Port Side

Saying you have been to Bonaire, Grenada or any port city we have called on for the few hours we have stopped is a bit like riding a motorbike across the nation stopping only for petrol and saying you have been to Wyoming, Nevada  or whatever state you happened to purchase petrol in.

The time allowed for port calls is never enough time to explore anything other than the trinket shops that just happen to be located very near the dock.

Of all the ports Grenada seemed to have the most street peddlers, and the most aggressive peddlers. They also did not respond to the universal “No Gracious” so now I have to learn “No Thank You” in French or Dutch, a daunting task at the least.

At Port Grenada

The islanders that you do get to meet are usually the purveyors of shore excursions. They all thank us for coming, appreciate that we are there, and let us know that if we were not there they would have to get “real jobs”. Since tourism is the main economy of the Caribbean I am not sure what a real job would be.

Zip Line St. Thomas

The thank you for coming, usually comes with the location of the tip jar so that just in case  you have anything left over after the ship bleeds you for $12.00 a day in tips, and you feel that these people would fail in a real job anyway, well you can contribute some more.

A few of the ports visited have been hot spots for the zika virus. The Captain warns everyone to wear long sleeves, trousers, and to use insect repellent, but once on shore no one seems to care, or even know aboot the mosquito borne virus, and it is way too warm for long sleeves and pants.

 

Bonaire Salt Works

 

The ship is on its northward course now. Only 1 more stop at the Princess resort, where they bring the kitchen to shore and we have a grand cookout. It’s then an all-night run back to Fort Lauderdale, with enough time for a final breakfast, before going ashore, for what I am sure will be a joke of a  customs inspection.

 Caribbean Ranch