We’re back from the south. It was a lovely trip, and I’ll eventually get around to posting my updates and pics, so stay tuned.

I did some therapy with J this afternoon. He still has trouble going from sitting to a crawling position, he gets caught on his heel. So we practiced ahem, naked. Diapers just get in the way you know! However it seems that the hour of practice was well worth it. Later I sat him down (clothed) and turned my back for one moment. I turned around and he had pulled himself up on the coffee table. I am so not used to this! R had left pear slices in a bowl on the coffee table, and I turned to find pieces of it all over the coffee table, some with nibbles missing. He also discoverd the kleenex box, and how he can pull them out. Sheesh. I believe I will be getting nothing at all done over the next few weeks. Man, how do I grow eyes in the back of my head?

Another restless night for the J man, and as a consequence us. I herded
my family through breakfast and rushed them onto the Pier only to find out that I had mis-read our tickets, and we were 30 minutes early for our tour. Sigh. R had a good time pushing J’s stroller around the pier, they had numbers set up (to organize tours) and they were all empty, so she
slalomed through them all. Near the edge of the pier there was a giant
pile of rocks, and lone behold there were about half a dozen iguanas lying on the rocks sunning themselves. These were fairly large (about a 10 taco iguana as a Mexican guide once told us) about 40cm long without the tail.
Neat.
Soon enough we were on our way to “Coral World Park”. A harrowing drive
through switchback turns up the mountains was first though. It is all very lush here, and there is lots of greenery. There is also crazy driving, and the combination made me keep my eyes inside the taxi.
Coral World is a small aquatic park. It is set right on the ocean, and is very pretty to walk through. Soon after we arrived we were encouraged to go to “Stingray Lagoon” for the feeding. We gathered around a tank of
female southern stingrays. It turns out our talk was not just a talk but
a chance to feed the stingrays ourselves. Daddy and R quickly went to the feeding side of the tank, and J and I retreated to the non feeding side.
The sting rays would swim right up the sides of the tank, push their bodies out of the water a ways. You then had to push their noses away from the wall to expose their mouths where you could drop your fish bits
into. It was quite a sight. There were only about 20 people there, and
the small tank (pool with a stone side) had enough room for everyone to stand and feed if they wished. After that, we went to see some exhibits and wait to meet the sea lion. Again everyone had front row seats, as there weren’t many people around. They have Southern sea lions at Coral World, apparently that is rare. Most places have the plentiful California
Sea lions. They have a few Sea lions that came from the coast of
Uruguay. They are quite large, have ‘hair’ around their necks and heads,
and have a very very deep bark. They showed us how Franco (the Sea lion)
paints. The keeper dips the paintbrush in paint, and another keeper
holds the canvas and the sea lion swipes at the canvas. Then the keeper changes colours, and the process beings again. Apparently Franco favours more dot like art, while the other sea lion likes making sweeping lines.
It was so neat to see. After that we wandered on, saw sea turtles,
picked up starfish and sea cumbers, and went into this large building where the basement was in the ocean, and had lots of windows to look out.
Apparently this is also where you can “Snuba”. You put on this helmet and
walk along the ocean floor looking at wildlife. It looked pretty neat.
Soon R requested a snack. We sat down and had popsicles under the palm
trees. Once again, there was a large iguana near our table. It turns
out they are like our seagulls at picnics. They come close when you drop
food, and if you don’t want them, you need to shoo them away. R was
quite freaked out when one came close, so daddy was on shoo duty. There
were big signs saying don’t feed the iguanas, they eat leaves and flowers.
There was a screaming child close by, and the snack lady decided to calm
him down by showing him how to feed the iguana lettuce. Pretty neat.
A lot slower than our squirrels or seagulls.
We came back to the ship through some serious traffic. An accident happened some ways ahead of us, and about 10 police cars zoomed through to them. Essentially blocking everything up all the more. Our driver was most upset, and yelled at the cops when we finally got to go by.
The afternoon was the usual, J and daddy slept, I swam with R until her friends came, then I sat on a lounge chair and watched. We had a nice supper, and we are now sailing back to the Bahamas “Half Moon Cay” Holland
America’s private island. We have a day at sea first. So don’t expect
an exciting update tomorrow!!

Today was another fine day. We left the ship and had hoped to just wander around town. Two things quickly became apparent. One, at least the first part of the town right off the cruise ship was filled with high end shopping. Two, we were approached pretty much constantly by men asking if we wanted to tour the island. They were all polite I’ll grant them, but
it is very wearing always having to fend them off. So we did grab a cab
(the only lady in the bunch) who we bargained with to take us across the
island to “Nelson’s Dockyard” a UNESCO heritage site. She took us over
to her son, whom she instructed to “take good care of them”. He was very friendly, and while driving gave us some of the island highlights. About
70 thousand native people on the island. Apparently this island also
grows the sweetest pineapples. He offered some running commentary as we
drove.
Nelson’s Dockyard was described the world’s only Georgian dockyard with people plying their traditional craft trade. So I expected something like
Doon Heritage Crossroads meets a dock. Not quite. First of all let me
say, the buildings are lovely, and many have been restored. One of them,
the former Admiral’s quarters was a little museum. The rest of the
buildings were an assortment of restaurants and shops. Oh, one of the buildings had people sewing sails in it, but with machines. Anyways. At the end of these buildings was the actual harbour, but it was filled with modern day Yachts. And I mean YACHTS. The kind that appear in movies,
with lots of room, and staff aboard. So one of the old buildings also
had a little booth on Yacht ownership, from which Albert of course took a pamphlet. It was very beautiful, but strange to see anchors and winches
dating from the 1800s beside these modern ships. Still a nice outing.
On the way back J slept in the car, and Deville (our driver) took us by an old sugar mill. (This would all make more sense with pictures, but there
is no way I can upload them with this satellite connection). Once back
in town, Albert bargained for a mini steel drum for the kids. It has
notes labelled on it, and while bulky, is quite light. I’m looking
forward to playing around with it, we even got a little sheet of music.
We had to walk back through the shopping area, so I caved and bought
myself some sunglasses. It is just so very bright here. I did manage to
walk by the SWATCH shop without making a purchase, but don’t worry I have
faith I will buy one before the cruise is done. Back at the ship we had
lunch, and did the usual afternoon routine.
I should mention that while most people on this ship are happy, pleasant and glad to see a few kids, there are some strange and grouchy ones too.
For example. I waited in line this morning to get some fried eggs, and
while mine were cooking, the next lady ordered. She ordered 2 eggs, and
when the time came for them to be flipped she said to the cook, “Can I have 2 new eggs, those yolks are broken”. Broken yolks?? Really?? Is that such a big deal? Wow. Daddy also encountered someone in line who pointed out which piece of French toast she wanted and when she was served it, she made them put it back and get the exact piece she had picked out.
Really?? Also when we sat down at breakfast daddy tells me that the couple across the row got up and said “Let’s leave before all the noise
begins”. Wow, some people spend a lot of energy being grumpy and
thinking the worst of people! I must say as far as the kids go, most people are happy to see them. Everyone likes to wave and play peek-a-boo with J during meals, it gets quite distracting for him, and I must say it makes R a little jealous. She however has her group of lady friends that she meets and chats with. She went over to see them at dinner and soaked up all the attention. The ship is rocking somewhat this evening, so I hope I don’t have crazy dreams again like last time!

Every night we are given a sheet of history, tips and a map for the next day’s Island. The description for Dominica was that it was a relatively
“young” volcanic island. “Dominca’s rugged mountains drop precipitously
into lush valleys creating the picture of tropical paradise…” So late last night we decided that daddy and R should try to do an excursion today.
So daddy went and found there was still room on the Rainforest Tram ride.
Sounds cool eh? Yah, only not so much for people who don’t like heights!
So J and I stayed behind. The left soon after breakfast. J and I
wandered ashore. The town itself was somewhat run down. We were the
only cruise ship docked, and the locals had set up a market like area on
the pier. We browsed there. I got R a sundress. Cute boy clothes for
J’s age were definitely lacking however. We walked to the end of the
market, then walked into the town. The info sheet had said that the sidewalks were in disrepair, and boy were they not kidding. The whole town seems run down, and sidewalks were treacherous, if there at all. I had J in the stroller and I had to keep my eyes on the ground the whole
time. It was very hot, and we quickly grew tired of walking around. We
headed back to the ship and hung out on the Lido deck by the pool (in the
shade of course!). Once J got bored of that I took him to the Promenade
deck thinking I’d just walk him until he fell asleep, but those
traditional deck steamer chairs looked to dog-gone comfy. I parked him
beside me, and rocked the stroller until he fell asleep. After we got
lunch, and just as we finished, daddy and R caught up with us. They had had a good time. R made friends with all the elderly ladies on the tour, had them laughing at her jokes, and wrote a story with one too.
Apparently she didn’t even sit with Daddy on the bus ride, but with her new friend “Char”! Char also has a grandchild adopted from China.
They took some pretty spectacular pictures, I’ll have to post them later.
The afternoon was spend by the pool. I swam with R until her friends arrived at which point she happily let me sit in a deck chair and just
watch. I was quite content with my audio book on my ipod. Daddy and J
went for naps. Late afternoon I coaxed my prune like daughter out of the
pool (she’d been in it for over 3 hours) and got everyone cleaned up for
formal night. I wanted us ready early so we could get the photographer
to take pictures of the kids. The ones of J turned out so great the other day, I wanted ones of both of them and R. We’ll see how there are
tomorrow. J was really restless and hard to keep happy during dinner,
and R was out of sorts too. She had complained in the morning of her stomach hurting, and that worried me. Apparently some of her little friends had been sick this morning too. Great, just what we need. I think J was unhappy because of cutting teeth and just being tired.
Here’s hoping we don’t get sick.

Today we saw St Bart’s, which is still part of France. The street signs
are European, the prices in Euros, and lots of Peugot and Renau cars. I
noticed that even the door handles to stores are the European Level types.
It was very beautiful, turquoise sea, yacht’s, and beautiful houses perched on forested hillsides. Just gorgeous. We tendered in, and walked a bit around town. We went to a bookstore first and bought a lovely children’s book (in French). As we continued however, it became clear that this was a high end boutique type of place. R has been desperate for a new pair of flip flops and we heard all about it as we searched for some. We did find some cute hello kitty ones, alas they were missing one
of the pair. We finally found a pair, and to my relief, they were on
sale. This is one expensive Island. The town was not large, so it
didn’t take us long to explore. J fell asleep as we walked back (in the
hip carrier). After lunch, we did the usual, R to the kids club, us to
nap. Daddy went and got her soon after and they went to the pool. J and
I explored the wonders of the laundry room. They have nice machines.
Vacation laundry is different than laundry at home. Here lights and darks
are all mixed up, as you just want to do one load. For some reason I
forgot to pack any skirts for R. So she has a few pairs of shorts and dresses. She has complained however that shorts are hot, and wished she
had some skirts. I should have guessed that dresses are only worn in the
evenings now.
She is off to the kids club again now, and J is sleeping already. He is
definitely teething, he woke up every few hours last night when his
Tylenol wore off. He is also back to lots of drool, and lots of fingers
in his mouth. Tonight at dinner a gentleman came over and complimented
us on how well behaved our kids were. Proud parent moment 🙂 Tomorrow is Dominica, and we’ll see what that holds.

Here are the pictures
This is the view of St Bart’s from the tender ship as we approached.

Here is a view from the island

Did I mention how European this island is?? Check out the cars!

One of the stores we went in had this sign posted just outside the door…Nice eh?? In fact my child was unattended in the store, briefly only, but as I was reading this sign!

The Christmas decorations…well they just felt odd. It seemed so out of place to see snowmen, snowflakes and Santa Clause in 30 degree weather.

And a classier display at a jewellery store.

J fell asleep in the carrier on the way back to the ship.

Our waiter surprised us with some beautiful origami at supper.

The kids did not sleep so well, and so we didn’t either. That’s the
trouble will everyone in one room. J was sort of waking up periodically
making noises, but then settling down. If he had been in his room at home
everything would have been fine. Anyways. After breakfast R decided
that she did not want to walk around town with us, she’d rather stay in
the kids club. Sigh. I wanted her to see the super cool fort and the
old city, but did I really want to drag a reluctant 6 year old along??
Nope. So she went to the kids club, J got in the hip carrier and we set
off. We waited for a while for a Trolley that was supposed to take us
around the old city, (it was free) but it took forever to come. You
should know that from the pier to the fort was a huge change in elevation, so we wanted a ride up, and to walk back. We walked up a short ways, then found a taxi. The traffic into the old city was jammed up. The driver was very crusty about this, and complained that when they put up the
Christmas lights, they shut down whole streets. Anyways. He went the
L-O-N-G way around and we finally arrived at Castillo de San Felipe del Morro.
We had been to this fortification before, I think on our first cruise. It
was just as beautiful. Gorgeous views of the island and the lower fort.
I have tons of pictures of course. We spent some time here exploring.
I must say my fear of heights is alive and well. Even with walls that are
6 feet deep, I still feel that awful jumpy feeling in my stomach when I get close to the edge. Coupled with that is a little light headedness.
Daddy and J went tromping around, while I was more cautious.
After exploring the casillo, we walked back through old San Juan to the ship. They are spending a lot of money restoring all the buildings. Most I’d say have had a facelift. But we did come across 2 where the inside structure had been torn down, and just the façade remained. I got some
cool pictures of the sky through these window frames. We popped into a
few shops “The best souvenier shop in San Juan” didn’t really live up to its name. We did however find 2 stores selling art by local artists. We bought a small piece of pottery. By this time it was getting quite hot,
and I was anxious to get back to R. We walked back, noting that the
“Westerdam” was berthed beside us (the Maasdam). We took the Westerdam on its 2nd sea voyage back in 2004 for our 10th anniversary. Fond memories!
Once back we went right for the Lido and cold water. It turns out R already had lunch in the kids club and was not interested in watching us eat. She told us to come back for her after lunch….so much for needing to
be worried about her. The afternoon she spent in the pool, and J had a
nice long nap. Late afternoon on the pool deck I talked to the mother of
M, a little girl she loves being with. It turns out her husband is the doctor on board! (I saw him our first day of the cruise for pink eye,
which is thankfully gone, and no one else got). They live in Vancouver,
but are originally from South Africa. I must say I like these smaller ships with fewer kids. R finds it easy enough to make friends, and since there are not that many kids, she seems to get to know these kids better and loves playing with them.
At supper we were once again entertained by the string quartet in the balcony above us. Both of the kids enjoyed the music. R recognized many of the songs (from Carmen, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the Sugar plum fairy from the Nutcracker) I am proud to say. We clapped enthusiastically for
them. After as usual R went to the kids club and I went back to the room
to put J to bed. I just hear the engines starting now, we are due to leave in a few minutes.
UPDATE: here are some pictures

Daddy (with J) went down this huge staircase to the lower level. I didn’t want to do that with my knee. Here is a view from the bottom.

So while they were down below, I found some super cool look out spots from above that gave me some spectacular shots. Here you can see the cannon runs clearly.


After exploring the castle, we walked back to the ship through the streets of Old San Juan.