Good morning, family and friends,
Last night’s entertainment was great again – same show we saw on the last cruise, but still wonderfully presented by these marvelous dancers and singers who work so hard every night to please us. It’s like being in Las Vegas every night.
Dinner at Sabatini’s was nice, but we’re not particular fans of Italian food. We had lobster tail, which was great, and the pasta was good too, but the appetizers, although presented nicely, weren’t our bag. Don’t get us wrong, we love spaghetti, lasagna and other Italian dishes. I guess the other items are an acquired taste.
We diverted from St. Bartholomew to St. Marten’s due to bad weather in the vicinity of St. Barths and having to tender into the port. At St. Marten, we dock alongside the quay. Easy walk to the shopping centers. We will probably rent a taxi with our friends later this morning as we have until 5 pm here.
There were a few minutes – almost an hour – when we thought we might not be able to even dock here in St. Martens. There was a “swell” from the storms far away that kept this ship rocking and rolling at the quay. After an hour of real seamanship on the part of the entire crew and our brave Captain, they finally secured the ship enough to where we could get off, carefully, as the gangplank was rolling forward and back about four feet as the swell came in and then retreated, over and over. It was an adventure.
Ten of us got together and rented a van for $25 each for a three and a half hour drive around the island. We saw some beautiful sights. The ocean is so blue and green, quite a change from the murky waters of the Amazon. White sand beaches abound, full of tourists while sail boats and yachts of every size bob leisurely in the bay. The island is very clean and commercially inclined. They used to rely on salt for export, but now import tourists for their dollars. The US dollar reigns here.
We stopped at several overview areas and saw the pastel roof colors along the coast. As previously noted, the white sand beaches were beautiful. And, then, there was the TOTALLY NUDE BEACH! Of course, I held my hand over my eyes. Believe me, there were sights you never want to see again in your life. Yes, there were some shapely young ladies and some naked men letting everything hang out; but, there were people there who should NEVER take off a piece of clothing.
We returned to the wharf area, which is very modern and features kiosks with everything imaginable for the tourist trade. We picked up our usual key chain, magnet and hat pin at a stop along the way, so only paused long enough to buy a beer for both of us and then had to drink them in the shade of the terminal before we could enter the restricted area.
So, we are back on board; hamburger and fries for lunch washed down with lots of icy iced tea. I think I’d like to come back here for a vacation some day, as they really seem to cater to tourists. There are beautiful hotels all around the island and lots of casinos on the Dutch side; there are none on the French side.
Not much happening this afternoon as we don’t sail until after 5
pm. We’ll probably do trivia again. Forgot to mention that we actually WON the last time we played.
Time to relax and take it easy around the pool. More later.
Dinner was nice; we opted for steaks, medium well – tender and juicy. A shared slice of NY cheesecake swirled with Carmel plus strawberries and whipped cream. Not bad.
The variety show was good again, but the lame comedian with his old, old jokes and the same routine was at it again, word for word. He gets more groans than laughs. But, we had a great juggler who was the best we’ve ever seen. He promises a better show tomorrow night. He will let someone in the audience mess up a ruby cube and then solve the thing while juggling it and several other items. Should be interesting.
Well, tomorrow marks the last day of 2009 – doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true. We hope this year has been good to you – we are very happy with our experiences during 2009 and look forward to many more in 2010. Our resolution is to get Carol’s eyesight restored somehow so she can see the wonderful world around us.
We have a big poolside party tomorrow night to ring out the old and usher in the new, weather permitting. I believe it will be okay, as we’ve had such wonderful weather on this cruise, as we have on all our cruises. We claim we bring it with us from Texas.
I don’t know if I’ll be blogging tomorrow night, so will wish all of my readers and fans the very best in the New Year. May all your resolutions come true as well as your wishes for health and happiness in 2010.
Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We love you all.
Goodnight and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Via con Dias,
Karl & Carol