Madeira

9th February

Today is our final port of call on this wonderful Caribbean Cruise – Madeira. Funchal is the capital of Madeira and has an abundance of natural delights with a picturesque backdrop of imposing mountains and deep valleys. The island is famed for its scenic spendours, stunning cliff top waterfalls, verdant pine forests, and of course the famed Madeira wine.

The Madeiran archipelago lies in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco and north of the Canary Islands. The largest of these Portuguese islands, some 600 miles southwest of Lisbon, is the Ilha da Madeira (Island of Timber) and the only other inhabited island is the tiny Porto Santo. Some important facts:

Madeira is roughly twice the size of the Isle of Wight
Pico Ruivo (6,106) the island’s highest point is 1,700 ft higher than Ben Nevis
The Encumeada road tunnel (1.9 miles) is the longest in Portugal
Madeira is especially famous for flowers and wine
The total population is about 280,000

Madeira is well known to us, having spent two holidays in recent years, so we had decided to re-visit parts of the town we had visited previously. Also Doreen’s sister Elsie and her husband John were currently on holiday in Funchal, so we had arranged to meet them on our arrival.

After catching up on the news we sauntered through the town shopping area to the Mercado dos Lavradores, a fascinating market in an open-roofed building, with stalls selling meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, fish, clothes, wicker articles and flowers. Here we sat on the roof garden in the sun and had our morning coffee. After this we caught a local bus to take us to the west side of town for a leisurely walk along the promenade back towards the town centre. En route we stopped for a quick snack and were fascinated to watch six paragliders landing on a small patch of grass, with varying success. After reaching the Lido area we again jumped on a bus to drop us outside the Presidential Palace, where we had a pleasant hour wandering around the well kept gardens, including a number of aviaries housing exotic birds.

We than did a slow wall back through the municipal gardens and arrived exhausted back in the centre of town, where we said goodbye to Elsie and John. We then jumped on a shuttle bus back to our ship for our final sailaway.

Next stop Southampton via the Bay of Biscay!!!!!!!!

Antigua, Leeward Islands

3rd February

Today is our last destination in the Caribbean – Antigua, a beach with an island in the middle, is the great way to describe this charming Caribbean island. It is part of the Leeward islands, roughly circular the island is about 12 miles in diameter and has some of the finest beaches in the Caribbean, more than 350 of them – with gleaming pink-white sand backed by gently waving palms. The variation in temperature is less than 10 degrees 77 – 85 degrees F, and rainfall is low. However, to the south-west, where the island is more hilly, lush tropical vegetation is more evident.

During the 18th and 19th centuries Antigua was the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Island Station and the principal British naval base in the Eastern Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars. Admirals Nelson, Rodney, Hood and Jervis all made the dockyard, and it was from here that Rodney sailed to the Battle of the Saints.

The most famous attraction in Antigua is Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, 12 miles from St. Johns the capital. To the right of the entrance is a huge water catchment tank, whose low walls are covered with the initials of many sailors of bygone days including those of Nelson himself.

In 1967 Antigua became an associated state within the Commonwealth and achieved full independence in 1981.

Out excursion today was entitled Highlights and Lobster Lunch. After driving through St. Johns and then on through the countryside and on to the cliff top location of the Island’s two ancient sights: Block House Ruins and Shirley Heights, where the ruins of the 18th century fortifications were to be seen. From this vantage points we had panoramic views over Nelsons Dockyard, Galleon’s Beach and English Harbour. Also we could see the peninsular where Eric Clapton has built his secluded home. After a short stay we drove down to Nelsons Dockyard, where we had a short guided tour of the dockyard, before sitting down to our Lobster Lunch accompanied by a Rum Punch in one of the old renovated buildings. The lunch exceeded our expectations and we had good company on our table, with two people off the P & O ship the Oceana, which was also in port today. We compared notes of ships and cruises that we had each travelled on.

After lunch we toured the dockyard taking in the views and looking at some of luxury yachts moored there, plus the usual shop browsing. From here we were off again for a drive to Turners Beach for an hour and a half’s relaxation (and swim for some), including yet another Rum Punch. Although the sun was hidden behind clouds we relaxed on the sunbeds and dipped our toes in the water.

All too soon we were off again back to the ship, just in time for our sailaway party on the terrace deck where we had a sing-song and a lot of flag waving as we reversed out of the dock next to three other cruise ships, including the Oceana. This was quite emotional as we were leaving the Caribbean and embarking on our long trip home. However, the captain had a different idea, as two hours out of Antigua he announced he was turning around and returning to port as he had a medical emergency on board and needed to transfer a patient ashore. (We understand a lady had a heart attack and is now progressing reasonably well in an Antiguan hospital).

6th February

We have now been at sea for three days and the weather, although slightly cooler at a mere 77 Degrees F, has been very good with plenty of time to catch up with last minute sunbathing before our return to the UK winter. However, the captain has just announced that we are approaching a depression and can expect swells of 7 – 8 metres later in the day.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands (Narrative)

3rd February

Today our island was Tortola, one of the prettiest in the Caribbean, up in the north east corner of the Caribbean, some 50 miles east of Puerto Rico. It is in the British Virgin Islands, a shapeless group of about 50 islands, only four of which are of any size. Tortola is the largest with 17,809 residents, with Road Town where our ship anchors, the capital, and the only town of any size.

There are four groups of islands in the Caribbean and the British Virgins belong to the Leeward Islands and are generally volcanic and hilly. A Dutch party created a settlement on Tortola in 1648 but now came the British expansion in the area and the Dutch were ousted in 1666 by British Planters. The British administered Leeward Islands took over the government in 1672, since when life has been comparatively peaceful, apart from the era of slavery. However, when the colony of the Leeward islands was broken up in 1956, the BVI as they are known went it alone as a separate colony. The new constitution of 1977 gave the islands a considerable measure of self-rule, thereby pre-empting any possible coup or breakaway, and the advent of upmarket tourism on an unprecedented scale has concentrated the minds of the islands wonderfully. Before tourism took over as the chief moneyspinner in the 1970s, generating 4/5ths of the island’s revenue, the people were almost entirely an agricultural community, relying on cattle raising, bananas, sugarcane, citrus fruits, coconuts, mangoes and fishing. The island gets twice as much rain as London and it keeps everywhere emerald green. The temperatures range between 71 and 82 degrees in winter and between 78 and 88 degrees in summer.

Our excursion today was not due to leave until the afternoon, so we boarded our tender for the short trip to the quayside, where we spent an hour or so walking through the small town, stopping to buy spices at the Caribee Spice Company. Other than a few touristy type shops there was not much of interest in town, so we walked to the Marina area where we found a nice bar overlooking the Marina for a beer and snack accompanied by Caribbean music.

After lunch we made our way back to the quayside where we joined our excursion and boarded an open sided island style buses holding twenty people for a short drive round town before climbing the steep narrow mountain roads to the centre of the island, where we had panoramic views of the harbour below. We continued to the north side of the island and drove down to a picturesque bay called Cane Garden Bay, where we stopped for half an hour in the beachside bar for our second local beer of the day. We again boarded the bus to take a winding picturesque route passed Carrot Bay and Capoons Bay leading to our next stop at Pussers Landing, a marina complex set in a secluded bay. We spent an hour walking around the up market boutiques and viewing the yachts/ cruise boats, watching how the other half live.

All too soon we were off again to return to our ship via the Sir Francis Drake’s Highway, which ended a long and enjoyable day ashore.

Tomorrow we are off to Antigua, sadly our last island in the Caribbean.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Montego Bay, Jamaica. Narrative

1st February

Montego Bay (or Mo Bay as known by the locals) is Jamaica’s second city and has been a mecca for tourists since the 1920’s. Jamaica lies south of Cuba and west of Hispaniola and forms part of the Greater Antilles group and is the third largest island in the Caribbean. With its three counties of Cornwall in the west, Middlesex in the centre and Surrey in the east, the island covers an area about three times the size of Kent in England. It measures 159 miles from east to west and from twenty to fifty miles for north to south with a population of nearly two and a half million.

Located on the south coast, Kingston, the capital, has a population of half a million and is the centre of political and artistic life. The highest point is in the Blue Mountains (do you know the Blue Mountain coffee?) to the east, nearly 7.500 feet, where it is much wetter and cooler than on the 200 miles of Jamaica’s beaches. Ocho Rios, the most popular port of call for cruise ships, lies almost in the centre of the north coast and Montego Bay, up the North West corner is a close second.

Full independence within the Commonwealth was achieved in 1962, after Jamaica had been a British colony for more than 300 years. Now, although life is not always peaceful and was terribly disrupted by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, at least the Jamaicans have their own land to themselves.

But who are the Jamaicans? “Out of Many, One People” is the national motto, and the ethnic mix of European, East Indian, African, Chinese and Arabic peoples has turned out to be surprisingly harmonious.

Jamaica is the world’s third largest producer of bauxite, the raw material which is smelted into aluminium. It also produces, sandstone and limestone, marble and alabaster, as well as sugar cane, bananas, pimentos, coffee, cocoa, tobacco and rum. Tourism ranks as the second foreign exchange earner.

From December to April, the most popular time to visit the island, the temperature ranges between 75 and 85 degrees. Rainfall averages nearly eighty inches annually. Late spring and autumn are the wettest periods and the hurricane season is late summer. But there’s always plenty of sunshine.

Over a thousand species of tree grow on the island. There are more than 600 varieties of fern (please note John) and 200 species of orchid, 73 of which are unique to Jamaica. Botanist have recorded almost 3000 varieties of flowering plant. Wild animals are practically non-existent, there are a few snakes and they are harmless. Bats and lizards are common and birds and butterflies are particularly varied and colourful.

Today was a lazy day as we had not pre-booked any excursions. So after a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant we made our way to the cruise terminal where we were hit by temperatures of 30 degrees (very hot), and boarded a shuttle transit bus into town. As soon as we left the port, the driver of the bus tried to promote an extended tour around town at $20 per head against $5 for the trip to town. Eventually we persuaded the driver that we wanted just to be dropped at Doctors Cave, a beach in the middle of town. He reluctantly agreed and a few people got off the coach with us and he drove off with the remaining passengers on the $20 tour.

Unfortunately today is a Sunday and being a religious island the main downtown shopping area was closed (Geoff said three cheers). However there were many small boutique type shops in the beach area, which were open and actively touting for business. We wandered the shops for about an hour, comparing prices of tee shirts, coffee, etc, without making any purchases. Geoffrey, by now was gasping for a drink and spotted a small bar, where we retreated to have our first Red Stripe of the day. Lo and behold, there was also a television screen in this bar broadcasting the live game of Arsenal v Manchester United. We did not have time to see the whole game but saw two cracking goals by Man United.

We returned to the first shop we had entered where Doreen further negotiated with the owner and purchased a few items. After which we walked down the road to an Irish pub called The Twisted Kilt and sat at a table with the most fantastic views of the beautiful beach (various shades of turquoise blue) for our second Red Stripe and flatbread (Doreen had a Chicken Jerk and Geoffrey a Pepperoni and Mozarella flatbread – both were delicious). We stayed for over an hour before we wandered down the road to the Margaritaville Bar, apparently a well known bar, we must check on the internet when we get home. After negotiating with the many taxi drivers vying for our business we returned to the ship.

The Montego Bay that we saw seemed rather tired and in need of modernization and we cannot say that we have seen the real Jamaica. However, the people we met were friendly, very laid back and helpful. Possibly worth visiting again sometime in the future……… Nonetheless a great day.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Cozumel, Mexico

29th January

Today our port is Cozumel, the world’s most popular cruise port. Cozumel is just a small island off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsular. It has a vibrant, pulsating Latin heart, everywhere is all action and activity from the music-playing downtown bars and cafes and shops. Cozumel is situated in the Caribbean Sea and is Mexico’s largest island at 33 miles long and 9 miles wide, with about 50,000 inhabitants.

Mexico is known for the Aztecs, but it was the Mayas who lived on Cozumel from about 300 AD. On 1st May 1518, Juan de Grijalva and the first Spaniards arrived: life for the 40,000 Mayas was never the same again. A year later, Hernan Cortes put in a brief appearance, ordered the destruction of many temples and left two missionaries to convert the Indians. The usual massacres took place over the next few years and many of the Mayas returned to the mainland. Most of the rest succumbed to European diseases brought by the Spaniards and by 1600 Cozumel was abandoned.

During the 17th and 18th centuries Cozumel was only of interest to the pirates and smugglers. Things changed in the 19th century when Mayan refugees fled from the war of Castes and settled on Cozumel. During World War 2, the Americans built an airstrip (and destroyed a few Mayan temples in the process) and a few wealthy Mexicans began to live here. However, changes really only started after Jaqcques Cousteau filmed part of his famous underwater documentary off Cozumel. Tourism began in earnest, first only 20 years ago, with the keen divers and with the building of several hotels. The island is a port of call for some 500 cruise ships annually, and today there were seven, either berthed or anchored off shore, however P & O had secured the prime berth right next to the downtown shopping area.

There is only one town on the island – San Miguel de Cozumel, a town geared to tourism. It is a hive of activity, and the jewellery here is unbelievable.

Today we had a round trip of the island, first stopping at a museum called Mexico Park, a new building where we learnt of some of the history of Mexico.Here they had displays of Mexican art and a model village showing the ancient Mayan cities and pyramids constructed in 1000AD. From here we drove to El Cedral, the oldest settlement on the island, which was inhabited by the Mayans. The village, unfortunately, had turned into a tourist hotspot with market stalls, etc., but did have a very nice Catholic church around the corner. This made the visit worthwhile.

From here we crossed the narrow island to the north east coast viewing the untouched coastline with beautiful panoramic views. We stopped at El Mirador to view the natural limestone formation and the white coral beaches at close quarters. All too soon we were on the move again to stop at a tequila distillery, where we learnt how tequila was made from the blue Agave, and here we were able to sample various forms of tequila. We all returned to our coach slightly merrier for the journey back to San Miguel de Cozumel, where we chose to be dropped off in the old town area and walk back to the terminal via many shops. These shops were crowded with all the cruise ships in town, especially the Americans. Bargaining was the order of the day, where typically the initial asking price was high and after a few minutes bargaining could be reduced by up to 80% (for example Doreen purchased a small hand painted plate which started at $60, then it went to $50, $40, $30, $20 – I then told the guy I wouldn’t pay more than $10 for it and the guy said OK – but did I pay too much, who knows).

After two hours wandering the shops we returned exhausted to the ship for afternoon tea and a short rest before our evening dinner followed by two shows, the first a Beatles Tribute Group and second The Headliners Theatre Company with “fABBAulous” an ABBA tribute show. Yet another memorable day.

Tomorrow is a day at sea to prepare ourselves for Montego Bay, Jamaica on Sunday.

Roatan, Honduras

28th January

Today we were due to go to Roatan, which is the largest and most developed of the Islas de la Bahia (Bay Islands), a group of small islands off the northeast coast of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. Roatan, an island known for its many attractions, both on land and water is about 33 miles long and just over two miles wide at its widest point.

We were up bright and early for our excursion ashore only to find the ship at sea, when it should berthed in Roatan at 5.00am. A little while later the captain announced that they had to abort the visit as 30 knot winds were preventing him berthing in the small harbour. We were not alone as another ship the Island Destiny also cancelled its visit.

The captain has sailed around the island twice, however we are now making our way out to sea to our next destination Cozumel.

Although disappointed not to be able to see Roatan, as we had an interesting looking excursion to the Botanical Garden and Butterfly farm booked. We can console ourselves that we will be returning to Roatan as part of our cruise to Alaska next year (did we mention our cruise to Alaska!!!!!!!!).

Santo Thomas de Castilla, Guatemala Narrative

27th January

Today our port was Santo Tomas de Castilla, which is a major port on northeastern Guatemala.

The Maya people lived in southern Mexico, northern Belize and Guatemala as early as 1500 BC and began building magnificent cities. However, the Maya people declined very rapidly and were already a spent force by the time the Spaniards conquered the region in the early 16th century (1524). Antigua was the capital city of Guatemala until it was virtually destroyed by an earthquake in 1773. Guatemala City then became the new capital.

From 1839 to 1997 Guatemala had more than its fair share of coups, human atrocities, revolutions, brutal military rule, and powerful and corrupt dictators. The wealthy aristocracy became more powerful and influential; the downtrodden Maya suffered particularly badly.

Attempts were made in the early 1950s by more liberal and benevolent leaders to improve the lot of the ordinary people, including land reforms and providing some form of education for the masses. However, such revolutionary ideas, at least in the eyes of many rich and powerful people, were not acceptable and were abandoned. The situation in the country went from bad to worse; military-led governments did little for the people and guerrilla groups created a campaign of terror and violence. By 1960 civil war raged between military governments, right-wing death squads, vigilante groups and leftist rebels. As a result, many thousand of innocent people were killed and murdered.

Finally, in December 1996, a peace treaty was signed by the government and the warring factions, including the National Revolutionary Unit. Hopefully the people of Guatemala will benefit from the changes to the economy and the electoral system. Corruption and high crime rates remain a serious problem and marked contrasts still exist between the powerful landowners and the Maya Indians of the mountains.

Fewer than 14 million people live in the mainly mountainous country of Guatemala (42,042 square miles), which is slightly smaller than England. Guatemala is bordered on the north and west by Mexico, on the northeast by Belize and on the southeast by Honduras and El Salvador. It has coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Coffee, sugar and bananas are the main exports.

Today’s excursion entitled Castle and Countryside did not indicate the thrilling day we were in for. Although the first 1.1/2 hours coach trip through the lush tropical vegetation was interesting, the real excursion started when we arrived at Lago de Izabal. Lago de Izabal (228 square miles) is the largest lake in Guatemala, fed by the Rio Dulce. Here we decamped the coach and boarded our new transport for the next two hours, being a lightweight fibre glass boat powered by huge Yamaha outboard motor. Each boat holding about 18 people. We left the quayside and sped at great speed to our first destination Castillo de San Felipe, a small fortification on the side of the lake in scenic surroundings. After a short stay we again boarded our boat and sped back up the lake under the Rio Dulce Bridge to a small island, where we saw the nesting ground for cormorants and white egrets, populated in their hundreds. We then travelled further down the Rio Dulce River past luxury property and yachts to a shore side hotel, where we disembarked and received some light refreshments. Whilst Doreen explored the few market stalls Geoffrey explored the hotel area, which consisted of thirty five riverside chalets all air conditioned and with their own berth. A very nice location for a holiday. Doreen, in the meantime was negotiating hard with the local crafts people, where they were weaving beautiful tapestries. All too soon we were on the move again for another thrilling ride on our boat back to our coach for 1.1/2 hour trip back to our ship.

Apart from the 1.1/2 hour coach trip each way this turned out to be an exciting excursion. Even Doreen enjoyed the thrill and speed of the boats as they raced each other down the lake. Continuing Doreen’s fixation on snakes we found out there were some 200 different types of snake, many of them venomous and one with a French sounding name even feared by the local population.

Tomorrow we go to Roatan.

St. Tomas de Castille, Guatemala