Bridgetown, Barbados

An update on our luggage - now it looks like it will be January 25 in Rio. I have plenty I could say about this but I will refrain. On a lighter note, it struck me as funny that the concierge told his boss (the general manager) "every time I see them they're wearing the same clothes!"

This morning we woke in Bridgetown. This is the beautiful thing about cruising. You go to sleep in one place; you wake up in a totally different one. And someone else took care of the logistics of getting you there safely and on time. It's fun to pull back the curtain in the morning and see where you are!

Bridgetown is large enough to have a mall and I was hoping that we could get a cab to take us there so I could hopefully buy a few basics. However, today being Sunday all the stores were closed.

We were also hoping there would be some kind of church service onboard. However, the Currents edition only listed "prayer and reflection" (non hosted) in the Artist Loft at 8:30 a.m. Neither of us slept well last night so we had coffee around 6 a.m. and then went to breakfast as soon as the earliest cafe opened. What a nice surprise to meet a couple at the table next to us who were both Aggies! I'm sure we will enjoy getting to know them as in the months ahead.

I'm still not feeling 100% so after breakfast I came back to the room while Ronnie went to check out the "church service". There are somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 guests onboard this ship but unfortunately only 7 people showed up. No one leading, nothing organized or planned. So Ronnie suggested they start by just introducing and telling a little about themselves. Everyone there was from a different state. After everyone had introduced themselves, he mentioned that we've been studying the book of Esther for the past couple of weeks in Bible Study Fellowship and he could share what he's been learning in this Old Testament book. They appreciated his offer to share, so he just basically went through the story of Esther and talked about what he had learned from it. Perhaps they figured out that he's a teacher? So next week he will be talking about Ezekiel's vision, and hopefully over time some of the others will volunteer to lead as well.

With no stores open, we went ahead on the excursion we had booked, the Atlantis Submarine Adventure. I knew I wouldn't be snorkeling so I thought this would probably be my best chance of seeing some colorful fish. We had done this some years ago (in Mexico, maybe?) and it wasn't great, but this excursion appealed more than the others so I chose it even though I'm a bit claustrophobic.

 

above and underwater view

turning backward to descend steep staircase

 

view inside sub

I did o.k., but probably the most exciting thing we saw was an old shipwreck. We did see schools of pretty blue fish, but mostly at a distance. The guys who ran the sub used humor and music (plus the "dun-dun" of Jaws) as we descended lower. By the time the excursion was over, everyone was singing "We all live in a yellow submarine..." 

Hello, Dory!

schools of tiny blue fish

shipwreck on bottom of ocean

The dardnest thing happened while on this excursion though. There was an older gentleman and his wife on the same tour. Ronnie recognized him from decades back as the legendary American sportscaster Vern Lundquist. He was very friendly and kind enough to let me take a picture of Ronnie with him. He and his wife are on this ship for the next 6 months, so we will likely get to have dinner with them sometime during our voyage. 

 

Ronnie with Vern Lundquist

 

It was another hot day in the Caribbean and I was totally sweating by the time we arrived back at the ship. I have to keep reminding myself that this is January! We were hungry so we ate a very late lunch, then came back to our cabin and took naps. Ronnie will probably attend the Blue Horizon party on deck tonight but my wardrobe (and energy) is limited so I will probably enjoy another room service meal while I catch up on my blog and try to sort out my photos from today. 

 

Norwegian and Marella ships docked across from Vista

I didn't even talk about the island of Barbados, but thought this was an interesting tidbit from today's Currents. "Barbados was once known as 'the land of the flying fish'. Though no longer abundant in local waters, the flying fish is indispensable to Bajan culture and cuisine. It can be stewed, grilled or baked. When flying fish is served with cou-cou, a thick and tasty cornmeal and okra mixture, you have the 'National Dish' of Barbados. Among other traditional dishes are rice and peas, fish cakes, salted cod from Canada - enjoyed since the British Colonial period - and the ever popular pudding and souse - steamed, seasoned sweet potato served as a solid ball with well cooked and pickled pork loin." 

 

Think I'll pass...

I forgot to mention that the ship's chef plans the meals according to locale so if one is an adventuresome eater, there are lots of different types of cuisines to try.  

 

another beautiful sunset as we set sail for Devil's Island