Reversing Reverse Chronology

Typically blog entries are posted in reverse chronological order so that the most recent entry appears first.   

Now that the trip is over, presumably anyone reading this blog would like the sequence of entries to lead them from the beginning to the end of our trip.  For this reason, I have used artificial dates and times to put the posts in that order, so by extension the date for any given post is only correct in the title.  

When you get to the bottom of a page, clicking OLDER POSTS will actually lead you to newer dates (i.e. the continuation of blog post in chronological order). 

Itinerary

MON      30JAN17        Marion to Boston

TUE       31JAN17        Boston to Jupiter, FL

THU       02FEB17                Jupiter to Fort Lauderdale then...
                                                   Board Holland America's VEENDAM, then...
                                                        Sail from Fort Lauderdale 4:00pm

FRI          03FEB17               Half Moon Cay, Bahamas ¹ 8:00am - 4:00pm

SAT        04FEB17               Sea Day

SUN       05FEB17               Sea Day

MON     06FEB17               Willemstad, Curacao 8:00am - 11:00pm

TUE        07FEB17               Oranjestad, Aruba 8:00am - 5:00pm

WED      08FEB17               Sea Day

THU       09FEB17               Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 8:00am - 5:00pm

FRI          10FEB17               Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago 8:00am - 5:00pm

SAT        11FEB17               Bridgetown, Barbados 8:00am - 5:00pm

SUN       12FEB17               Sea Day

MON     13FEB17               Devils Island, French Guiana ^1,2 12:00n - 6:00pm

TUE        14FEB17               Crossing the Equator ³

WED      15FEB17               Icoaraci (Belem), Brazil ^1,4 8:00am - 4:00pm

THU       16FEB17               Sea Day

FRI          17FEB17               Sea Day

SAT        18FEB17               Recife, Brazil ⁴ 8:00am - 6:00pm

SUN       19FEB17               Maceio, Brazil ⁴ 8:00am - 2:00pm

MON     20FEB17               Salvador da Bahia, Brazil ⁴ 9:00am - 5:00pm

TUE        21FEB17               Ilheus, Brazil ⁴ 8:00am - 4:00pm

WED      22FEB17               Sea Day

 THU      23FEB17               Vitoria, Brazil ^5,4 8:00am - 5:00pm

FRI          24FEB17               Sea Day

SAT        25FEB17               Ilhabela (Sao Sebastiao), Brazil ^1,4 8:00am - 4:00pm

SUN       26FEB17               Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ^6,4 8:00am

MON     27FEB17               Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ^6,4

TUE        28FEB17               Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ⁴ 5:00pm

WED      01MAR17            Sea Day

THU       02MAR17            Sea Day

FRI          03MAR17            Sea Day

SAT        04MAR17            Fortaleza, Brazil ⁴ 8:00am - 5:00pm

SUN       05MAR17            Sea Day

MON     06MAR17            Sea Day

TUE        07MAR17            Crossing the Equator ³

TUE        07MAR17            Cruising the Amazon River ³

WED      08MAR17            Santarem, Brazil ⁴ 8:00am - 6:00pm

THU       09MAR17            Boca da Valeria, Brazil ^1,4 8:00am - 4:00pm

FRI          10MAR17            Manaus, Brazil ^6,7,4 10:00am

SAT        11MAR17            Manaus, Brazil ^7,4 4:00pm

SUN       12MAR17            Parintins, Brazil ^1,4 8:00am - 5:00pm

MON     13MAR17            Alter Do Chao, Brazil ^1,4 8:00am - 5:00pm

TUE        14MAR17            Cruising the Amazon River ³ Continued

TUE        14MAR17            Crossing the Equator ³

WED      15MAR17            Sea Day

THU       16MAR17            Sea Day

FRI          17MAR17            Castries, Saint Lucia ² 8:00am - 4:00pm

SAT        18MAR17            Philipsburg, Sint Maarten 8:00am - 4:00pm

SUN       19MAR17            Sea Day

MON     20MAR17            Sea Day

TUE        21MAR17            Key West, Florida, US 8:00am - 4:00pm

WED      22MAR17            Debark Ship Fort Lauderdale  8:00am, then...    
                                                Ft. Lauderdale to Naples, FL

FRI         24MAR17             Naples to Ft. Myers to Boston to Marion

Legend

¹ Tender Required

² Vaccination Required

³ Cruising Only

⁴ Visa Required For Some

⁵ Times Subject To Tidal Conditions

⁶ Overnight

⁷ Times Subject To Daylight Hours

On Our Way (JAN 30)

This evening we made the arduous journey from Marion to Boston by limousine.

We are now at the Hilton Hotel.  From our room, we have a nice view of the Boston skyline.

Today I received two interesting email messages, both of which could have induced some serious stress under other circumstances.

From JetBlue, I received a notice that their terminal was undergoing renovation. This was causing check-in delays. Were we not at a hotel across the street from the airport, arranging on such short notice to arrive earlier might have been problematic.

From the US State  Department, I received a notice that there has been a significant outbreak of Yellow Fever in Brazil, prompting a recommendation that people visiting the country be inoculated.  With the notice arriving less than six hours before we departed, happiness was having gotten the inoculation several years ago.

I am disinclined to open my email again today.

Good Morning Florida! (FEB 01 - part 1 of 5)

Yesterday, after the warning from JetBlue that we might experience a delay checking in for our flight, the process was quick and routine.

We had an uneventful flight down other than being seated with a rather large service dog.

At the West Palm Beach airport, it took some time to get our bags because they had been shipped down on an earlier flight. 

We rendezvoused with the Lingards and Edwards to begin a great visit.

We awoke this morning to a welcoming sunrise. We are about to head out on today's adventure...in 70° weather.

Departing Jupiter Inlet (FEB 01 - part 2 of 5)

real-time post from aboard PERFECT ARRANGEMENT

Outside... (FEB 01 - part 3 of 5)

Clearing Jupiter Inlet, we turned south, cruising offshore past Singer Island to The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach.  We then turned north and ran a short way to enter the inlet at the north end of Palm Beach which is an island separated from West Palm Beach by the Intercoastal Waterway.

...Inside... (FEB 01 - part 4 of 5)

Passing between Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, we cruised south by the Biltmore hotel (note the trunk of the tree) and under the Flagler Memorial Bridge before turning around opposite the Mar-a-Lago Club where the President was scheduled to host a benefit gala 10 days from now. We proceeded up the  Intercoastal Waterway back to Jupiter.

...and Seen Along the Way (FEB 01 - part 5 of 5)

Some magnificent homes, some in clear view and other only hinting at their grandeur.

Rows of Vikings, massive Rybovich yachts and the occasional Grand Dame.

A Manatee protective area where the creatures go to spa, enjoying the warm water discharge from the nearby Florida Power & Light plant.

There were all sorts of other things to see...

We even passed an Amelia Research jack-up rig that salvages gold from wrecks. 

It was a fabulous day aboard PERFECT ARRANGEMENT, not the least of which was the company of the Lingards and Edwards.  What a great start to our trip!

Departing Ft. Lauderdale (FEB 02)

Bobbie and Frank Lingard kindly drove us to the ship.  Check-in was quick.  Our stateroom was ready.  Our bags all arrived.  The ship left on time. 

We are now eastbound to the Bahamas.

VEENDAM and Vista Suite 221

       

Passenger capacity:  1,350

Crew members:  580

Gross Tonnage:  57,092 grt.

Length:  719 feet

Beam:  101 feet

Maximum speed:  22 knots

For more information on the ship, click here.

To see the location of our stateroom on Deck 9, click here and scroll down to the cabins on the stern of the ship. 

Anticipating reasonably calm seas and a natural curiosity about what there is to see on both sides of the ship, we decided to try a stern cabin this year.  Granted, watching the world go by from there will in some ways be like reading yesterday's newspaper.  We will see what we have already passed rather than what is ahead and abeam (or at least I sincerely hope so since something coming at our stern would in most cases be sub-optimal).  The fact that most of the stern cabins were already booked 15 months ago suggests they are coveted.  We will see. 

To view what our stateroom looks like, click here and then click on the camera icon just to the left of the words "Vista Suite".  You can rotate the camera manually or automatically. 

Double Dam (FEB 03)

Today we anchored off Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. This is an island owned by Holland America Line. It was canned fun-in-the-sun entertainment, except that there was minimal sun and frequent sprinkles with the occasional shower throughout the day. 

I opted to stay aboard. Pam decided to go ashore.  She started only long enough for a walk along the beach and a quick swim. 

In the anchorage, VEENDAM (a S-Class Holland America Lines ship) was dwarfed by EURODAM (a VISTA-Class ship), a much bigger...DAM ship. 

Taking the Windward Passage (FEB 04)

We passed about 10 miles off the eastern tip of Cuba just after noon today.  About 23 months ago, we were in the Cuban town of Baracoa looking out at the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola through which we were cruising today.

This passage has a long and colorful history.  It remains the preferred ship route between the Panama Canal and ports on the east coast of the United States.

Today the seas are calm and the temperature about 80°.

A Second Sea Day (FEB 05)

We awoke this morning to the ship moving around a bit. The motion continued throughout the day. Nothing major, but enough to keep many passengers from taking their usual constitutional on the Lower Promenade Deck.  Or maybe they were just resting up for the Superbowl.

Go Patriots!

Curacao (FEB 06)

The ship docked at the ‘mega-pier’ outside the entrance to Willemstad’s harbor. 

We had hoped to dock at the pier inside the mouth of the harbor…

…just beyond the Queen Emma swing bridge… 

...but that spot was occupied by FREEWIND, a small passenger sip owned by the Church of Scientology.

The walk from the mega-pier to the center of town was not far.  Along the way we ran the usual gauntlet of gift shops and tour hawkers; the local chamber of commerce perhaps having some influence on where VEENDAM docked.

Having been to Curacao before (before I started blogging about our trips), we initially opted to just wander around, re-orienting ourselves.

We decided to take a taxi out to the aquarium.  We arrived there just in time for an impressive dolphin show.

After touring the rest of the aquarium exhibits, including the flamingo exhibit...

…and some really strange specimen in one of the tanks we dubbed ‘Wetsuit Unflaterous”…

…we returned to the floating market in Willemstad. 

The produce comes from Venezuela in a small freighter that transfers it to boats that bring it to the harbor.  It is then transferred again to boats that have obtained spots on the floating market jetty.  This second transfer is done using boats paddled from one shore to the other across a narrow channel.  Presumably the men paddling them are paid by the amount of cargo they transfer.  In maximizing each load, the freeboard (for landlubbers the distance between the waterline and the top of the side of the boat) got so little the single occupant would move his homemade paddle slowly, never shifting his weight for a more powerful stroke. 

We had lunch at the Iguana Café while watching the Queen Emma bridge open and close.  Disconnecting from shore at one end and literally floated out of the way on its pontoons, the bridge tender wasted no time, opening the bridge only wide enough to accommodate the boat traffic. 

This morning’s walk having turned out to be considerably longer that we anticipated, we wended our way back to the ship for a little down time before heading out again for a late afternoon walk, the sun lower in the sky enriching to color of the buildings.  During this second walk, we spotted an iguana in some bushes.  As photographers gathered, he seemed to take his(?) momentary fame in stride.

By the time VEENDAM departed Willemstad at 11:30 PM, Pam & I were sound asleep.

Aruba (FEB 07)

With our cabin at the stern of the ship, we were almost vibrated out of bed by the aft thruster as the ship moved into its spot on the pier.  The annoyance stopped and we went back to sleep for a while. 

Upon arising and looking out the window past our veranda, we discovered the massive MEIN SCHIFF 5 close in astern of us.  It was a little creepy wondering how many pairs of eyes were staring into our cabin.

Having been to Aruba several times and being disinclined to take a tour or go to a beach, after breakfast, we disembarked with no plan other than to wander around Oranjestad. We ambled past a lot of jewelry stores and a couple of casinos.  Pam did some tire-kicking in a few of the former, but came out empty handed. 

Someone should tell this woman the cow is reading her e-mail

Moving in one block from main road along the shore, we came upon what could be the most elegant tram we had ever seen. And it was free.  We hopped on for a round trip ride. 

We disembarked close to the pier, wandered around a bit more, then boarded VEENDAM, which departed at 4:30 PM.

Pam & I spent a week on Aruba a number of years ago.  My thoughts about it have not changed.  I would encourage anyone wanting a week on the beach to seriously consider the island.  I would suggest to anyone wanting a more diverse vacation experience to be sure Aruba has the activities they seek.  

Trinidad (FEB 09)

We arrive in Port of Spain, Trinidad, at about 7:30 this morning.  The harbor area was typical with insufficient activity to make it interesting.

Disembarking, we boarded a mini-van for a 90+ minute to the Asa Wright Nature Center located in the mountains on the north side of the island at 1,200 feet above sea level.

[An aside about the mountains:  While Tobago thirty miles to the north experiences hurricanes, Trinidad does not.  The reason is the mountains at the north end of the island.  They deflect the winds, pushing hurricanes offshore.]

After turning off the main road at Arima, we started to climb on what became a steadily more winding, narrower road.  When we would pull over to allow traffic going the other direction to pass us, Pam was on the side of the vehicle that had the best view of the precipitous drop.  It was exciting to come around hairpin turns to find a dump truck coming the other way moving rather fast.  Our guide explained that they were making deliveries from various quarries in the mountains.  Paid by the trip, it created a delicate balance between being quick and being safe.  On our part, there was no doubt who would lose a mini-van versus loaded dump truck encounter.

Breathing a collective sigh of relief as we existed the mini-van, we gathered on the terrace at the hotel.  Hummingbirds and some other species were everywhere.  

After that photo op, we headed out on a trail walk.  In hindsight, given all the activity we saw from the terrace, it might well have been more interesting to stay there than go on the walk.  The guide was fine and we saw a variety of things, but it was just a poor quantity/quality ratio of things seen versus the effort involved to see them.  It was also one of those walks that you quickly notice is literally all downhill, meaning the second half will be climb up. 

I was grateful Pam did not learn the hard way it is not a good idea to stomp
on an ant hill to get them angry when you are wearing low-cut shoes.

Ah, life's little contradictions.  We were advised to hold the handrails going over some sections of slippery pathway.  We were also advised that tarantulas like to live inside the bamboo handrails exiting unexpectedly, and potentially angrily, from holes in the side of the handrail.

Mind your step!  He has the right of way.

Regrouping on the terrace post-walk, we mounted our mini-vans and headed back down the mountain, this time with me on the outboard side of the vehicle.

That is one big termite nest.  I think I know what happened to the Orkin Man.

Coming down the mountain, we saw Christophine plants.  Grown on the sides of often steep ravines, the plants are suspended from wires.  The fruit hangs below the plant.  Harvesting the fruit is done by crawling on one's back under the plants, picking as you go.  Once your bag is full, you climb back to the road to unload it.  It is doubtful that knowing this will increase my like of Christophene, but I will certainly have an appreciation for the work it took to get it on its way to my plate.  It may even cause me to have a bit of guilt about not eating it as stares up at me from the table.  At that point, I’ll bury it under the lettuce.

The ship departed Port of Spain at 5:00 PM.  Given that Scarborough, Tobago, is only 100 miles away and we do not dock there until 7:00 AM tomorrow, VEENDAM will not be setting any speed record tonight.