21 - November 22, 23, 24, 25, 2016

Last stop on this great itinerary is La Romana, Dominican Republic (home of baseball great Juan Marichal, who is still aboard and playing blackjack at night with Suzy). Lots of nice homes, golf courses, resorts, and a purpose-built arts and crafts replica village built 40 years ago.

Hand-made cigar demonstration center

HPG learning the aging of tobacco leaves

Cigar manufacture consists of binding the filler, pressing in a mold, rolling the filler in the wrapper (most important part of taste), and cutting to exact length. A good cigar roller can do 350 a shift.

'Cellaring' the cigars

Altos de Chavon--replica of Spanish-type village made of coral, rocks, and old timbers--primarily for modern tourists; it has a 6000-seat amphitheater, chapel, hotel, craft shops, restaurants, museum of native artifacts, and ample shopping opportunities. Built by former CEO of Great Western as a monument to his daughter. The stone is coral and bricks used as ballast in old sailing ships are the main construction materials. Looks old, doesn't it?

And a fine dinner in Tuscan Steak with our Swedish friends, Ulla and Marco, sharing a beautiful large-format bottle of Amarone.

Esther, Cap's favorite barista in the mornings, and Tina, sommelier, show off the wine.

We left these Colorado Fourteener mugs and map with our favorite crew members, thanks to a suggestion by our Keystone friend Åsa, and await safe arrival tomorrow morning in Miami.

Early morning arrival in Miami

20 - November 19, 20, 21, 2016

A beautiful, sunny day in Martinique--very French and very hot. Our drive to the North took us to a cathedral high on a hill, through dense rainforest and numerous hills, returning to the ship along the coast. The town of Fort de France has some quite modern buildings, as well as a three-story giant supermarket and a university, while the outskirts away from town and the resorts are quiet.

View from the pier--apartments and and office tower.

Sacre Coeur Cathedral, 1/5 size copy of the original in Paris.

We tasted DePaz rum in a large factory (not running because the cane was not ready to be harvested; the company was established in 1651, but this facility seemed pretty new.

 Sugar cane grinder

The fishing village of Saint-Pierre, once a bustling capital of this outpost of France, was completely destroyed by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée in the background--not from lava flow but from gas and rocks--like Pompeii. The eruption killed 30,000 people--one man survived, a prisoner locked away in a dungeon not exposed to the toxic air.

In town, ruins are everywhere, as well as remnants of the old fort.

 Old ruins

New ruins

Cap's favorite bus seat

Sirena at Martinique

From Martinique we sailed to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, which was not nearly so interesting as the Bitter End side of the island, where we have been several times before. We tendered in for a brief stop ashore, admired the opportunities for another second home, then returned to the ship for a delightful supper served on our deck. The weather has moderated enough to be comfortable outside in the evening. 

Sirena's tenders had to skillfully maneuver around the renters of sailboats from The Moorings who had no business in a busy harbor.

Not much to do here

Location, location, location

Dinner on our deck

And, finally, tomorrow on to San Juan, where we just were in December.

19 - November 18, 2016

Barbados--interesting country with plenty of contrasts--land of Mount Gay rum, of which we partook, of course. Created from coral, not from volcanoes, Barbados has the highest literacy rate in the English-speaking world--99.7%, and one of the highest ratio of roads to land mass in the world.

Typical house in town

House on the highest point

Sightseeing tour took in Gun Hill Signal Station, complete with lion carved from coral.

Gorgeous orchids at Orchid World--one of many in these islands, along with a surprising (to us) variety of cacti.

Highlight was a visit to Sunbury House, a 300-year-old plantation house, privately owned, furnished in classic Victorian, but fixed up as a museum, with plenty of oddities and collections.

Dining room

Recliner

Bathroom humor

Then we were treated there to a rum drink demonstration and multiple rum tastings, as well as fish balls and chicken & fried plantain (yes, we have recipes) by two very funny women, aided and abetted by Susan, our excellent guide. Here Donna adds bitters (she's already dumped in two liters of rum).

Chicken and Plantains

Codfish balls

And a good time was had by all (our new Swedish friends in front)!

18 - November 17, 2016

A day at sea brought us a Country Fair staged by the ship's crew, with carnival-type events created by each department reflecting what they do--knot tying, pillow stuffing, liqueur identification, napkin folding, etc. We guests were competing for raffle tickets.

Country Fair

Our butler Bosco laughing at Suzy's attempt at walking a line looking through binoculars backward.

And an evening reunion of our Amazon EcoPark colleagues--all cleaned up--after cocktails in our suite where Cap had put together a slide show of our time together.

17 - November 16, 2016

This morning we anchored off Devil's Island (Île due Diable), French Guiana. There are two other islands nearby. Recall the book or movie Papillon. Across a narrow body of water on the mainland is the town of Kourou. In a conversation Suzy said she'd heard tomorrow they will evacuate these 3 islands, as they evidently do before every launch, because of a space launch. From the ship I could make out some large buildings and they are part of this complex; three complexes actually. 

Very busy launch schedule. http://www.space.com/32286-space-calendar.html

Next is my telephoto shot of that complex-OK, use your imagination.

Red arrow marks our location.

Walk to penal colony.

Two examples of detention. HPG paid bail and was released.

Admin building

And of course a catholic church.

Barracks

And also a fine French hotel, Auberge des Iles