This January/February Dave and I were able to go on an incredible trip. My friend and I found this amazing cruise-Cardiology conference that sails to the Eastern Caribbean and we decided to take advantage of it and combine business and pleasure. We booked the cruise, left the kids at home with Babulya, left behind the smog and inversion, and took off on this unforgettable journey.
The ship we went on was called Eurodam by the Holland America Cruise Lines. It departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was excellent, absolutely breathtaking.
There were many nooks to read a book and we took advantage of it plenty in our spare time.
The cabin was surprisingly roomy, very comfortable and all the essentials were there. I have to mention that the bed was extremely comfortable. I haven't slept this well in many years, probably ever since I had my first baby :) The gentle rocking of the ship at night really helped to lull us to sleep.
Our balcony (verandah) was very comfortable and a great place to sit quietly with a book, which we took advantage of multiple times. Not to mention the incredible views it provided us.
The inside of the ship was like a small floating city. It had everything you can possibly imagine and more. The glass staircase was one of my favorites.
The first day at sea was a formal night where we had to dress up for dinner and beyond.
We had the most wonderful food on the ship. Beyond amazing. It had so much variety that we never got tired of the food. Every night dinner was served in the main restaurant and the quality was comparable to the upscale restaurants. Lobster, steaks, duck, lamb, you name it, it was there. I can certainly say that noone on the ship went hungry. There were even multiple places, such as poolside grill, pizzeria, etc., where you could get food pretty much anytime.
The ship had a very large concert hall with a big stage. Almost every night we went there for a show. The variety and the quality of shows was unbelievable. Dancing, singing, music, magic, comedy. Wow! I haven't been entertained this much in a LONG time. I definitely got my cultural fix for the year.
After the show, there was nightly life music and dancing. We took advantage of it and danced the night away on many nights.
The ship decks at night were especially magical. There is something about looking onto the powerful ocean at night. It is a bit scary, a bit mesmerizing. I think that I was meant to live the beach lifestyle. Being around the ocean makes me very calm and in awe of the power. I can't even describe the emotions I was feeling every day looking onto the ocean. It is a powerful feeling.
Our first stop was The Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. What a unique place! We experienced our first tropical rain as soon as we got to downtown. It lasted all of 2 minutes and the sun came right out.
We went exploring the island. The water was amazingly turquoise and so warm!
The downtown is small, quaint and mostly shopping-oriented. Since we didn't need to do any shopping (well, except my friend and I did buy a big beautiful shell each), we wandered around looking at buildings, people and the beautiful water. We noticed that all the people we encountered were extremely friendly and knowledgable about their island's history.
The beach on this island was so nice, quiet, and peaceful. Most of our party took naps on the sand and I wandered around the beach collecting shells and rocks, which I brought home to put in my garden. This was probably the most peaceful time of the whole trip for me. I felt pure happiness. I had a lot of time to think and dream of the future. I did miss kids a bit too. I could only imagine how much fun they would have roaming around the beach and looking for shells with me.
I took a long swim in this amazing water. I didn't come out of the water until I absolutely had to.
That's when it was time for nice, cold drinks and a local island specialty- conch fritters. Delicious! Dave and I really enjoyed this dish and to this day we talk about it almost daily.
When we came back to the ship, we spent more time lounging on the beach, swimming and reading.
Back on the ship we explored it some more. We tried to find all the hidden spots to get away and read a book.
On the next day, we all piled up on the front deck of the ship to witness and take in the amazing views coming into the San Juan, Puerto Rico port. The sights and the views are simply breathtaking. The old fortresses are majestic and the colorful buildings remind you of the careless, beach-town lifestyle. Old San Juan is simply gorgeous.
We made a deal with a local tour bus to take us around to all the most beautiful sights. We visited two old fortresses where we were able to learn the history and take in the beautiful views. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Around 85-90 degrees F; a nice contrast to freezing, snowy, and inversion-infested Utah.
After this tour, we explored Old San Juan by foot. I was amazed by the clean streets, amazing architecture, and friendly people.
We found this quaint restaurant in the heart of Old San Juan, where we had the local specialty, mofongo. All I can say is WOW! Very unique, unlike anything I've ever had and the pork in my dish was the most tender pork I've ever had in my life. The portion was huge. In fact, I couldn't even finish the whole dish, despite being very hungry. What a great ending to a great day!
The next morning the ship docked at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Immediately we noticed how green the island is and how blue the water is. It looked very different from the 2 places we just visited. We decided to rent a Jeep and drive ourselves around the island, looking for adventures.
After getting lost a couple of times (although everywhere we went was so beautiful, that getting lost didn't feel like a misfortune), we found our destination, the Coki Beach. We rented the snorkels and fins and spent the majority of our time there exploring the underwater world. We each got a dog biscuit which apparently is fish's favorite. Fish would come up to us in what seemed like hundreds trying to nibble on the biscuit. I personally saw fish of every color, shape and form. I couldn't believe my eyes how many fish were there! Dave and I even saw a little shrimp-looking creatures bouncing all over the coral reefs.
Needless to say, the water was this beautiful color of turquoise and blue, which is hard to capture on camera. The color of this water in reality is impossible to photograph. It almost hurt our eyes, how blue it was!
After the beach, we went exploring into the mountains and came upon this gorgeous view of the harbor and the cruise ships.
Dave was our driver and driving on the wrong side of the street seemed very odd, although he did well. I had to take a picture of this temporary traffic light hanging on the cables in the middle of the road. I thought it was really creative and reminded me of Russia :)
At the top of the mountain, we came across this breathtaking view, the view of the Magen's Bay. We didn't quite make it to the beach itself as we were running out of time, but we made a decision to definitely come back to it soon.
This is the Jeep we rented. It was Dave's first time driving on the wrong side of the street and he did amazingly!
The next day was a day at Sea, so once again my friend and I spent all day sitting at a Cardiology lecture. The gentle rocking of the ship lulled us to sleep, but we still learned a lot that we will be able to use in our practice.
The dinner was amazing! I actually ordered duck breast but when I saw everybody got a surf and turf, which included this amazing lobster tail, I asked our waiter to bring me a lobster tail too, and miracle, I got one! That's the beauty of a cruise, you get whatever you ask for!!!
We spent our evening, well into the early morning hours, wandering around the decks, taking pictures, and playing games with friends while sitting on the back deck. The weather was perfect, the temperature was perfect and the company was even better!
The next morning we docked at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. This is a private island owned by the Holland America Lines. Dave and I first decided to explore and we went on a long hike around the island.
We came to a little Bay where we saw sting rays swimming around. Fascinating and a bit unsettling. Good thing we weren't swimming at the moment.
We then came upon the sign that said: Proceeding beyond this point and dangerous and prohibited, and yet the other signs said: Nature Walk and Historic Ruins. I'm yet to see a Russian that could be stopped by a silly sign, so naturally we proceeded on our hike...
We came upon the ruins, mentioned on the sign.
We even saw some small caves, ferns, birds, lizards, and...
THIS SPIDER! Who almost ate Dave... Well, at least Dave claims this to be the case. After this encounter, Dave said we should turn back. So we did.
We came back to the beach and saw our gorgeous ship in distance.
We then discovered one of Dave's absolutely favorite things, hammocks. Naturally, we took time to sit in them while quietly reading our books. This was another very peaceful thought-provoking moment of this trip.
Then it was time to play in the water, swim, and build sand castles.
This was the moment I started to miss my kids a lot. I imagined how much fun they would have building castles out of this powder-like, pinkish-white sand, and how delighted they would be to swim in this unbelievable water, the temperature of which was the same as air. I could stay here forever. Really.
The beach had very cool-looking cabanas for rent, but I thought what a waste it would be to sit in the cabana all day and miss the chance to feel this soft sand and this warm water on your skin.
Then it was time to go back to the ship... Good bye, Bahamas. Good bye, powder sand. Good bye, the bluest water I've ever seen.
One thing is for certain, WE WILL BE BACK! And next time, with our children, so they get a chance to see this wonderful world and experience everything we experienced, and more!
Until we meet again!
