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