Cruising the Caribbean

Hello dear friends,

We have been visiting the islands of Grenada, St. Lucia and today we in Barbados. Grenada is the spice island and so we had a nice tour of the island. We found some nice beaches to take a swim. On St. Lucia we did a tour and then sailed on a catamaran. On this trip I have been totally shaken and stirred! I have been on so many winding and rough roads. It is all fun. Weather is always good - some rain here and there. Tomorrow we will be in St. Bart's. we are there for a short time and then we will be off to Puerto Rico!

Visiting Aruba today

This morning  we sailed into Aruba, one of the little jewels in the Caribbean Sea. Eight of us went on a jeep safari tour of the island. Oh boy it was bumpy! What fun though! The island is like a desert, cacti all over. The ocean has carved the shoreline to make some interesting landscapes. It rarely rains here and they don't get too much damage from hurricanes. Industry is very light so they rely heavily on tourism. The island is very clean - there is a heavy influence of the Dutch as the island is part of the Dutch Antilles. It is 6:08 and we are leaving Aruba. A day at sea tomorrow and then we will be in Grenada.

Sailing the Caribbean Sea....

We are sailing the Caribbean Sea today on our way to Aruba.  We were in Cartagena yesterday. My first visit to Columbia. It was very hot and humid but a very interesting city. Nothing like I thought it would be. Before that we just came through the Panama Canal. It was very hot and humid as well but what an amazing site. We were able to observe how the canal was constructed. I believe they are going to build a new canal or increase the existing one. We are enjoying ourselves so much! There is a lot to do, you can hardly fit it all into one day. We had a deck party as we left Cartagena last night and salsa'ed our way into the evening. It is so nice to have warm air caressing you all the time! Tomorrow we are doing a jeep safari tour in Aruba. We have been to Aruba before and I do love this little island!

Machu Picchu

We made the trek to Machu Picchu yesterday. It is a challenge to get there because you have to take the bus to the train station and then the train takes you to the little village at the base of  Machu Picchu. Then a winding mountain road (20 switchbacks) and there it is - the sanctuary. It took 3 hours from our hotel to the entrance to Machu Picchu, but it was worth it. I have to say we had the perfect day, it was a bit overcast, but bright, no rain and a nice breeze. Ron took lots photos which will be downloaded later today so watch for them on my blog!

We are having a super time so far. Everything is so well coordinated for us. We had a fabulous tour guide - Jose Carlos - who is of Incan heritage. He has lots of history to share with us. We did have a problem with altitude, both Ron and I felt it immediately. Cusco has an elevation of 13,350 ft. When you come from sea level you can tell the difference. We drank lots of water, drank the infamous coco tea - yes it is a derivative of cocaine but it helped.

Today we are flying from Cusco to Lima where we board our ship. Our ship leaves port tomorrow. We have met a lot of new people and we are looking forward to the next leg of our journey.