Sunday in San Juan

 Our ship docked early Sunday morning but our flights home were not until after 4 PM. What to do??? Take a bus tour of Old San Juan! We had not seen much of the city before the cruise so an NCL tour of Old San Juan was the perfect answer. NCL took care of our luggage, getting it to the airport and guarding it until we arrived to collect it. Our tour bus was a 20-30 passenger van with a very knowledgable driver and tour guide. Here are some of the photos we took after visiting the fort and on our way to the airport.

Their new convention center is behind the "I heart PR" sign. The convention center roof line is shaped like a wave.

A statue of St. John the Baptist. According to our guide, the island was name St. John by its Spanish discoverer, Christopher Columbus in 1493.

Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, while the capital city was named Ciudad de Puerto Rico ("Rich Port City"). ~ Wikipedia

The island's name was changed to Porto Rico by the United States after the Treaty of Paris of 1898. ~ Wikipedia

The statue stands between the sea and the capitol building.

some of the colorful buildings and narrow streets of Old San Juan

the capitol building

Statues of visiting US presidents line the street across from the capitol building. FDR, sitting in a wheel chair with his dog at his side, is on the left and Harry Truman is on the left. There were other, more current presidential statues, including the current president who visited during his first term.

colorful sign on the capitol grounds

Across the street were other statues in a memorial park inviting visitors to reflect on the past and honor those who have suffered.

Holocaust Memorial Monument

it is shaped like a scroll

Inscription: Let six million candles glow against the darkness of these unfinished lives

monument to honor teachers and education

view from the other side

lion statue 

Saturday on St. Kitts

 The island of St. Kitts was our final stop before returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday and flying back to AZ.

We did not see much of St. Kitts from our balcony. Instead we saw another HUGE cruise ship on the other side of the pier. In fact, we were looking into the balcony rooms on the P & O Icon. Pastel painted buildings were also very common in Basseterre just as they were in Aruba, Curacao and Saint Lucia.

some of the flowers we saw as we walked about 

On the pier walking into Basseterre we realized there were three cruise ships docked at the port. That meant the town would be very busy. The Queen Mary 2 is on the left. Icon from P & O Cruises in the middle and the Norwegian Viva is on the right. The Icon had room for 5000+ passengers!

the selfie sign just through the terminal building

As is most ports there is a geocache near the terminal and that was the case on Saturday. The geocache was on the side of terminal building and near the St. Kitts Chocolate Factory. Once the cache was found and signed we checked out the chocolates.

country #29

St. Kitts had the most shops and eating places near the port of any of our island stops. We found the prices to be very reasonable. Even with three cruise ships I did not feel like there were that many people looking for bargains in the shopping area. The space of the shopping easily handled the three cruise ships. There were lots of benches for sitting and resting and waiting in the area, but not a lot of shade.

There was music and dancing on one of the streets. There were also a couple of guys carrying small monkeys. The idea being if you wanted to hold a monkey for a photo, you paid the guy holding the cute monkeys. I did not see them approaching and pestering people. It seemed people had to stop them and ask. 

Basseterre had a small black sand beach not far from the tourist shopping area, but definitely in the town where the locals shopped and hung out. OFD and I walked to the beach and got the information and photos needed to complete the geocache requirements. While OFD checked out a grocery store, I sat on a bench in the shade and had a lovely conversation with a gentleman from Basseterre. He was on the bench to visit and greet folks he knew; a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning.

the Viva on the left and the Icon, a British cruise ship, on the right

tourists returning to their ships

I took this photo from our balcony. It shows the forward four (only 3 in the photo) moorings used to secure our ship to the pier. (There were mornings at the aft port side.) Watching the process of tying up and later untethering the ship is always interesting. Our ship was the first of the three to leave St. Kitts.

passing through the channel

another cloudy Caribbean sunset

Friday on Saint Lucia

 Thursday was a sea day, which we enjoyed. Friday morning we docked at the pier in Castries, Saint Lucia.

When I stepped on the balcony Friday morning this man in his wooden row boat was having a discussion with someone on our ship. He reached into the side cavity of his little craft and pulled out a lobster, a HUGE lobster, to show his audience and then stuffed it back into the side cavity. I also noticed two five gallon pails that looked full of fish or other edible creatures from the sea. The local continued to row around our moored ship until he was out of sight.

our first views of the island

cruise terminal and 'entrance' to the city

this egret was guiding the geocache we needed to find

The geocache had been moved because of construction (a new hotel) near the shoreline. One of these 3 ferry guides pointed us in the right direction.

country #28 for us

Once geocaching was out of the way, we explored the shops near the pier.

shopping on the left and on the right of the terminal building

OFD wanted to go farther into the town and check out the Castries Market, the largest open-air market in St. Lucia. It's located in the capital city of Castries, and is a popular destination for tourists and locals. 

Hubby and I chose not to go. Instead I wrote and mailed postcards to the grands. This postal box was conveniently located in the terminal building.

This group of preschool children were walking through the harbor shopping area chanting, "Choo Choo Train!"

the photo op sign on the island

one more geocache as we moved through the channel

our ship leaving the island, moving through the channel

churning up the waters as the ship picks up speed

a Caribbean sunset

Wednesday in Willemstad

Willemstad, Curacao (Netherland Antilles) was probably my favorite stop on this cruise. The colorful houses, the Dutch influence, the ease of getting around are just three of the reasons. Of course, the beautiful weather didn't hurt either! 

one of many options  in the port market stalls

 Curacao is a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the bitter orange variety laraha, a citrus fruit grown on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. It can be sold in numerous forms, though the most common are the orange-hued dry curaçao and blue curaçao, which is dyed bright blue. ~ Wikipedia

walls of Rif Fort

Colonial-era Willemstad was protected from marauding pirates and enemy navies with an extensive set of eight forts, six of which have survived intact into the present day. The oldest and most important is Fort Amsterdam, found at the entrance to Saint Anna Bay.

Built in 1828/1829 the Rif Fort was built between the entrance of the bay, the coast and the former Rif Water. It was built to protect the entrance of the St. Anna Bay and the outer part of the Otrabanda neighborhood.

a view from the upper level of Rif Fort

walking over the 'Swinging Old Lady"

the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge

buildings in Punda, across the pontoon bridge

a traditional geocache find in the Fort Amsterdam area of Willemstad

we explored Punda completing an Adventure Lab for geocaching

these are some of the statues and art work on our walk-about

Queen Wilhelmina

Chichi sculpture 

Chichi (tji-tji) is the loving household name for sister the eldest sister in the traditional Curacao family structure.

her backside

another Chichi

strong - proud - Caribbean

by artist Serena Israel and her team

the five stops on the Adventure Lab, exploring Otrobanda and Punda

including the floating market of fresh fruits and vegetables and handicrafts,

Dushi means babe,

and Queen Juliana Bridge built in 1967 (rebuilt 1974) which arches high over the bay

locks on the Punda Love Hearts

walking from Punda over Queen Emma to Otrobanda and Rif Fort

The flag is a blue field with a horizontal yellow stripe slightly below the midline and two white, five-pointed stars in the canton. The blue symbolises the sea and sky (the bottom and top blue sections, respectively), divided by a yellow stroke representing the bright sun which bathes the island. The two stars represent Curaçao and Klein Curaçao, with the five points on each star symbolise the five continents from which Curaçao's people descend. ~ Wikipedia

Rif Fort established in 1828, is a waterfront mall with a courtyard, stores & bars/eateries.

A shopping stop in the Delft store was a must as we headed back to the ship.

a successful shopping stop based on the shopping bag!

Tourism is Curacao's major industry.