Thursday, December 6 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
We started packing pretty late Wednesday night, so it was technically early Thursday morning :) We threw everything we could think of (since we didn't really know what to bring) into our brand new suitcases and headed out to the airport for our noon flight.
We were a little uneasy during our departure flight due to the fact that we had just received a call from City of Austin to let us know that our water meter was "spinning quite fast" and that we most likely had a water leak. It turned out to be a 95,000-gallons-and-$1,100-water-bill water leak - oh, the joys of being a home owner!
Our flight landed in San Juan just after 9:00pm, so we just walked up and down the street by our hotel and got some ice cream. And, because of the holidays, everything was decorated so beautifully!
Friday, December 7 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
We headed out to Old San Juan, a popular tourist area, late in the morning. There's not a whole lot to do, per say, but there is plenty to see. We enjoyed walking up and down the old streets, looking at the knick-knack stores and tents.
We got lunch at pretty busy diner-type restaurant, which we though must be good since there were a lot of locals there. I had fried pork (left) and Nelson got their infamous Mofongo (right) - mashed plantains with your choice of meat.
If you've ever had Mofongo, you might be noticing that his looks a little different. We thought the same thing after the lady next to Nelson got something that looked similar, so the following brief conversation took place:
Nelson: "What is that?" (pointing to her plate)
Puerto Rican lady: "Mofongo."
Nelson: "Then what is this?" (pointing to his plate)
Puerto Rican lady: "Potaters."
Yup, they tried to fool the tourist by giving us a cheaper version of Mofongo! Unfortunately, he had already eaten all those "potaters" and rice, so was too full to say anything to our waiter. After lunch, we did some more exploring and went to El Morro - Puerto Rico's largest fort that was built in order to protect the New World from incoming fleets. You know you're getting old when watching the little video about how it was made and how many cannons don't work are actually interesting facts.
That night, we went on a kayaking tour of Bioluminescent Bay. It was the coolest thing. We started out by kayaking (in the dark) down a pretty long canal that was lined with Mangrove trees. After what seemed like forever, the guides told us to look at our oars as we paddled. The water glowed! It was full of these tiny plankton-like organisms that light up when disturbed in order to let others know there's something in the water. We kept paddling and were soon in a large bay about 500 yards in diameter (I'm really bad about distance estimating, especially in the dark, so I could be way off). This is where these organisms lived, one of only five areas in the world. Conditions have to be absolutely perfect, so it's very rare to have as many as Bioluminescent Bay. You could get the most glow by sticking your hand in the water and waving it around really quickly. We weren't able to get any pictures, but you can trust me when I say it was really neat.
Since it was dark when we first arrived to San Juan, we took the opportunity to explore the hotel area a little more in the light. We had lunch at a cafe and then walked on the beach outside of our hotel.
Before we knew it, it was time to head to the ship! We had a bottle of champagne in our room waiting for us, but we don't know if it was because we were honeymooners or in a suite. Either way, we drank it :) Yes, even Nelson had a full glass!
One of the first things we like to do is explore the ship and get our bearings.
We were on the Celebrity Summit, which was very similar to Royal Caribbean (owned by the same company?). The average age on the ship was about 65.... so it was easy to find a chair by the pool! However, that also meant the entertainment was geared to the "older" crowd. That just meant Nelson got to spend more time at the craps table in the casino! We were on the top deck when it was time to leave and got to see a boat parade. About 20 yachts drove by our ship really slowly, and each one of them was completely decked out in Christmas lights! Some had Santas, trees, and reindeer on them, too. And, if they weren't blaring Christmas music, they were honking their horns to "Jingle Bell." I tried to take some pictures with my flash off, but they just look like they're on fire.
We booked a Buck Island snorkeling excursion through the ship, so bused out around 8:30am. We drove across the island (approximately 20 minutes) into Christiansted and then took a boat out to Buck Island, about 30 minutes from the mainland. This national monument was full of reefs and beautiful fish, and we even saw a nurse shark laying at the bottom on the sand!
After snorkeling, we took a quick cab ride to Rainbow Beach, had lunch, and lounged in the sun. It wasn't very crowded and the water felt great!
That night was our first formal night. The ship had two specialty restaurants that were an additional cost and, since we were in a suite, we got to eat for free! We had a delicious Chateaubriand steak and I had a super yummy dessert in addition to the "Happy Honeymoon" cake we got :) Most nights, after dinner, we would head over to the theater room for the nightly entertainment.
Monday, December 10 - Basseterre, St. Kitts
We decided to take it easy this day and just hang out at Cockelshell Beach. All of our cab drivers on our vacation were very knowledgeable of their island and gave great history lessons! They were sure to also slow down at scenic spots, too, so that we could snap some pictures. Below shows just how narrow the island is: the body of water on the left is the Atlantic Ocean and the body of water on the right is the Caribbean Sea.
Along the way, we also saw a lot of green velvet monkeys that are prone to just wandering around the island. Our cab driver told us all about them... and then included that they taste good, too! It's legal to hunt them in the rainforest and they're good with rice and beans - he said. He offered to bring us some when he picked us up later that day, but everyone in the van kindly declined. There were some orphaned monkeys at the beach in cages, and here is a picture of one of them helping the other with some dental hygiene, while getting some food for herself at the same time! Nelson said I could have his dental floss that night and it would be the same thing.... Gross.
The beach was gorgeous and there was hardly anyone there! Again, we ate lunch, lounged, swam, hiked to a nearby Banana Bay, and read.
Nelson picked up a coconut and a local guy selling beach chairs offered to cut it open for us. We both took a sip and thought it was pretty gross, only to realize that it had gone bad. Another local noticed us, climbed a tree to get a fresh one, and opened it so we could have a better experience. He even scraped out some fresh coconut for Nelson to have a taste!
And then we noticed Dr. Octopus (from Spiderman) followed us!
Not really. It was this new water sport that hooks up to a jet ski. When the jet ski accelerates (but doesn't move), water shoots out of the boots of the other guy. If he positions himself just right, he can go as high as 30 feet in the air. His arms were also strapped to tubes that shoot out a lighter stream of water. It was pretty fun to watch, but we didn't try it. I thought it looked like Dr. Octopus.
When we got back on the ship, we just relaxed, watched a hilarious comedian, had dinner, and passed out from so much sun!
Tuesday, December 11 - Roseau, Dominica
This was the island on which we had our only non-ship excursion booked. I was pumped for the canyoning. It would be fun, exhilarating, and a good change from all the beaches. We got off the ship a little before we were supposed to meet the guide... who we could not find. We searched all of the nearby streets, asking locals if they knew Extreme Dominica (most did not). The family with which we shared a table at dinner commented that night that they felt bad as they watched us walk around frantically. We finally found the guy, only for him to tell us that the trip was cancelled due to too much rain the night before. Boo.
Luckily, there was still room in a ship excursion to float a river! I've been down the Comal, Frio, etc., so I felt to be pretty experienced. When we got to the river, there were about seven local guys standing around. I had no clue why so many people worked for this little trip down the river. That was, until they strapped helmets on our head and life jackets around our bodies. As one helped us into our tubes, the rest took off down the river. They strategically placed themselves (standing) at the rapids, so that they could divert us from big rocks or help us to go down the correct chute. After we went through the rapids, we would stop and wait for the group to all be through. Then the guys would go ahead and stop at the next rapid. This went on for an intense 2.5 miles - and was awesome! I had so much fun and was sad when the guys told us we were approaching the last set of rapids.
After tubing, we went for a short hike through the rainforest to Emerald Pool. Legend is that you decrease in age by 10 years if you swim in it. We opted not for the swim as we had just fully dried off and the water was freezing.
And who doesn't want a picture next to their ship and the mountains?!
Wednesday, December 12 - St. George's, Grenada
Another day, another tour! This time, we hiked to Seven Sisters Falls, but only two of the falls - the rest you have to mountain climb. The rainforest is so pretty and I'm sad that pictures don't do it justice. Our guide was, again, amazing in that he pointed out all of the medicinal plants, told us which plants they eat and how they eat them, and even picked some nuts and fruit for us to sample. It was a pretty rigorous hike, primarily because it was mostly rock, drizzling, and muddy; so many hikers were slipping and falling. And you always knew who fell because they had a big brown spot on the seat of their pants.
A local guy would climb to the top of the falls and, after getting everyone's attention, would backflip off. My palms are sweating just thinking about it.
After the hike, we went to Grand Etang Lake, which sits at the very top of the highest mountain on Grenada. It's a crater lake, so they have no idea how deep it is, nor do they know where the water comes from (since it's at the top, all of the rivers run from it).
We made a pit stop for some drinks and scenery before heading back to the port. Grenada is known as "the island of spice," so we had to get some fresh spices, too!
We didn't want to get on the ship just yet, so decided to explore the area near the port. There was a market, mall, restaurants, and even a grocery store. We decided to walk through the grocery store and see just how it differs from H.E.B. Let me tell you - it differs from H.E.B.!!! The first thing we noticed upon walking in was the pungent smell. The first food item was fresh fruit and I thought to myself, "Surely it's not that." Sure enough, as we passed the fruit carts, the smell got worse. It was a horrible stench that we soon realized came from these:
Warm pig shoulder, sitting on a cart, not refrigerated, warm. The stock guy was also putting some fish next to it, also warm, not refrigerated, that smelled just as foul. Needless to say, we did not buy anything here!
Thursday, December 13 - At Sea
Our first day at sea proved to be extra relaxing. Since we'd be waking up by 8:00am every day, we slept in pretty late and then headed up to brunch in the main dining room. They had a delicious desert table!
We read and relaxed all day before getting ready for the second formal night. I had our waiter take a picture of our table with the Wheelers from Kansas City. They were really nice and I enjoyed eating with them and visiting each night.
Friday, December 14 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Our final port, we decided to make it another beach day. But first, we started out by taking a cab to the main shopping area. We just strolled around, sometimes stopping in to look at the pretty jewelry (St. Thomas is a big place to buy diamonds). Since we bought my Christmas present from Nelson on the ship (a watch), we decided to look for Nelson's Christmas present from me (sunglasses). Since everything is tax and duty free, we took advantage of the opportunity.
Early in the afternoon, we headed over to Magen's Bay Beach. It's one of the more popular beaches in St. Thomas and attracts many celebrities. This beach was not as empty as the others we had been to, but it was by no means crowded.
Our last night for dinner was sad, and we said goodbye to our new friends and waiters. We packed up and got ready for the next day to travel home.
It was a fun, beautiful, exciting, adventurous, and memorable honeymoon. We tried to do as much as possible since neither of us had been to the area, but don't worry - there were still plenty of opportunities to nap, such as the plane to Puerto Rico...
... taxis from the beach...
... shuttles to the river...
... the ship after an excursion...
... in the sun during the day at sea...
... after a day at the beach...
... and on the plane ride home.
We left our honeymoon with mixed emotions. While it's sad leaving paradise, 80 degree weather, and sunshine, we were excited to come home and start our life together in our home. So now it's back to reality!
