April 1, 2024

We were in Barbados in December and explored Harrison’s Caves then. You can search the site for that post if you are interested.

The trip we really wanted to do then was the catamaran sail and snorkel. It was sold out so I made sure to reserve it early this time. What a good decision!

This is our 4th trip to Barbados and each time I remember how much we like this island. It isn’t a volcanic island like so many of the Caribbean islands – it is limestone so the sand on the beaches is white and fine.

I was up early enough to get a couple of sunrise photos.

We had an early start at 7:45 – the ship leaves today at 2 PM. We had a short bus ride to the pier where we boarded the Tiami catamaran for a really great day.

Our captain, Francis, took us to two snorkeling stops and then anchored just off the beach where we could go to shore or just take a swim or float in the beautiful blue water.

Our first snorkeling stop was to see the turtles that are usually in that spot. I only got one shot but saw several. I didn’t get a picture of the huge tarpons that swim by – they look a bit like small sharks at first sight but the crew told us that they are harmless. I did get a shot of one of the sting rays and this large fish (not sure what kind it is!)

The second stop was over a ship wreck and the crew said it would be like an aquarium – there would be so many fish. It was true! I did my best with the camera – the colors didn’t show up well but you can see how many fish we were swimming with.

After the snorkeling stops, the crew opened the bar and there was plenty to choose from. One of our fellow snorkelers had the local beer. Norm and I stayed with their rum punch. He enjoyed it a LOT! The crew raised the sails and we sailed past some of the huge and expensive properties. One of them costs $12,000 US just to LOOK inside!

We had a large selection of food and desserts for lunch on the way to the swim stop. Norm stayed on board but I went for a wonderful swim. The day could not have been more beautiful.

On our way back to the ship, I got this photo of our ship, Sirena, with a yacht in between her and a sister ship, the Marina. The size difference was striking.

We had to get a few pictures by the Barbados sign. I am sure we have some just like this from previous trips.

Our trivia team placed first all alone today as we got all 16 of the questions plus the extra point right! Yay us. The closest any team came was 13. Now we need to live up to that performance.

The show tonight was Showdown which we have seen many times before. Norm opted to skip it. They have made some changes and I always like to support the entertainment team so I went. They did a nice job.

Very few people play in the casino at any time on this segment and they have not been able to get any people (except me) to show up for the blackjack tournament. Maybe next segment will have more gamblers. I did play for a little while just to keep the dealers from being bored. Yeah, that’s what I told myself!

Tomorrow we begin the 4 sea day crossing of the Atlantic and the first time change (1 hour ahead) will be tomorrow night. Looking forward to some activities, reading and catching up on a couple of Academy Award nominees that I haven’t seen.

In other news, being on an Atlantic crossing is no time for a toothache. I had a crown last year and the dentist warned that I might eventually need a root canal. Well it seems the time has inconveniently come now. I did phone the dentist before we left Barbados and was given instructions for antibiotics and how to control the pain. I reached out to a friend who had a condo in the Canary Islands and he sent the name of a dentist if I need to see one when we reach there next week. But the dentist’s office doesn’t really want me to have any procedure until I return so hopefully the treatments will work.