Day 146: Bonaire

Having stayed up for the Ultimate Deck Party last night, we slept in this morning, until nearly 9am. Our scheduled arrival in Bonaire at noon allowed us plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast in the buffet, straighten a few things in preparation for packing, and then walk on Deck 19 as we passed Klein Bonaire on our approach to the cruise ship pier in Kralendjik, Bonaire. 

It took awhile to get the Emerald Princess docked in the strong wind. As Captain Nash has said in the past, Bonaire today was hard to arrive at, but easy to leave. G and I packed up my laptop in my backpack to go back to the Internet cafe on land to download more TV series (just to see us through the next couple of days), but were separated in the mass of humanity in the Piazza waiting to disembark. That's always the case when there's a late arrival; everyone wants to get off at the same time. No worry, though. We both knew where we were going and met up on the way to the little telecenter tucked in by the Del Sol store. Whereas last time we had done this, we had been able to download about 12 hours of video over an Ethernet cable in one hour, today it took two hours just to get 8 hours of video, but we can finish out the cruise with that. 

We took the laptop back to the ship and left again to do just a quick snorkel - well, I snorkeled and G floated- down the waterfront. The beauty of Bonaire is that that can be done, safely and enjoyably and for free, within a couple of minutes walk from the ship. The downside is that it leaves me with not only a dirty swimsuit (which is easily hand washed) but with a dirty rash guard and swim skirt as well. As soon as we were back on the ship, I started what will surely be my last load of laundry (praise God!) with the little bit of Tide detergent we had left. We've used two 50-ounce bottles of laundry detergent this winter, right down to the last drop. I'm not sure if that's excellent planning, or just making what we have last till the end (but I think it's the latter). 

G made it out to a hot tub while I was doing laundry. Apparently another couple had noticed that the hot tub on Deck 17 aft was out of service all the time lately, and, after getting a bit of a run around about chlorine levels being out of whack (when the tub is empty??), raised enough of a stink to get the issue resolved. This has been ongoing all winter. G fought the fight once, but didn't want to have to go through it again. Luckily, someone else picked up the cause, and, hopefully, the hot tub will be open for our final three days on the Emerald Princess. The four hot tubs mid ship are too noisy for our taste, and it's quite a hike to the two quiet hot tubs in the Lotus Spa. We book this cabin simply because of its proximity to the Deck 17 hot tub; it's a bit of a let down when it's out of service. 

I can't say we were hugely hungry when it came time for Dinner with Darko, but these are very numbered at this point, and we are a bit reluctant to miss even one. We took a bottle of Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante that's been floating around here (no pun intended) since the holidays to start with dinner and finish at sailaway.

Darko suggested the veal, and -heaven help me- that's what I ordered, and they were perfect together. I made G promise not to give me any of his usual "Poor little baby cow" talk, which is guaranteed to snatch any good taste right out of my mouth, and he was good to his word. 

We were up on the Promenade Deck for sailaway, to watch as "the gangways were struck, the lines let go and the Emerald Princess thrust off its berth". (We've learned so much nautical talk from Captain Stenzel!). 

We stayed until the lights of Bonaire were no longer to be seen, and then excitedly returned to the cabin to watch some of the TV shows we purchased from iTunes and downloaded today. 

Other entertainment options were Disco:  Blame it on the Boogie, and Philomena on MUTS, both strong offerings but...new TV shows. That's no contest, at this point in our winter. 

Day 106: Bonaire

With no reason to have to get up early, we didn't. In fact, we didn't even make it to breakfast in the dining room, and so grabbed a bowl of cereal in the Horizon Court Buffet. I spent the rest of the morning walking on Deck 19; G made certain the hot tubs didn't disappear. ;-)

Upon our arrival in Bonaire (a sunny though slightly windy day; typical Bonaire weather), we walked off the ship in search of high speed Internet. Our goal was to download a season of a TV show, so, about 11 hours of video. There is a wonderful Internet provider in the little plaza next to the Del Sol store ($4 for 30 minutes; $6 for an hour), but the manager told us it would not allow for video downloading over wifi. However, he had an Ethernet cable we could use...success!  We purchased the show from iTunes and started downloading it, and simultaneously purchased an hour of wifi for each of our iPhones. Heaven!  While the TV show was downloading, we also downloaded TurboTax, which we had purchased online in St. Thomas a couple of weeks ago. Once downloaded, we installed it and downloaded updates and...well, for 60 minutes, both of us and our electronics were running on overdrive.

We re-packed my laptop in my backpack and walked back to the ship to have a bite of lunch (2 slices of pizza for each of us), and then gathered up our two Swimways floats and my mask and snorkel, layered on the sunscreen and walked back off the ship.

Our goal was something we've wanted to do for awhile...we put in our floats next to Karel's bar and restaurant (on the pier next to the cruise ship dock from which the water taxi to Klein Bonaire departs), settled ourselves in them and proceeded to paddle down the entire length of the waterfront in Kralendjik. At least G paddled; I spent most of the time in the water, snorkeling and kicking. 

We paddled/ snorkeled the length of the bright blue area:

While the coral wasn't impressive, the fish were, particularly around the small docks which house the fishing boats. There were several huge fish carcasses in the bottom, not gross because they were cleaned out, but be forewarned. But, exactly for that reason, the fish life was abundant. A school of at least 100 blue tangs seemed to play "follow the leader" with me the entire time, I saw several beautiful angel fish and many types of parrot fish. I even saw one sea snake on the bottom, but kept my distance. Sadly, I didn't take my iPhone...for this first venture, I decided my Tilly hat and sunglasses were more important. But I spent so much time actually in the water snorkeling that next time I'll leave the hat and glasses behind and take the iPhone instead. 

Though the water temperature was warm (83.5F degrees), after two hours I was getting cold and G was getting tired of paddling with his arms. Luckily, we were just passing a dock from which G spotted a rusted ladder hanging. It was a bit slippery, but we climbed up it and hoisted our floats up on the dock, and then walked back to the ship. I had worn a swim skirt and my rash guard, just to be a bit covered up on the walk back to the ship, and I had skipped using fins and simply worn my Tevas while I snorkeled. The whole venture was very successful; we didn't get run over by a boat, we didn't get blown over to Klein Bonaire, and we had no trouble getting out of the water (these had all been concerns). Most significantly, it cost us nothing, is available on every stop in Bonaire, and can be done on our own schedule. And it was fun!

Once back on the ship, it was nearly 5pm, so we showered quickly and went to Dinner with Darko. I was tired. Really tired. I could barely keep my eyes open over dinner, and we ate in near silence (thank God for a table for two!). We had planned to go to the 7:15pm performance of production show Disco:  Blame it on the Boogie in the Princess Theater (there is no other featured performer tonight), but I was just too tired. Instead we stood up on the Promenade Deck while the lines were released and the Emerald Princess pushed away from the dock at 7pm...

...then went up to the jogging track on Deck 19 for a photo of the ship sailing into the western sky just after sunset...

...then met up on the Terrace Deck for a Gin and Tonic while watching the moon's reflection on the ship's wake and the lights of Bonaire fade in the distance. 

And, as the icing on the cake of a generally perfect day, we have lots new TV shows to watch in our cabin. I haven't seen The Love Boat in nearly a week. 

Life is good!  ;-)

Day 86: Bonaire

So much to tell you; so little energy. That's what always happens when we've had a fun and busy day, and even moreso when that day's been spent in the water. 

Our morning was at sea; our scheduled arrival in Kralendjik, Bonaire was noon. We did the usual...International Cafe for coffee and DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast with Joel and Erika. I had a goal this morning to do my nails...and it turned into a frustrating and time consuming activity. I was using Sally  Hansen nail strips in glitter for the first time; bad, bad, bad. 30 minutes after I applied them the corners were peeling off.  It was quite a disappointment after the non-glitter ones lasted two weeks without chipping, and I'll be placing a call to Sally Hansen on turnaround day to tell them all about it.  

I finished them up the best I could just before noon (three hours. I spent THREE HOURS!!), and pulled my snorkel gear out of the beach suitcase under the bed, applied at least 1/4 of a tube of sunscreen and then put a rash guard and swim skirt on over that. We were meeting Bob and Janet and Ross and Claudette to take a water taxi over to Klein Bonaire to snorkel ($20 round trip, leaves Bonaire on the hour and Klein Bonaire on the half hour). We enjoyed the best weather we've had all winter today in Bonaire, and this was the perfect day for snorkeling. The sun was bright and the wind was relatively mild (for Bonaire). 

We drift snorkeled over and over again, and on our last run saw an illusive sea turtle. 

Hungry and tired, we caught the 3:30pm water taxi back to Bonaire, and returned to the cabin to rinse the snorkel gear and shower. As much as I LOVE snorkeling on Bonaire, it leaves our cabin a wreck until everything drip dries. We were at the Michelangelo Dining Room for Dinner with Darko when it opened at 5:15pm and- joy of joys- it was Italian night!  Penne arrabiata with chicken and brocolli was the perfect meal after being in the water on a lunch-less day. We ate quickly and left the dining room by 6pm to go back on shore and take some photos of the Emerald Princess just before sunset.

Earlier in the day, we had seen some kids writing their names on the sidewalk in coral pieces. Fun!

Back on the ship at 6:30pm, we watched the beautiful sunset from the Promenade Deck as the Emerald Princess sailed... 

...and then returned to the Michelangelo Dining Room for dessert and coffee.  No entertainment for us tonight (production show Disco: Blame it on the Boogie was in the Princess Theater; it's 70s night in Club Fusion)...all I want is fuzzy water and bed. 

First, though, and of interest only to future cruisers on the Emerald Princess, I must report in the demise of wine packages on this ship. They will not exist after this cruise, for how long I'm not certain. They could not keep all the wines on the wine list in stock, and passengers would get upset when, after purchasing the packages, their favorite wines were not available. I'll let you know if the packages are sold again, but if you'll be on the Emerald Princess in the near future, I wouldn't count on purchasing a wine package. 

Day 64: Bonaire

Oh, what a fizzle Bonaire was today. We were scheduled to arrive early, at 7:00am, and the side thrusters started doing their thing at exactly 6:34am. Exactly. They continued doing their thing until after all the lines were out, about 7:10am. Sometime in between, I gave up on any more sleep and showered and went to the International Cafe for coffee. Shortly after the gangways were placed and we were cleared by the local authorities, the heavens opened and it rained, in the words of I Komang, serenity steward in the Sanctuary, cats and dogs. 

I finally made my way into breakfast with Darko in the DaVinci Dining Room, and told everyone who asked (which was pretty much everybody) that G was sleeping in. I knew he was taking advantage of the ship being still and quiet to get some quality sleep, but I finally snuck back into the cabin, grabbed some money and a walkie talkie, and walked off the ship. By then the rain had stopped, but the humidity was 127% and the sun was hot. Still, I treasured my alone time and perused every single craft stall in the market across the street from the pier. Bonaire has some of the best locally made souvenirs on any of these islands, and it's a pleasure to see something besides the ubiquitous T-shirt shops and Diamonds International. 

Before making any purchases, I continued down the "shopping street" one block off the waterfront and continued to browse...for about 15 minutes. By then I was pretty much shopped out (after 45 minutes). G reached me on the walkie talkie; he was up and in the buffet eating breakfast. I walked back to the craft market and made a $5 purchase:  Bonaire sea salt scrub in a lavender fragance, which, along with a steam room visit is just perfect for a sea day self-treat in the spa. 

G was finishing up breakfast when I got to the buffet, and we decided to walk off again while we formulated a plan, but we could see a large dark cloud closing in on Kralendjik. By the time we reached the Terrace Deck en route to our cabin, the skies opened and we were deluged. And that set the tone for the rest of our day in Bonaire:  heavy rain and huge winds (Captain Nick said tonight they reached 55 knots. He was running the thrusters just to keep the Emerald Princess tight along the pier).

Nasty, and not a day to be outside. I spent the rest of the morning booking more cruises for next winter, giving us some early options in October, and then we went to lunch with Darko about 1pm. It had been omitted from the Patter that the dining room was open for lunch today (due to our 2pm departure from Bonaire) and it was pretty empty in there, which, coupled with the rain pounding against the windows, made for a cozy lunch experience. 

We stood on the covered Promenade Deck while the lines were released, and then, during a momentary break in the rain, ventured up to the jogging track on Deck 19 for a birds-eye view of Bonaire.

A really crummy, rotten weather day. 

I love the way the wake curves as the Emerald Princess rounds the southern tip of Bonaire. 

I was in the mood for a hot tub by then. I love sitting in a cool rain while soaking in a hot tub, and I enjoyed talking with several fellow cruisers, and it was 4:15pm before I returned to the cabin. While the afternoon had been dark and stormy, there had been no lightning to chase me indoors. 

G, meanwhile, had done some hand laundry and attended the rum tasting (I had been wondering what had kept him away from the hot tub this afternoon), and was getting cleaned up for the evening when I returned. I did the same and we were at Dinner with Darko by 5:30pm (just salmon and brocolli for me. It hadn't been an especially active day...or an active day at all). We went to the 7:30pm Captains Circle party, sitting with Peter and Irene, who have Dinner with Darko at the table for two next to ours. We meet the nicest people sitting at tables for two!

We intended to go MUTS to watch the Sugar Bowl, but it's just too darn windy up there. Captain Nick had warned us about another rough night as we sail straight into a strong easterly wind while crossing the bottom of the Caribbean en route to Grenada. He was right. There is a second tropical deck party tonight (the first being on New Year's Eve) but I'm not certain how that will go, first because of the wind but also because people are a bit partied out. As it turns out, we're watching the Sugar Bowl in the comfort of our cabin. It's a bit chilly out there in the wind. (Please return your eyes to their full upright position. I know what many of you are dealing with tonight). 

And, finally, with little else to report today, I will share with you the results of my exhaustive (like 5 minute) study on chair hogs. This photo was taken of the Terrace Deck from Deck 19 while leaving Bonaire on a day that had been almost constantly rainy. A rotten day. Imagine how it would look on a sunny day!

Here we see several types of chair-hoggery being demonstrated (you may need to enlarge photo to appreciate the details):

#1:  The Risk Taking Chair Hog. Places not only a Princess pool towel but also a bag with personal belongings on a lounger(s) to hog it. 

#2: the Possibly Active Chair Hog. Spreads rumpled towel across chair giving the impression he's recently been there and has just stepped into the pool to swim laps. 

#3: the Meticulous Chair Hog. Not only carefully opens towel on lounger, but also folds the chair back on it for good measure. Signifies this chair is REALLY hogged. 

#4:  the "I'm better than you" Chair Hog. Is so confident of his right to hog a chair that he doesn't make even a bit of an effort to make his hoggery look convincing. The really obnoxious ones make their cabin steward place the towels for them (which explains why they're so neatly folded). 

#5:  the "Makes you work to know for sure" Chair Hog. Chooses a lounger in such a location that it's hard to be certain until you walk over to it and flip the chair back whether there's a folded towel on it or not. If there is a folded towel there, this is actually a derivation of Chair Hog Type #4 that I've termed the "In your face SUCKER" Chair Hog.

Disclaimer:  The term "he" was used only to keep this report grammatically correct. "She" and/or "They" are equally appropriate. 

The skies opened up right after I took this photo. I hope that Chair Hog Type #1 didn't have any electronics in that bag!

;-)

Day 46: Bonaire

Captain Nick had told us yesterday, upon our departure from Grenada, that the seas would be "roly-poly" on the long trek westward to Bonaire, but that he would try to make us as comfortable as possible. Well, he did a good job of it...last night was not nearly as bouncy as that night leading into St. Thomas. Staff Captain Dominico said at last night's Captains Circle party that the strong easterly wind that was blowing us westward overnight was going to make arriving in Bonaire hard...but leaving it very easy.  That's a funny thought, and our time spent in chief Engineer Roddy McConnell's lectures has us wondering what the Christmas winds are doing to this cruise's fuel consumption. 

I simply cannot believe that I forgot to mention yesterday's big news: on Day 2 of Stollenwatch, Christmas stollen appeared. 

I really don't understand why I'm so smitten with this delicacy...I never otherwise eat breads or pastries on the ship, don't like raisins or dried fruits, would run the other direction if presented with a fruit cake. But this stuff...I simply adore it (and had TWO slices this morning for breakfast). It's also available in the IC, so, if I just knew which day was the last it's available before it disappears at the end of the holiday season, I could get several pieces from Mr. Pastry (Vladimer) to keep in a Ziploc and make them last another week or so. See...already planning ahead the best way to cope. This stuff is addictive!

We could have slept in this morning, should have slept in this morning after partying on deck last night, but, of course, did not. We were in the DaVinci Dining Room by 7:30am, and, when we were done, did some walking on the Promenade Deck. We enjoy being up on Deck 19 coming into Bonaire, but earlier in the morning we had intermittent showers, which kept the uncovered decks a bit slick. Finally, we went up to Skywalkers to observe our progress into Bonaire, and it was fun to see the spots of sunshine on the water's surface in the midst of all the rain.

Finally, by about 10:30am, the rains seemed to clear and we decided we needed to spend the day on the water. However, the strong wind disinclined us from wanting to take the water taxi over to Klein Bonaire. We wanted to snorkel off Bonaire itself. 

We arrived in Kralendjik early (no surprise with that tail wind), but, as forecasted, it did take awhile to get safely docked and gangways set out. Still, we were good to go before our scheduled arrival time of noon. We had grabbed a couple of pieces of pizza as the Emerald Princess was docking, packed pretty much everything beach-related we'd brought with us, and headed out for the day. Our goal:  to act Tru and Pat's ages (that's 74 and 84, in case you've forgotten).  I wouldn't have been a bit surprised to see them walk by geared up for a beach dive today. ;-)

In a weird twist of fate, we were driven down to Spice or Eden Beach in the same tuk tuk that Gene and Sandy had rented last time we were here. I don't know how that happened, to be honest. G knows Jack, who owns the Bike Shop on Bonaire and rents bikes and Harleys and gold carts and this one tuk, and they chatted and the next thing I knew the tuk tuk showed up driven by a most personable young guy named Edgar. 

I've learned not to question these things...after 30 years I just go with the flow.  However it happened, it was a helluva good time. Getting to Spice Beach was half the fun. 

The other half was the parrot fish whose acquaintance I made. 

Fantastic coral was in short supply at Spice Beach, but luckily, so were the spiny urchins that hang out near the Divi Flamingo Resort (I didn't see a single one today). I snorkeled all afternoon, thankfully wearing my long-sleeved rash guard, because I would otherwise have been burned to a crisp. The sun at this latitude just north of South America is intense. 

Spice Beach would only be called a beach on Bonaire, where, frankly, there are no real beaches. Instead there are sea walls bordering some trucked-in sand, always with a pier with a ladder or steps into the water.  But that's okay...the snorkeling makes up for what the beach lacks.

Edgar picked us up at 4pm, and we made our way back to the Emerald Princess along the boardwalk along the waterfront in Kralendjik. G took great pleasure in waving at everyone he knew along the way, and reveled in the attention the tuk tuk was getting.  Okay, I enjoyed it too. Our mode of transportation, and Edgar's fun attitude (he told us he was born on the Dominican Republic and when I asked him how he got to Bonaire, he said, "I have no idea" and the way he said it was harious) really was the icing on the cake today. 

We passed that same house decorated the same way as in prior years (can you believe that we've been here so often we recognize the Christmas decorations?). It's pretty clever...

Back on the ship, it finally hit me...acting like an 84-year old is exhausting!  We got cleaned up for dinner (our cabin is totally trashed tonight with everything hanging up and leaning against the walls to dry. I wouldn't be surprised if Raymond just leaves the pillow chocolates on the vanity again) and were at our table in the Michelangelo Dining Room by 5:30pm. The past two winters our table was on the starboard side, and we'd have a view of the sunset when staying late in Bonaire, but this winter we're on the port side, and instead have a view of the Kralendjik waterfront. By our 7pm sailaway we were finished with dinner and up on the Promenade Deck to watch as the lines were released and the thrusters moved us away from the dock, and finally the lights of Bonaire faded in the distance. 

Also fading into the distance...the Church of Scientology boat Free Winds. I've promised in the past to relay the story behind this old (very old) cruise ship, but maybe it's just easier for you to Google Free Winds Scientology. It has a litigious past (no surprise there) involving asbestos and thetan classes. 

Not in the mood for a show tonight (vocalist Bobby Wilson must be feeling better and up to singing in the Princess Theater, and there as been a dearth of second show options in the Explorers Lounge this cruise for some reason), we're instead up at MUTS watching the very exciting 4th quarter of the Packers v. Cowboys game, under a big moon (is it full tonight?)

Insert deep sigh of contentment here. 

Day 26: Bonaire

I spent most of the morning in a bit of a funk. We finally called it quits on the Broncos-Patriots game sometime after 11pm last night, when they were ahead 24-0. Apparently, so did the Broncos. During the night we turned on ESPN just to catch an update and were disbelieving about what we were hearing. As soon as I logged onto wifi this morning, I received distressed texts (with rows of !!!!) from the twins. Guys, I share your pain. 

So, not the happiest morning, but we are on a cruise ship and it's impossible to remain inconsolable for long. 

Arrival into Bonaire was not until noon, due to the distance the Emerald Princess had to travel from Grenada yesterday. It provided the opportunity for a welcome sleep-in, not that we took advantage of it. But we did notice, when we were up early, that the ship was particularly quiet this morning. We started our day in the usual way, with coffee to go from the IC (and I think the crew there is selected for their sunny dispositions), and then breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room. 

Arrival into Bonaire, cruising past Klein (Little) Bonaire is a beautiful thing, and I plugged in my ear buds and went up to the jogging track on Deck 19 to walk and watch as we approached the island. It was a bright, sunny day (we've been quite lucky with weather this cruise!), but thankfully not too hot and windy...yet. While I made my laps, I frequently stopped to take photos. The water here is just so incredibly blue and clear!

This storm to the north blew directly west and never affected us. 

Sunny Kralendjik 

These sailboats are moored right at the edge of where the reef drops off. 

As we approached the dock, the wind coming across the island intensified and it took nearly 45 minutes to get the Emerald Princess safely along side and docked, with the thrusters running during the entire process to keep the ship in place. Most likely for this reason, they were unable to set up a safe midship gangway, forcing everyone to exit at the forward gangway. A late arrival with just one gangway is a recipe for congestion, and we sure had it for awhile, but, luckily, within an hour or so, a midship gangway was able to be opened. 

More lines are required to hold the Emerald Princess against the pier. 

Our first plan for today was to join new friends Gene and Sandy in renting a golf cart to check out a condo they've rented sight unseen on Bonaire for two months next year, but the identical twin ship the P&O Azura had arrived before us today and by the time we disembarked, only one 2-person golf cart remained available to rent. Luckily, we spotted (or, more accurately were spotted by) Sandy on their way off the ship, and we led them right over to the stand for Jack's Bike Shop to get it rented for them.  This opened up our plans for the day, but we didn't feel driven to do anything in particular. 

We decided to take a walk down the sidewalk along the water, but it didn't take long for us to realize that it was beastly hot today, with unrelenting sun. Everyone was soggy with sweat and it was obvious that today was meant to be spent either in the water or A/C. G and I turned right around and headed back to the ship, deciding that lunch in the dining room held more appeal than anything else right then. Afterwards, I needed to do a bit of work, and so stayed on the ship to use wifi while everyone else was off and it was a bit speedier, and G walked off the ship again to explore a bit more as long as he could stand the heat. 

I eventually completed what I needed to do and decided the aft hot tub and/or pool was the only other place I wanted to spend the afternoon. G was of like mind, and he soon showed up, having taken a walk down to the Divi Flamingo Resort and back. The P&O Azura was scheduled to sail at 5pm, and so we were showered, ready for dinner and out on the front of Deck 8, but it was obvious they were still missing someone(s) as the gangway was still down at 5:30pm. Finally we spotted two of their passengers running down the pier and up the gangway, accompanied by abuse being hurled their way by all the passengers on the Azura's open decks. The gangway was lifted, but the Azura was being held against the strong wind by as many lines as we were, and we lost interest as they began to be loosened and lifted from the ballards and went down to dinner. 

It was Italian night in the dining room, and apparently there's been enough time distanced since we ate homemade spaghetti sauce non-stop before we left home, because I had pasta arrabbiata with chicken breast and steamed broccoli and enjoyed every bite. The orange sorbet we both had for dessert was amazing (but then Princess doesn't make an ice cream I like or a sorbet I don't). 

We were done with dinner just in time to step out on the Promenade Deck and watch the lights of Kralendjik disappear as the Emerald Princess sailed away shortly after 7pm. Not in the mood for a show tonight (production show Boogie Shoes was in the Princess Theater; a mentalist was performing to a standing room only audience in the Explorers Lounge), we decided it was time to check out all the musical entertainment on board. Party band New Deal hasn't caught our eye (or is it ear?), but we discovered we enjoy steel drum-keyboard duo Sugar Cane, Playthoven on violin and cello (but highly synthesized cello generally played with a pick instead of a bow) and surprised ourselves by liking Rhumba Duo in the Wheelhouse. Honestly, so much of the music on ships these days is on tracks...we joked that one day soon all the musical acts will be solos. 

We're back in our cabin to change for Monday Night Football on MUTS. With no dog in this fight, it shouldn't be quite as wrenching tonight. 

Day 107: Bonaire

I awoke at 3:30am and did a happy dance around the cabin. I felt so much better! I did fall back asleep, but we were up bright and early, and today I finally returned to the dining room for breakfast (I had been dining in the back of the buffet while I had a cough). Orange segments and mixed berries, scrambled egg beaters and salsa and even mixed berries pancakes. All was right in my world once again!

G and I sat in lounge chairs on the Terrace Deck until the hot sun forced us inside about 11:00pm. It was obvious that today was going to be a scorcher.

The ship was docked and cleared by the local authorities right on time at noon, but not without a significant amount of maneuvering. There was an extremely strong wind coming directly from the southeast, and the Emerald Princess came in almost bow first before the rear thrusters pulled the aft end in. But the ship acted as a sail, and the winds were pushing it away from the pier. To hold the ship against the pier, the rear thrusters ran at full power. and the back of the ship rattled as much as I've ever heard it do.

We decided to make today a walking day...we've snorkeled several times in Bonaire this winter, and have gone to Klein Bonaire twice, but hadn't done a walk along the pretty waterfront in Kralendjik and down to Spice Beach, about a mile away. We first went to lunch in the dining room (and I forgot to mention that the dining room was open for lunch yesterday too, with our early departure from Grenada), and told headwaiter Luis that we would be skipping dinner in the dining room tonight. With our late departure from Bonaire, we preferred to be on land until the on board time of 6:30pm.

But...plans changed. We were almost to Spice Beach when my Teva sandal suddenly broke, putting an end to our progress. I did manage to get back to the ship- carefully, and very slowly- and took the damn sandals off in the Deck 4 elevator lobby and dropped them in a trash bin, returning to the cabin in bare feet. They were expensive sandals, and they served me well for two years, but I knew there was no fixing them. If it was earlier in the winter, I'd have to order another pair from Zappos and have them delivered to the ship, but I'll just make due with my Birkenstocks for the two weeks we have left.

Two weeks!! Weep!!

Today's wardrobe malfunction made me think about all the things I'm going to need to fix or replace after this winter at sea: 2 earring backs (one is probably unfixable), a beaded bracelet, my lanyard with charms (it fell apart last cruise; walking off the ship on St. Kitts it simply dropped off my neck), all of my undies (the elastic is shot after the hot dryers on the ship), a pair of shorts (MIA early on), two t-shirts with small holes, a swimsuit and now my Tevas. And, of course, the drowned iPhone which has already been replaced. The swimsuit is a typical story...it was getting a bit ratty around the neckline, but I was continuing to wear it to beaches. One day, when I took it off, I noticed a 3" threadbare hole in the middle of the back (thank God it wasn't lower). I asked G why he hadn't mentioned this huge hole to me, and he said it just wasn't a big deal. Men!! Thank God, too, that G thought the jade green eyebrows were a big deal. I would have had to leave the ship that day in shame, if they had escaped the cabin undetected.

We never did make it back off the ship today. Instead, we watched sunset right from the Promenade Deck (not the most striking one, as it dropped early into the clouds on the horizon), and then had dinner in the buffet (Italian theme night). Captain Tony had warned us that, due to the wind, the ship would have to do a lot of maneuvering to move through the channel away from Bonaire. He wasn't kidding. An hour after we sailed, the lights of Kralendjik are still...right there, just off the stern of the ship, and the rear thrusters are still rattling away.

Right now, we are awaiting the start of the 8:30pm show in the Princess Theater (comedian Phil Tag), and then will rush to the 9:15 Beatle Maniacs set in Club Fusion. We heard the latter rehearsing in Club Fusion when we were on the Promenade Deck for sailaway. The production manager on board has told us that no guest entertainers rehearse as diligently as the Beatle Maniacs do, and their shows are proof of that.

Captain Tony said that the winds will remain strong through the night and tomorrow in Aruba. We're hoping to make our final trip of the winter to Eagle Beach, weather permitting.

Photo 1: the Emerald Princess approaches the pier in Kralendjik, Bonaire

Photo 2: Bonaire has the clearest, bluest water in the Caribbean

Photo 3: as seen on our walk, a Wish Tree. I should have added a note with "New Tevas" written on it.

Photo 4: Dutch road signs

Photo 5: the waterfront bar was full of people watching sunset and the Emerald Princess sailaway

Snorking videos from the Divi Flamingo Resort, Bonaire

Taken January 22 and posted using Segway Antigua's wifi.

I kind of felt like one of the fish in the next one, as I swam along with them. 

Bonaire- Part 3

Photo 1: sailboats moored behind the Emerald Princess in Kralendjik

Photo 2: Bonaire is famous for its wild flamingos, and there are flamingo mosaics in the sidewalks in Kralendjik

Photos 3 and 4: taken while on the waterfront in Kralendjik

Photo 5: Kralendjik at sunset

Bonaire- Part 2

Photo 1: an angelfish

Photo 2: I love the red lips on this parrot fish!

Photo 3: ??, but pretty

Photo 4: trumpet fish (plaid!)

Photo 5: spiny urchin: Don't touch or step on!! Their quills can pierce the sole of a water shoe.