...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.