Sunday 4th February - Barbados

Beaching it in Barbados

So today we are in Bridgetown Barbados. We had already told the shorex team that we didn't want to escort any tours today so we've got the day off. As an added bonus, it's a long day ashore and we won't leave until 10 o'clock tonight. What are we going to do with all this sun? Sadly Peter has to work and catch up with his online students so we decided to spend the morning using the free Wi-Fi in the terminal, and after an early lunch, we , and Chris, the creative writing instructor, would spend the afternoon on a beach.

Now if you look at TripAdvisor the best abeach in Bridgetown is the Boathouse which has very much a party atmosphere and the booze flows freely. But it's a bit expensive if you're not really a partyloving drinker, so last year Peter and I found the Pirate Cove right next door.  (I should point out that the Boathouse is cheap for cruise ship crew). Using the beach itself is free, but if you want to use a lounger and parasol then you'll need to pay a few dollars for the rental of, which is exactly what we did.

OK, so I'm not really a beach person. But I do like swimming and particularly snorkeling, and where better to snorkel than in the Caribbean. It wasn't the best of days in Caribbean terms, in fact it was a bit cloudy and overcast and it even rained a few times. But the sea was warm and I had my contact lenses in, and my snorkel, and my goggles, and I was as happy as the proverbial pig in ... Last year Peter bought me an underwater camera and I was able to use it to film the fish as I swam.

I still haven't worked out how to use the camera though, and didn't film the couple of more exciting fish that I managed to see, but I did get an excellent short clip of a large shoal, which I totally bored Peter and Chris with later.

After a few hours, we headed back about 5 o'clock, mostly because Chris hasn't brought any cigarettes with her, but also because the rain was becoming more persistent and the air was getting cooler too. (So what happened to the fabled Caribbean weather?)

And the reason that I mentioned crew rates for The Boathouse?  Well, on return to the ship, I bumped into one of the staff that had taken advantage of those rates. Absolutely hammered and hysterically funny trying to maintain a professional image. Just class!

So that was Bridgetown Barbados. Tomorrow we are visiting the port of Castries, on the island of St Lucia and escorting an all day tour. Let's hope it's a good one.