A long way from home, beautiful Grenada....

Grenada is a long way from home, but an interesting place to visit. I only wish I would have taken more photos when I was there. At the time, I had no idea I was going to start blogging about travel or anything else for that matter, so I was just going with the flow and enjoying the time.

My wife and I had been there once before in maybe 1996 on our first cruise. At the time, we took the water taxi over to Grand Anse and then briefly walked around town afterwards. We were rookies at the time. Timid and uncomfortable venturing out on our own. Now we just get off the ship and go do our own thing, no worries.

The port had changed a lot since the last time we were there. I don’t remember there being a seawall made of large stones. I seem to remember getting in the water taxi right from a small dock or the beach? It was a long time ago though.

It was now March 2011 and this time around we got out and saw a little slice of the island. When we walked off the ship, we wandered up to one of the little tour stands and read about the tours. Then after choosing the tour came the part I never enjoy, which is waiting until the driver fills his vehicle with other people who are interested in the same tour.

Somehow our tour choice got mixed up and we ended up doing what the group wanted to do. In the end we didn’t care. We still had a good time, but it’s one of those little things that annoy me.

We were grouped with another couple and a gentleman who sounded like he was from Texas. He seemed a little slow, or maybe it was just the thick accent. I’m probably being too judgmental, but at the time I felt bad for him because he really seemed to want to talk and talk, but nobody wanted to talk to him. He seemed like a really nice guy and looking back I should have paid him more attention.

We left on our tour in a smaller van with three seats. It was comfortable. The driver was a little odd though. He kept pointing out the trees and fruits that grew on the trees. Every time he saw one, he’d stop and want to talk about the tree. It just seemed odd because seriously, every few seconds we were parked on the side of the road with him telling us about trees.

He told us we were going to be quizzed on it later. I wasn’t going to remember most of what he was telling us without writing it down, so I knew I would flunk. I was also thinking to myself at the time we need to get moving or we’re not going to get to see a thing. I can be fairly impatient.

It was interesting to drive down the small narrow roads. The driver told us that the women were no longer allowed to wash their clothes in the little stream that ran beside the road because a flash flood had occurred when it rained one time and some of them had been surprised and drowned.

The road wound up the hill and past many small houses and buildings and took us to the first stop which was a spice shop. Imagine that… I think every tour emphasized the fact that this was the “spice island”. When we arrived, there was a local gal standing outside the shop in a traditional costume wanting people to take photos with her and tip her. I probably should have done it, she was cute. At the time I didn’t know I’d be writing this for you though…

Inside the shop we were asked to gather around a desk near the front door and this older gentleman told us all about the spices there and he showed us how they use all the parts of the nuts. Again, I don’t remember all that he told us because I was sort of looking out the window at the time, but it was interesting. Now that I’m writing, I’ll have a notebook with me next time.

My wife bought a small sample pack of spice bottles (Tumeric, Cinnamon, Ginger, Clove and Nutmeg) and then we went out to the van. Soon everyone else joined us and we were on our way along the narrow and windy roads to Annandale Falls.

When we arrived, there was an older gentleman playing a guitar and making up the music and lyrics as he went. He was kind of funny and of course he wanted people to tip him. Some people showed him respect and were friendly toward him, some tipped him and some were actually a bit rude to him.

In addition to him, there were a few women dressed up in costume again wanting people to take photos with them and tip them. We proceed past all this and walked down toward the falls. It was a short walk to the viewing area.

While we were there, a couple of local men were cliff jumping and allowing the tourists to take photos of them as they jumped. Again in hopes of being tipped for their performance. One of the locals said a tourist jumped off not long ago and was killed when he didn’t hit the water in the right spot. We snapped a few photos and proceeded back up the trail enjoying the flowers and vegetation as we went.

Soon we were back at the van and ready for the next stop. Before we got in, the guy with the guitar began singing to my wife and I decided to tip him because he made us laugh. I wouldn’t want to have to hustle like that all day for a living, but he actually seemed to be having a good time doing it so more power to him.

Our next stop was Fort Frederick, which is way atop what seemed to be one of, if not the highest point on the island. When we got there, we paid a small fee and went on a walking tour.

There was a guide standing there and we walked up to him and let him tell us all about the fort and it‘s history. Each time we’ve been to Grenada, the locals have made mention of when the United States came and liberated them. It’s an interesting story and much too long to explain on here, but it’s nice to have at least one place in the world where the people are appreciative of us.

After our tour of the fort, we snapped a few photos of the surroundings and the view from the top of the hill. You could see both sides of the island from there as well as our ship.

Soon we were back in the van and on our way down the hillside toward Grand Anse Beach. The driver said we could get out and take a few photos.

If we would have had our swim suits with us, we could have stayed there and grabbed another cab or a water taxi back to the ship, but until our tour was changed by the addition of the others, we weren’t planning to go to a beach so we didn’t pack anything. Once we were there however, I found myself wishing we were better prepared. I would have liked to stick around there for awhile.

Soon it was back in the cab and back to the port. On the way, we saw a number of nice yachts docked in one of the bays. Once back, we walked around the town and through some of the local shops before going back to the ship. We didn’t really buy anything and our time would have been better spent on the beach, but oh well….

Back on the ship, we got a drink and relaxed in the peace and quiet of our aft balcony. There was nobody around so we could just stare off over the ocean, sip our drinks and think about the next time we come back to visit Grenada….

Old San Juan pt 1...

We flew into San Juan Puerto Rico on a Friday afternoon in early March 2011 aboard jetBlue. The leather seats and personal satellite televisions embedded in the seat backs really make for a nice trip. Turn on a movie and the time just flies by. I sat in a window seat on the way out and snapped a few photos out the window. The windows on the planes aren’t always in the best of shape, but this one was nice and clear. We were somewhere over the Bahamas chain when I snapped the following photo. Maybe someone familiar with the shape of the islands could tell me where this is. It was pretty and the photo doesn’t do it justice.

When we arrived, we wandered downstairs to baggage claim and waited for our luggage. It really wasn’t long a long wait, maybe 20 minutes tops before we grabbed our bags and stepped outside directly into a cab. A short 10 minutes later, we were pulling up to our hotel.

The Sheraton Old San Juan is a nice place for a pre cruise stay. The location can’t be beat. It has a casino, rooftop pool, outdoor restaurant area and an outdoor bar area right along the street. As you might imagine, it’s not the cheapest place in town and the casino didn’t yield a penny to us, but the rooms were nice and it was in an absolutely great location right near the port and in the heart of Old San Juan.

After we checked in, we decide to go for a walk. We ventured up the hill and ended up at Fort San Cristobal. There are two forts; San Cristobal was the closer one and El Morro was another mile down the road, yet in plain view from San Cristobal. The roads here are steep, narrow and many of them are made of cobblestone. Depending on your age and conditioning, a walk up to the fort can wear you out.

The fort is impressive. The rough surf, rugged coastline and high fort walls would make invading this place a tough task. I can’t imagine sailing on one of those old sweaty ships, then having to anchor and make your way to the beach, climb the cliffs and hills as you’re being shot at from one of the sentry boxes above.

The fort offers a lot of interesting photo opportunities.

Adjacent to the fort, down by the seashore, there’s also a very interesting cemetery. Seems odd for it to be so close to the seashore however. Rather than venturing down to it, we stood above and snapped a few photos.

After wandering around the fort, we made our way back toward our hotel. One the way, we stopped into this narrow little bar right off the sidewalk called the Brickhouse. It’s about a block behind our hotel and it bills itself as a sports bar. We had a drink and enjoyed listening to the locals chat about their day and interacting with them. They were following American basketball at the time we were there. Even though old and small, I found it to be friendly and enjoyable. I’d definitely go back.

It wasn’t long and we were sitting outside our hotel and enjoying a Medalla Light beer. If I remember right, they were two for one. We enjoyed sitting there watching the people and the traffic along the waterway and waited there until our friends showed up. We were all boarding a cruise ship the next afternoon for a 7 night vacation and an extra night in Old San Juan was an excellent way to start out the week. Once they arrived, we ventured out for a little while but made it an early evening.

The next morning, I walked out to the rooftop pool to see the cruise ships that had come into port that day. There were two of them sitting over at the dock across the bay disembarking passengers and getting ready for their next round of guests. One of them was ours; Serenade of the Seas. We were all starting to get anxious.

From the hotel rooftop pool area, I could also see a tall ship docked nearby our hotel. It was available for tours, but unfortunately we didn’t make it over there while it was open. I would have liked to board her and see what it looks like below deck. It’s hard to imagine crossing the ocean in such a thing after sailing on the large cruise ships of today.

Before going over to the terminal, we decided to go have breakfast at a local place called La Bombonera. The restaurant has been featured on the Rachael Ray $40 a day show. They are famous for their Mallorca sandwiches which are grilled and then sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. I think everyone ordered one but me. I just had a traditional eggs, bacon and toast breakfast. The restaurant is nothing fancy and service was extremely slow, but everyone was happy with their food. Below is a photo of the façade with some of our friends that joined us on the cruise; Casey, Nick and Shannon.

We wandered around Old San Juan for the better part of the morning, once again walking by the forts and up and down the cobblestone streets. It wasn’t long however before the heat began to get to everyone and we decided to head back to the hotel and get ready to wander over to the ship. Part two, which I’ll post later, will tell our night after the cruise in San Juan.

An overnight trip to Cocoa Beach in May...

Love bugs, ugh… Just the mere thought of them just grosses me out. We were in Cocoa Beach this weekend and the love bugs where at their height. If you’re not familiar with love bugs, they are more of an annoyance than anything. Their not harmful, except to the paint on your car if you don’t get them off right away.

On the way over, we saw a large flock of birds hanging out on the side of the road and as get got closer we realized there was a dead gator on the side of the road and the birds were feasting on it. Yuch… By the size of the gator's back, he was a big one too.  I'd hate to be the one who ran into him.  My little car would surely be totalled.

By the time we drove into town, the front of our car and our windshield were pasted with bugs. We stopped at the first gas station in town, I went in and bought some glass cleaner and a roll of paper towels and we went to work removing them from the windshield and the front of the car. Yuch.

About 20 minutes later, we were done and back on our way. We pulled into the La Quinta adjacent to the Cocoa Beach Pier and went in to see if a room was ready. It was around 10:20am and she did have a room for us, which was a two queen ocean view facing south toward the pier and the beach, or she said she would upgrade me to a king ocean front, but I’d have to wait until around noon.

I said what the heck and took the upgrade. I figured she might want the two queens for a family and since there were only two of us, she was just doing a little occupancy control. We got back into the car and drove up a couple of blocks to Dunkin Donuts and got a breakfast sandwich.  It was food, but neither of us was impressed with it.

Afterwards, we went back to La Quinta, parked the car in my favorite spot at the hotel and then walked next door to the pier. I've stayed there before and really like the location of this place.

The pier wasn’t real busy which was nice. We sat down at the outdoor bar on the pier overlooking the ocean and ordered a drink. There were the love bugs again. Not many of them since it was nice and breezy, but they were there in very small numbers.

After a couple of drinks, we walked over to one of the beach stores and wandered through it. My wife wanted a Cocoa Beach t-shirt since she’s never bought one before. We ended up walking out empty handed, which isn’t a bad thing and walked back to the hotel.

Our room was ready once we got there so we went upstairs and got our swim suits on and went outside. One the way, I stopped at the pool bar and picked up a couple of beers to have out on the beach.

The beach was busy with people. We grabbed two chairs and an umbrella from the rental guy for $15 and went over to hang out and relax. First, we had to chase away a number of love bugs who were lounging in our spot. Yuch again. They are attracted to petroleum products, heat and lighter colors, all of which were present since the lounge chairs were made of plastic.

After an annoying few minutes, we were rid of enough of them to put our towels down on the chairs and sit. I opened a beer and leaned back to relax and watch the people in the water.

After a walk down the beach and back and a brief nap, we decided we’d had enough and went up to the room. As we turned around, we saw some big dark clouds and we knew it was truly time to head in. Rarely has it ever rained when we’ve been at the beach, but we didn’t seem to care at all this time. It was more about getting away and spending some quiet time rather than sunning and partying.

We went up, showered and changed and then left to drive over to Port Canaveral to have an early dinner. The restaurants there can be very crowded at dinner time and we wanted to beat the crowds. If it was going to rain, there would probably be other people with the same idea as us.

There are a number of restaurants in a row right there along the port waterway; Milliken’s Reef, Rusty’s, Fishlips and Grills are the ones I’ve been to in the past. This time we chose Rusty’s, which seems to be the one I lean toward the most for dinner.

Their outdoor dock and patio area is under renovation right now and it looks like it will be nice once it’s complete. We sat inside with a view of the waterway. From our table we could see the Carnival Dream and what I believe to be the Disney Magic. Both of which were busy taking on the last few passengers for the week and getting ready to set sail for 7 nights.

As I was looking over the menu I noticed the phrase, “world famous chicken wings” and I thought what??? Really? Right here in Port Canaveral, right next to all these charter fishing boats, Rusty’s has world famous chicken wings? I somehow doubt it.

My wife had fish and chips and I had a sirloin, which was completely out of character for me. I usually get the blackened grouper, and in hindsight, I should have. So we both had a couple of drinks and soon we were finished with dinner and ready to move on.

Right next door was a place called Baja Tavern and Eats, which I’ve never really noticed before. We decided to walk in and check it out. We walked through the inside and out to and outdoor patio area with a nice large bar and a band playing Jimmy Buffet style music. The place was nothing fancy, but there were two spots at the bar and the band was pretty good.

We both had a couple of drinks and just relaxed mixing with the locals and enjoying the music. While we sat there, the Carnival Dream was setting sail. As she came alongside where we were, most of the people on land started waving to the people on the ship and wishing them a good trip. The people on the ship waved good bye back and there seemed to be some good will going on. I thought to myself, isn’t this the way people should always be?

I also thought to myself, "lucky bastards…"

At some point the bartender said it was the end of her shift and she was leaving, so we decided to cash out and then head back to the hotel. Even though from the vantage at the bar, it looked decent outside, once we walked out the front and looked south, it was still a little gloomy outside. We just made our way back and stayed in the room the rest of the evening watching television and relaxing some more.

The next morning we awoke as the sun was coming up and I snapped a couple of photos out our window. We dressed and went downstairs to the free breakfast which consisted of waffles, eggs (the fake kind) and bacon (the soggy kind). A wiser choice would probably have been some cereal and yogurt and maybe a Danish. Maybe next time…

By the time we were done with breakfast and stepped outside, it was clear blue sky and sunshine. At 71 degrees it was a bit cool yet, but I wasn’t going to complain.

We went up, showered and packed and checked out. Afterwards, we drove down a number of local roads to learn what else was there. I found a sports bar that I’ll visit on a future trip. I don’t remember the name right now, but I’m sure I’ll be back over to Cocoa in a month or so and I’ll check it out then.

We stopped in Ron Jon’s beach shop so my wife could continue looking for a shirt. In comparison to the normal beach store, this is a really nice place and they have some pretty nice stuff. She found a shirt she liked, even though it didn’t say Cocoa Beach on it, and we left. We continued exploring a bit as we headed out of town.  Oddly enough, as we're driving through the neighborhoods exploring, we see a full grown Peacock walking across the street.  I've only seen these in a zoo so it was strange to see one wandering around a residential street.

Not 5 minutes out of town the windshield was getting plastered again, so we stopped to top off the gas tank and clean the windshield. This was a mistake because as I stated earlier, love bugs are attracted to petroleum, heat and engine exhaust and lighter colors. By the time I had finished putting gas in the car, my car was swarmed and they were all over. Seriously, it was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

We jumped in the car and got the heck out of there. I truly love the Cocoa Beach area, but I just have to remember to stay away during the month of May. Despite the bugs, it was still a nice weekend.  I've always enjoyed Cocoa and I look forward to returning this summer.

Um yea, when the bugs are gone….

A day in St John's Antigua...

We traveled to Antigua as part of a cruise vacation in March 2011 out of San Juan aboard the Serenade of the Seas. This was one of two days on the trip where my wife and I decided we would go off and do our own thing rather than joining our friends. We had no preplanned excursion and our thoughts were to just get off the ship and travel to a beach. I had gone online and looked around ahead of time and many people gave Dickenson Bay Beach a good review so we thought we’d give it a try.

We got off the ship in St John’s and walked down the pier until we came across the taxi stands and said we were two people to go to Dickenson Bay Beach. Luckily we didn’t get stuck waiting on the driver to fill his van with other tourists and he took just the two of us. It was a short ride down the coast and we were there. He dropped us off and we prearranged a time for him to come back and pick us up.

As we walked out to the beach, a local stepped up and asked us if we wanted beach chairs and an umbrella and we said yes. I think we may have paid $12 or $15 for the day which I thought was a good deal based on what we’ve paid in the past. I didn’t try to negotiate with him because I’m just not normally that way. I’m not wealthy and I don’t live in a big house, but no matter what I make, I know that when I get back to the states that I have it better than them so who am I to ask them to take less for what they offer.

We sat down and enjoyed the sun and the view for awhile. Right behind us was a stand that sold drinks and he had my favorite, Coors Light. I got myself a beer and my wife had a juice drink. She seemed relaxed and in the photo looks as if she is taking a nap. I think we both may have napped on the beach that day.

After a bit, we walked up and down the beach. There were Aloe plants growing wild in the hills next to the beach and one of the locals had cut some fresh Aloe and was selling it to sun burnt tourists. We watched him squeeze it out of the plant and rub it on this guys back. The guy looked like he could have been a big cowboy from Texas and you could tell by the look on his face that he was relieved as the local was doing it.

As we walked on the beach, we came across an outdoor restaurant that was out over the water, but it was under repair and wasn’t open. It looked like it would be a nice place to sit and have lunch. Speaking of lunch, it was about this time we started to look forward to our ride back to town and maybe trying some local fare.

After passing the closed restaurant, we came upon a T-shirt shack and a gal who was bound and determined to sell my wife and I a t-shirt. Well, she eventually did. They were only $10 and I’m actually glad she did sell them to us because mine is one of the ones I wear the most back home.

Our driver eventually picked us up at the time he said he would and we went back to town. Our cab drivers name was Glen and he was a nice guy. We chatted along the way and when we got back into town I gave him a nice tip and he seemed surprised at the amount. He said to my wife; “your husband’s a good man!”

We walked back to the ship and put our stuff in our room then came back into town to look for a place to eat. Sure we could have eaten while on the ship, but what fun is that? As you can see the photo looking back toward the pier and the ship, it was convenient to walk around check out the shops.

The buildings are mostly older but they are colorfully painted and they make the area seem more welcoming. Some of the streets and sidewalks were rough shape, but this was a Caribbean island, not some brand new suburban neighborhood. It had character. We felt safe enough, but people sure wanted to sell us stuff.

We wandered around until we came across this place called Hemingways Caribbean Café. It was on the second floor of a building along the street.

I had blackened Mahi and I swear it was the best meal I had the entire cruise vacation. There were two other meals during our entire trip that rivaled my lunch at Hemingways. One was the fish I had a Chateau Mygo in Marigot Bay, St Lucia and the other was the porterhouse steak I had onboard the Serenade of the Seas in Chops Grill.  I would definitely recommend a stop at Hemingways if your in St John's.

After lunch we continued walking around the small town of St John’s and I picked up another T-shirt in one of the shops as well as some more sunscreen.

Soon it was time to get back aboard. That’s always a sad time of day, leaving an island that welcomes you so warmly. We truly enjoyed our day on Antigua. And as Glen told us, it’s “an T ga”. The “u“ is silent.

I miss that place and I believe we’ll be back again one day.

Remembering St Lucia...

It was March 2011 when we arrived in St Lucia aboard the Serenade of the Seas cruise ship which is operated by Royal Caribbean cruise lines. This being approximately our 14^th cruise, we knew to go online ahead of time and set up our plans for the day. We chose to do a private catamaran trip for the day through Chataeu Mygo which is located in Marigot Bay St Lucia.

The catamaran met us in port that morning and we got off the ship and stepped directly right onto the catamaran. Before other people had even figured out what they were going to do in port that day, we were off on our adventure.

We sailed out of the port of Castries south along the St Lucian shoreline. The weather that day toyed between mostly overcast to pockets of blue sky and sunshine, but none of us really cared. We were sailing in the Caribbean Sea on a beautiful catamaran towards the mighty Pitons and that’s really all that mattered in the world at that point. We were with friends Tom and Shannon and Shannon’s sister Casey and her husband Nick.

It took awhile to sail down the coast to the Pitons, but we finally got there and the skipper anchored us and the four of them jumped in the water and swam the 30 yards to shore so they could walk on the beach between the Pitons named Jalousie Beach. All Tom talked about for months and months was making it to that beach and he was finally there. My wife and I sat out on the bow of the catamaran in the netting and took in the view. Next to us there was a snorkeling area and thinking back, I should have jumped in and checked it out. The depth finder on the cat said the water was 70+ feet deep right below us so I think that’s why we didn’t go in. I guess in our minds we wondered what was down there swimming around.
 

After the four of them got back from the beach, we sailed back up the coast to Marigot Bay. As we left the little bay between the Pitons I watched the depth finder as the water got deeper and deeper. Like Tom and his Jalousie Beach, Marigot Bay is the spot that I most wanted to visit. It’s always looked so nice in the photos that it made me want to see it in real life.

It was a fun ride up the coast as we hit wave after wave and the bow of the catamaran rose and lowered with the sea. By this time everyone had started to feel their drinks. We had our choice of Piton Beer or rum punch the entire time we were on the cat. It was fun bouncing through the waves. We had taken some Bonin before leaving for the day so the rough water didn’t affect us a bit.

Eventually we made it into Marigot Bay which is a nicely protected cove along the shore. The water was extremely calm once inside the bay. We anchored and they ferried us over to the restaurant on a little inflatable dingy. The restaurant’s name was Chateau Mygo. We sat outside waterside and the food was absolutely great. I had some sort of Mahi with rice, noodles, and fries. I could have eaten three plates it was so good.

 

After lunch there was just enough time to wander down this nice little path behind the restaurant to the small little town along the shore. We shopped a bit and picked up a few t-shirts. There were a number of boats along the dock and for those in the know, there is a Moorings office right there mixed between the shops and they had some really nice charter rentals docked alongside there as well.
 

Time flew and it wasn’t long and we had to get back to the catamaran. Before we knew it we were sailing out of the bay and back out into the sea to once again bounce along the waves. Tom and Casey were up front yelling and carrying on as they enjoyed the waves. It’s amazing nobody went overboard along the way.

We arrived back into the Port of Castries just in time to get back on the ship and start getting ready for dinner. Next time back, we’ll do a land tour and see more of the island, but we’ll never regret the decision to charter the catamaran for that day. It was an amazing experience all the way around.

Sailing away from the Pitons, from left to right; Tom, Shannon, Casey, Nick, Bob and Pavia.