Posted on

Cruising the Caribbean

Days 44 to 46  IconRae

 

 

Antigua

Being at sea for several days on end makes going ashore at a new destination extra special. For three days in a row we visit a Caribbean Island. One could be forgiven to expect them all to be the same, but there is a distinctive vibe for each place. The bright, sunny smiles of the people are everywhere. Brightly painted buildings are everywhere too. Beautiful beaches are everywhere. Coffee and food is great everywhere. The calypso sound from the musicians on the wharf, sound similar in all three places.

BeachPlayHousesPark

However, the pace of life in Antigua and St. Lucia seems a little calmer than in the larger, more developed island of Barbados.

VerandahTearoom

So unsurprisingly we enjoy all three islands!

StLucia

 

Posted on

Persephone

Day 38IconRae

 

Persephone joins the ship overnight. Initially named Percy, it is discovered by an ornithologist, also a passenger, that he is in fact a female bird. Persephone is a young peregrine falcon who has accidently found herself on board after we left Madeira.

Feelings for Persephone change over her time on board from the initial excitement that a land bird is now travelling on a ship to utter disgust that she is catching and eating all the young sea birds who come to rest on the masts.

Persephone1

I must admit it is a little disconcerting to find feathers and carcass remains on the deck during our morning walk.

 

As predicted by ‘The Bird Lady’, as our travelling ornithologist is now named, Persephone is no longer with us when we approach the Caribbean. A soon as she saw land she obviously flew off to a new home on the other side of the Atlantic. Falcons are not sea birds, so she has done well.

Persephone2

Her presence has however, made us all more aware of the bird life around us and it is not long before ‘The Bird Lady’ is asked to give some talks. To her surprise the theatre is full for each talk. Before each port of call, we learn about the bird life to expect to see. Having not been particularly interested in birds, I am surprised to find myself enjoying being able to identify different ones.

 

Posted on

Funchal, Madeira

Day 36 IconRae

 

 

This is our first stop since boarding the Astor and the first day we are happy to wear summer clothes again.

FunchalGray

We are finding the poor internet on the ship a bit of a problem, so we head to a coffee shop that advertises free Wifi. Excellent coffee! And we manage to get onto Auckland library and change our eBooks. There is a library on the ship, but it is full of tatty old books that passengers have left behind. Thank goodness for eBooks and our iPads! Gray sends emails home too.

FiunchalIcecream

We enjoy pottering around the town. It is sparkling clean, trees provide welcome shade and people seem very helpful and cheerful. After delicious strawberries and ice-cream and freshly squeezed orange juice we cross the road to purchase some madeira, hoping that it is nothing like the cheap, rough beverage we drank back in our student days. We trust these purchases will be better! We also spot aged port, which we know will be good and add it to our lot.

Funchal1

We meander back to the ship enjoying the sunshine and warm sea breeze and thinking that this is a lovely place to visit again. We have heard about the beautiful gardens, especially orchids, here.

Funchal2