Busy Hands

Several of the ladies here at Imperial Wilderness love to work on jigsaw puzzles. It is a winter hobby that we enjoy. We can sit and visit, have a cold drink, chat about the latest interests and fill an afternoon with an enjoyable task.

Men, on the other hand, tend to seek out different hobbies. Usually a hobby where tools and complicated instructions are involved.

Jim and Bob laid out the various pieces, assembled the necessary tools, and began the construction of our new garden shed. There was some visiting and laughs, some cold drinks, some misinterpretation of instructions and within a couple of hours we had a new storage shed.

There were no scratches, cuts or bruises, no foul language. There were no hard hats, steel-toed shoes or building codes. But there were the usual sidewalk spectators. This was their second shed in 2 weeks. They will soon be in competition with the women for enjoying a new hobby.

Just like a jigsaw puzzle,all the pieces fit into place. No spare or missing parts.

A thing of beauty!

ARRIVEDERCI

Ciao!

Everyone was up and about by 7:00 AM. We were docked and were asked to vacate our rooms in preparation for the next cruise.

We went to the dining room for a full service breakfast and then to our disembarkation lounge.

We called Carolyn and Pertti to suggest a meeting time and place. They were dockside waiting for us.

We were one of the last groups to leave the ship, but recovered our luggage promptly. Customs check out was basically a walk through. By 9:30 we were on our way to Naples to be reunited with our JJ and Pixie.The 2 of them fared very well with their caring caregivers in our absence.

Back in Florida after 7 days, 2,441 miles, concerts, dancing, sunshine and friendly fellow passengers.

Arrivederci!

Day 7

This was a full day of sailing and rolling seas as we left the Caribbean islands behind us and sailed northwest back towards Fort Lauderdale.

A very lazy, relaxing day of sun and pool, snacks, drinks and music.

Many cruises are listed as "theme cruises". People with like interests often cruise together sharing a common bond. This MSC cruise had 2 themes.

BASEBALL GREATS

Five baseball greats, former Major League stars,were aboard to give lectures, clinics , photos and sign autographs and collectibles.

DOO WOP CRUISE

Followers of the doo wop music of the 60's/70's paid extra dollars to take this cruise. Five quartets gave special concerts to these guests. The public were invited to sit in the pool area and listen to their last evening of music. Lots of dancing to good,familiar tunes.

At 10:30, we all crowded into the Savannah Bar for the Talent Show. Excellent entertainment from our fellow travellers!

Most people headed back to their rooms before midnight,as our bags had to be packed and placed outside our doors for pick up.

Sign language--

"Good cruise!"

Day 6

Westward Ho!

We have started our return trip. An overnight sail brought us to the Dominican Pepublic. We anchored in the beautiful Samana Bay.

Bob and I had booked a Catamaran Sail and Snorkeling trip. We were tendered into the town of Samana where we boarded our catamaran. About 15 people had signed up, and so the boat was not crowded. We toured the coastline of the bay observing the greenery and palms of the mainland. We were given the history and facts of the area. Much of the income is derived from tourism.

The area had received rain and high winds the day before and the weather was still a bit unsettled. We anchored next to a small island and proceeded with our snorkeling gear. I was so pleased with myself. I was able to slip right into the rough water and make my way towards the shelf of the island. I was able to observe many tropical fish and a variety of coral. I returned to the boat after 20-25 min. as Bob was unable to snorkel with me.

We were welcomed back on board with drinks of rum and coke.

Next stop was Cayo Levantado. The vast majority of the Orchestra guests had been tendered to the island for a day of beach and sun bathing. What a beautiful way to spend several hours.

The last tender back to the ship was at 3:30 PM with sailing at 4:00.

As we were leaving Samana Bay we were able to see a Humpback whale.These whales winter and calf here during the warm winters.

We had time to shower and prepare for another Gala evening . The theatre programme was Celtic Spirit. Another amazing performance of talented dance and music.

This was one of our most enjoyable days and evenings.

A midnight buffet was missed by the Bovilles. Enough food already! Another time change tonight. Fall back!

(to be continued)

Day 5

It was a short 88 miles of travel overnight. We awoke to the beautiful port of Phillipsburg, St. Maarten.A bright and sunny morning and we were anxious to go ashore.

At the end of the pier was an area of modern shops,a ferry terminal, taxi and bus stands,phones and steel drum welcoming groups.

As we were shopping 3 other large cruise ships docked. If each ship held 2500 passengers, you can imagine the influx of shoppers in the small market area. Enough crowds for us! We returned to the solitude of our own ship and the pool.

The cafeteria lunches were always spectacular. There was a specialty pasta each day and always their wonderful pizza. Americans could always have their favourite hamburg or hotdog. Make your own salad or a full entree if you should choose. Their pastry and dessert was mouth- watering. This being said, Bob and I seldom had a full lunch.

We set sail again early afternoon and watched this picturesque island slide out of view.

Dance music in the evening with specialty coffee after dinner.

A wonderful cruising day!

( to be continued)

Day 4

We began our day in the usual way of coffee on the balcony , then a buffet breakfast in the cafeteria. Since "it's a long way to Antigua" we rushed to get lounges poolside. We knew it would be crowded around the pool. Sunny,bright and very humid.

While sunbathing, a young cocktail waitress noticed Bob's tattoo and stopped. She said,"Aku. Me. My country." Bob was startled and pleased to see someone recognize his tattoo. We sought her out later to ask her country and the meaning of the word. She is from Indonesia and Aku means "me" in her language.

After 50 hours at sea we docked at St. John at 4:00 o'clock. All of the people who had booked excursions hurried off the ship to meet their buses,etc. We took our time to exit the ship and enter the hubbub of St. John. We were met at the end of the pier by a hoard of folks selling tours, trips and souvenirs. We literally had to push our way through to the main street.

We walked several streets observing their shops. We noticed a few Internet Cafes,so took advantage of one to receive and send email and check on Jordy's playoff status.

The smell of open or slightly covered sewer at curbside,was a complete turnoff.

Hindsight is wonderful! Bob and I should have taken one of the many taxis and spent an hour touring and we would have had a much better opinion of Antigua.

The entertainment was poolside that evening. We returned to our room early so that we could sit on the balcony and watch the people return to the ship.

Our neighbour on the next balcony shared the time with us. Small world! He was from Waterloo and had honeymooned in Antigua,17 years ago.

We set sail at 11:00 PM. (to be continued)

Day 3

We left Nassau at 1:00 PM for the 1028 nautical miles to St John, Antigua. Smooth sea to begin with,but as we passed the Bahama Islands and reached open water we began to feel the pitch and roll of the heavy seas.

Day 3 was a day of relaxing by the pool,interrupted with a brief but violent wind/rainstorm.

After a light buffet of Italian, homemade pizza it was time for our Italian lesson.

Benvenuti! Come stai? Mi chiamo Helen. Vengo da Waterloo,Canada.

Sunshine on our balcony until informal dinner time. We were joined at our table by a couple from Oshawa. Very nice tablemates.

Bachata dance lesson,casino and dancing until 11:40.

To be continued

Day 2

March 1, 2009

We were out on the balcony to watch our 6:30 A.M. arrival in Nassau . As we were docking, the phone rang.It was the manager of Public Relations welcoming us to Nassau and to wish me a Happy Birthday and a lovely stay in port.

We enjoyed a light breakfast of coffee and croissants on the balcony followed by a buffet breakfast.

Since it was a Sunday morning, the shops were slow opening,so we went ashore about 9:30 and walked the main streets,poking our noses into the many jewellry shops.There is a large straw market in Nassau where many of the guests did their souvenir shopping.

After 4.3 miles of walking we returned to the ship to relax by the pool for the remainder of the afternoon.

Time to shower and change so we hauled out our gala finery and attended dinner, followed by the Captain's cocktail party. Plenty of complimentary drinks.(were we offered plenty or drank plenty??)

After watching a very good illusionist/magician in the theater,we returned to our room for an early bedtime. Set clocks ahead for an overnight time change.

Bridge to Paradise Island and Atlantis Resort

to be continued

A Daily Journal

February 28,2009

Carolyn and Pertti drove Bob and I to Fort Lauderdale to board the MSC Orchestra.This floating giant of a ship loomed over us at the port. Sixteen decks high with a capacity for 2500 guests and a crew of 1000. A very easy embarkation with passports and tickets, then we found our stateroom on Lira, the 10th deck. (lira, in Italian,--money) We quickly unpacked and went exploring with map in hand. First impressions were of all the mirrors and brass,easy access to lifts(elevators) and the colourful lounges and hallways.

We enjoyed a tasty buffet lunch and had "muster call" at 4:30.

At 5:30 we went to the main dining restaurant where we were seated at a 4 place seating. We dined alone with excellent food and service.

We set sail for Nassau at 6:30, just as the sun was setting.

The evening entertainment was in a huge theater called Covent Garden. An Evening in Paris was the theme of the music presented that evening. Song and dance.

Next!! Dancing lessons. Tonight was the Merengue. uno, due, tre, kackity! We were part of the spectators but the dance floor was full. What a fun group with a multilingual dance instructor.

On to the Casino to lose some of Ed's money. He gave us a little spending money hoping for a big return. HA!

Back to our room by 11:00 for an quiet,restful night.

( to be continued)

Directional Winds

My blog title suggests that the wind is at our backs, moving us along in this lifestyle we have chosen.

But the wind is known to be changeable.

From Feb. 28th to Mar. 7th, on our Eastern Caribbean cruise, we experienced just how the winds can change.

We left Fort Lauderdale in the early evening just as the sun was setting and the lights of the city were beginning to twinkle. Calm,peaceful, and the feeling that we were in a large hotel.

That was the end of the calm seas. Each following day the wind increased. First it blew from the west as we travelled south. You get the idea! The ship began to roll from side to side.

In each succeeding day the winds increased and blew towards us, slowing our progress, then would change and speed us onto the next port.

Laying in bed at night we were lulled to sleep with a gentle roll from side to side. Nothing to cause any problems.

It was detrimental to our morning of snorkeling. The wind kept the waves washing us toward shore and caused the water to be slightly murky. Grin and bear it! I got to see some colourful tropical fish and a variety of coral.

Wherever the wind may blow, you will find Bob and Helen enjoying themselves. New experiences, new places to visit and new people to meet.