The Geezer's Caribbean Caper

Hi -

Home port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. I stayed at a little country inn near Ceiba, on the eastern side of the island, and warmed up for the cruise with hikes in the US's only Rainforest National Park and afternoons at the beach. The countryside of PR is lovely; while the areas near cities remind me of Florida's endless strip malls. Ceiba is just up the hill from Roosevelt Roads, the Navy base where the USS Compass Island visited for a few days back in 1978. Believe me, the Compass Island was much more exciting than any cruise ship - but the PACE Program isn't operative any more so I had to make do with civilian transport for the next leg of the trip.

My cruise ship was Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas - currently one of the smallest ships in service. There was a special offer I found that let me visit 8 different ports over 12 days. Not a bad deal. The room was comfortable, the food excellent and plentiful, the service first rate. If I were interested in staying in a first class hotel, sipping rum drinks with little umbrellas in them, overeating, and engaging in marathon shopping this would have been perfect. A bit social for a confirmed recluse, but the classic movie channel was great.

The itinerary - St Maartin, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia, Barbados, Isla de Margarita Venezuela, Curacao, and Aruba - scribed an arc around the eastern and southern Caribbean. I also managed to go to St Martin, Anguilla and Nevis on my own. It was a fair sampling of the smaller Caribbean islands - with Dutch, English, French, and South American influences. But how much would I really see?

In the ports I had the sensation of visiting a series of Potemkin Village Malls - mostly a cluster of outlets and restaurants fronting relatively poor islands without much else happening economically aside from gated high-end resorts and the odd rehab spa. Actually I just missed Britney in Antigua. Evidently she only needed a day in rehab to straighten out her life. I'd need a lot more than that.

Once ashore I'd just walk in the opposite direction from the other passengers as we left the pier - taking public transportation, eating locally, trying to catch as much local color and experience as possible. Usually this ensured my almost total isolation, save for a rather odd elderly Jamaican couple that seemed to have the same itinerary as I if not the same pharmacist. I couldn't help but think of how much Rhodes changed after the cruise ship left in the afternoon. I know I missed a lot by returning to the ship each night.

There were certainly highlights - lunch in the little French port of Marigot, English Harbor/Nelson's Dockyard on Antigua, an old plantation home on Barbados, the colorful WHS city of Willemstad on Curacao, and several old colonial era churches with moving stories engraved on fading tombstones. But there just isn't the number and depth of historical sites that kept me enthralled in the Med.

At the very least you'll probably enjoy the photos. The real beauty of the Caribbean may be underwater, but I'll tackle that next time. I want to get scuba certified, find a really good location and spend time in one place. Anyone who wants to charter a sailboat just let me know. For now I'm going to enjoy Spring at the cabin. And for my mental health I'll try to keep in mind the message on a Caribbean taxi -

"Too Blessed to be Stressed!"

Feb 25, 2007

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