What a Grand (Turk) Day!

This is the only port we did a ship's tour. I chose a snorkeling trip to two different spots and the remainder of the day spent on a beach near the ship. We docked at 9:30 and made our way to our tour that left at 10am.

We walked to a small boat docked right next to the ship and set off for the first snorkeling stop. And what a great spot it was. The boat anchored about 20 or 30 feet from the "WALL". This is an area that drops hundreds of feet from the snorkeling depth of about 20 feet deep. It was amazing and a tiny bit creepy at the same time. There were tons of fish and interesting coral formations. The Captain of the boat actually had to yell at the group several times to get back aboard. We were there for at least an hour--and I am pretty sure I only lifted my head out of the water 3 times.

 The edge of the wall, looking into the deep blue sea

 Look at that sea fan!

 I could not believe how many fish were gathered right there. This was at the wall.

Our tour guide dove down and was actually down the side of the wall. Crazy!

Our next stop was in an area that much more shallow and had much less living coral. It made me sad to see so much dead coral. But they are trying to rebuild reefs using boulders and sinking ships to the bottom. However, there were still areas of living coral and lots of fish to see. This stop was about an hour but was sort of irritating due to these creatures that had no regard for anyone but themselves and just kicked and paddled their way wherever they pleased. UGH I was kicked 3 times, once in the head. Not even a hint of apology. Azzholes.

I did get some good photos of lots of fish several, I've not seen before.

 I have no idea what type of fish this is, but it was beautiful

 Another Gorgeous Sea Fan

Brain Coral

If this fish could talk I'm pretty sure he would have a lisp. LOL LOL

 The fish were so unusual. I've never seen one like the blue, black orangey one near the bottom

And a video, somewhat disturbed by the 'creatures' on our boat. Right at the end is where I got kicked in the head. Fun!

After that, the boat drove right up to the beach and we went down the little ladder and there we were -- in the soft sand. Today's sand was so different than St. Kitts. It was light colored and very powdery, lovely to walk on.

We were starving so we made our way down the beach to a place recommended by our tour guides. We could see the grills smoking and smell the jerk chicken. On Yum. We found a table and ordered a variety of food and drink. I must say this was the BEST jerk chicken I've ever had and I wish I had
some right now!

We spent the rest of the day lounging in chairs, under umbrellas at the beach near the ship.
A very good time had by all!

Another Day in a New Paradise

Oh, what a day we had today! I think I can say this has been the best day yet. We LOVE St. Kitts! We didn’t rush to get off the ship this morning but instead made our way to gangway about 9am. We quickly found a taxi and for $4 each, were taken to Frigate’s Bay. On the drive there, we stopped at a lookout where you could see the Atlantic Ocean on one side of the land and the Caribbean Sea on the other. It was just stunning.

That's the adorable Betzi!

All the other people in our van were going to the Shipwreck Bar. We wanted to go to the Discovery Beach Bar. We did take a look at Shipwreck but did not care for the atmosphere there and there was very little actual beach. Plus, immediately people came out and put a monkey on Betzi's shoulder. Yuck, all I can think of is disease or fleas. Bleck. So, we started walking down the road to go to Discovery and our driver said to hop it and he would drop us off.

Wow! What a difference. I found this place after doing a bit of investigating and reading reviews on Trip Advisor. The owner is a man named Morsi and he takes such pride in his place. He rakes the sand and generally keeps it clear of any debris from the Palm Trees that are all over the property.

He charges $10 per person to use the lounge chairs, which are set up in groups of two with an umbrella. Or you can choose loungers underneath the palm trees—which is what I did. He also allows you to use his snorkel equipment and kayaks for free. And it’s nice stuff!

Here are a few shots from my chaise lounge!

Morsi also has a covered area with tables and chairs and there were several hammocks you could also lounge in. All in all, a great place to spend your life---err a day! We settled into our lounge chairs and just let all that ambiance wash over us. Water lapping at the shore, beautiful mountains in the distance, the gorgeousness of the water, a breeze blowing from the sea, the blackish sand between our toes and the reggae music playing at just the right volume. HEAVEN!

We roused ourselves from the loungers and went up to his bar and ordered some of his rum punch. Wow, did that pack a punch. Homemade with a sprinkle of nutmeg on the top and an extra splash of rum as well.

Soon, the water was calling to us and we had to get in. The water was so clear and only maybe 10 feet out, a reef. We were amazed that we could see sea urchins and starfish and even some fish right there. We were given snorkels then and proceeded to check out the marine life. It was gorgeous. I got some great pictures. What a wonderful experience that was! I think Kolton and I got a bit burned on our backs from spending all that time checking out life under the sea. But it was worth it!

Back to our loungers and another round of drinks (Rum punch is $6, he also had cans of beer 2 for $5 and boozy smoothies for $8) Life is very, very good! 

This is Morsi!

Around noon, we decided to get something to eat. We had 2 orders of his ginger wings and an order of coconut shrimp. Both were excellent. There were grilled vegetables included – the plantains were out of this world. Everything was cooked over an open flame on his oil drum grill. After eating, we got a couple of frozen rum-filled smoothies. My strawberry one was so good. We settled back into our loungers and Betzi chose a hammock and we napped a little, and cooled off a little in the water and then lounged some more. Before we knew it, it was time to walk back up the road to the Shipwreck Bar to meet Uncle Barry’s taxi for the ride back.

I was extremely thirsty and Morsi sent me on my way with a can of Bitter Shandy that was so delicious. I wish I could remember the brand. But after a hike in the sun to catch our taxi, I realized that it was really good none of us were driving. Woo-hoo we were lit!

Interesting Streetlights!

An uneventful drive back to the port where we browsed in some of the duty-free stores. Then it was back to the ship for a quick shower, guzzling about a half a gallon of water and a fairly long nap for this drunken Gypsy!

We had reservations at the steak house tonight. Fahrenheit 555 is the name of the place. The service is amazing and the food is out of this world. It is $35 up-charge but well worth it. We began with our choice of rolls which were accompanied by butter, olive oil with a clove of garlic and another type of oil based dipping sauce. This was followed by a dish, compliments of the chef. It was Oxtail something on a toast point. Not my thing but it was presented beautifully. Then came an appetizer. I chose the crab cake, followed by a Caesar Salad. I made myself only eat about ½ of each because the entrée would be out next. I ordered surf and turf. It was so good. The beef was so flavorful—I chose the mushroom sauce to go with it and they brought that out in a small gravy boat. Oh, and I chose a baked potato with all the ‘trimmings’—perfectly portioned amounts of butter, sour cream, bacon and chives. Magnificent!

But wait, there’s more! Dessert. I had the chocolate sampler. Four different desserts in small glasses, a bit larger than a shot glass. Presented beautifully on a long plate and followed by a Steak House Tea Selection.

Betzi and I had the chocolate sampler. 4 different glasses of deliciousness:

  Kolton had the homemade lime sorbet.


My Steak House Tea complete with a timer to allow the perfect steeping time.

What a wonderful dinner—and the atmosphere also made this dinner even more special.

I wish I could do this day over again, like 50 more times! I do know, I’ve put this island on my list of places to return. I loved it here.

 It's 12:19 here and we are in Port in Puerto Rico tomorrow at 7am, so I am going to try and get some sleep. I really will post pictures tomorrow! We have all aboard at 1:30 so I should have time to post pictures. With the download speed though, it may take until dinner to get a few loaded.  

We are planning to take the free Trolley around the old towne tomorrow!