We arrive in Aruba and check into our hotel in Oranjestad, the capital, dropping off our luggage and heading out to see what we can find.
We wake up in the morning as the anchor drops just off Little Bay, Montserrat, in the British West Indies. Montserrat has an active volcano that is one of the most studied in the world, causing two-thirds of the islands population to flee between 1995 and 2000 and still continuing to affect the island (the old airport was covered by volcanic flows in 2010). But, as we peer out at the island, the captain announces that the seas are too rough for us to go ashore safely and we pull up the anchor and head to St. Kitts, where there is room at the pier.
The tender to Saint-Barthélemy (St. Barth, St. Barths or St. Barts, a department of France) weaves between huge yachts and the ship's second officer, who is going ashore with us, tells us that three of the largest are owned by a rich Russian and are full of his various family members. Just after that, a jet ski whizzes by by the tender, driven by a young woman, followed closely by a speedboat with three men in bulletproof vests standing and watching closely. The second officer turns to us and says, "bodyguards."
We first walk through the town (only a few blocks), along the harbor, then cut over to Shell Beach, a short walk from the harbor and covered with millions of shells. We should have brought our swim suits, the beach, water, and bay are so inviting, complete with beach walkers, swimmers, sunbathers, and free wifi.
We wander back into town and find an open bar for an afternoon beer. As we enjoy the holiday crowd and the great bistro atmosphere (and, more free wifi), much of the rest of our ship wanders in and fills the remaining seats.
As the shops open, we stick our heads into a few and find incredible French shirts (for me) and sweatshirts (for Laura and Jennifer), acquired to take home. After shopping, we wonder what is on the other side of the island, and away we go.
We catch a taxi over the hill, pass the airport, and wander onto another great beach, just past the airport.
After a stroll up and down the beach, we enter into the bar at the Eden Rock and order a bottle of champagne to enjoy as we watch the day wind down.
We have a great chat with our server, who is Italian, worked in Paris for a few years, and then moved to St. Barths. What a life! And, I got to practice both my [limited] French and my [even more limited] Italian!
After our drink, our taxi comes back to pick us up and return us to the terminal to catch our shuttle back to the ship. While we're waiting for the taxi, someone famous, we think from the New York Giants, picks up his car from the valet: our star sighting for the day.
And, as the sun sets, we move on toward out next stop.
Isla Culebra, known as "Snake Island" is a municipality of Puerto Rico, located approximately seventeen miles east of the main island and twelve miles west of St. Thomas, with a population around 1,800 people, beautiful beaches, and a sleepy main town.
We catch a ride on the tender to town and wander several blocks to the ferry landing, where there are buses to Playa Flamenco (Flamenco Beach), rated the third most beautiful in the world by TripAdvisor in 2014. The beach has shallow turquoise water, white sand, calm swimming areas, and diving sites, stretching for a mile along a horseshoe-shaped bay.
We spend a few hours at the beach, walking the length of the white sand that feels so wonderful on our feet, exploring an abandoned Sherman tanks left by the US Army after training exercises just before WWII, and, of course, swimming and sitting in the sun.
As it gets toward noon and the crowd picks up (still not many people), we catch the shuttle back into town and find a spot for a fish and chips, beer, and a view.
What a great, relaxing day!
