We visit Caribbean islands
Day two of our Caribbean Cruise aboard The Holland America Lines' Eurodam takes us to Grand Turk island, where we sign up for an excursion to snorkel in the ocean and rest on the island's white-sand beach for $29 each.
It is a primitive trip at best. The islanders drive us to the beach (five minutes), lead us to a wooden bar where we pick up a snorkel mouthpiece and fins from a basket, and then they drive off. We find our way to the sea, look down at fish for a bit, then settle in lounge chairs for an hour. We go back to the wharf where a few shops are open in a small market selling very pedestrian souvenirs. We return quickly to our ship, where we swim in the turquoise pool, rest on soft, shaded lounge chairs, and are handed thick towels by the same people who offer drinks. It is far superior to that first island visit.
But the next day's trip to San Juan is fascinating. We meet a darling young man from New York who quit his job and opened a shop called Piranha Joe just a few steps from the wharf. His helper, a 24-year-old business college grad from Cary Il, arrived here first on a tour. She later returned with a tent and slept on the beach while she worked in a bar and saved enough money to rent a room. Both seem to enjoy a life of complete freedom from responsibility that others dream about.
We also hike through Old San Juan, and the visit a day later at St. Thomas also is totally delightful. After a day of shopping through jewelry stores and a flea market, and enjoying the gorgeous views of hills and sea, we climb aboard our ship that slowly pulls away from shore. Looking back across the water, I muse that the little white wooden houses tumbling down this hillside look like an overturned cup of sugar cubes.
We spend our next days meeting people, making new friends from all across the country, and trying to forget that this delightful "spot of time" won't go on forever.
Each evening as we watch the sun sink into the water we remember that Nancy Koran's marvelous book, "Loving Frank" described the horizon as "The hem of heaven."
This is the first Widowslist.com trip. We ask our travel agent, Neelie Cruse at Cary Travel Express, 847-639-3300, to keep us informed about others, including resorts and land tours.
We'll post her suggestions, but want to know if you have any ideas. Do comment. As we just learned, widows have great fun together meeting fellow travelers.
See The Widows List: Travel
See The Widows List: Great Advice
It is a primitive trip at best. The islanders drive us to the beach (five minutes), lead us to a wooden bar where we pick up a snorkel mouthpiece and fins from a basket, and then they drive off. We find our way to the sea, look down at fish for a bit, then settle in lounge chairs for an hour. We go back to the wharf where a few shops are open in a small market selling very pedestrian souvenirs. We return quickly to our ship, where we swim in the turquoise pool, rest on soft, shaded lounge chairs, and are handed thick towels by the same people who offer drinks. It is far superior to that first island visit.
But the next day's trip to San Juan is fascinating. We meet a darling young man from New York who quit his job and opened a shop called Piranha Joe just a few steps from the wharf. His helper, a 24-year-old business college grad from Cary Il, arrived here first on a tour. She later returned with a tent and slept on the beach while she worked in a bar and saved enough money to rent a room. Both seem to enjoy a life of complete freedom from responsibility that others dream about.
We also hike through Old San Juan, and the visit a day later at St. Thomas also is totally delightful. After a day of shopping through jewelry stores and a flea market, and enjoying the gorgeous views of hills and sea, we climb aboard our ship that slowly pulls away from shore. Looking back across the water, I muse that the little white wooden houses tumbling down this hillside look like an overturned cup of sugar cubes.
We spend our next days meeting people, making new friends from all across the country, and trying to forget that this delightful "spot of time" won't go on forever.
Each evening as we watch the sun sink into the water we remember that Nancy Koran's marvelous book, "Loving Frank" described the horizon as "The hem of heaven."
This is the first Widowslist.com trip. We ask our travel agent, Neelie Cruse at Cary Travel Express, 847-639-3300, to keep us informed about others, including resorts and land tours.
We'll post her suggestions, but want to know if you have any ideas. Do comment. As we just learned, widows have great fun together meeting fellow travelers.
See The Widows List: Travel
See The Widows List: Great Advice
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