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!
;-)