Porto Grande, Cape Verde

Posted on April 7, 2024 by patmathews

April 6, 2024

After 4 days of crossing the Atlantic and three time changes moving the clock ahead 1 hour, we reached land in Cape Verde. The Atlantic crossing was relatively smooth which is not always the case. We had a nice trip and the weather was in the 70s pretty much the whole time.

We didn’t arrive in port until noon, so the trivia was moved up to 10:30. We did quite well and would have placed second but Leslie awarded first to 2 teams so we got lucky! And he gave 1 big O point to every team today.

Here are some pictures of our sail in. The archipelago consists of 10 islands and is part of Africa, just off the coast. Despite the name (GreenCape), the islands are barren and volcanic.

We have been here twice before and as I like to do – I went back and read my old blog entries to see what we did on the previous visits. I learned that it is an easy 1 mile walk to town and that on our last visit we did full day “island discovery”. So this time we decided to walk to town and visit the markets.

It seemed sort of cool when we were on our balcony but when we got off the ship it was warm so we could have worn our shorts.

If this year’s hurricane predictions are correct, we may be hearing about Cape Verde quite often this year. Western Hemisphere-bound hurricanes often have their early beginnings near the Cape Verde Islands. These hurricanes can become very intense as they cross warm Atlantic waters away from Cape Verde. The average hurricane season has about two Cape Verde-type hurricanes, which are usually the largest and most intense storms of the season because they often have plenty of warm open ocean over which to develop before encountering land. The five largest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record have been Cape Verde-type hurricanes. Most of the longest-lived tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin are Cape Verde hurricanes.

We spotted what we assume is an old fortress on the hill as we started our walk along the seaside.

And this sculpture was worth the shot.

We passed the presidential palace. Cape Verde was settled by the Portuguese so most of the language spoken here is Portuguese. It is a representative democracy and one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Over 90% of the island’s inhabitants live here in the capital of Mindelo.

We passed Torre de Belem which looks like the Belem Tower in Lisbon, but much smaller.

Another view of the fort from street level.

Dried fish for sale along the waterfront. I wonder if the dog is interested?

We saw a colorful array of boats as we walked along.

Some art on a building.

And an unusual sculpture.

You see a lot of tile art in Portugal. We only spotted this one here.

It looks like they are starting to build a new port building. There is a ferry terminal here but no real port building for cruise ships.

We love turtles and have a “save the turtles” Florida license plate on our car. This display says they are serious about turtle conservation. All the junk that can harm them is depicted on the shell.

And this one is just for fun. The sculpture is just outside the port area.

We now have 2 more sea days and 2 more time changes before we reach our first of 2 ports in the Canary Islands.

Posted in Africa, April, Spring 2024 | 4 Comments

4 days at sea on the way to Cape Verde

Posted on April 5, 2024 by patmathews

April 5, 2024

I decided to combine all of the sea days into one post. We will reach Cape Verde at noon tomorrow and the 4 day Atlantic crossing has been pretty calm. It is windy with some waves and some motion on the ship but really a smooth crossing overall. The weather has been sunny and in the mid 70s for the trip.

So if you have read my blog from previous cruises, you know that we really like sea days! Lots going on to keep us busy or we can just relax on the veranda and read or watch for sea creatures. Other than the occasional bird, none have appeared on this trip.

I watched 2 movies – Anatomy of a Fall and American Fiction. I enjoyed both but was slightly frustrated with the ending of Anatomy of a Fall. Today they will have “Friday afternoon at the movies” and will show The Boys in the Boat. I read the book and recently saw the movie – so I will go just to get my favorite – the freshly popped popcorn! Loved the movie.

We have had dance classes – our dancer, Michelle, is from Australia so we learned the Nutbush which is an Australian line dance that kids there learn very early. She promises that they will start playing the music on deck one day and we should all get up to create a flash mob. We also learned the bachata which is kind of like a salsa. Norm doesn’t do the classes but I really enjoy them.

I went to a jewelry making class and made this bracelet – tree of life.

No participants for blackjack tournaments so I hope it attracts more people next segment. I am playing in the casino a little, but there are really not many gamblers on this segment.

We went to a wine tasting which was Stars of the Southern Hemisphere. One white wine and the rest were reds, all from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. We enjoyed them all but the Penfolds was a favorite.

They pair each wine with a food that it complements.

We had dinners in Red Ginger and Tuscan Steak, all wonderful as usual. Red Ginger was with Jordan, one of our singers, and Marck, our general manager. Usually the entertainers don’t get to go to those restaurants so Jordan was really excited and loved the food.

Of course there was a cooking demonstration where the executive chef, Colin, made beef stroganoff and beef tartar. Before the demo, Colin introduced the head team of chefs. There are 76 chefs on the ship. They have enough eggs to serve each guest 12 – 15 during the voyage. With about 660 guests on board, that’s a lot of eggs. They also go through 100 pounds of sugar a day.

The pastry chef, Nyoman, made chocolate mousse and tiramisu.

Today there will also be a fashion show featuring clothing and accessories from the boutiques.

What have I forgotten? Trivia of course. We continue to do well – haven’t had them all right since that one time, but always place at least third and have lots of fun. I also did Name That Tune with James and Shelley and 2 other couples that joined us – they have it with the excellent pianist in Martinis after the show.

We have been enjoying all of the shows. Last night was Debonaire, which featured songs from Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Dean Martin and more. It was the fist time we have seen that one but some of the songs were performed in other shows by the talented teams on other Oceania voyages.

There have been more lectures on photography and other topics. I went to one, but generally like to watch them on the TV later.

My tooth has settled down with the regimen that my dentist from home recommended. Fingers crossed it stays calm until we get home.

Posted in April, At Sea, Food, Spring 2024 | 1 Comment

Bridgetown, Barbados

Posted on April 3, 2024 by patmathews

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.

Friends and trivia team partners James and Shelly

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.

Posted in April, Caribbean, Excursions, Spring 2024 | 1 Comment

Roseau, Dominica

Posted on April 1, 2024 by patmathews

March 31, 2024

Easter Sunday, and I was awake early enough to catch the sunrise!

Our first visit to Dominica was on our Vista cruise in December where our son arranged a private tour of the island sights. If you are interested you can use the search bar to find that post. Today we chose a tour that we wanted to do last time but it was wait listed… the whale and dolphin tour.

We noticed that all of the decorative eggs are different for Easter. They are really pretty and the chocolate bunnies are everywhere at the buffet.

Here are some pictures of our sail in.

Roseau is Dominica’s most important port for foreign trade and common exports are bananas, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges and chocolate.

We had a beautiful day for our boat ride out to hopefully see whales and dolphins. There was some type of “finder” on board. The captain stopped the boat several times to drop it in the water and listen for sounds and then play some sounds to attract them.

It was a while before the crew spotted two sperm whales. They only surface for a short time, then they deep dive and stay below for much longer. I didn’t spot them, but Norm got a glimpse. No picture opportunity though.

Towards the end of the trip, we came to an area where there were hundreds of spotted dolphins. The crew showed us pictures of all the types of whales and dolphins that are in these waters. These dolphins put on quite a show for us! Not sure you can tell much from this video, but here is a picture of one of them. They were everywhere! And much closer than the video but I wasn’t quick enough to catch them.

When we got back, we had lunch and then went to the trivia competition. We got first place with 2 other teams. One of our teammates, Wendy, gave me some Peeps for Easter. Of course they are very popular – made in Bethlehem PA where I went to nursing school.

We had another delicious dinner in Red Ginger. And our show was another by Tom Franek who was terrific again. One thing he did this time was to take suggestions from the audience and play a medley of the songs or songs by suggested artists. These included Queen, Leonard Skinner, the Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. Very entertaining.

He plays from every angle- and nothing simple either!

Tomorrow is our last port before we cross the Atlantic to Cape Verde which will take 4 days and several time zone changes!

Posted in Caribbean, Excursions, Food, March, Spring 2024 | 1 Comment

Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Posted on March 31, 2024 by patmathews

March 30, 2024

The British Virgin Islands are comprised of around 60 tropical islands ranging in size from the largest, Tortola, to tiny uninhabited islands. Most of the islands are volcanic in origin and have a hilly, rugged terrain. The islands are known as one of the world’s greatest sailing areas.

We visited Jost Van Dyke years ago on a Windjammer cruise.

As we sailed in, we saw many anchored sailboats and yachts. It’s a beautiful day and we are looking forward to exploring.

Jost Van Dyke was named after the Dutch pirate Joost van Dyk. It has a laid-back Caribbean charm that attracts people who want a true getaway. You can only access the island by boat.

We decided to hike from Great Harbor to White Bay. The roadway is narrow but paved, and there are lots of steep climbs. The ship offered transit as an excursion but we opted to do the hike. Here are some of our views along the way.

Embarking on the hike from Great Harbor to White Bay is an adventure filled with natural beauty and exploration. The trail begins near the harbor and winds its way through hillsides and dense vegetation. Along the way, we saw panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea and neighboring islands, including Tortola and St.Thomas.

We also saw beautiful flowers and wildlife along the way.

White Bay beach is renowned for its powdery white sand and crystal-clear waters.

We decided to stop at Ivan’s Stress Free Bar – what could be better on a vacation?? Nestled along the beachfront, this iconic bar embodies the laid-back spirit of Jost Van Dyke. With its colorful décor, rustic charm, and welcoming atmosphere, Ivan’s is the epitome of island hospitality.

One of the other famous bars here is the Soggy Dollar. We opted for Ivan’s but the story is interesting.

The Soggy Dollar is one of the world’s most iconic beach bars. The name originates from the early days of the bar back in the 70’s. With no dock on the beach or roads to White Bay on the tiny island of Jost Van Dyke, boaters would anchor in the bay and swim or wade ashore, paying for their drinks with the now-wet bills in their pockets.

Back then, the Soggy Dollar was a simple, laid back place with a basic pale blue wooden hut and small bar where you could chill and chat with the friendly owners and staff or play a lively game of ring toss (a beach bar staple).

The bar became the birthplace of the original Painkiller rum drink.

A bar we visited last time we were here is Foxy’s. We chose Ivan’s this time and had a great day. We did have lunch here – on “island time”. You can’t rush anything here – it took about 45 minutes to get our order. Drinks come fast! I also had a nice swim in the crystal clear water.

There was a large group of young people here with a leader who was working with them on self esteem and making good choices. He was a master at it – they did some games on the beach and later went into a covered pavilion where they sat quietly for maybe 1 1/2 hours listening to him. We could hear the whole thing and were impressed with him as well as with the kids.

Nice boats around the area

Yes, we did hike back to the ship – spotted these goats on the way.

We placed second in trivia today! We had dinner in the Terrace with friends we met on a previous cruise and enjoyed Fred Klett’s comedy in the show. Really nothing doing in the casino so far. I did play a little blackjack alone at a table (not my favorite – I like people!) and won, so it was ok.

We had a lovely sunset during dinner. And I got a chocolate bunny. Yum.

Tomorrow we will be in Dominica. Hope the weather holds for our whale and dolphin trip.

Posted in Caribbean, March, Spring 2024 | Leave a comment

At sea

Posted on March 30, 2024 by patmathews

March 29, 2024

It was another nice sea day and it was a very busy one. After breakfast, I had a hot stone massage which was just perfect. Then, we were invited to lunch with Marck, the general manager. We met him on a previous trip on Marina and liked him a lot. We had lunch with him then too. He is from The Hague and it is always fun to hear unedited opinions from non Americans.

For the second day, no one showed up for the blackjack tournament so I went with Norm to the enrichment lecture which was iPhone Camera Essentials. The speaker was Benedict Brain. I use my iPhone camera a lot but learned some new things. He will be doing more lectures during this trip. He is also very willing to help people 1:1.

Well, they are getting geared up for Easter.

Lots of chocolate eggs and jelly beans. They refill the dishes all day long.

We didn’t do as well in trivia as we did yesterday, placed third today but had fun.

Tonight we had the Captain’s Cocktail Celebration. We got to meet the Captain and the Officer team. We know some of them but have not sailed with this Captain before. I had my favorite drink, the Big O Martini. The O is for Oceania in case you were wondering!😃

We had dinner in the Grand Dining Room and went to the first show by the entertainment team – Broadway- which we had seen before but they totally redid the selections from what we had seen before. The singers are excellent. They will do three more shows on this segment of our trip.

Our first port is tomorrow. Marck says this is only second time that Oceania has been to this port. Looking forward to seeing beautiful weather day.

Posted in At Sea, March, Spring 2024 | 2 Comments

At Sea

Posted on March 29, 2024 by patmathews

March 28, 2024

We are on our way to Jost Van Dyke and the Atlantic Ocean is calm and the weather is just about as perfect as it gets. Temperature is mid 70s with sun and some clouds. We had a pretty quiet day, deck walks, hoped for a blackjack tournament but NO ONE showed up?! We will see if that continues. I am hoping that the lecture at the same time drew people there instead of into the casino.

We joined our friends James and Shelley from Victoria BC and 2 other couples for a trivia team which we named “Tropic of Answer”. No, not original, we borrowed it from a team that was on Vista with us in December because it was one of our favorite names. It will be a good team, we got first place with 2 other teams – 16/17 correct.

We had dinner in Red Ginger, a favorite. They start you with edamame and then do the “magic towel” for you to clean your hands. Remember the towels you got for your kids? Put hot water on this compressed thing and it turns into a towel. Here is the one in Red Ginger after they use a little teapot to pour on the hot water.

The food is delicious. I can’t help taking pictures of it. just a few since I started to eat some before I remembered to take pics.

We were seated at the back of the restaurant so we had the sunset view!

The show tonight was amazing. Tom Franek is a musician and then some. He is a terrific pianist, singer and contortionist who plays the piano from every angle you can imagine! It was hard to get good pictures, but look at this position!

You can see it better from the one I took of the screen.

And he plays very difficult songs. If you ever get the chance to see him, definitely drop everything and go. He will have one more show on this cruise.

Tomorrow is another sea day. Relaxation is on the agenda.

Posted in At Sea, Food, March, Spring 2024 | 2 Comments

First day – arrival

Posted on March 28, 2024 by patmathews

March 27, 2024

We were happy to board in Miami, it is so much less stressful than having to fly to the embarkation port. When we arrived, the ship was a different terminal than in the past since Vista was also in port – and it seemed so quiet! The porter told us that we were “late”, that most people had boarded already. And it was only 12:30. Our room was ready, so we dropped our carry on bags there and headed for lunch in the Terrace Cafe. Seems like home since Sirena is the same size as the Insignia, our home for the world cruises.

Here is the itinerary for the first of our three back to back cruises.

It was a relaxing start. We had an afternoon of unpacking, stocking up on some books from our favorite spot on the ship, the library, and sitting out on our veranda watching the Miami waterfront and high rises.

We had a casual dinner in Terrace Cafe and a toast to the start of another adventure. The show was a comedian, Fred Klett. We both enjoyed his humor.

We have already seen Leslie, our cruise director and as usual we are meeting old friends among the staff and guests.

We will be at sea for two days before arriving to Jost Van Dyke.

Posted in March, North America, Spring 2024 | 3 Comments

Just over a week to go! We embark in Miami next Wednesday for our 37 day cruise. Here is the map of our travels. We will be in a few places that are new to us – Canary Islands, Morocco and all of the ports in Scotland. I will post from every port (and maybe on sea days too, there are many as we cross the Atlantic), even those we have visited before. Stay tuned!

Posted on March 18, 2024 by patmathews
Posted in March, Spring 2024 | 5 Comments

Almost….. Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

Posted on December 30, 2023 by patmathews

December 29, 2023

This morning, as I completed yesterday’s post, we were approaching the island of Great Stirrup Cay, where we would anchor and be taken to shore by a large boat. The boat was being pretty tossed around by the waves and Norm thought it was probably going to be too rough to go to the island. Sure enough, within 5 minutes of him saying that, the captain came on the intercom and announced that it was not safe to go ashore in the swells. Norm had noticed the boats turning back so we were not surprised. There were two ships at another part of the island so they were able to go because they were docked.

It is Mark’s birthday today!! They put the birthday announcements on the room TV. We will celebrate later with dinner in Red Ginger. So good to have the whole family here with him.

Leslie announced a new schedule for the day including a cooking demonstration, the casino tournaments and a movie in the Vista lounge.

Norm is having a massage today so he extended it to a longer one. 

The rest of us went to the cooking demonstration which is always fun. Executive Chef Raffaele and Executive Pastry Chef Andrea made us laugh with their banter and showed us how to prepare some delicious dishes. We got the recipes for Cotoletta Ala Milanese (a veal dish), Risotto Alla Milanese, Chocolate Mousse and Tiramisu. The carved watermelons would have been at the onshore barbecue so they used a few of them for decoration here.

Here are some more pictures from our galley tour. Adam has over 400 pictures just from this tour and these are all from his selection. There are 142 chefs on the culinary team. They go through 100 pounds of sugar a day!

Mark and I played in the blackjack tournament again but neither of us won. I was rooting for the birthday guy but it was not to be!

I went to the movie – My Big Fat Greek Wedding Three. Don’t bother is my opinion, but the popcorn was good.

We played our last trivia. All of the points were given to Adam, Mark and Ramsay and they redeemed them for shirts and socks.

Mark and Ramsay did get to check out afternoon tea in Horizons.

We had some cocktails in Martinis and the Founder’s Bar (for the blog readers that are also Oceania travelers – Founder’s bar is amazing – we think the best on any of the ships).

Dinner was in Red Ginger, delicious as always with great service. And a birthday celebration for Mark with his favorite, carrot cake.

And they decorated Mark’s room for his birthday!

We still had some non refundable credit to use up, so Mark and I bought a few things in the boutiques, I played a bit in the casino and cashed in my chips (more than I started with!)

Miami in the morning, good bye to our sons and daughter in law and an end to a wonderful cruise but especially the family time. We are very grateful.

Posted in At Sea, Caribbean, December | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment