Welcome to Antigua! Our ship docked in St. John’s, Antigua early in the morning. Our excursion was scheduled for the afternoon so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and relaxing morning on the ship.
Morning rainbow over Antigua
Our transportation for the day was a small bus driven by DoeDoe with our tour guide Christina. The tour stopped at several historic and scenic overlooks.
Our tour bus in Antigua with driver Doedoe and tour guide ChristineOld ruins with local goats grazing in Antigua
The views from Shirley Heights lookout were spectacular. This location was a principal British fortification in the 18th century and is part of Antigua and Barbuda National Park. We explored around the Royal Artillery Guard House while there but spent most of the time enjoying the amazing view of English Harbor.
View of English Harbor, Antigua from Shirley Heights Lookout
The rain started coming down on our way to Nelson’s Dockyard, another part of Antigua and Barbuda National Park. It was pouring as we walked through the dockyard so we weren’t able to do much exploring or take many photos. We made our way along the waterfront and found cover in a crowded bar where we watched the rain come down.
Yachts at Nelson’s DockyardShells placed beside a walkway at Nelson’s DockyardPillars Restaurant at Nelson’s Dockyard It was pouring when we took cover at this waterfront bar
There are still more adventures to come! Where will the next one be?
We had booked a morning snorkeling excursion and had just finished getting ready when our phone rang. The snorkeling trip was cancelled because of rough seas. I had just been looking at the description of the Rain Forest and Waterfall by 4×4 excursion and thinking how fun that would be. I asked if there was room for us and there was! I already had on my bathing suit and asked if there was swimming available and he said yes. That was even better!
We met our guide and followed him to our fun ride for the day – the cool 4×4 shown below. We climbed up a ladder, found our seats and off we went for our wild ride into the rain forest with the Wacky Rollers.
Our ride in Dominica
The drive to our first stop was on narrow, steep, winding roads. We stopped for a look down at the capital city of Roseau. When I saw the rainbow I was a happy camper. How could it get better than that? Well, it did.
We stopped at the Botanical Gardens for a look around at some of the beautiful vegetation and an unusual moth caterpillar.
The road was like a roller coaster as we got farther into the rain forest. It started raining which added to the adventure. The driver stopped on a bridge for a view of some hot springs.
Hot Springs in the Rain Forest of Dominica
At Morne Trois Pitions National Park we hiked up wet, slippery stone steps to view the Trafalger Waterfalls. It rained off and on the entire hike but the view at the top was our reward.
After returning to the bottom of the stairs we had a chance to read about the park at the Visitor’s Center and gazed out a window to see the rain coming down.
Rain in the Dominican Rain Forest
We continued the tour on more roller coaster roads until stopping at Ti Tou Gorge with an opportunity to swim into the gorge. Out of about a dozen people on the tour, only four women took the plunge. The water was cold as we swam against the current into the gorge to a circular pool where we could look up to see the sky. We continued a little farther for a peek at a waterfall before turning around to go back.
Swimming back to where we started was easy with the current pushing us along. It was a challenge getting out of the water onto the slippery rocks but I did it with the help of one of our guides.
The roller coaster ride continued down the mountain on the way back to the ship. Back on board we had a nice view of the colorful city of Roseau, watched another gorgeous sunset and enjoyed another fabulous dinner.
It was an dreary, overcast morning when our ship docked in Bridgetown, Barbados for a two night stay.
Our excursion the first day was a photo adventure guided by producer/director and award winning photographer Ronnie Carrington. His photography tips and interesting commentary about Barbados history and culture made for a wonderful experience.
As we passed through several villages we learned about the history of the island. He told us the history of Chattel Houses in Barbados and stopped the bus so we could take photos up close. These houses were small wooden buildings set on blocks so that they could be easily moved from one location to another. The homeowners did not own the land so if they changed jobs and moved, they took their house with them.
Chattel house, Barbados
Our tour continued through villages with colorful homes to the Scotland district on the Atlantic coast. We stopped for a look at the Atlantic Ocean where the only thing between us and Africa was the ocean and clean, fresh air.
Scotland District, BarbadosNothing between us and Africa except the Atlantic Ocean and good, clean airWandering Dawgs in Barbados
Our journey continued when we stopped at a park on one of the Atlantic Beaches. I don’t remember the name.
Beach on the Atlantic Ocean in Barbados
Bathsheba Beach is lined with huge coral rocks. The header image at the top of the page and the next one were taken there.
Bathsheba Beach, Barbados
As we traveled to our next destination there were Barbados Green Monkeys beside the road and this one looked like he was posing for me.
Barbados Green Monkey
The best rum punch of the entire trip was at the Atlantis Hotel in the fishing village of Tent Bay.
We had heard that Barbados is THE place try a flying fish sandwich so when Henry asked Ronnie if it would be possible to get a flying fish sandwich he answered “you can’t leave Barbados without eating one.” He pulled out his cell phone to call ahead to order one from this little beach restaurant. He went inside and brought back this delicious Barbados treat. We enjoyed every bite! Ronnie wanted everyone to taste a fresh Barbados banana so he bought a bag of bananas at a fruit stand and passed them around the bus. So delicious!
Ronnie has published a book of his photography and poems. I bought an autographed copy.
Back on board the ship we watched another glorious sunset before enjoying another fabulous dinner.
Sunset in Barbados
The next day Henry went for a ride in the Atlantis submarine. I’m claustrophobic and opted out of the tour but I enjoyed hanging around the marina until the tour returned to the dock. While I was watching the boats going in and out at the marina Henry was watching schools of small fish through the submarine windows.
This boat took the passengers to the Atlantis SubmarineThis is the kind of submarine used in the tour, Barbados
Our two days in Barbados were filled with adventure. Where will we be next?
Another day, another gorgeous, tropical Caribbean island. Our ship was docked in the capital city of Castries. The above image shows some of the colorful buildings in Castries as seen from the ship.
Castries, St. Lucia
There is so much to see in St. Lucia it would be impossible to see it all in one short shore excursion. The 237 square mile volcanic island is very mountainous with lush green tropical foliage, most of the island is covered in rain forest, and the waters surrounding the island provide many opportunities for boating, scuba diving and snorkeling.
We had been to St. Lucia twice before on dive trips. Both times we stayed in Soufriere on the western side of the island. When we weren’t scuba diving we were exploring around Soufriere, taking in the spectacular scenery, and enjoying the delicious local cuisine.
On our previous trips we didn’t get an opportunity to visit the northern part of the island so we chose to take a bus tour to see it. As our bus climbed the hills on steep, narrow roads with hairpin turns we were treated to jaw dropping scenic views and learned about the island from our guide Amelia. Tourism is the number one economy on St. Lucia.
Our destination was a private home called Stony Hill with magnificent views and beautiful gardens. We enjoyed listening to a steel drum as we relaxed with a cold fruit juice and delicious snack of banana bread and coconut cake.
Stony Hill, St. LuciaPigeon Island, St. Lucia – the island is a National ParkSt. Lucia
I love lighthouses so I had to capture the Vigie Lighthouse as we cruised out to sea at the end of the day.
Vigie Lighthouse, St. Lucia sits high above the Caribbean Sea guarding the entrance to Castries
Fun things to know about St. Lucia:
St. Lucia is the first country to be named after a woman
St. Lucia has the world’s only drive-in volcano
St. Lucia is the home of the Pitons Mountain Range, a UNESCO World Heritage site
Some scenes from the movie “Superman II” with Christopher Reeve were filmed in St. Lucia. In one scene he is seen flying by Petit Piton. One of the dive sites at the base of Petit Piton is nicknamed “Superman’s Flight” (yes, we dove it many years ago)
Our host Sofia chose water as our challenge and asks us to “please show us your water fun and tell us about it.”
This challenge topic is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have always been a lover of water. Salt water, fresh water, oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, mountain streams, waterfalls, I love them all.
Lucky for me my husband Henry shares my love of water. We have lived within a few miles of the Atlantic Ocean for most of our life and are surrounded by salt marsh and salt water. Almost all of our travels have revolved around water of some kind. Usually, we stay somewhere near water but until this January we had never taken a cruise ON the water. These images show some of the water fun we had during our Caribbean cruise.
San Juan, Puerto RicoBathsheba Beach, Barbados
We hiked up steep stone stairs to see Trafalgar Falls in Dominica
We watched planes land at the airport from Sunset Beach Bar, St. MaartenSailing on a catamaran to a snorkeling spot in the British Virgin IslandsThe bow of the ship was our favorite place to watch the water as we cruised through the Caribbean
Wandering Dawgs 
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