The Dackel Princess

As all of you know, I find it difficult to sleep once I know that there is a plan at hand for a special event. Today’s event was and early tour of Tortola.

I woke just before 6 AM and went in and took a nice hot shower, then dressed for the day. Once that was done I went up to the 24 hour a day Buffet, and got Hubby and I coffee and orange juice and croissants. I managed to get back to my room without dropping or spilling anything. Yay for me!!!

After Hubby was dressed we had a more formal breakfast before headed off the ship for our tour of Tortola.

Our driver and tour guide, Thomas met us on the pier. Hubby got the best seat in the house as he rode in the front seat next to the driver.

We drove all over the island of Tortola, stopping in various places for pictures, drinks or rest rooms.

Tortola is a beautiful island. It appears to have been formed by volcanic action. In many places the roads go straight up and this requires low gears on the vehicles driving them or the many hairpin turns. Horn honking is a necessity here, as there are so many places where you cannot see going around corners and the drivers use their horns to warn people. Thomas told us that his last tour group told him he was the “horn” iest man around! A little play on words!

We were on the tour for three hours before returning to the ship. We had a nice lunch of lamb and mint jelly, with various vegetables! Oh yes and melon. I am eating melon at nearly every meal!

After lunch the skies began to spit on us so we got our umbrellas and then we out to walk. We went back into town and purchased a few items before returning to the ship.

I kind of needed the break, as my legs were starting to feel heavy. We arrived back at our cabin and I was able to call my sister and home and thankfully cool off.

Once again I can promise you all that cruising is the ultimate vacation! Relaxing and fun i=n every way!

We woke just as the ship was making its way into the harbor at St. Thomas. It was a bright clear day that promised a lot of hot temperatures. Room service showed up with our morning coffee and juice, and then we showered and dressed and went to breakfast.

Our meal was delightful. Hubby had a western omelet with a croissant, and I had scrambled eggs. We sat with a couple from Puerto Rico and another from Scotland and lastly a couple from Maryland. What fun.

In fact I’ve been having so much fun meeting people. Usually I am a tad shy, but on this cruise I have been enjoying meeting all sorts of new people.

As we set off to go to town we saw how well the ship is maintained. These painters were touching up areas that I thought looked just fine. Still they were getting a fresh coat of paint nonetheless.

Hubby and I went into town.

We saw many interesting things for sale!

I actually found a linen shop with some pretty table clothes. I bought two for the family room. We were walking around and suddenly Hubby didn’t look to well, so I got a cab and we came back to the ship.

We had lunch up in the buffet area, and they had Flan for a dessert.

Oh boy, was that delicious! Then Hubby settled down to read while I went back out to the shops. I poked around and found a great table cloth for my kitchen table. But it was far too expensive! I mean, it was marked $200.00!!!! I said that I was sorry and started to leave, that’s when the bartering began. Before I was done I’d gotten her down to $35.00 and she included 4 Christmas place-mats. I felt really good about that!

As I walked back to the ship, I met a woman and her daughter. We chatted and then after an elevator ride to our respective floors, said good-bye.

I picked up some Post Cards while I was in town, so after I wrote them off I went to get them mailed at the front desk.

The lovely young woman who helped me was from Braunschweig, Germany! We talked about the dackels and her homeland and how much I love Germany. She then pronounced me her favorite passenger!

Tonight is our first formal night, I think I will wear my pant suit as I am not in the mood for a long dress. Hubby and I are hoping to catch the first stage show at 8:15 and then after get good nights sleep. After all, tomorrow we arrive in Tortola!

We dressed for dinner and then went to the Captains Champagne Welcome. I got right up there and helped fill the glasses!

Then we had a great dinner. We did eat a bit quickly so we could go to the theater show they had on-board. The title was “Do You Want To Dance”! I have to say, these people did a great job!

Then we came back to our cabin and look what I found waiting for me on our bed! A little puppy!

I miss our babies so much that after I got done nibbling his heart shaped chocolate nose, I picked him up and snuggled him. Then I felt bad to have eaten his nose so I gave him a blue one!

Good-night everyone!

We went out on Saturday night for some real Puerto Rican food. A friend had recommended Mofungo so we both ordered a variation of that. Mine was beef and Hubby’s was shrimp Mofungo.

Mofungo is basically mashed cooked Plantains with the beef or shrimp. It was delicious! We also had Flan, but with that we split one between us.

The area we are in is  quite close to the beach, but also a really happening tourist area. So, it is quite busy. This was good because we were able to go to Walgreens and buy what we needed for the cruise, and couldn’t take on-board the airplane due to most sun lotions coming in bottles or tubes over 3 ounces.  It was also great because of the restaurants in the area. We went to Angels, and it was wonderful!

We plan another early day on Sunday so we can go out to Arecibo and see the large antenna out there. That is why it is now 12:17 and finding me wide awake. I wish I slept better when things were happening the following day, but it seems I am cursed for all times with this time thing.

Oh yes, I might add that I think it should be a law that between the hours of midnight and say, 6 AM, no one in Puerto Rico should be allowed to beep their cars horn! Gotta say that there has been a lot of horn beeping and it is rather annoying.

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Finally after three years of trying, Hubby and I were able to make the trip to Arecibo Observatory. There is the world’s largest radio antenna. I am telling you, this was the largest antenna I have ever seen. The types of radio waves they work with are the ones from outer space. We watched a film on the building of the antenna and all about the experiments that are conducted there. It was fascinating!

Then we were off to the ship. Hubby dropped me off with the luggage and then he returned the car to the rental agents and took a cab over and met me here. By the time he reached the ship, I had unpacked everything and gotten the room ready for the trip.

Hubby’s foot is sore and so he is resting it this afternoon, and our cabin steward is hoping to bring a basin so he can soak it.

Our Cabin Steward is named Ronie and he is from the Philippines. He is very nice and extremely helpful!

Tomorrow the ship docks in St. Thomas. If Hubby is still off his feet I will take a quick run downtown, or perhaps I will just go to the pool and sit by it and sun myself!

Just being back on the Caribbean Princess is a very nice thing. A little like coming home.

The Obsessed

I slept about 4 hours last night. Why, you might ask? Well, for two reasons. The first was that I was feeling incredibly excited about our trip today, and could hardly wait for it to start. The second, is because I am time obsessed!

Yes, it’s true. I blame my father for this. It all started back when I was a little girl and Dad would wake us up for school, or church or an event. He always woke us early and God help us if we were late. My sister suffers from this same affliction, although I am not sure if her case is as severe as mine.

When Hubby was still flying, and I tagged along to see a new place, I never slept well. I worried I would over sleep, and keep him and his crew waiting! He needn’t have left a wake up call, because my internal clock would ring half and hour before he needed to get up. I would shower and dress and be ready before he even opened his eyes. I’m sure I was a real pest.

I don’t travel too much with him now that he is retired. We take a vacation once a year and even now, I can’t relax the night before our flight.

I awoke at 1:30 for a 3:30 get up. I tried to go back to sleep. I counted sheep, I thought about a gentle ocean lapping the shore (and ended up getting up to use the bathroom!) and I even rolled over on my tummy, which is usually magic.

But no! I was awake and there was no going back to sleep. I lay there thinking, while Hubby snored beside me. I almost felt like I was drifting off, but then, I grabbed my cell phone and checked the time.

I just knew I would somehow be late!

At 3 AM I got up and went into the bathroom expecting to have to do my hair. However, the nice thing about having wildly curly hair is that there are days when you wake up and it’s all good. Today was one of those days. I put on my make-up, and dressed quickly as our room was cool. I turned on the mini coffee maker and about that time an alarm went off and the phone announced our wake-up call.

I stood there sipping coffee and watching Hubby stumble around the room. We were dressed, finished packing our suitcases and then while I checked out of the motel, Hubby locked our coats and heavy clothes in our car. We hopped onto the airport shuttle and off we went.

I wasn’t late!

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We are now here in Puerto Rico at our hotel. Exhaustion is setting in and I will probably collapse soon. But it sure does feel great to be in the warmth!