But don't be worried, I came back. I traveled back across the big, blue ocean to join my family for a week-long cruise in the Caribbean to celebrate my grandma's 75th birthday. (Happy Birthday Grandma!)
After an overnight layover in JFK for me, I met my family in the cruise port in San Juan, Puerto Rico to begin our journey through the sunny sea. We had five destinations: St Bart's, St. Lucia, Antigua, Barbados, and Grenada, followed with one last day at sea aboard our fancy (and mostly meant for old(er) people) ship. And I'm not exaggerating it being an older people's cruise... I was called a youngin' ... no joke!
Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy
St Bart's is the destination for the rich and famous. As an overseas French territory, they use the euro, speak French, and take upon other various French cultural nuances such as topless beaches. Here, we hiked around town to various forts (yes there were multiple) and ended up at Shell Beach, which is aptly named for the crunchy shells that make up the beach. So on Day 1, I enjoyed the warm waters and sun with a nice adjustment into the French Caribbean.
Saint John's, Antigua
On the morning of our arrival in Antigua, also known as Wadadli by its natives, I opened my stateroom's curtains to a rainbow falling over the short, colorful houses by the harbor. On this island, we explored the capital on foot. After getting past the initial craziness of everyone trying to get in on the tourist business, we wound our way through town, towards the cathedral. It was being restored so we couldn't go in, but we wondered around the small graveyard in front. Then we found ourselves in the small historical museum, sharing insight into the island's natives, its geological and political history. It was a West Indies island involved in the slave trade. Although short, we decided to call it a day and returned to the ship, with a little shopping on our way.
Castries, Saint Lucia
Day 3 was a day for new adventures. We took an organized tour that took us out of town to a natural national landmark called Pigeon Island, which is no longer technically an island due to a manmade causeway. Upon arrival, we stripped down to our bathing suits, slathered on sunscreen, and got ready for our introduction to Snuba. Snuba is a cross between snorkeling and snuba diving, where you breathe oxygen through an air line that's connected to the surface of the water. Once showed the ins and outs of snuba along with the underwater hand instructions, we waded out from the beach and started swimming across the bottom of the ocean to 20 feet below the surface. We saw many cool creatures including a spider crab, brain coral, a flounder fish that blended into the sand, a trumpeter fish, and many colorful smaller fishes. After our short stint in the water, we continued to explore Pigeon Island with a hike to the fort that gave us a view of the island and dome volcano.
Bridgetown, Barbados
Ya man. Barbados greeted us with that typical laid-back, friendly island feeling. With a large group of my family, we started our day out with a rum tasting at the local distillery: Mount Gay. It was interesting hearing some of the history of the distillery and how rum came about. After the tour and tasting (which was a bit too much for me with straight rum - ick), I had the most delicious mojito of my life, expertly made by the resident rum-expert/ barman. Setting out, we walked across the street (I'm not joking) and hit up the beach for a couple hours. It was the local's beach... only a few others were there and certainly no tourists, with soft, fine sand and warm water. We found some pieces of coral, and my brother rubbed sand into my hair (thanks bro, I was still finding sand a week later). It was a day of island luxury, and before leaving, I had an interesting conversation with a local artist about his perspectives on vacations and island-living. He was pretty nice and gifted me a bracelet even though I didn't buy his work.
Saint George's, Grenada
Grenada, the Island of Spices, lived up to its name. We took a short hike, where our guide explained the origins of several spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and more. We also learned that Grenada is known for its cocoa, and it ships its finest cocoa to only one location: Switzerland. We were surrounded by delicious smells. Then we arrived at Grande Anse Beach, which is 2-miles long, for some fun-in-the-water and relaxing time. I love feeling the warm currents and sand between my toes, but don't know if I could ever get used to nasty salt water getting in my mouth!
Day at Sea
Our last day on our cruise ship through Oceania Cruises was spent at sea while we returned to Puerto Rico. We took advantage of the chance to enjoy hanging out by the pool, and continuing to eat too much, as we had all week. We ended the day with our last family dinner in the fancy Italian restaurant on board, so fancy that we received a whole separate menu to decide which olive oil and balsamic vinegar we would like for our bread.
It was a wonderful week seeing my family, exploring new places, and feeling the sand between my toes. I am very thankful for such an experience. Thank you! (you know who you are)
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