There and back again

What a difference a couple of weeks makes.  Two weeks ago, Half Moon Cay was the first stop on our cruise; today it was our last.  Tomorrow we return to Fort Lauderdale and start wending our way back home.  It's been a great trip - reconnecting with Charlotte;  getting to know Linda and Brian; enjoying a little warmth in the middle of winter ...  Today we had perfect Caribbean weather.  The margaritas weren't bad either ...

Drunken sailors

After another warm and sunny day in St Thomas yesterday, we are back to the kind of weather that dogged the cruise last week - coolish,  cloudy, and very windy.  The wind is so high that we have to keep our balcony door locked, otherwise it opens on its own from the pressure.

As a matter of fact, this has been the rockiest cruise we've ever been on.  I don't know why -  whether it's the wind that's making for higher seas than usual; the small ship that doesn't have the kind of stabilizers we've come to expect; the fact that our cabin is practically in the bow it's so far forward; or if the captain is just one seriously bad driver - but we make our way around the ship like drunken sailors.  (To clarify, so do all the other passengers. :-))  It's a good job that the passages outside the cabins are fairly narrow - we can bounce from wall to wall on our way to the elevators. 

St Thomas

Steamy in San Juan

No complaints about the weather today.   It is hot and humid! 

San Juan has done a wonderful job with their cruise port.   It opens out to a beautiful ocean walkway/park, with lots of seating and public art.  There are, of course,  the ubiquitous street vendors,  but there's a kind of self-deprecating humour about them that says they're just acting a part. 

And did I mention that it's HOT?  (Not complaining, you understand ...)

Ottawa: Min -23C Max -14C

I know I shouldn't complain about the weather in the Caribbean when the Canadian version of the Eurodam News tells me what the current temps are in Canada, but seriously .... the weather this trip has been less than ideal.  Even we west coasters like a little warmth in February! 

With our arrival in Grand Turk this morning, things may be changing - 80F at 8:30 in the morning.  Will probably be complaining about the heat by the end of the day ... Oh, well, guess we'll just have another beer.

Key West

Key West is a cross between Gone With The Wind, Mexican tourist trap, and summer-cottage-by-the-beach.  And, oddly enough, it looks just like I expected. 

But, OMG, is it cold!  We knew it was cool when we stepped out on the veranda this morning,  but were unprepared for the chill wind that chased our shuttle into town.  First stop - sweatshirts! 

Sufficiently bundled against the cold (It was about 15C), we had a lovely walk up and down Duvall Street, checking out all the sights.  Duvall Street is also home to the majority of Key West's bars ...  Stopped in at the local Episcopal church and caught the tail end of choir practice.  

Back on the ship in the afternoon, we made a valiant effort to enjoy the air and view from our veranda.   After adding every kind of warm layer we could find, Tom did manage a short nap.  :-)

Charlotte

Tom and I have been on a few cruises now, so we're feeling pretty comfortable about what to expect and what we like to do on the ship.  But this is Charlotte's first ever cruise, and it's really been fun watching her embrace the experience. 

She has watched a cooking demonstration, arranged flowers,  line danced, learned to play a steel drum, eaten curried breadfruit soup, wandered into the off-limits staff area, ordered two appetizers at the same meal, watched a show on the main stage, climbed an open staircase disembarking from the tender, talked to hundreds of people ...  But her most favourite cruise  experience has been Breakfast in Bed - every morning!

I'm pretty sure we have a cruise convert here.  :-)

Sunshine!

Finally!   A day with sunshine and warmth, the kind of warmth that gets right into your bones and warms you from the inside out.

Grand Cayman is a busy place - there are four (!) cruise ships in port today.  The local merchants must be rubbing their hands with glee (when they're not cursing us for jaywalking right in front of their cars).  We took the tender late morning into port and wandered around  the bustling, colourful, beachfront.

Our newest souvenir of choice is beach sand, so took our handy-dandy zip-lock bag and grabbed a sample. It's the colour and texture of Panko breadcrumbs,  quite a contrast to the dark grey, powder-soft sand of Tofino. 

Montego Bay

Holidays are nice, even when one is already retired.

Today we're in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  As cruise ports go, it's not very interesting.  We've more or less given up port excursions;  we'd rather just get off the ship and wander on our own.  But there's no wandering to be had here as the cruise port is well out of town.  

So ... here we are, mid-afternoon, sitting on the veranda outside our room, drinking Corona.  We hardly ever drink beer at home, and when we do, we never drink it from the bottle, and certainly not with lime stuffed down the neck. 

But on vacation ...

Time warp

Yesterday we got together with four people that I have known forever.  

Mike and I started Grade 1 together in 1957.  Though he doesn't remember it, he was the one who taught me to tie my shoelaces when we were both 6 years old.  

Charlotte and I were best friends since we were in Grade 8.  Later,  in 1972, she and I left Montreal together to start new lives in Toronto as Independent Women.

Kerry and I dated - once - when we were 15.  We have different, but equally amusing,  recollections of that experience. 

Linda and I were in different grades in school - a two-year gap that yawned like a bottomless chasm to a teenager.

You'd think that, with a distance of 45+ years separating us from those days at William McMaster High School and Beloeil QC, we'd have nothing to talk about ...  Ha!

Play me a rock 'n' roll song

There's a new 8-unit condo building going up right next door to us.

We don't mind.  The previous structure was an old dilapidated house, perhaps of some historical value, but left to deteriorate in the hands of frequently-changing renters.The new place will be an nice looking up-to-date design.  It will also increase the density of the neighbourhood, which is a good thing in an urban core. 

There's also a huge entertainment factor for us.  Because the building is so close, we can see first hand the intricacies of the building process.  We've watched them deconstruct the original building, level the ground, dig it up again, build forms, pour concrete (It has to be +7C to pour concrete, we learned.), remove the forms, and build walls.  Tom spends so much time at the window, that the construction workers wave as they move from one project to another. We're on a first name basis with the Site Supervisor and his deputies. 

In Victoria construction continues all through the winter, rain or shine.  As one of the construction crew said to us, "If you don't work when it rains in Victoria, you don't work."  

One thing that isn't different between Eastern Canadian and Western Canadian construction crews is the ubiquitous boom box.  Whatever the weather, it pumps out pop music at ear-splitting levels so the workers can hear it through their protective hearing devices.