I apologize for the long delay in this post, I need to offer an excuse, but why? I can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I have been home from the cruise. I have to tell you, it is one of the best vacations I have taken. A cruise is so relaxing, enjoyable, and seriously one of the best ways to travel. Let me give you a little bit of a recap.
We left Friday morning and flew to Atlanta to catch our connecting flight to Puerto Rico. Our flight arrived on time, but our departing flight was delayed several hours and after spending about 5 hours or so in the airport we finally boarded our plane. We left the house at 6:00 a.m. Friday morning and arrived in Puerto Rico at 1:00 a.m. The ban ride from the airport to our Hotel was pretty much and adventure. I forgot what it is like to ride in cars outside of the USA. They don't have the same rules as us and they believe in the use of the horn.
The next morning we checked onto the Crown Princess and found our staterooms. They are about as big as a living room. But that doesn't matter, I just needed a place to sleep. Once we knew where we would live for the next week, we went back into Puerto Rico and took an open bus tour of Old PR. All of that old history is always amazing to me. I love to learn about different places and cultures and hit is always more interesting to be there and learn, rather than reading about it. We returned to the ship and prepared ourselves for our first dinner. The food on these ships is incredible. It is all so good and so much of it.
The ships set sail and the party started. We were at sea all day Sunday and when we woke on Monday morning we were at Port in Barbados. We disembarked and found a cab that would give us a tour of the island. As we toured, we visited the highest peak on the island, which is funny because it is only 1500 feet. I wake every morning at a higher altitude! But it was a beautiful view. We also stopped to see the oldest churches on the island, St. James and St. John's churches. Both of them were built in the 1600's, these churches were first built, before Utah even became a state!
Our 2nd Port was St. Lucia. I LOVED THIS ISLAND!!! This was seriously, the most beautiful place I have ever been my entire life. I full intend to retire to this place. By retiring I mean that I could sale all my worldly possessions now and move down there next week. We had signed up to ride a gondola over the Lucian Rain forest. We took the bus on the winding road to the entrance of the rain forest. We then hiked (100 yards) okay walked up the hill to where we were to catch the gondola. We waited in line and were about 3 groups away from leaving. One of the employees then asks us to all gather around he had something important to talk with us about. I thought that we were going go over safety for the ride. Once we were all paying attention, he told us that due to circumstances beyond his control we would not be able to ride the gondola today. I guess it broke down. I was pretty disappointed but when I thought about it and realized that we could be broken down hundreds of feet in the air, I was very glad that it broke down with me still on the ground. We ended up renting another taxi and taking a tour of the island, with our last stop at "Lushan Country Life" where they took us on a tour to see some of the plants indigenous to the island as well as a a brief history on the lifestyle and homes of the native islanders. Additionally, we tasted some of the island fruits, mangoes coconuts, star fruit, just to name a few. From what could have been a real negative turned out to be a great experience.
Wednesday morning we woke up to Antigua. We hadn't signed up for any island activities, so we were left to ourselves to figure out what to do. We grabbed our swimming suits, found a taxi and told him to find us a beach. We made our way to Turner Beach, rented some snorkel gear and hit the water. This was the first time I had ever tried snorkeling, so it took me a few minutes to get used to not swallowing the horrific salt water. We looked around and took a little while to find where the fish were hanging out, but once we did they were everywhere. Watching the fish swim in their own habitat was so amazing. I was in awe and it wasn't until I saw a few fish, that I realized I had a camera. Well, my pictures were terrible. But it was still fun for me to look at them.
Thursday we found ourselves in Tortola. Our activity for the day was a Jeep Safari. We located our jeep and took off behind our tour guide. This island was almost as beautiful as St. Lucia. (almost) While on one of the high points of the island, our guide told us that we would be going down to Long Beach. We got down to the beach and the water was blue and just incredible, I was so impressed. When we got to the beach, our guide told us he had some snorkeling gear if we wanted to try. Fortunately, I had my swimming suit in my back-pack. I quickly changed and headed out to the water. I don't know if there was as many fish, but they were easier to see. Additionally, we were in the coral and some of the coral formations were incredible.
Our last stop was in St. Thomas. We spent the morning visiting the shops and making a few souvenir purchases. Afterwards, we realized that we still had a few hours left on the island. So, once again we found a taxi and took a tour of the island. I think one of the best stops we made was at Mtn. Top. From here we could see Meghan Beach (one of the top 10 beaches in the world) as well as several of the surrounding islands.
Our last night on the ship, our server, Dan the Man, brought out a birthday cake. Can I tell you, that was an amazing chocolate cake. It was a white cake layered with chocolate mousse, and a dark chocolate shell. It was great.
Saturday morning was actually a pretty sad day. I thought for certain that I was going to have to be drug off the boat. I did not want it to come to an end.
All of the islands we visited we amazing and the islanders were truly laid back and some of the most happy and nice people I had ever met. The shows and food on the boat were indredible. This trip was a great experience and if you have never gone on a cruise, what are you waiting for? Go! Take a trip! I promise you will like it.
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