A 10 day adventure in the Caribbean islands.
Puerto Rico
As our flight got close to Puerto Rico, there was a lightning show nearby. We stayed at the Gran Melia resort, about 30 minutes from San Juan. The resort is on the coast with a beach, several swimming pools, lots of places to relax, and fitness classes like bachata dancing and water aerobics. There is also an Asian restaurant with cooking shows.
We also had a tour of old and new San Juan, which included a visit to Castillo San Cristobal fortress.
Royal Caribbean - Adventure of the Seas
The Adventure of the Seas has your typical cruise ship amenities: pools, hot tubs, fitness center, elegant dining room, and a theater. This ship also has views of the control room - cool to see the crew in action as the ship begins to sail. We also got to attend a mystery dinner in the Italian dining hall and tour the kitchen area.
US Virgin Islands
Ziplining adventure through the rain forest in St Thomas. This took place in the mountains and there were lots of great views.
First hand view
Final zipline run, where you zip to the end of the line, then move backwards like a boomerang before settling in the middle of the line.
Bike tour along the west coast in St Croix. Sites included a national park, beaches, a school, St Patrick's Church, and a sugar plantation where a wedding was being planned.
Sailing away from St Croix. There are three short blasts of the horn when our ship starts sailing. The horn is very noticeable on the front of the pool decks and will wake you up from your nap.
Antigua
Kayak and snorkel adventure in Antigua. During the kayak tour, we got to hold a sea cucumber, starfish, and a sea urchin. The sea urchin looks prickly, but the needles are not too sharp and you can feel the urchin's movements.
St Lucia
Day tour of the west coast of St Lucia.
Views of the Pitons.
St Lucia Volcano, the world's only drive in volcano. Today, activity is mostly boiling water and sulfur steam. Nearby, people take mud baths to cleanse their skin.
Grenada
Spices are numerous on Grenada, including nutmeg. We visited the nutmeg factory, where workers harvest nutmeg seeds and grind them to produce netmeg flavors and products. Grenada is also a chocolate producer, with its own cocoa trees and factory. To produce chocolate, the cocoa shells (green or red in color) are broken up and the cocoa seeds are harvested. The seeds have a fruit-like substance around them - this is removed and the seeds go into large bins to dry under the sun. Finally, the cocoa seeds are placed in grinding machines. Cocoa itself is plain and bitter - sugars and flavors are added to the cocoa mix to produce delicious chocolates. At the chocolate factory, we got to sample Grenada chocolate with 60% - 100% cocoa - my favorite was the 70% cocoa.
After the nutmeg and chocolate excursion, I walked around St Georges, including a climb up Fort George and a visit to the Cathedral.
Sailing away from Grenada
