Before I go into our day, though, I must give a shout-out to friend Suzan who talked me down off the ledge yesterday when I was ready to pack up and go home...if only I could have found airfare cheaper than $1100. Of all days for us to not have a pre-booked flight home! I was all "I miss my bed. I miss my bathroom. I miss my shower. I miss the twins" (who had already texted me about today's playoff games for their basketball league and asking when I was coming home...neither of which especially helped my homesickness). And Suzan acknowledged that I had been away for home a lot since September and it was normal to be homesick but what a great itinerary this cruise had and she and Greg were wishing they were here and... Well, it was exactly what I needed to hear. And sleep was exactly what I needed to do. It was a different world today.
So enthused was I this morning about this cruise that lies ahead of us that I suggested to G over breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room that we really should do the hike down to the lighthouse on the southern end of Eleuthera, the Bahamian island where Princess Cays is located. Really. I guess I kind of expected him to decline my offer, telling me was more important for us to just relax and enjoy the beach today. Which he didn't. Instead, he was back in the cabin packing for a hike before I even finished eating. There was no turning back.
We were on an early tender to shore and I was talking with an older couple on the way to the island. They asked why I was carrying my walking sticks and I told them of our plans for the day. "Oh, you're doing the Eleuthera Death March", the lady said. They had stayed on Eleuthera 30 years ago and drove as far as they could take a car to the southern end of the island, and then walked the rest of the way to the lighthouse. Apparently that hike hasn't improved over the years. And also apparently, it's not just me who thinks it's a rough way to get some exercise.
We left a note with the senior security officer on the tender pier about who we were and where we were going and what time we expected to return (in case they had to go and pick up the pieces), and started off at 9:45am. In one way, it hadn't changed since we last did this; the road is not in any better shape. However, in another way, it was a totally different sport. Unlike the days when we would not see another person for the five hours we'd be away from Princess Cays, today we were passed by nearly 20 dune buggies and a few 4-WD vehicles along the way.
Everyone offered us a ride, with the lady driving the support vehicle for the dune buggies asking us if we knew what we were getting into. Oh yes, too well. We declined all offers of aid, and offered it instead. G assisted a guy in putting the chain back on one of the dune buggies when it broke down.
My walking sticks saved me from any stumbles or turned ankles on the very rough sections of the road. We didn't encounter a single mosquito, though we were well covered with DEET, and, though it was mostly sunny, the high was probably in the mid-70s, so we were never uncomfortably warm.
Our first glimpse of palm trees after well over an hour of walking told us we were almost there, and even though this adventure was not new to us, there is nothing as beautiful as the first view of the beach on the Caribbean side of the southern point. When we crossed the dune overlooking it and walked the whole length of the beach, ours were the only footprints on the entire beach. That is a spectacular feeling.
At the end of the beach, by the tidal pools etched out of the rough coral, we finally encountered the people we had seen going down to the lighthouse. The dune buggies were parked there (they used to go over the dunes to Lighthouse Beach on the Atlantic side, but it was simply too rough for the dune buggies), and the participants on that excursion were just returning from climbing up to the lighthouse. And a group of six people from the Eleuthera Tours excursion had also just finished exploring the lighthouse and were settling down to have lunch on the beach. Their guide, Kristel, was very impressed we had walked down from Princess Cays, and offered us a ride back in a couple of hours when they left. We declined...then.
G and I carefully picked our way across the sharp coral tidal pools on the southern end of the Caribbean beach and climbed up the path that leads to the now-defunct lighthouse on the cliff overlooking the southern tip of Eleuthera. We commented that, when we first did this hike five or so years ago, the path was almost indiscernible amongst the brush. Now it is clearly visible, but it is still rough in spots and partially covered with decaying vegetation.
I'm always afraid we're going to go to the lighthouse one year and see it closed off or repaired, a safety measure with all the people now visiting it on excursions. But, thankfully, nothing had been changed. The wooden floor is still rotted, the wooden ladder to the loft is still there. We explored a bit and then picked our way now to the narrow pocket beach that disappears entirely at high tide. As we scaled the rock wall going down to that beach, I couldn't help but wonder how many more years we'd be able to do that.
G, of course, had to stop my heart by going out on the very end of the cliff at the end of the island; and then we climbed down the rocks leading to Lighthouse Beach on the Atlantic side. A rope railing here, and a rope at the top of the cliff overlooking the pocket beach, were the only safety improvements we saw. I'm glad it hasn't changed too much.
We sat on the sand for awhile, and then climbed across the coral caves to a small cave that is impossible to access during high tide, but we were lucky to be there at low tide today. We could see a ship anchored at a Half Moon Cay on Little San Salvador Island about 15-20 miles away. And there were a couple of people on the far end of that beach. But mostly it was just us, and the sound of the waves. Absolute heaven.
We explored a lot, and climbed some more, and walked on the beach even more, until it was finally time for us to start back in order to safely return to Princess Cays in time for the last tender at 3pm. We climbed back up the rocks to the lighthouse and then down the hill on the other side and across the tidal pools. G kept asking me if I thought we should hitch a ride back with Eleuthera Tours, but I didn't want to (just what was in that Ambien?). We hadn't had any issues so far, and, though the walk back is always harder (it's a slight but constant uphill), I knew we could do it. Then (and this part will be debated forever), G, who is as surefooted as a mountain goat and who had just been scaling all sorts of coral cliffs where a fall would have been fatal, had one foot slip into tidal pool. He slipped on a relatively flat surface. Slipped! He was fine, of course, but his left shoe and sock were soaked.
I was, and am, highly suspicious. At that point, we had no other option than to hitch a ride back to Princess Cays. He would have had blisters on blisters if we walked. This also gave us another hour to explore the Caribbean beach where Eleuthera Tours was just finishing their beach barbecue. We had a blast, talking with the tour participants and Kristel and further exploring the beach, secure in the knowledge that we could expend as much energy as we wanted...we were riding back in style.
We were on the second last tender back to the Emerald Princess just before 3pm. It had been a wonderful day with beautiful scenery, and we weren't even tired. We showered and went up to Skywalkers to watch sailaway and look at our many photos from the day. It was even herbed goat cheese night at the PES Lounge. We hadn't eaten since breakfast and were starved. Still, we ate just enough to take the edge off the hunger pains and went to dinner at 5:30pm, where it was Italian night. Italian night with penne arribiata and chicken strips accompanied by a glass of Merlot after a day with lots of exercise is like a dream come true for me. I also had the seafood antipasto and a delicious salad with pine nuts and pecorino cheese...and limoncello sorbet for dessert, of course. What a feast!!
We went from dinner to the Princess Theater for the 8pm performance of production show I Got the Music. Then, while G stopped in Club Fusion to listen to a music trivia being run by Deputy Cruise Director Frenchie, I took the elevator up to the jogging track on Deck 19 for a look at tonight's beautiful moon (it is full?) shining on the ocean. And I was instantly reminded of that night five months ago, watching the super moon in September glisten on the water as the Pacific Princess cruised around the islands of Moorea and Tahiti. This has been an amazing winter. We really are living the dream this year. And I'm so glad that, although we are nearing the end, it's not over yet.
My night of sleep had changed everything.
Life is good. :-)
