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| (Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams) |
We sailed with these guys two years ago and loved it so much we were really looking forward to seeing them again. They were the new kids on the block two years ago. When we went to book with them for this cruise, they were #2 on tripadvisor.com. How exciting for them!! One of the things we love about this excursion is it's personal. The cat only holds 14 passengers. Two years ago it was us and another couple. These guys are all about personal service and making their passengers happy. Mike was a new addition since our last visit and he was a trip. Apparently also known as the local Chris Rock, he was cutting one-liners left and right.
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| (Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams) |
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| (Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams) |
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| (Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams) |
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| (Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams) |
Our first stop was two shipwrecks. The water was very calm but the water wasn't super clear so the snorkeling could've been better, but was still really nice. There were a ton of fish - it didn't hurt that Mike was feeding them.
A short ride later we were at a spot some of the turtles like to hang out. Again, it doesn't hurt that Mike was feeding them. They are so tame they swim right up to and by you without flinching. You can reach out and touch them very easily - in fact I did, a couple of times. So bloody cool!! The worst part was the crowd of people. There was another large tour there the same time and it was very difficult to even float, much less, move around to see, touch or photograph them. The water was beautiful and a little cool but not bad. There wasn't much wind so we didn't get any good sailing in without the motor. They did raise the sails so we could have the effect and it was still very relaxing.
About a half hour away we anchored by a beach and were served lunch (we'd had finger food snacks along the way). The food was just as good this time as it was before (flying fish, red beans and rice, cucumber salad, potato salad, some kind of Mac & cheese). The beer and drinks flowed as much as you wanted them to. We stuck with the local beer (Banks) except for trying Nick's homemade coffee rum with whipped cream (still not sure whether or not that's true) and man was it good. Wow. We swam and floated for a good hour or so (I think - I'm really guessing because none of us had any sense of time). All too soon it was time to head back. It was really cool to have 8 of us sailing together. Everyone said they loved it and had a wonderful time and would do it again. That's the ultimate test.
We got back to port a little after 3:00. I think the sun, beer and salt water had begun to hit everybody. It was a quiet ride back. LOL. Most of us got redder than we thought or intended. Bob says I look like an owl. Isn't that nice? I used 15 on my body and, for the most part, it seems to be ok. I used 30 on my face and I look like an owl. Jim looks like he spent the day on a grill and so does Regina and DE. I guess none of us took into account how close to the equator Barbados is and the sun is a lot stronger down here. Thank goodness we're doing an island tour in St. Lucia tomorrow and staying out of the sun.
Our first stop once we got back to the ship was the sauna. We spent about 30 minutes in the steam room and sitting on the heated bench. All too soon it was time to get back and shower before dinner. The day was flying by.
We had an awesome dinner in Blu tonight. It was wonderful having Gabriel as our server again. He is just the best. They were slammed, though, and it did take a while. Most of us started with the lobster salad - it was good but not my favorite. I opted for the parsnip soup with duck confit as my second appetizer and it was the bomb! I loved that stuff! Several at the table got the salmon for their entree, Bob got ribs, Sarah got the steak, Regina chose the veggie dish and DE and I ordered the orzo with chicken. If I remember correctly the fun conversation didn't start up until after dinner and we were all toast.
We had planned to go to the 9pm show tonight - some kind of magic show - and then the to the Newly Wed - Not so Newly Wed show at 10:30. We've seen that every time we've sailed and it is the best fun!! But as we sat at dinner we all (except Bob) start to deflate. Between the sun, water, food and alcohol we're all done. I made the comment that we could catch the Newly Wed game on reruns in our room and at once everyone was on board with that. Regina said she didn't need to see the magic show either, then Jim chimed in and that's how it went around the table. I was sitting there, a whipped puppy, knowing I had to come back to journal at whatever time our evening ended. It really wasn't looking good for me so I was on board with an early evening as well. This is when it starts getting out of control ...
Bob and DE start sharing golf stories which turned into Bob saying the DE rubs his balls for good luck, and then DE starts telling jokes which I can't even begin to journal because no one can tell a joke like DE. He's got the accent, speech impediment, facial expressions and sound effects to go with them that simply do not translate into words. I could try but I'd fail miserably. There was one about a camel that had to be pumped up every 25 miles; one about a drunk guy in a bar that had three tasks to complete to win a jackpot, and he mixes them up (knocking a big dude off of a bar stool, pulling a bad tooth on a Doberman with an attitude and pleasing an unpleasable woman); and one about a guy with a speech impediment who goes into a nut shop and bitches about the prices of the nuts. I remember the punch line on that one but you wouldn't think it was funny if I wrote it so I'm not going there. Maybe one day reading this I can fill in the blanks face to face ... or not. What's the chance that I'll actually remember it anyway? Hahahahaha
Gabriel ends the evening for us by doing his famous magic trick - tearing up a napkin in from of us and putting it back together. He is so cute. Just love him to death! On the way back to the cabin we find ourselves at the Lido deck to get water, and what do ya know but that Jim ordered an after dinner drink. Sambuka. Yummmmm. Then we had to have one. It's the vortex baby! That black hole again!! Bob and Jim have this thing about the vortex and black hole. I'm not sure which one is worse or who causes what but they always talking about it.
I may get to bed early tonight. It's not 11 yet and I think I'm about as done as I'm gonna be for now. I can always add pictures later.
(Note: Tomorrow I'm taking my phone just so I can make notes about the day so it'll make it easier to remember everything. I know I've left out some good stuff over the last two days just because I can't remember them! Maybe when everyone else gets to read this they can help me fill in the blanks. Crossing my fingers.
Night!
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