Cruisin' the Caribbean...

JAG · November 26, 2008

I am still going through the 3000 pictures I took for the trip but have a summary of the first few ports of the trip. You can see the rest of the albums at http://jagcreations.smugmug.com/caribbean

We sailed on the 7th of November for two weeks of pampering on the Maasdam (Holland America Line). We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary during the trip.

The ship itself is a masterpiece in its own right. Lots of great art throughout the ship and its a very clean ship indeed....

Every morning we were up at 6am (1am AST) to watch the sunrise....

We were escorted into San Juan, Puerto Rico by a slew of pelicans.....

During our walk through San Juan I was amazed at the diversity of the houses...shacks next to freshly renovated buildings. The streets were very narrow and barely one car could fit through because of all the parked cars...

We had visited El Yunque National Park which is a rainforest with lots of orchids and lizzards and beauty all around....

Then we visited the Castillo de San Cristobal in the heart of Old San Juan...this fortress as well as others on the island were built to protect the island from pirates and evading countries. Built by the spanish. Puerto Rico was the hub of the Caribbean import and exporting for not only the Americas but other Europe and South America also. 2 forts grace the coastline on the San Juan port. The second is San Fillip de El Morro. We didn't get a chance to see that one but were very impressed with San Cristobal....

I have many more on this port in my gallery at the link posted at the beginning of this post. I will post other ports in my next post.

JAG · November 27, 2008

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Island is a quaint little place. Friendly people and as tropical as San Juan....

If you look at the first building on the hill in this picture you can see the hurricane damage done to the reef. It had ripped off the roof and the metal girders were left twisted like noodles. I cannot image that kind of power in the wind. We have had 100 mile an hour winds here in Alaska...it had to be blowing alot harder I am sure for this kind of damage! This is not the only hurricane damage we have seen on the islands.

Iguanas run rampid on this island...and they are EVERYWHERE...much like the squirrels are here.

We had visited the Coral World Ocean park and ended up snorkeling....

St. Kitts was another port...it had spectacular rain clouds roll in and out all day long. With warm temps that made it very humid...but beautiful all the same....

If you ever visit St. Kitts...beware of the monkeys in pampers. Their owners will plop one on you and encourage you to take pictures...the catch is at the end when they beg you for $5 bucks for taking pictures of their monkeys. Of coarse you can deny them but they really pressure you till a police officer walks buy. Also beware of the kids that will swarm you during this time....make sure you have all your stuff securely fastened to your body...like a fanny pack.

The sunsets are just as spectacular as the sunrises...

Roseau, Dominica is a brightly colored town that has friendly people. The buildings are colorful and the crafts that they make are with seeds and bamboo are beautiful.

ian408 · November 27, 2008

The Caribbean is a great place to chill.

I'm partial to the BVI and have enjoyed the time I've spent there. Looks like you had a great time.

Ed911 · November 27, 2008

Nice shots. We did Caribbean cruise thing, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico. Your pictures make me want to do it again.

bob swanson · November 27, 2008

I too enjoyed your images. I love anything about the caribbean or tropical waters. I was in the BVI and American Virgin Islands in July and was actually in St. Kitt's when they won their independence. I imagine it totally commercialized now. Were you impressed with the black sand?
Good shooting and show us more.
bsvirginian