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
Welcome to the next edition of our Caribbean Islands Adventure.
Our daily routine aboard ship – wake up in the morning in a new port, eat three delicious meals, take a shore excursion, take a dip in one of the pools or relax in one of the many lounge areas, enjoy cocktail hour in the Explorer’s Lounge in the bow of the ship just a few steps from our stateroom, watch the ship sail out of the harbor, watch the sunset, sleep while the ship is cruising to our next port.
First View of St. Kitts as we prepare to dock in the capital city of Basseterre
St. Kitts is one of the two islands that make up the country of St. Kitts and Nevis. Our shore excursion of the day was a ride on the St. Kitts Scenic Railway.
Our tour began with a 12 mile bus ride through the capital and into the countryside before boarding the train. Our bus driver told us some history of the island and pointed out places of interest. The island’s number one industry used to be sugar cane. Today it is tourism.
Our tour started with a scenic drive to the scenic railwayKalinago Rock Drawings, St. KittsGoats crossing the street in St. Kitts
The narrow gauge railway makes an 18 mile journey around St. Kitts. As we rode along in the open air second deck our guide pointed out interesting sights and we learned a little more about the island. The train passed through former sugar cane fields where the sugar cane still grows wild. In the villages, school children waved as we went by. The ride was bumpy with lots of turns and gorgeous views.
Waiting for passengers to boardSt. Kitts Scenic Railway
Two young dancers played music and danced as we rode along.
Ruins from Sugar Cane Plantation, St. KittsSt. Kitts Scenic RailwayBlack Beach on St. Kitts
Back on board our ship, we were treated to another beautiful sunset. The crab cake appetizer at dinner was one of my favorite dishes of the entire trip.
The seas were calm and the overnight sailing was smooth from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands. We started the day on our veranda watching the ship dock in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI.
First view of St. ThomasThe Viking Sea docking in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
A scenic bus ride on the narrow, winding roads of St. Thomas to where the catamaran was docked, sailing through the turquoise waters along the coast of St. Thomas, a rainbow over St. Thomas (shown in the header above), sailing through Pillsbury Sound where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean on our way to St. John, a dinghy ride to Honeymoon Beach in the Virgin Islands National Park in St. John, swimming in the Caribbean, walking on a white sandy beach, and just chilling on the beach. It doesn’t get much better than that!
The Catamaran Stars and Stripes, St. Thomas, USVIA dinghy ride to the beachTurquoise water and white sand beach – heaven!Rum punch and snacks awaited us back on the boatBeautiful day for a sail
We returned to our ship in time for lunch and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. Our beautiful day ended after another glorious sunset and another delicious dinner.
Our long awaited Caribbean adventure began when we landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico on a Monday night in January. Spending two nights in a hotel and two nights on the ship was a perfect way to begin the journey.
During the almost 400 years Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule, Spain constructed forts and city walls around San Juan for protection. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became a United States Territory.
On our second day in the hotel we wandered around the area close to the hotel. We were determined to find an old fort visible from our hotel room. It wasn’t easy to find but with the help of a Viking representative at the hotel we were able to walk to the fort and spend a little time exploring and learning about it’s history. Fort San Geronimo Del Boqueron was built during the 18th century. Along with several other forts, it part of San Juan’s first line of defense.
Back at the hotel we enjoyed listening to the waves and watching an American Oyster Catcher searching for a tasty morsel. Dinner outside by the pool was a great ending to the day.
Click on a photo for a closer look.
The next morning we boarded our ship, got checked in, unpacked and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening. After a good night’s sleep we took a walking tour of Old San Juan with a knowledgeable guide. As we followed our guide uphill on old cobblestone streets we passed through colorful neighborhoods and businesses in Old San Juan. Many of the streets were paved in blue cobblestones which had been used as ballast in the ships.
Our tour included a visit to one of the oldest buildings in San Juan, the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. We stopped for view of the Palacio de Santa Catalina, the residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico. We continued up the hill to Fort San Cristobal, a National Historic Site which dates back to the early 17th century.
That evening as we left San Juan we sailed by Castillo San Felipe del Morro.
Coming soon, our next adventure in two of the United States Virgin Islands.
The Wandering Dawgs just returned from an amazing Caribbean Islands Adventure filled with many memorable events. Our first ever cruise was supposed to be an Alaska inside passage trip in 2020 which we booked in 2019. Then COVID came along and the cruise was rescheduled for 2021. When that one was also cancelled we decided to try something different and booked a January cruise which included some Caribbean islands and a trip up the Amazon River. A few months ago the Brazil portion was cancelled and our itinerary changed to nine Caribbean islands in 8 different countries, starting and ending in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico required a negative COVID test to enter the country. The first of our memorable events was receiving the negative test results the day before our flight!
Everything went smoothly after that. Our flights were on time and we arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday, January 10 for a two night stay at a hotel in San Juan before our Wednesday boarding on the Viking Sea. The most memorable event that first night was watching our Georgia Bulldogs win the college football National Championship from our hotel room.
There were too many memorable events to feature in one post. Here are just a few of the most memorable.
Walking the beaches of the Caribbean just soothed my soul. Our first beach was in a U. S. National Park on St. John, United States Virgin IslandsEach rainbow was spectacular. This rainbow in Dominica was one of several we saw during our journeySwimming into a cave in Ti Tou Gorge in the rain forest of Dominica was my most memorable experience – Thanks to Henry for this photoOne of the many sunsets we enjoyed. This was from our last night on the ship
Did we love our first cruise? A thousand times YES! It was the trip of a lifetime that can never be duplicated. The weather was perfect, the seas were calm, and each island brought new adventures. With a full crew of 450 and only 150 passengers on a ship with a capacity of 930 we felt like royalty the entire time.
Wandering Dawgs 