Our flights to Aruba took us through Panama and then onto Oranjestad. We spent the night in a small boutique hotel in town. The courtyard and pool offered a respite from the noise and confusion of the resort area. We boarded the Star Breeze, a Windstar yacht which carries about 200 passengers, the next day and were pleasantly surprised by the excellent quality of the accommodations and food service.
14 Islands aboard the Windstar Sea Breeze
Our first island visit on the cruise was Bonaire. Morning offered a kayak paddle to a snorkel site. While we enjoyed the paddle, strong winds were a challenge. The fish at the snorkel site were varied and beautiful, and the water was ultra clear. The big drawback, however, was that the coral was dead or dying. When I mentioned this fact to the owner of the kayak/snorkel company, he shrugged his shoulders and said that the water is warming and, yes, the coral is dying. Then, he shrugged again and said, “There’s nothing we can do about it.” To which I replied, “There are things we can do about it; we just aren’t doing them.” What a sad state of affairs we are leaving our children and grandchildren! I had always heard that diving and snorkeling in Bonaire is about as good as it gets in the Caribbean. Later, we spoke to some folks who snorkeled in another area. They mentioned that the coral on that reef was in better condition. Now, I want to know more about what’s happening to the coral on the other islands.
Next on the agenda was Curacao. It should be mentioned that these Dutch islands are only a few miles from the coast of Venezuela. Since oil was discovered in Venezuela, these islands have served as transfer points with refineries being built on most of them. The oil is either piped or shipped in, then refined and sent out to purchasers. The town of Willemstad was an interesting walking destination, but we were disappointed that the oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere was closed that day. We had hoped to visit it and the accompanying museum.
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| Curacao Waterfront with Venezuelan Market Sellers' Boats |
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| Colorful Buildings of Curacao |
Now, we have a ‘small world’ story. Years ago (1999), on another Windstar cruise we took in the Mediterranean, we had a cruise director named Amanda. Amanda then left Windstar and was a manager with her husband, Steve, at a small resort on a remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean called
Aitutaki. You guessed it. We were at this resort in 2011 and discovered the connection. Now, the plot thickens. When we had our first briefing on this cruise, it was done by Steve, the destination manager. Dave looked at me and said, “he’s the same person we met on Aitutaki—Amanda’s husband”. I said, “no, I don’t think so”. Yesterday, while exchanging excursion vouchers, Dave asked him about it. And, yes, he’s the same person. The husband of Amanda, whom we met in 1999 on the Med cruise. The couple at Et Tu Moana Resort in 2011 on Aitutaki, and now in 2019 on a Caribbean cruise! We learned that Amanda is back working on the Windsurf again.
During the following days, we spent a day on Grenada, the spice island. A walk through the market in town was an olfactory event. Nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves, among other scents, wafted through the air and were for sale everywhere. We took a market and gastronomical tour here and were not disappointed. A tasting of our collective culinary efforts revealed lightly spiced fish, plantains, squash and okra.
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| Grenada--here is nutmeg in the market with its outer coating of mace. |
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| More Spices (cinnamon) and Local Fruits |
On Tobago, the smaller partner of Trinidad, we enjoyed a ride on a glass bottom boat to view the coral and tropical fish. We could have snorkeled, but rainy weather was setting in, and the boat carried too many passengers to make this activity enjoyable. On following days, we visited a few other islands in the Grenadines. All in all, we had a pleasant time.
In Barbados, about ¾ of the passengers disembarked and others came on board for the second week of the cruise. We walked around Bridgetown, and when the sun got too hot, we returned to the ship for lunch and a restful afternoon. In the coming week, we will be sailing north to visit other islands and enjoy some watersports. The next cruise is named “the Saints”, since most of the islands have the word ‘saint’ in them, ie. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Bart, St. Maarten, and the British Virgin Islands.
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| Northern Gannet Juvenile |
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| Northern Gannet |
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| Northern Gannet |
These gannets followed our ship and flew parallel with us for an entire day!
We enjoyed several catamaran cruises along the coastlines of some of the islands with snorkeling and swimming as side highlights. Two events were assured on all the catamaran sailings. First, calypso music blared from the speakers as we set sail and lasted the entire time. Second, after snorkeling, we could always depend on a strong dose of rum punch. The farther down the cooler your cup of punch was dispensed from, the stronger it was. Apparently, it was either not mixed up and the rum was put in first, or the rum was so heavy it sank to the bottom.
Snorkeling was fair, with some small, colorful fish, but the coral, mainly brain coral, was so-so, not much color, quantity or substance. Mostly, the fish were eating algae from rocks and boulders on the bottom. What does have color is the sea! Many hues of blue, green and turquoise array themselves in a rainbow of color. St. Lucia was particularly notable for its scenery. Marigot Bay was a sheltered haven for yachts, sailboats, stately homes and hotels. The “Pitons” are the mascot of the island with their twin peaks soaring out of the sea.
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| The Pitons, St. Lucia |
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| Marigot Bay, St. Lucia |
One day, we anchored in the harbor of a beautiful, small French island called Terre de Haut, part of the Guadeloupe archipelago. Only smaller cruise ships can navigate into some of the smaller harbors like this one where the islands are more picturesque and less visited. Also in this harbor was the famous schooner, the “Sea Cloud”. Originally, this ship was the personal yacht of Marjorie Merriweather Post. It currently is a luxury sailing yacht that takes passengers for Caribbean cruises. The island is a little taste of Provence sitting in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean Sea with colorful waterfront homes and French restaurants lining the harbor.
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| Distinctive House Exterior, Terre de Haut |
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| Waterfront, Terre de Haut |
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| Colors of Terre de Haut |
In St. Kitts, we occupied our morning with another snorkeling adventure. Again, the coral was deficient, but I honestly don’t know what it was like in the past to make a valid comparison. Many colorful fish flashed around us, and we were lucky enough to watch a green sea turtle and a sting ray. Dave caught most of the action on his underwater camera and will post a composite underwater video after he has had time to edit the footage at home.
Later in St. Barts, we thought we were in Monte Carlo; the yachts were the stuff of billionaires. Prada, Hermes, and many other famous brand-named shops lined the waterfront street. Diamonds and other jewels glittered in store windows. We were told that many celebrities have homes here. One of our fellow passengers was sure he saw Charlize Theron walking her dog. A look in the local real estate brochure revealed homes averaging 7-10 million Euros for a 3-bedroom hillside home with a pool but no beach access. Since the island is mountainous, most homes perch on hillsides, and beaches are limited. St. Barts is also known for beautiful yachts, like the “Q,” a 52 meter Sailing Yacht, owned by Kim Vibe-Petersen, who invented the first fully automated Cappuccino system, Scanomat.
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| St Barts--off the Glitsy Waterfront Street were these older homes. |
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| The "Q" Sailing Yacht |
Our last stop was Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. This island, like many others is still recovering from Hurricane Irma. Hurricanes may sweep through in a matter of hours, but the devastation and destruction they cause take many years and lots of money to rebuild.
We disembarked in St. Maarten and headed to the airport for the trip home. It was certainly a beautiful trip with many memorable moments.
