The tender ride was just as bouncy as promised, but we sat up top and whooped and hollered as we became momentarily airborne on our trip to the island. We immediately headed down to our favorite spot, with G in the shade and me in a bit of sun (but only from the waist down...I've read that tanned legs look slimmer). I was intent on finishing that book American Tropic (I was anxious to learn whodunit, and just needed a couple of uninterrupted hours of listening to finish it). Despite the wind and waves, it was a beautiful day on the beach.
I ventured just once into the water to cool off, and it occurred to me (as it hadn't during my two previous visits to Princess Cays this winter) that the quality of the beach there, which was never stellar to begin with, has really gone downhill. It's full of coral bits and small rocks and going into the water is nearly impossible without water shoes (before, they were a "nice to have" item). The beach entry is steeper than ever, and the several "toe stubbing" rocks there complicate the entry. I don't know if a storm has worsened it or if the beach, which is largely man made just needs another several hundred loads of sand or both, but the sand was looking a bit rough today.
But the BBQ lunch that's served is always good (and smells even better). Lately they've been starting to serve it at 11:15am or so. I ate two chicken breasts and some fruit before the wind started picking up even more and G suggested it might be smart to return to the ship. We walked behind the buildings and got a look at the dune buggy-type vehicles that are being used for the new Princess excursion going down to the lighthouse at the southern end of Princess Cays. If you've read my blog posts about walking down there the past two years, you know how beautiful the end of the island is, but how difficult it is to get there. I can recommend the dune buggy excursion as a way to get there without the work, and it's bound to be fun (knowing the rotten condition of the paths...er, roads going down there).
Once back on the ship, we both headed out back, G to a hot tub and me to the Terrace Deck and pool. It was gloriously sunny and hot there today, and I took a quick dip then settled in a lounger. Almost immediately I was approached by a blog reader, Teddie, who identified me from my orange life jacket on my iPhone and my glittery nails.
That's some great dot connecting on her part! We chatted for a while until the sun forced us into the ship (her) and the shade (me). I had only 30 minutes or so to go with my book, and that's when I discovered that the Overdrive app lets me listen at normal speed, or up to twice normal speed. I settled on 1.5x speed and finished that puppy. I was tiring of murders and anxious to get to the culprit (and, wow, was that a shocker).
I returned to the cabin to get ready for dinner. G had been making his rounds but returned about the same time and we went up to the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers. It's been packed up there early in each cruise, settling down a bit by mid cruise. But it's definitely understaffed for the first few days, making it tough to get a drink order taken. Sunset, such as it was, is happening so early, and I took a quick shot through the glass.
We went to dinner a bit earlier than usual; I was starving for some reason, and it took three courses plus a personalized intermezzo (a scoop of pineapple sorbet) to finally feel full. When I don't order dessert, I've been getting a decaf, no fat cappuccino after dinner, and that's what I did tonight (having already eaten a mid-dinner dessert). However, that didn't stop G; he always has room for ice cream.
G wanted to see comedian/musician/shadow puppeteer (dog coughing up hairball his specialty) Steve Morris again tonight, and, well...the things we do for love. It never ceases to amaze me; some people gave him a standing ovation, but the lady behind me remarked (to the cruise director's question during the close out, "Did you have a good day today?"), "Well, it was until I saw this show", which I thought was truly harious.
That ended the evening for us; fuzzy water and popcorn gathering later, we are already tucked in bed. We move clocks ahead tonight, and so will finally be back on schedule. Maybe we'll sleep past 5:45 tomorrow morning!