Kralendijk, Bonaire:
This cruise we visit only A an B of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire ,
and Curaçao). Yesterday was Aruba, today Bonaire .
They were a former Dutch colony that still maintains close ties with the Netherlands, Bonaire more so than Aruba .
Tomorrow we are on to Grenada ,
site of a minor U.S.
invasion some decades ago. Today Grenada is mostly known for hosting
a medical school for would-be doctors who can’t get into the extremely
selective med schools in the States. Hitting the books when hitting the beaches
is nearby has to be hard.
We flew south from Pittsburgh
to Ft. Lauderdale
a few days ago, and have been cruising the Caribbean Sea
since. The contrast between late autumn Pennsylvania
and the same period in the Caribbean is
dramatic.
That contrast is much greater than we’d experience going
from northern CA to HI at the same time, nearly as much as the contrast at this
time between WY and HI. Understanding the area’s draw on chilled
northeasterners is a no-brainer – it's thawing out.
Having seen Aruba not long
ago, we stayed aboard the ship when most folks went ashore. It is like having
this large ship to ourselves, our own giant “yacht.” Actually, I like the “sea
days” better than the “port days.”
We were on this ship two months ago for a Baltic
Sea cruise plus trans-Atlantic crossing and in that two months the
“feel” of the ship has changed substantially, for the worse. Same ship,
different “feel” – go figure. Many of the personnel have turned over, gone home
on leave or gone to other ships in the fleet. Of course it’s a different
passenger “consist” too.
