Bahamas

2/9/11: Six posts of our cruise pictures and commentary are now completed below.

We went on a PANAMA CANAL CRUISE for our 40th Wedding Anniversary, thus enabling me to cross off another special experience on my 'bucket list.' Along the way we made stops in the southern Caribbean. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, January 21st and returned home at night on Tuesday, February 1st.

Arriving at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Private island owned by Holland America Lines

The 'ship' on the beach is a bar.

The water almost looks fake!

Get a load of that gorgeous Caribbean blue water!

We took a tender to shore

Looking back at our dam ship...the Zuiderdam. The last time we cruised (from San Diego to Hawaii, all around the islands, then back to San Diego) we were on the Zaandam.

Para-sailing. We didn't feel a need to purchase a shore excursion in the Bahamas as we've already experienced most of what they offered and they are expensive.

We enjoyed the wonderful hot temperatures, walked along the beach in the nice, clean, soft sand, then relaxed a while in the peaceful and beautiful surroundings.

Our ship anchored in the bay

Reed on the beautiful sandy beach

After we left the Bahamas we sailed between Cuba and Haiti. We saw hundreds of small one man boats way out in the water, many miles off the coast of Haiti. I suppose they were fishing. I thought the ship was going to run right over the top of them. Many of the boats were more like crude rafts and sails appeared to be no more than a piece of visqueen-like plastic rigged up to catch the wind. In some cases there were several persons crammed onto one little boat and of course, no life vests were to be seen. The following pictures are of the coastline of Haiti.

Aruba

We spent our 40th anniversary (January 25th) on Aruba. Again, we've been swimming with the rays, have been in glass bottomed boats and subs, have ridden on jet skiis and in helicopters, have gone snorkeling, ziplining, parasailing etc. on several occasions in the past and opted out of repeating the costly adventures. When we got off the ship we rented a van and driver with another couple who were celebrating their 60th anniversary. Our tour guide took us on an island ride for a few hours. He was nice, informative and knowledgeable. It was well worth the money.

Arriving in Oranjestad, Aruba:




Yachts in dock



The hotel that looks like a temple



Hillside with cacti



The homes were colorful

Our driver took us to some rock formations. He would ask if we could see a turtle in the rocks and we'd see a large rock that looked just like a giant turtle. In the third picture below there is a rock that looked like the head of a monkey.

Reed at rocks



The monkey rock



An old lady at the oldest church on the island



Cactus plants, countryside and valley


People enjoying the warm water and beach

The 'mountain' in the center of the picture is called the 'haystack.' It is the highest point on the island. It is made up of volcanic rock.

Lighthouse

Windmill

The native language of those in the southern caribbean is Papiamento. It is a mix of African, Creole, Portuguese, Dutch, English and Spanish. The temperatures in the area average 82 degrees year round...warm and sunny climate. If the skys are clear, Venezuela is visible from Aruba and Curacao, as it is as close as 15 miles in some places. The little island countries are independent, yet belong to the Netherlands. There is a lot of Dutch influence. Aruba is known for the sparkling turquoise seas, cacti and other plants, rock formations and the colors used in the Dutch colonial architecture.

Curacao

The inner city and harbor of Willemstad, Curacao with this bridge is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We were told that the UNESCO properties are sort of like a bucket list of places to visit before you die. I looked up the 911 places on the list purported to be of outstanding cultural or natural value with universal appeal. I have only been to about 20 of them. I've visited several of the sites in China and felt the Terracotta Warriors certainly should have been included. A couple of places in New Zealand were also short-changed. Oh well, I have my own list. The following four pictures were taken from the ship as we arrived in port.

We hired a guy to take us around in this Tuk-Tuk. Because the swing bridge was open, we took the ferry across and had to transfer to another tour guide. The 2nd guy was a disappointment...a young kid who didn't speak much English and was mainly interested in hot-rodding the little three-wheeled car.

This is the old Rif Fort which was made from sea stones. It was built to keep pirates or undesireables out of the city. There was another fort on the opposite side of the waterway.

Statue at Rif Fort

Plaza at Rif Fort

Entrance into the main city of Willemstad, Curacao was originally through a narrow channel of water with a fort on each side of the passage. This offered protection to their city. Now there is a swing bridge connecting the two sides or forts. The bridge swings back quite frequently to allow for large ships or other boats to enter the waterway. We crossed over from one side to the other on a ferry when the bridge was retracted and then walked back on the bridge when it once again spanned the water. The picture below shows the bridge swung open and against the side of the channel.

This is what the bridge looks like when it gives foot traffic the ability to cross from side to side.

Fruit markets

Backside of the fruit stands. The boats bring the fresh produce in daily.

Open markets along the waterfront.


There were colorful buildings everywhere...banks, libraries, churches, offices, homes etc.

The high rise hotel is the tallest building on the island. Remnants of the old fort can be seen. The next four pictures were taken from this same spot.

Pier

When we got out at the pier we noticed some plastic and cardboard being held down with rocks. Before we left, the man in the picture appeared. We were told he lives under that little area of the pier that is covered by the plastic. I suppose the rent is cheap.

Cobblestone street design

Waves crashing at the breakfront

Here's our ship at the dock. It sort of looks like one of Holland America's postcards they have on the desk in the staterooms.