The thing is though, we had a wonderful cruise IN SPITE OF
THEM, when at the end of December 2017, I headed out with eight adult friends
and five kids.
It was the camaraderie that did it.  |
| Great travel partners |
What I found as a really horrible first impression from we embarked was the fact that they never even had a small welcome package in the staterooms. They remind me ever so much of Spirit airlines, for once you pay your fare, you have to pay for almost every single thing. For example, I have never been on a cruise where you go to the gym and pay to even cycle! Dinners in certain dining rooms you had to pay for and in some recreation areas, you had to pay to even enter! Yuck.
To make matters worse, the new year's eve party music was
terrible and they even started the countdown almost 2 minutes after midnight
and only gave out free champagne after people grumbled loudly.
Anyway their saving grace is their staff, all of whom were
wonderful and also their entertainment, especially the Trinidadian steel bank Island Music.
 |
| Half Moon bay, Bahamas |
I started out enjoying wonderful tours all the way to
Cartagena, then because a man had sneezed on me for about 15 minutes non-stop
at a show the night after news year's day, boom, I was hit down with an
influenza virus.
First I went through it was a coughing spell for an entire
day, for which I took lozenges. Then feeling better, went on the tour of the
"Walled city in Cartagena," when bam I fainted on a sidewalk with 103 degree fever. What a shock.
However, having friends around was what saved my life as in no time they secured my belongings and had me back on the shuttle to the boat and right to the hospital doctor. I was in isolation for two days but was happy and animated after that and enjoyed the rest of the cruise, thanks to the great company.
Back to the tours before the drama.
The first stop was at Half Moon Bay, one of the 700 "islands" of the Bahamas. This one is owned by Carnival Cruise but its just a small cay surrounded by a white sand beach. I swam but the water was cold brrr. Then the rain poured.
That was a forgettable port stop. |
| A section of the scenic Arikok National Park |
I liked Aruba which reminds me a lot of Antigua,.......flat, lovely beaches all around and hot. As it is a very dry island, they grow very little and import much.
Apart from tourism the only other industry they have is aloe vera farming, processing and export.
Apart from tourism the only other industry they have is aloe vera farming, processing and export.
What really caught me though were the caves and the fabulous rock garden.
The best caves are in Arikok national park. That area reminds me of our own Hellshire in Jamaica.
The Guadirikiri cave was very impressive with its fabulous stalagmites and stalactites and interesting formations which challenge the imagination.The other cave we stopped at was Fontein but because of the delicate bat population, we couldn't take photos inside.
The island itself is tiny and less than seventy miles from Venezuela and they take tourism seriously, even giving us helmets and flashlights to tour the Fontein cave. It is unique too with a population of just over one hundred thousand but made up of ninety six nationalities. They also have a high literacy rate as education is compulsory and most people speak a minimum of four languages.
They remain part of the kingdom of Holland and have an ambitious green program to go totally renewable by 2020. To achieve this the airport is covered with solar panels and they have quite a large wind farm and are serious about recycling.
The "walled city" is an old district full of impressive colonial
architecture and heritage sites and surrounded by thick stone walls. It was
founded by the Spanish in the 16th century after an attack by Francis Drake. It
took two centuries to be completed, as the city faced frequent damage
from storms and pirate attacks.
Today hundreds of people make their living selling wares and offering services there. Some women even dress in traditional costumes and charge to take photos. You can also get a horse drawn tour of the city. I was really enjoying this outing until I had to be unceremoniously evacuated, but that's life.
After that, I stayed on ship after coming out of isolation,
but really enjoyed the rest of the cruise hanging out with my group of dear
friends, the Simmons, Simmonds and Green and even getting beaten badly in
drafts.
What I really fell for though was the Rock Park at Ayo which was once a sacred
ground for the indigenous Arawaks.
This area is close to the town of Santa Cruz in the center
of the island. I have seen really spectacular rock foundations in my time in
Nevada, Utah, Colorado etc, but this was even more awesome.The backdrop to this Rock park was mount Jamananota, only
620 feet high, but when you are on a really flat island, even a little hill
like that looks high!
To get to this point we had driven through an eerie,
deserted area where the guide said the French had murdered a number of Indians
and according to him, at nights, if you drive though that area alone at nights,
ghosts enter your vehicle!
Obviously bunkum but a timely constant reminder of how
vicious the European invaders were towards the indigenous people throughout the
western world when they arrived.
Curacao
Curacao is also part of the Dutch kingdom and interestingly,
like Aruba, it also has a female governor. The governors have to be locally
born people though.
It is however larger and more industrialized than is sister
island Aruba, even being a banking haven,. It also has the deepest
deep sea harbor in the Caribbean, so does a great deal of trade, especially
with its neighbor Venezuela.
The Venezuelans even operate a floating market at the port in Curacao where you can buy any agricultural product from the barges then they load up on scarce imported goods to take home.
We took the island tour and visited the Hato cave near Willemstad but it was nothing close to those in Aruba although better lit.
Venezuela is currently being devastated by a socialist
experiment which has led to chronic shortages so people from that large, powerful neighbor, visit in droves and work in
Curacao to send money back to their relatives.
In general Curacao is a shoppers haven for all its Caribbean neighbors. Because it has so much going for it, tourism does not appear to be as well developed as over in Aruba.
We took the island tour and visited the Hato cave near Willemstad but it was nothing close to those in Aruba although better lit.
Cartagena
My first impression of
Cartagena was that it is not only a dirty city but also unsafe as most
homes are grilled. Unfortunately because during the tour of the walled
city I collapsed I never really got to see much, so that’s a lasting impression.
Today hundreds of people make their living selling wares and offering services there. Some women even dress in traditional costumes and charge to take photos. You can also get a horse drawn tour of the city. I was really enjoying this outing until I had to be unceremoniously evacuated, but that's life.
The entertainment on the ship was really good, especially
the magician and Island Music steel band from Trinidad. They really enjoy
entertaining guests and it is by far the best steel band I have even seen in my
life.
So despite the flu setback I enjoyed myself immensely for
the company, the tours, he entertainment, the workers made up for the lousy
cruise line!
Think I am going to give Central and South America a break
for a while though. For about two years ago when I returned from Brazil, Guyana
and Surinam I also had a fever and was
isolated at Medical Associates in Jamaica as they thought I had brought back
malaria to the island!
Fevers and I are not doing too well with Latin American travel somehow!
Fevers and I are not doing too well with Latin American travel somehow!
SCENES FROM MY BALCONY DURING ISLOLATION. THIS WAS JUST
OUTSIDE THE PANAMA CANAL
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