Island Card (visiting Islands A-1, X-145 & X-147) ~ Before sailing from Miami to Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres on board ssc Island Dancer you spend the day on South Beach, mingling with people at the Miami Beach Art Deco Weekend with its concerts, street fair and movies. ~ Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands A-4, G-53 & G-54) ~ As ss Azure Sea sails toward Key Biscayne, you pass the photographers gallery, but today, instead of the usual photos, the walls are covered with wonderfully colored drawings and paintings, by various children and grown ups on board, of the highlights of your cruise to Bermuda’s … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island Q-114) ~ When sv Tradewinds visits the island of Chimana Grande in Venezuela’s Mochima National Park the ship’s captain anchors in a large cove ringed by rocky cliffs. You take the ship’s dinghy to explore the small mangrove lagoon with its colourful marine life, then continue along the coastline to Playa … Continue reading »
Ship Card <Lose Island W-139> ~ ss Caribbean Star anchors off Ambergris Caye and you decompress on the beach, relaxing in your hammock with the muffled sounds of waves breaking on the reef offshore and the occasional screech of a seabird. Too bad you didn’t check to see where you slung your hammock ~ Beware … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Caribbean destination W-143) ~ Visiting Livingstone, Guatemala, on board Indigo Sails, you learn that every Maya child has a Nahual ~ an animal protective spirit ~ which helps the child communicate with Nature throughout his life. You also learn that the Guatemalan Maya have been vigorously protecting their culture from persecution since … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands Z-159 & Z-160) ~ While mv Riviera is docked in Miami you are shown the Everglades by your Miccosukee Indian guide: When the airboat goes past Tear Island he reminds you that his tribe believe that they exist to protect the land and keep it healthy. The people of the tribe … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands N-100 & N101) ~ Your shore excursion to St.Lucia, when you visit onboard mv Riviera, is a performance of Derek Walcott’s masterpiece of poetic drama “Dream on Monkey Island”, at his open-air theatre on Pigeon Island, which is on the other side of the man-made causeway linking the two islands. ~ Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island N-99) ~ There are plenty of sites to see in Barbados for history buffs. While visiting the island onboard ss Caribbean Star find your way to National Heroes Square, (formerly known as Trafalgar Square), with its statue of Admiral Lord Nelson: Nearby St.Michael’s Cathedral has a Greek palindrome engraved on a … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands C-13 & C-14) ~ Harbour Island was once (along with it’s inhabitants, Brilanders) one of the more prosperous places in the Bahamas ~ this due to the renown of local boat builders. Now it is justly celebrated for the miles and miles of pink beaches (the pink color coming from the … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands E-38 & E-39) ~ Originally, the Crossing Place on Middle Caicos was used by the early settlers at low tide to cross over the sandbars to North Caicos. Nowadays, the Crossing Place Trail and Caves is an eco-tourism project highlighted by Arawak and Lucayan Indian ruins, fabulous local scenery, hiking and … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island K-76) ~ Relax in St.Kitts with a stay at a Plantation Great House, restored and converted into a luxury inn with beautifully landscaped grounds, grass court tennis, croquet and afternoon tea. Continue your relaxation with a sampling of local fare for dinner ~ roasted red and yellow pepper soup, poached parrotfish … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Caribbean destination P-108) ~ The sights of the rainforest of Guyana were first written about by Sir Walter Raleigh, the English explorer, in 1596. Today, jaguars, hoatzin (the national bird) and naked-throated bellbirds still inhabit the rainforest along with greenheart trees, heliconia, orchids, epiphytes and the Victoria Regia lily, which has leaves … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands C-16, C-17, C-18, C-19 & C-20) ~ Of course the best way to enjoy the islands of the Abacos is to take a day long island-hopping tour. Start at Elbow Cay for a view of the pink and white striped lighthouse; then on to Man-O-War Cay, the boat building capital of … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island X-146) ~ During your yoga retreat cruise to Isla Mujeres on board ss Mayan Sun, you learn that when the ancient philosophers use the word “worship” it means acknowledging that the forces of nature are giving things and we are receivers. The most basic form of worship is to refrain from … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands W-140 & W-141) ~ When ssc Island Dancer arrives at Turneffe Island atoll (coral isles and reefs arranged in a circle surrounding a shallow lagoon) you enjoy exploring Belize’s spectacular barrier reef (second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef) amid crystal-clear turquoise waters, some of which drop away thousands … Continue reading »
Ship Card <Lose Island P-106 off your scorecard> ~ Today is a beach day while ss Magellan anchors off Tobago, so try and make the best choice from one of the reminders of the pirate past of this island ~ maybe Pirates Bay, Man-O-War Bay or Bloody Bay ~ but no, you pick the beautiful … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island K-72) ~ On your island tour of Anguilla while sailing onboard the ss Magellan you visit Fountain Cave where Arawak petroglyphs are carved into the stalagmites and stalactites. Later in the day, while visiting The Valley, you make a find of commemorative stamps with illustrations of these carvings ~ “Jocahu”, “Cap … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island F-41) ~ After ssc Island Dancer docks on Vieques at sunset, you take one of the ship’s kayaks to Phosphorescent Bay where microscopic protozoa living in the water glow luminous green when they are moved. Your paddling sets off bright green arcs of spray in the twilight. ~ Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands L-80, R-117 & R-118) ~ On board ss Caribbean Star during your stop-over on St.Eustatius, you hike the Quill ~ an extinct volcano ~ and visit the dense tropical rainforest with it’s breadfruit and mahogany trees. You also see over a dozen different types of orchids with their accompanying, brilliantly colored … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands P-106, P-107 on the scorecard) ~ Your stopover today on board sv Tradewinds is the island of Tobago, where you hike through the rain-forests with their trees and plants of such varied and vivid shades of green. Also, on Little Tobago you visit the Reserve with its multitude of different species … Continue reading »
~ When ss Magellan docks in Cozumel you visit the temple ruins of Ix Chel, the moon goddess. Ix Chel, the goddess of renewal, fertility and medicine, travels each day through the Maya underworld, struggling with it’s evil forces, to be reborn the next night as the moon in the heavens. ~ Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Caribbean destination S-122) ~ The magic of Colombia is best realized in the writings of one of her favorite sons. Visiting Cartagena on board ss Magellan you walk the cobblestone streets, inhale the atmosphere, marvel at the architecture, meet the people, visit churches and museums, sip local coffee and read about love … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands D-27 & D-28 on the scorecard) ~ The Exumas are famed for their sailing and snorkeling. They are a group of islands and cays some of which are so small that they disappear with the tides. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park is a conservation area and “NO TAKE ZONE” … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island N-100) ~ Luckily, ss Neptune does not sail until the early hours of the next morning on her Friday visit to St.Lucia (pronounced loosha). So go to the Friday night “Jump Up” in Gros Islet and make new friends with the locals, your fellow cruisers and visiting holiday makers along with … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island Parish G-53) ~ In memory of the previous evening’s fabulous midnight buffet on board ss Magellan, your exercise today is a jog down the Bermuda Railway Trail from St.George Parish to Lover’s Lake Nature Reserve with its white Bermuda longtails (Tropicbirds), kiskadees (Flycatchers) or perhaps an Eastern Bluebird hiding among the … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Caribbean destination U-133) ~ When ss Azure Sea visits Puerto Limon in Costa Rica, go south to the Gondoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge and explore the tropical coastline; see the reef while on a glass bottom boat, learn about the medicinal plants of this area, perhaps catch sight of a Blue Morpho butterfly … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands H-56, H-57, H-58 & H-64 on the scorecard) ~ The British Virgin Islands have had an interesting life. Originally formed by volcanic activity many years ago, they then splintered into the collection of tiny islands and cays that exist today. Settled firstly by the Ciboney Indians, then the Arawak … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands A-1 & Z-154) ~ After departing Miami on board ss Neptune sailing for Key West, you stand on deck in the safety of your mega-sized cruise ship and are reminded of American painter Winslow Homer’s watercolor “The Gulf Stream” which portrays humanity’s powerlessness against the unpredictability and violence of nature. ~ Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island R-116) ~ The trade winds that blow all year round make art out of nature in the form of the wind-bent divi-divi trees that are scattered all over Aruba. They also helped form the natural coral rock bridge at Andicouri. The breezes also make Aruba the natural place to hold the … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island T-125) ~ Relaxing in the crystal waters off Isla Tigre you find a fallen coconut and reflect upon the number of ways to use the tree and its fruit: 1. Drink the coconut water. 2. Make a fire of the husks to smoke fish. 3. Break off a piece of the … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island D-31 on the scorecard) ~ While cruising on board mv Riviera you moor off Small Hope Bay on the island of Andros; after going ashore, make sure that you do not upset the “chickcharnies” ~ strange little gremlins with three toes and red eyes, which are said to hang upside down … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands V-134 & V-135) ~ The Bay Islands have had a variety of inhabitants over the years. From a branch of the Mayan Indians who originally settled the islands, to the Spanish, the Garifuna (descendants of Carib Indians and African slaves) and also Cayman islanders. There were also pirate contingents from England, … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands S-123, T-128, U-131 & X-149) ~ During your cruise aboard sv Tradewinds from Isla de Baru to Cayos Holandes, Corn Island and Cayos Lobos you marvel at the different colours of Lake Bacalar while on your Shore Excursion in Mexico. This Lake of Seven Colours reminds you that water is a … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island M-98) ~ A visit to the paradise that are the Tobago Cays (pronounced keys) is the quintessential Caribbean. These small uninhabited islands are protected from the sea by Horseshoe Reef. The islands have white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, all the better for exploring the underwater wonderland of neon fish swimming … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island K-74) ~ While Indigo Sails is moored off the island of Montserrat a stiff breeze picks up, so it is definitely the time to hang on to the ropes of your favorite mult-coloured sail and go spinnaker flying in the wind off the front of the ketch. ~ Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island J-67) ~ During your shore excursion in St.Croix while onboard ss Colombia, you visit the Estate Whim Plantation Museum. This 18th. century Great House is made from coral and rock bonded together with a mortar of sea shells and sugar molasses: Here you can see the different ways that power drove … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island B-11) ~ When ss Magellan docks on Grand Bahama make sure that you visit one of this island’s Nature Centres, where an explosion of colourful bougainvillea, hibiscus, periwinkles and orchids live with multi-coloured butterflies, blue lizards, curly tailed lizards and tree frogs, while hairy woodpeckers, Bahama yellow throats, indigo buntings, redstarts, … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island N-102) ~ The multi-ethnic cuisine of Grenada is a reflection of all the changes that have taken place on this island over the centuries. So, when you and your fellow passengers get together in a local restaurant and feast on callaloo soup, lambi (meat of the conch) souse, stuffed crabs, fried … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island M-90) ~ The drift dive called Mayreau Gardens in the Grenadines is the highlight of your diving trip aboard mv Riviera. Massive schools of brown and blue chromis, red snapper and jacks swim among the hard and soft corals, sponges and great sea fans. As the dive continues you will see … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island X-146) ~ When ss Mayan Sun docks off the ever-so-relaxed Isla Mujeres, go with the flow and spend a couple of days being pampered with stress-busting massages, meditation on the white sand strands, melting into the calm turquoise waters, then freshly caught grouper with local spices and vegetables for dinner. ~ Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Islands U-130, Y-151) ~ Indigo Sails ups anchor and leaves Little Cayman to follow in the wake of the Lillias Eden, a Cayman schooner sailing to Miskito Cay on a turtle hunt in Peter Mattiessen’s magnificent odyssey of a novel, Far Tortuga. ~ Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands N-102, N-103, N-104, P-105, P-108) ~ One of the most exciting sailing trips ever made in the Caribbean was the 1997 voyage made by a handful of Kalinago (Carib Indians of Dominica), who, according to their art of canoe building, chopped down a huge gommier tree, hollowed it out and “opened” … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island U-132 on the scorecard) ~ On visiting Bluefields and the nearby Deer Island you learn that thousands of Americans wishing to join the 1849 California Gold Rush left the U.S. East Coast and sailed here; then they were shipped up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua, where they were ferried … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands L-78, L-79, L-81) ~ When visiting the Saints, dock Indigo Sails in the superb harbour at Le Bourg on Terre-de-Haut. The islanders here catch most of the fish eaten on the nearby island of Guadeloupe. A short boat ride away, the isle of Terre-de-Bas is a hiker’s dream of scenic trails … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island C-16) ~ While on board ss Neptune cruising through the Abacos, you see in the distance Hope Town’s 120 feet high pink and white lighthouse on Elbow Cay. This lighthouse was built in the 1830s to discourage the islanders from luring shipping on to the reefs and then scavenging the wrecks. … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Islands C-13 & C-15 on the scorecard) ~ While visiting Harbour Island on board the ss Caribbean Star you can still see the influence of the original British settlers ~ Victorian horse and carriage can be seen on the streets and the tea room continues to serve the infusion made famous by … Continue reading »
Island Card (F-46) ~ Although the so-called “discovery” of Haitian art is dated to around 1940, the roots of Haitian primitive paintings go back to the mid-1800s from when we can see a painting of the San Souci Palace which exhibits intuitive organization of space, visionary quality and stunning colors, predating by a hundred years … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Caribbean destination U-133) ~ When you visit Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica on board ss Caribbean Star, you meet fellow travellers who left La Selva Biological Station and took a boat tour down the Puerto Viejo River into the Sarapiqui River then on to the San Juan River, … Continue reading »
Ship Card (visiting Island L-81) ~ Your timing is excellent as the ss Neptune docks at Guadeloupe during the three-day street party that is Carnival. Starting on Lundi Gras, followed by Mardi Gras and then Mercredi des Cendres (Ash Wednesday) when the islanders burn the spirit of Vaval, there are parades, colorful costumes, partying and … Continue reading »
Island Card (visiting Island R-120) ~ During your cruise aboard the ss Colombia, your dive sites in the Bonaire Marine Park are highlighted by yellow tail snappers, peacock flounders, angelfish, seahorses and a parrotfish munching on the coral reef. The Park is full of different varieties of coral ~ from redlip blenny and yellow pencil … Continue reading »
