Day 6- St. Lucia

 I think besides Aruba, this was the day I was looking forward to the most. We chose the Beach Break excursion. We should have just stayed on the ship...

The island has just opened up so we were required to wear masks everywhere, only go on an approved excursion, or take a taxi to one of their approved sites. When we finally got the go-ahead to get off the ship, there was a line as long as the ship and looped back. We had to show our vaccine cards, go through a temperature check, and then get in another line for our excursion. It took over an hour. 

They never said we would be shoved onto a bus and have to go on a 45 minute bus ride to the beach. It was supposed to be at Sandals resort and we had "chairs reserved just for you" and umbrellas at a cost. We were shoved to the end of the beach in old stained chairs and umbrellas were $10. Sandals resort was about 1/2 mile down the beach. Our water has floating trash. They promised drinks- there were no drinks. There were lots of sketchy people trying to sell us stuff. At one point, a guy came by selling marijuana. A girl in a bikini from our ship left with him to go smoke it. I took note of what she looked like in case she disappeared.

Thank goodness the view was really quit beautiful!

We wanted to get a taxi to leave but our phones didnt work there (long story).  Our entire group kept saying we wanted to leave. Especially as it was starting to get dark and super sketchy people were showing up. There would be 4-5 adults just sitting in a car. We were told that after the tourists leave, they all come to the beach to party, drink, do drugs. So we insisted we leave. Finally our bus came and instead of taking us the normal route, they took us up the mountain, flying around corners with drop off cliffs.  It was again over 45 minutes and boy was I glad when we got back to the ship.  The poverty we saw is heart breaking but I am perfectly fine if we never visit St. Lucia again.

That night we went to see the comedian Warren B. Hall and again, he was fantastic! So funny and entertaining!

https://youtu.be/QPE4ADsjb_8

PS- This is their picture of the beach break- this is NOT where we went...

Day 5 -Kralendijk, Bonaire

 Bonaire is so beautiful! It's waters are protected and boats and ships can't even anchor. 100% of its waters are protected It is where lots of divers and snorkelers go. We took the glass bottom boat tour since we have never done that before. It was lead but a girl who moved there from the Netherlands. It wasn't what I was expecting but it was very cool! We prefer actual snorkeling so we can be immersed in that environment.

The color of the water is intensely beautiful!!!

That night Bob talked me into going to see the Barricade Boys. A new vocal group from the UK that performs on the West End (which is like Broadway in the US). Oh.My.Gosh. They were absolutely fantastic!!!! They sand from Les Miserables, Mo town, etc and had dance moves. Wow!

https://youtu.be/PHc7IKdJZZ0

Day 4- Willemstad, Curacao

 Curacao (pronounced cure-a-so) is a Dutch Caribbean island. It reminded me so much of the Netherlands and the Vankays!  The homes are painted all sorts of colors.  I'll be honest, before this cruise I had no idea this island even existed. We decided to just walk around and enjoy the city and then go to a beach (which we never found). But it is such an adorable little town.

We got to cross the floating Queen Emma Bridge which was awesome. It opens several times a day to let ships through.

Across the bridge is a huge heart with locks from couples all around the world.

Then we went back onto the ship and enjoyed the day in the sun! I didnt take as many pictures as I usually do. I was soaking it all in.

 

At night we went to see the magician again. He had a new show. It was fantastic!

Day 3- Aruba

 Oranjestad, Aruba!

 This island is gorgeous and way, way tinier than I thought! We rented a car (which took 45 minutes to get) and traveled to the other side of the island to follow the main road through lots of really cool spots. We were happy to have our own car and be on our own schedule.

Our 1st stop was on the east side of the island where the water splashed up high against the dark rocks and was so stunningly beautiful!

 

WE continued up the coast to a fort where you could ride ATVs along the coastline but we took pictures and headed up the coast.  There was a HUGE area of layered stacked rocks, like a zen graveyard? It was so cool!

We made it up to the hole in the rock which was beautiful!

Then we found the church where most of the slaves were forced to become Christian. The history of slaves in the Caribbean is sad everywhere :( The whole middle of the island looks like Phoenix with tons and tons of Cacti and so very dry.

The beaches are gorgeous! Some day we would like to go back and spend time at each beach, visit the animal rescue sanctuary and ostrich farm, and find the thousands of Flamingos!

Almost every night we were able to catch the sunset from our balcony!  So beautiful!

That night we went to the comedy magic show to see Fred Moore.  It was FANTASTIC! I have no idea how he did it all, but he kept us glued the entire 45 minutes!

Side Note: Day 2 was a day at sea. We enjoyed walking around and eating amazing food. At night, we watched the ballroom dance show called "Burn the Floor." It was absolutely amazing!!!  These were top of the line professional dancers and I was blown away. Yes, it made me miss dancing. What a fantastic show!