Cruisin' Fun

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Tom and I just got back from our week long cruise to the South Eastern Caribbean. We left last Sunday the 16th and flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Wow what a long flight in a very uncomfortable plane in which they only give you a drink and no snacks so I was starving by the time we landed. We boarded the ship in hopes to hurry up to the Lido deck to get some food , but they were closing it down to get ready for the life boat drill (the worst part of the whole cruise). We did end up getting a little bit of food before we had to get our life jackets. After the drill though, we were the first to go get all you-can-eat pizza! Yumm!

Day 1 - St. Thomas

This was by far our favorite island on the whole cruise! What a beautiful island. We walked around for a while until we found a taxi driver to take all six of us around for the day to see all of the island. We ran into a guy from North Carolina that worked in a market who referred us to his cousin that drives a taxi. He was a really nice guy and took us to see some really neat places. Our first visit was to Blue Beard's castle (which is now a hotel). We got to walk inside and look at the view off of the balcony. Next, he drove us by Black Beard's castle but we weren't able to go in. We drove to a hilltop that overlooks the whole island and all the little mini islands where the rich people live. After the beautiful view we went down to the beach so that I could collect some sand to bring home for my collection.

Day 2 - Dominica

We had a lot of fun on this island. We hired another taxi driver to take us through the rain forest up to the Emerald Pools. The drive was about a 2 1/2 hour drive winding up the mountain side where the roads crumble off down the side of the mountain. Once we arrived to the entrance to the waterfall it was a fifteen minute walk to get there. Being inside the rain forest was so neat. The trees and the scenery was so peaceful and amazing. The emerald waterfall was so beautiful. At the bottom of the waterfall was the pool and the water was a beautiful blue-green. People were jumping off rocks into the pools and jumping through the waterfall.

Day 3 - Barbados

Today we had one goal...spend the day at the beach!! We found a taxi drive to take us to the beach and then pick us back up after he picked up his daughter from school. He did drive us around the island a bit before taking us to the beach. We drove past the golf course where Tiger Woods was married and past the mansion that Bill Clinton stayed at when he visited. The beach was my favorite. The sand was so soft and white, and the water was so blue and warm. Our friend Cody brought a snorkel mask so the boys took turns looking at he coral reef and the fish in the sea. They found a water snake, turtle, and a baby crab with bright blue eyes.

Day 4 - St. Lucia

St. Lucia is full of lush green hills, black sand beaches, and tranquil blue lagoons. We drove through two traditional fishing villages and overlooked the spectacular twin peaks, the Twin Pitons, as we drove into the town of Soufriere. We stopped at Toraille Waterfall and Gardens to enjoy the tropical flowers and waterfall.

Day 5 - Antigua

I was told by a friend that if we didn't have an excursion planned not to bother getting off the ship. We were told by a crew member that there was a beach that we needed to go to that they always go when they get off the ship. So we took the crew members advice and went to the beach...I should have listened to Heather. We hopped into a cab and headed to Jolley beach. Once there we were bombarded by vendors trying to get us to rent wave-runners, ski boats, chairs and umbrellas, and souvenirs. We did decide to rent some chairs and some umbrellas for the two hours that we were going to be at the beach. The beach was a beautiful beach with gorgeous crystal blue water, white sand, and shells galore. We went out into the sea and played for a while then decided to go to the little restaurant to see what they had to eat. The selection was slim so we decided to wait until we got back on the boat. On our way back to the beach we were bombarded by another vendor begging us to rent jet skis. We said no thank you but he wasn't taking NO for an answer and kept begging. Our friend Jay told the guy to back off and to let us enjoy the day at the beach. The guy became very rude and yelled at us as we walked away. I laid down on the chair to dry off before we got back in the taxi while everyone else went back in the water. While laying there I heard a loud bang inches from my head and then something hit the ground behind me throwing sand all over me. Everyone in the water heard the bang and I jumped out of my chair. A lady behind me said that there was a man behind a fence throwing rocks. The rocks that he was throwing was about the size of a softball. The man that was throwing them was the same man the we told to leave us alone. We let the local police know what happened and then left the island immediately and got back on the boat.