Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Barbados & A Taste of Banks Beer

Aaahhh... Barbados. Day-Oh. Daaaayyyy-Oh. Daylight Come and Me Wanna Go Home....

Barbados is a land of Spanish conquests, slavery, English rule, gorgeous beaches, and warm friendly citizens. We were so excited to arrive here in this tranquil and utterly tropical island that measures roughly 20 by 15 square miles. Docking near Bridgetown, we are in the midst of barges and freighters. Where is the beach?? It's a few miles up the way and gorgeous.

We are delighted to take a ship's excursion to Harrison's Caves. If you know me, you may be surprised (or not) but I LOVE caves.



This is one of those amazingly limestone caverns surprisingly found on Thomas Harrison's property in the late 1700's. It was not properly explored until the 1970's by an enterprising trio of adventurers from Denmark and Barbados. Driving through the cave in a tram built specifically for this cave with an exceptional guide was awe-inspiring. We were "blessed" many times by the dripping water throughout the cave and enjoyed it's warmer temps. Unlike other caves with very cold temperatures, this cave maintains a more humid and higher temperature throughout the year. Can you even imagine being on an island and dipping below the surface into a cavern of this proportion? It does seem illogical, doesn't it?

Stalactites and Stalagmites in Harrison's Cave

One of the areas of run-off in Harrison's Cave.

The buildings at Harrison's Cave - Yep... the cavern is under these buildings!

Lush and tropical at Harrison's Property above the cave.


We headed back to the ship for some lunch but stopped in at a local eatery instead. Boy do these people know how to cook and eat! The food was exceptionally prepared in this teeny-tiny kitchen by a sweet woman
 in her headscarf and apron. Yummy, right?

 We had a few bottles of the local beer, Banks and they all went down quite smoothly!


After polishing off a few beers, we headed back towards the ship and stopped into the dock-side shopping area. Wouldn't you know we found a few items we couldn't live without?? First up and (Zach would be proud) highly enjoyable was the bottle of Mt. Gay Rum we played 4-square with. What does that mean? Well, there were 4 of us and we polished off the bottle right quickly. Amazing how good a $4 bottle of rum tastes...



Once onboard we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Celebrity Summit did not disappoint in their presentation of delicious food and talented entertainers. We especially enjoyed the guitar player onboard who played in the style of Carlos Santana every night. Great melodies and his voice was really nice. The Cellar-Masters wine bar was a hit for us as well. We were able to serve ourselves 24 hours a day from their inventive wine refrigeration system. Dinner this first night with our waiters from Costa Rica and the Phillipines included (for hubby) Prime Rib, baked potato, and veggies or (for me) a delicious Lamb Shank with sweet potatoes and extras.


Here's wishing you were traveling with us!!
Deb :)

Departing for the Caribbean from San Juan, Puerto Rico

Do you agree that airline seats are getting smaller and smaller both sideways and lengthwise? Are they jamming more and more customers into economy seating? And... please don't say it's me or that I'm getting bigger 'cuz I just lost about 25 pounds!! And finally, why do the aisle and window seated passengers hog both of the arm rests? They have two and I have NONE. Can't they see that I'm so squished I can barely breathe? Plus I have literally nowhere to put my arms. Jeez.... Glorious airline travel in the United States.

So the dead goldfish (ick) floating in a mini aquarium at the check-in counter of the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico did not detract us from having a lovely evening before we embarked on our Caribbean cruise. The Caribe Hilton was a short ride from the airport with the friendliest of taxi drivers in all of San Juan. Our room was smallish, but newer than the rest of the hotel. I should say that our bathroom was almost larger than our bedroom with seating for five or so in the shower. Seriously. The room was comfortable with a nice balcony overlooking the city of San Juan and the local Subway. (Yep, Subway as in Jason and sandwiches.) Our pre-dinner cocktails in the hotel lounge were pretty weak, but dinner outdoors at Lemongrasss Pan Asian-Latino was mighty tasty. The frogs were croaking and the birds were chirping as the sun set in this lush tropical locale. The duck and foie gras croquettes were a very nice appetizer, followed by sushi, sea bass, and green-tea salmon. Yumm. Our servers were young and inexperienced but portions were generous, and the food was divine.

Saturday morning got me up fresh and quick to join a yoga class on the beach. What a wonderful way to start the day stretching to the sound of the ocean on a blisfully breezy beach. Honestly, I could do this every single day of my life without one complaint.


Breakfast was my usual oatmeal and hot cocoa at Starbucks - I can't seem to pass it up. Their oatmeal is perfect with brown sugar, nut mixture, and dried fruit. Delicious and predictable actually.

Check out Caribe Hilton for yourself at www.hilton.com and search their listings for hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

By noon, we are packed and waiting on our transportation. Our driver is a prankster and makes some pretty sarcastic jokes as we drive through the streets of San Juan. It is an older city with a very busy infrastructure. We know that tourism is a big factor in their economy, as is rum, and pharmaceuticals. Who knew? Apparently U.S. manufacturers are located here making medication on the cheap for the citizens of our great country. It is not a lengthy drive and we do pass through some areas of beauty and poverty.


We finally arrive to the dock and the deliriously gorgeous Celebrity Summit. This beauty just came out of dry-dock two weeks ago and is spankin' pretty. New paint, new carpet, new public rooms, new cabins, and new balconies. Wow!! We cannot wait to get started on this cruise to the ports of Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. Whew.

Celebrity Summit

We are traveling with two other couples who are also seasoned travelers. Celebrity is new to them though, and they are in for some delightful surprises!!

The view from our balcony cabin as we depart San Juan.

First port of call will be Barbados!!
Until then - enjoy yourself.
Deb :)