January 2008 - Southern Carribean Cruise

January 2008 - We traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we embarked on a Southern Caribbean Cruise. The experience was wonderful! The scenery out of this world. We had so much fun and really met wonderful people.

St. Lucia
My favourite island for lush vegetation and scenery is St. Lucia with it's famous Twin Pitons on the island's verdant west coast.

Curacao
Next, I would have to pick Curacao. The capital is Willemstad, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a "topical Dutch" style of architecture with it's buildings painted in Crayola shades and with lots of gables and arches. (Note on Curacao. The locals pronounce it cor-sow. Non locals say cure a sow - like “fix a pig”.)

Antigua
Antigua was interesting and seemed to have a well organized infrastructure. Here we enjoyed Historic Nelson's Dockyard. The Historic Georgian dockyard and officer's housing sits next to large sailboats and yachts from around the world. Then we headed up the hill to Shirley Heights, to see most spectacular vista in Antigua - a panoramic view of English and Falmouth Harbors.

St. Kitts
In St. Kitts we docked the capital, Basseterre. It was established by French explorers in the early 17th century and features white colonial houses and a few surviving 18th-century buildings. We toured the island and then spent the remainder of our day at Reggae Beach which is directly across from St. Kitt's sister island - Nevis. The scenery at the narrows leading to this furthest point on the island is spectacular. We also, had the opportunity to see will green monkeys.

Barbados
Barbados was also a beach day and I had the opportunity to swim with the sea turtles.

Aruba
As far as the most fun day, Aruba wins out again for the second time (I had a great time there a few years ago). This time we rented a jeep and drove all around the coastline - in rugged off country roads all the way to the former site of the Natural Bridge (which met it's demise a few years ago) and then on to Baby Beach at the east coast of the island.

San Juan
And last but not least was Puerto Rico where we stayed before and after the cruise. Old San Juan, which is also a UNESCO Heritage site was enchanting by night and interesting by day. Many of the buildings have been lovingly restored to their former glory. Old San Juan which is a walled city with two fortresses is like a tropical Quebec City. On our return to San Juan, we stayed in the Condado region and rented a car to explore other areas of Puerto Rico. El Yunque is a tropical rain forest and is lovely and lush. Also, we spent a day at Monserrate Beach at Liquido. It is one of four beaches in Puerto Rico that has attained "Blue Flag" status which means that high standards have been met in terms of the upkeep of the facilities and the water quality.