a stopping point with a few stalls and a bar We were in the Grand Etang National Park where we visited a centre for the maintainance and preservation of the island and its rain forest showing educational posters, maps and a short film show about the island and its floral and fauna and wildlife, all set in a colonial building on top of a hill. On our way back to the bus we saw Mona Monkeys, one with a baby. We headed back down through the rain forest to the harbour and then up a steep hill to a fort built by the French to keep the British out. We again got fabulous views across the harbour and the driver pointed out the prison where inmates can learn a trade get day releases to earn money for when they're released. They also had a sports pitch where they played football and cricket at weekends. It all sounded rather nice! We returned to port through the first and the only tunnel built by the early French settlers in 1847. A single lane 200m tunnel for traffic and pedestrians with no pavement or guard rails. Looked like a death trap to me!!

It was fascinating to see more of the island than just the port. It was only lunchtime and too early to return to the ship. We tried to find a bar but walked a circuit around the busy Spice Market where the roads were narrow, uneven and lined with street vendors trying to sell us everything from jewellery to bananas. It was over 30° and we were losing the will so we decided to book a taxi to take us somewhere else. We were pleased to get a registered taxi with a friendly chirpy driver who thought the best thing would be to take us to a beach bar. It turned out to be a good choice. The bar was right on a beautiful beach, called Grande Anse, with palms and an abundance of jet skis (including some like sports cars) and boats. We had some lunch and drinks and spent the afternoon in and out of the sun before being collected by our taxi and taken back to port. 

The evening entertainment was Mardi Gras so we ate early got a seat on the pool deck and took in (or in Natasha's case joined in), the entertainment with live bands and disco, whilst drinking copious amounts of G&T and Brandy & Ginger!

Day 13: Trinidad & Tobago 

I woke at 5.30am? Still alive and as usual went onto the deck to drink tea and watch our approach into the port of Scarborough, Tobago. We caught a taxi to Pigeon Point a famous beach with beach bars, turquoise sea and a "Caribbean vibe." We spent the morning on the beach around the bar area. It began to get busy. We had booked our return journey for 12.30 so had a quick drink before returning to port. We hadn't seen much of Tobago apart from the rather hair raising drive along the coast. Driving in the Caribbean is a little crazy. We returned to the ship for the afternoon and I did some more painting. It was scorching again and I was happy to paint in the shade. We had pre- booked a meal in the evening at the "Surf & Turf" restaurant with steak and lobster on the menu. It was an excellent meal. Tomorrow is our last day before returning to Barbados for our flight home on Sunday evening. We are visiting Kingstown, Capital of St Vincent and The Grenadines, known for its colonial architecture,  lush gardens and vibrant Caribbean vibe.

I'll have to post this blog tomorrow in port with WiFi so the last 2 days will have to wait until next week when we're back home 😪