Trinidad

I just wanted to mention that by combining Curacao and our sea day into one post yesterday, I got myself on track so that my posts now coincide with where Heather is every day! So, as I am recapping our day in Trinidad today, Heather is back there again right now. Don't believe me? Check out the Bridge Cam from the ship to see for yourself. She's in Port of Spain today, and will be back in Barbados tomorrow. I think it's kind of cool that as I relive these awesome days, Heather is getting to experience them all over again at the same time!

Okay, let's get on with it...

Day #7: Thursday, February 18
Trinidad

This day kicked off our run of seven islands in a row, with no sea days to interrupt the fun. Bring it on! We had our second shore excursion booked for Trinidad, so we were up early to get breakfast from the buffet and meet up with our tour: the Maracas Waterfall Hike.

The traditional "my first view from the port hole" picture - so far Trinidad just looks like water.

Welcome to Port of Spain, Trinidad!

We boarded a bus with a good number of other people and started the 45-minute drive to the hiking trail. Our guide, Ivan, was very informative and told us lots about Trinidad as we went. He told us that Trinidad & Tobago became an independent nation from England in 1962, but before that was owned by many different countries and is now very diverse. Unlike many islands in the Caribbean, tourism is only their #3 source of income, after natural gas and manufacturing. The island was much more industrialized-looking that any we had seen, although Ivan told us that Tobago is more touristy with sandy beaches and resorts. He also told us that Trinidad grows coffee beans (we saw some) and a very fine brand of chocolate (we were able to see the cocoa pods on the trees). They also have a very large brewery. It was all very interesting - I liked being able to hear some about the history and culture of the island. My one complaint with cruise travel is that you really don't have time to get to experience the island as a whole, or learn about what it's all about - it's just a quick sample of each place. It's great to see so many places in a short time, but I do really like exploring and getting to know the place we're visiting, and there just isn't time for that in this type of travel. But, I still loved my trip, don't get me wrong! Now I just want to go back to every place to spend more time and learn more!

On the bus, headed off to our hike.
Also pictured: my rockin' "Grand Princess Crew" hat I stole from Heather to protect my poor freak eye from the Trinidadian sun.

Partway through our drive we stopped off at St. Joseph Church in (obviously) St. Joseph, which Ivan told us was the original capital of Trinidad. We stopped there to meet up with another guide, use the restrooms and get some bottled water. I took a little time to wander through the church and cemetery. I love exploring churches. This one was so different than the elaborate cathedrals we visited in Scotland, but it was so pretty. After a few minutes, though, it was back on the buses for the rest of the trip to the hiking trail.

The church

Inside the church

I thought this was beautiful.

The cemetery - what a view.

We arrived at the bottom of a hill and were told that buses could no longer go all the way up to the car park, so we would have to walk a little further. No problem - we were there to hike, after all. Heather and I were assuming the hike would be fairly easy, considering the...uh...advanced age range of our fellow hikers. But, the hike up to the waterfall lasted about 45 minutes and was a little more treacherous than we expected. There were a couple places where the guides had to help us cross something or climb up because it was a little rough, but everybody made it. The path was very beautiful, and the guides were great about pointing out interesting things and explaining things to us. It was very educational.

At the start of the hike

Hiking!

That thing on the left is a termites' nest (how gross that?) and there's an awesome curly branch on the right.

Small waterfall along the way

Eventually we made it to the falls, which were gorgeous. It wasn't this huge waterfall like I was expecting, but rather was a large clearing with water falling more lightly. It was really beautiful. I was a little disappointed that there was no lake to swim in (the shore excursion brochure had said there would be, and I was hoping to cross off another list item here), but Ivan told us that their rainy season had been very dry so that could explain that. But still, it was so peaceful and relaxing there.

Heather making her way to the falls

A first look at the waterfall

Beautiful.

Isn't that gorgeous?

We were able to spend some time at the falls to take pictures and enjoy. A few people stripped down into their swimsuits and went in under the falls, but Heather and I just walked close to them, making our way across very slippery rocks. At this point a lot of our fellow tourists realized Heather was in the shows on the ship and she became a celebrity! Everyone wanted to help her across the rocks and take her picture. Funny.

Look at me! I'm in a waterfall!

Might be hard to make out, but I am kissing Stick Eric here. See, an item on REAL Eric's "list" is to kiss me under a waterfall. I was just trying to help him out. (He says this doesn't count, though.)

One of Heather's paparazzi was kind enough to take this picture of us trying not to die on slippery rocks.

We made it!

Another quick tidbit I found interesting - in the picture below, on the right, there is a young boy and his dog. They hiked along with us, and the boy was barefoot the whole way! Impressive. Some of our fellow tourists also told us he was rubbing a cocoa pod on the rocks, then on his hair. When they asked him why he was doing that, he told them it made his hair smell good and be curly.

The boy and his dog on the right, one of our guides on the left. Also, gorgeous scenery.

After our time at the falls we made our way back to the buses. The hike was, of course, somewhat easier downhill, but still a little treacherous. I guess I'm just not a seasoned hiker. I kept worrying that I was missing out on all the gorgeous scenery because I was too busy watching my step, but I did stop from time to time to look up and take it in.

This is another sight I just don't see much of in NYC. And by "not much," I mean "doesn't exist."

The view as we walked back to the buses

The buses took us back to the port, where Heather and I did my souvenir shopping for postcards and a magnet. I filled out my postcard for Eric there and mailed it, then we got back on the ship for lunch and some pictures of Trinidad from the upper decks. Then, back to Heather's cabin for a little rest. We were exhausted after our hike in the heat! I swear, I had forgotten what it feels like to be hot. It's delightful but tiring.

View of Trinidad from the ship

Looking out over Port of Spain

There were many boats in the water, but check out the middle one - it's sinking! Heather said she was told it's been sinking for years, they've just left it there.

Me in front of Trinidad

By sail away time we were feeling refreshed, so after briefly being locked in Heather's area by the watertight doors, we went up to a nice spot on Deck 15 to watch just as the ship was starting to depart. The sun was getting low and it was very beautiful.

Heather at sail away

Gorgeous look out at the water as we sailed off. It was very hazy but so peaceful.

After sail away, we went back to Heather's cabin to get ready for the evening. Heather had another night off, so we were planning to take advantage of some of the other shows on the ship. At 7:45p.m. we went to another show by the pianist Kyle Esplin, then went for dinner at the buffet. At 10:00 we did something I had really been looking forward to (and surprisingly, Heather had never done it before): we went to the Movie Under the Stars by the outdoor pool! It sounded so fun to me. They show movies on this big screen over the pool:


The put covers over the lounge chairs and put blankets out, plus they walk around and pass out popcorn. How fun is that?! That night, they were showing Julie & Julia, which I had been wanting to see anyway. So, Heather and I packed up a bag with a bottle of wine and some queso dip and found a couple of chairs on Deck 15 for the movie. We drank wine and snacked on popcorn and queso, and enoyed the movie. And, it really was under the stars! Stars are another thing we don't see much of in NYC, but I was even able to spot Orion as we watched the movie. What a great time!

Movies Under the Stars logo on the screen

Heather is ready for the movie to start!

Popcorn and wine. Glorious.

The movie is starting!

I wanted to show you one more picture from our Movie Under the Stars night, which I have cropped into an extreme close-up. This is probably the best picture we have of my crazy dilated eye. Mind you, this was 24 hours after I first discovered it, and it is still kind of hard to really get the full idea of what was happening from this picture, but it's the best proof I've got:

Cuddled up under a blanket with Stick Eric, sporting a dilated right eye.

Do you see it? BLAH. Crazy eye.

Anyway, after the movie, it was time for bed once again - we had another busy day ahead of us!

Up next: Lots of island fun in Barbados!

My broken record reminder: there's lots more pictures of Trinidad (all the waterfall pictures you can handle!) on the photo share site!

Curacao, and Back Out to Sea

Day #5: Tuesday, February 16
Curacao

On to our second island! We did not have a shore excursion booked for Curacao, so we slept in that morning until 10:30 a.m. We had breakfast at the back pool looking out at Curacao, which was really gorgeous. After breakfast we walked around the upper decks, enjoying the view.

My first look at Curacao from Heather's port hole - much more scenic that my wall view in Aruba! Look at that water!

The backdrop to our breakfast

View of Curacao from the ship deck

Me in front of Curacao

Heather had told me that Curacao is really cute, and from the ship it sure looked like she was right, so I was eager to get off the ship and check it out. We were greeted by a lovely "Welcome" sign right off the ship, and we started our afternoon with a walk along the water, following a "Historical Walking Tour" of Curacao (really a series of signs with information about the island, including population, brief history, language, etc.). The most entertaining part of the walking tour to me was the sign that described the various theories about how Curacao got its name. Some theories say the name came from the Spanish or Portuguese word for healing (because of the healing effects of many tropical fruits found on the island), while others say it was given its name because of its heart-shaped bays. However, my favorite theory is that the name comes from the Spanish phrase cura asado (meaning "grilled priest"), because "the Native Indians had apparently grilled a Spanish priest." Ummm....okay?

Welcome to Curacao!

Look at me! I'm on a cruise!

Heather in front of her "house," of sorts

After the Historical Walking Tour, we entered Rif Fort, which houses a lot of shops and restaurants. We did some shopping - I found my magnet and postcards, and bought a new dress. We then walked along the water to Curacao's main attraction: the floating bridge! It's just a footbridge, but it does float on the water. When a ship comes through, they move the bridge to the side (rather than, say, raising it up like a draw bridge). Then they just move it back and you can walk across it. When we first got there the bridge was to the side for boats to pass, so we found a spot to sit and wait and I wrote Eric's postcard in the meantime.

Rif Fort

The bridge pulled to the side

Before long, the boats had passed and they moved the bridge back across the water. We got to see them push it back in place, then walked across to the other side. It was a little crazy, because it was sort of drifting and moving as we walked. I mean, hadn't I been having enough of that sort of thing on the ship, now I have to be stumbling around on land, too? But it was very cool and the scenery was stunning. If I thought Aruba was colorful, Curacao was even more so. Again, how could you not be happy and cheerful all the time if you lived in a place like this?

VIDEO: The floating bridge moving back into place

Pedestrians crossing the floating bridge

Gorgeous view from the bridge

On the bridge

View from the other side - bridge to the left and more happy houses

Once we got to the other side, we just wandered around a bit, checking out all the shops. It was just so pretty. We also made our way to the coast again and walked out on a long pier to watch the waves crashing around. It was very windy that day so we saw some good waves.

Streets of Curacao

Gorgeous wall down an alley! See? Happy! The alleys in New York sure don't look like this.

Waves crashing along the colorful coast

On the pier, with our ship behind us

After that, we just continued to roam around town, then crossed back over the bridge. We passed some souvenir stands and I bought a really cool chess set for Eric. We then went back to the fort, where I mailed Eric's postcard and we went up to the upper level for drinks. We got a nice spot overlooking the water, but it was so windy and the waves were so big that we were getting wet, even on the second story above the water! It was crazy. But, I had to have a cocktail with Blue Curacao liqueur in it, so we had our drinks and then played rock-paper-scissors to see who got to treat for them (we both had planned to do so!). Yay, sisters!

My "Curacao Blue" cocktail

Looking down at the waves

We then went back on the ship and had lunch at the grill, then back to the cabin to relax a bit before Heather had to get ready for her show that night.

Heather had another sound check at 6:00, then performed the first show of "Cinematastic" at 8:00. This show is all music from the movies, and I really enjoyed it. Heather was featured quite a bit more and she sounded so beautiful. Even the elderly gentleman next to me commented on how beautiful her "My Heart Will Go On" number was, and I hadn't even told him she was my sister!

Heather singing "Summertime"

"Windmills of Your Mind"

"Unchained Melody"

Big finish!

Below I have a video that includes all of Heather's solos/duets from this show. Again, my camera skills were pretty awful for this show, so I did some creative editing and adding of still photos to try to make it better. Also, I realize this video is crazy long. I try to keep the videos I post on here much shorter than that. But, I just thought it was easier to post one long video of all Heather's numbers, rather than a bunch of individual ones. Feel free to skip through if you don't want to watch the whole thing (although she does a great job in all of it!). To make it easy on you, this is where you will find the start of each new number in this video:

0:04 "Summertime" - lovely!
2:01 "Windmills of Your Mind" - this one is a really cool Cirque du Soleil-esque performance!
5:30 "Time of My Life" - who doesn't love this one?
8:48 "My Heart Will Go On"/"Unchained Melody" - this is gorgeous. My favorite.
13:01 "The Rainbow Connection" - Kermie! Of course, Heather does a wonderful job.
14:16 "Footloose" - not a Heather solo, but the grand finale! (Just a snippet of it)

VIDEO: Selections from "Cinematastic"

After the show, Heather changed and we went up to the buffet for dinner. We then went back to the cabin to make some Aruba Scubas, then went to the Explorers Lounge for what was supposed to be a "Mardi Gras Party," but due to some cruise director miscommunication, it wasn't much of a party. But, we still hung out and sipped our drinks, and were later joined by Leisel, Ryan and Peter. We talked and listened to the Caribbean band for a bit before retiring to Heather's cabin for the evening. We called our boys (although I was unsuccessful in reaching mine, thanks to lousy phone service in the middle of the ocean...go figure) then watched some TV and went to bed.

Day #6: Wednesday, February 17
At Sea

Ah, another sea day. This would be our last until the very end of the cruise!

We slept late, till about 11:30, then lounged around for a while after that. We checked our email and were generally lazy. Then, we went to be lazy in the sun on Deck 15 for a while, mimosas in hand. It was such a gorgeous day for laying out - nice breeze, lovely sun, calm waters. Very relaxing. We both fell asleep for a bit.

On the deck, mimosa in hand

Around 4:15 we went to the grill for a late lunch, then returned to the cabin so Heather could get ready for another sound check and I could get ready for our second formal night of the cruise.

This is when that "miracle seasick patch" becomes the OMG I MIGHT BE DYING patch. I thought I was in the clear with that thing - see, before I put it on, Leisel and Heather warned me of potential side effects including dry mouth and blurred vision. I decided to chance it, and was thankful that my only side effect was being a little extra thirsty (and drinking more water in the Caribbean is hardly a bad thing), but no eye problems. You're only supposed to wear the patch for three days, so I had already removed it by this point. I thought I was good to go.

As I was showering, my contact lens in my right eye felt like it might be falling out, so I stepped out of the shower to check it. That's when I noticed my right pupil was HUGE. Fully dilated. My left one was totally normal. I showed Heather as soon as I got out of the shower and we were both pretty freaked out - I mean, the difference was astounding between my two eyes. Heather asked if I wanted to go to medical, but I told her I thought I would be fine so she left for sound check.

While she was gone, I called Eric and asked him to Google this for me to see if it was something I should be alarmed about. I'm not one to take chances with my eyes, so I wanted some more information. After Googling, Eric didn't tell me what it might be but said I should go to medical. I knew that meant something serious because Eric is not usually one to rush to the doctor, and I knew if he wasn't telling me what it was, it was because he didn't want to scare me. Yikes. That scared me.

But, by that time medical had closed for the day. I could call an emergency doctor, but that might be costly. I decided to wait it out a bit and see what happened. I went to Heather's first show of the night (she did another two performances of "Cinematastic"), then before the second show I called Eric just to let him know I hadn't gone to medical. That was when he told me Google had informed him that one eye dilating is a warning sign for imminent stroke or seizure, which is why he was freaked out. BUT he also saw one random mention that it could be a side effect of the seasickness patch. DING! DING! DING! That was when it clicked - the eye that was dilated was even on the side where I was wearing the patch. Sure, it was weird that it popped up after I REMOVED the patch, but who knows with these things. Eric did some more looking into it, and sure enough, that seemed to be a very common side effect. Let's all breathe a sigh of relief that I wasn't having a stroke or seizure, shall we?

So, I went to Heather's second show with no more fear of death, just fear of any potentially permanent damage to my unable-to-constrict pupil. I decided it would be hats and sunglasses for me for as long as this lasted, because Caribbean sun is probably not good on a dilated eye. BUT AT LEAST I WASN'T DYING.

It worked out well that Heather and I had a quiet night in planned for that night anyway, because after all that eye drama I just wanted to relax. After the second show we ordered room service, polished off a bottle of wine, and watched some Jersey Shore episodes. Then it was time for bed - we had another big day ahead!

Heather modeling our delicious room service

Up next: An adventurous day in Trinidad!

And, your standard daily reminder: there are more pictures of beautiful Curacao (as well as a bunch from Heather's "Cinematastic" show) on the photo share site!