Cruise Day 5

Sunday February 27

Basseterre, St. Kitts     -     7 am     -      5 pm

“With more than a quarter of the island set aside as a national park and a rainforest that is growing rather than shrinking, St. Kitts is a stunning tropical island escape. Soar through the Valley of the Giants on a thrilling zip line, hike to Sofa Rock, which is the cap of a still smoldering volcano, or simply spend the day relaxing on one of the many beaches protected by major coral reefs.”

St. Kitts Scenic Rail (SKB-012)

Port: Basseterre

Tour Length: Half-Day (Approximately 3 hours) $149.00

Tour Description

• Travel by train and coach, making a complete circle around St. Kitts.
• Enjoy a 360? view of the island from your double-decker train car.
• Ride a narrow-gauge railway through rainforests, over canyons and along the sea.
• Drive along the southern coast, passing landmarks such as an 18th-century British fort.

Circle the island of St. Kitts in the comfort of a restored vintage train and by modern coach while the guides provide commentary of the sights along the way. The train will wind along a narrow-gauge railroad that was built nearly a century ago to transport sugarcane from the fields to the capital of Basseterre. The scenery will be breathtaking the entire time, as you will pass through verdant rainforests, over deep canyons and into fertile farmland. To provide the ultimate views, your train car will be a double-decker with an open-air observation deck on one level and expansive vaulted windows on the other level. All guests will have a seat on both levels of the railcar. Island ambiance is evoked with comfortable rattan furniture, complimentary specialty drinks, island music and a colorful narrative.

The driving portion of the tour along St. Kitts’ southern coast will be just as picturesque, as you will see landmarks such as Brimstone Hill Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Gibraltar of the West Indies.

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We woke up this morning with a skyscraper next to us. It seemed like it. Of course the curtain was still almost closed. We just need it open enough to know it is daylight.

Arrival was 7 am but we did not have to ready for our excursion til 9:15am in the Marina Lounge. So we were having breakfast on 12 with a nice view again. Here they know to bring the tea pot with the teabag already in the hot water. Yeah!

Sunday! It is difficult when you travel to know what day of the week it is. But we did know this morning and said our prayers before heading out. 

We got our numbers and walked to were to find the guide holding the sign with the same number. 

While waiting ... I look at this photo and can hear the caribbean music. You can't stand still. At least go up and down on your heals.

Soon we were in our (3) small busses. Our guide Kurt provided more than commentary. He talked the whole time while driving giving us history and pointing things out. I didn't understand all of it but I wouldn't retain most of it anyway. At the moment it was very interesting. Something I did not hear fully was about John Newton and the hymn Amazing Grace.

Driving happens here on the left side of the road. I was sitting on a left window side and we were driving along the coast. Often we would drive through little villages. The road was very narrow then. It was too fast to take photos to give an impression. Much was not very pretty. It looked like the people were saving a lot to try to make something out of it. The guide said people only could afortd small houses and then tried to add on themselves. 

Can't remember how long the bus drive was before we came to the train. The train was not quite what I had expected but it looked like fun. 

And off we went. Because the weather was nice we were all upstairs. I think we were in the 3 train cars just like we were in the 3 busses. A mama type lady in the first train car told us over a loudspeaker all sorts of things again. 

There was ample room to move to the left or right sides.

And we were offered drinks. The bus (funny) bus driver had told us that he had bought 5 for each of us. The young girl made the cocktails. James and I had pinacoladas. Fellow traveler next to us had rum and coke. James and I did not turn the second one down either but that was enough liquid.

Somehow a young man and girl went from car to car with a boombox demonstrating native mardi gras. The train never stopped though.

I was never fast enough for the photos I really wanted to take. Again we saw villages and sometime the train seem to go right between houses. People of all ages and children waved. Of course it was Sunday so more probobly were at home. Sometimes there were gardens next to houses. The soil seems very fertile. Besides dogs there were donkeys, pigs and lots and lots of goats. 

We went over 2 or 3 bridges (like in the next photo) where you didn't want to look down. Everything was old and very narrow. The train was always swaying left and right.

We were told that this was lovers' cove and very nice. Yes, the beach looked very inviting. Nobody there.

When we stopped at the end of the line we were loaded into the same busses again and continued back to the ship. We were told we made a full circle around the island. The driver/guide had been very funny. We were happy.

Before we went all the way back to the ship we walked around a little in the harbor area. James eyed a little place which sold 3 beers for $5 what a bargain. Well, we didn't have to carry them to the ship either. It was savory liquid. 

We took somebody else's photo and they took ours.

After we were back at the ship and had lunch. There was still time before the ship left the harbor. James decided he wanted to go to the church we could see from the top deck. Even though it is Sunday I was pretty sure that it would be closed. And I felt lazy anyway. But I begged "please don't miss the boat".

And there he goes!

No, he didn't miss the boat. He was back in plenty of time because the church was closed.

We read a little and I looked at my photos etc etc. Then I saw that I didn't have many steps. This time James didn't feel like it. I made circles around the pool in a good pace. Nobody around. It felt good. Strange how you sometimes just need to do it. I stopped briefly to look at the sun going down. I am always amazed how fast the sun disappears every time.

Promptly at 5pm the ship 'sailed' and we sat for a while on our balcony where we suddenly saw this rainbow. It was so vivid but the photo doesn't do it justice. I took several and this is the best I could do. 

Sometimes you just have to comit it to memory.

Dinnertime. I decided I need to take it easy with food-photos. My oysters rockefeller looked pretty but were a bit tasteless. The Philadelphia pepper pot with andouille sausage was nice. James had a great-looking barbecued pork chop and the potato slice with the mashed sweet potato piped on top. Have to remember that.

I wasn't hungry but I had to try this. What a name!

yucatan black bean burger

charcoal bun, plant-based mayo, mango pico de gallo,

sweet ginger dressing, fried yucca with tajin spices

Gosh, that charcoal bun didn't look that appetizing but it was o.k. I took the top of (like I usually do with burgers anyway because otherwise there is too much bun) but tasted it. And the bottom was still there anyway. I asked and the waiter explained to me that the bun is baked in a burned coconut shell. That explained the perfectly round shape. The whole thing was really very tasty. A bit spicy but not too much. Just right. James would have loved it. But he was very happy with his entree.

We were too early for the show so we sat a bit and listened to the string quartett. Very nice. This time nobody near to chat the whole time.

The show today was Greg Rodman, an acclaimed guitarist. So far none, zero, of the performers have disappointed us. All very worthwhile to attend. The write-up in the daily "newspaper" said that he has performed in concert halls and cruises in more than 125 countries around the world. He was accompanied by the Marina Band (which accompanies all the performers) which is also just amazing.

Since we are having a very lazy day the next day we went up to the Horizons were it was happy hour and the Music Station Band played music through the decades. It was nice, a bit loud today and we were wondering where everybody else was today. Other evenings it had been pretty full.

Cruise Day 4

Saturday February 26

Philipsburg, St. Maarten     -     11 am     -      7 pm

“Snorkel amidst the exotic fish and majestic coral reefs in the undersea world of Shipwreck Cove. Egrets, plovers, pelicans and herons are among the wildlife found via kayak tours of the beautiful saltwater lagoons. Discover the dazzling colors of hundreds of butterflies on the ever-popular Butterfly Farm. With a little training from local sailing professionals, you can even navigate a race on an America's Cup course onboard the world-renowned sailboat, Stars and Stripes.”

Arial Sky Explorer & Flying Dutchman (SXM-024)

Port: Philipsburg

Tour Length: Half Day (Approximately 4 3/4 hours) $149.00

Tour Description

• Travel by coach to the historic Rockland Estate, located 30 scenic minutes from the pier.
• Board the Pirate Sky Ride chairlift for a gentle ride up to the summit of one St. Maarten’s tallest peaks.
• Admire incredible 360-degree island vistas from the platforms up top and get your orientation for the thrill ride to come.
• Take a deep breath, then take the adrenaline plunge down the Flying Dutchman zip line to the base.
• After you stop hyperventilating, explore the plantation house before the return drive to the pier.

Enjoy a gentle, scenic ascent to a St. Maarten mountaintop on the Pirate Sky Ride chairlift, then go flying back down on the Flying Dutchman, world’s steepest zip line! It’s sure to be any adventure-lovers dream experience. You’ll travel by panoramic coach from the pier to the Rockland Estate, a restored 1700s plantation house containing a museum that tells the powerful story of Trace Wilson, born into slavery here in 1818. High above this historic venue is Sentry Hill, one of Sint Maarten’s highest elevations at 1,125 feet. You’ll take a scenic 30-minute ride up to the summit aboard the slow-moving chairlift, then have time at the top to explore the Crow’s Nest platforms that showcase 360-degree island views, along with vistas of neighboring Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barts and Anguilla – and perhaps even out to St. Kitts, Nevis and Monserrat. But your full-adrenaline thrill awaits: after a brief orientation, you’ll be launched down the mountain at speeds up to 56 mph on the world’s steepest zip line, attached to a flight line in a secure harnessed chair. The plunge carries you down 1,050 feet in elevation over a 2,800-foot run, in seconds. Afterwards, you’ll likely be speechless awhile.

* * * * *

The above is from our itinerary as always. Today was our first port stop. The ship was to arrive at 11am and of course you could set your clock by it. It was fun seeing land come into view. I don't know what time it was. Either 9:05 or 10:05 am. I could not set the time on my phone for a while. I finally did but I don't know whether it was before or after I took these photos.

We had lots of time until our first excursion was supposed to start and we thought we might not get lunch so we decided on a good breakfast. I took the special and it was nice. I thought I take a photo of the sign so I can look the recipe up.

You got to admire the captain and crew. He put the ship in backwards.

We were to assemble for our excursion at 11:15 am, were taken by bus to the Rockland Estate Plantation and went with the chairlift up the mountain. It was a 4-seater so we were with another (nice) couple. The ride takes about 30 minutes and we had a lifely conversation. 

At this station we get off and onto another ft chair li to the left.

Arrived on top. The view was incredible and we walked around a bit. There were signs everywhere to tell about the islands we could see in the distance all around.

This is towards the harbor and we could see our ship (or half of it) all the way on the left. 

I went up mainly because I like views from high up. 

This is the zipline station.

You were supposed to sign in to a list so they could call you if you were next. James sure wanted to do it. I contemplated. I know these things are safe. Not to worry. But I don't really like speed. And I wanted to take pictures and a video of James. I also thought that the ride down on the chairlift should be nice since we didn't see that going up. Everything was in our back then. So I decided to not do this.

James had given me his hat to take down. But when he saw how things were going we decided he probably should take it. I was on a balcony above and let it fall down. It didn't fall staight down (wind) so he stepped aside to catch it and caught his leg on a rough wooden bench. Well, as always it started bleeding. He took his hanky out and he had to keep dabbing it. I went to the little bar right there and asked wether they had a bandaid. Oh gosh, it started a commotion. "Somebody hurt"! The young attendants were so nice and took care of him right away. I was glad because he could forget about it and enjoy the ride.

There were 4 cables and always 2 people went down at a time. James is all the way to the left with a nice young girl next to him.

I had taken a video but that I only can put in when we are back home again.

I then walked around to do some more admiring going towards the start of the chairlift.

Of course the upper one first.

Then the lower part. I was a somewhat disappointed. I had seen all and more from atop and it ended up almost boring ... because I regretted not having done the zipline. The good part was though how quiet and peaceful the ride was.

Back down again I found James and we had a beer. Just enough time for it until the first bus back to the ship.

Since we didn't have lunch we went to the 4 o'clock tea at the Horizons Bar. We had little sandwiches and sweets but James was disappointed. The tea was not proper. 

And then, there wasn't really much time until dinner anyway. Can't quite remember what we did in-between. 

Dinner was really nice and we had "our" table again. It was a different waiter this time and he was funny (not meaning to be, ha-ha). We had a good time. Something happened that we never do. We both had excactly the same for all three courses.

The homemade crab cakes were the best I have ever eaten. 

Curried lamb, supposedly India style because it came with nan. It was nice but I didn't think it was that Indian. The meat melted on my tongue though.

And then of course at 9:15 the show in the Marina Lounge. We didn't think we would like it because we find comedians mostly crude and just too obscene for us. We decided to sit in a place were we could discretly walk out. But Darrell Joyce was really funny and we did enjoy it. 

One never knows.

We did decide to skip the Karaoke in the Horizons and did some reading before calling it quits for the day. And as you can see below, I was able to catch up with blogs. 

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On another note: I got a "complaint" because there was no blogs. Even though we have complimentary internet it is spotty and I can't get my photos from my iphone to my computer (because they have to go up into the cloud from one and come back to the other). It took me two days to come up with a trick to manually do that. But of course there is a lot of entertainment to enjoy all day too....... 

Another interesting fact:

The ship has the maximum capacity of 1250 passengers. We heard that on this cruise are 354 guests. That explains why we didn't see that many people as usual when we left Miami. We wondered. 

Of course this whole pandemic thing is awful for the cruise lines but it is nice for us not to be so crowded.