The Caribbean Circle

I didn't realize until the cruise was almost over that the itinerary had a name - The Caribbean Circle Cruise. So named because it starts at Fort Lauderdale and heads southeast toward St. Thomas and progresses down toward the southernmost Caribbean island of Trinidad. From there it heads northwest toward Curacao and ultimately back to Fort Lauderdale - a big circle.

We stopped in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad, Curacao and Aruba. Some places we'd been to before but most were new to us. Of course we didn't do much in most of the ports other than walk around the town a bit. We only had "activities" planned in a few ports - a Range Rover tour in St. Kitts, a beach day in Barbados, and a sunset sail in Aruba. And there were days when one or both of us didn't feel up to moving so it was good not to have too many obligations.

So I asked myself if we had a favorite island. I thought St. Kitts was more ruggedly beautiful but it could be because we got out of town and went up into the hills. We also talked about going to Aruba for a vacation (not just a cruise port visit) - but we've done that before. (We liked it but never went back because it was challenging to get there from Texas. It will be easier from Florida.) I also liked Curacao. It seemed a lot like Aruba - very clean. But I've determined that you can't tell much about a place by walking around for a few hours. If/when we go back, I'd like to see a bit more of the countryside.

Here are a few pictures of the islands.

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

St. Kitts

Martinique

Barbados

Curacao

Aruba

Muddling Along

We've been back from our cruise now for two weeks and I haven't written one word. Probably because we got home and I still had remnants of a cold, and a broken toe, and then it was Thanksgiving and then it was time to put the fall decorations away and get out the Christmas decorations.

But let's talk about the cruise. Mark started getting sick in St. Thomas and by the time we got to Martinique he was too sick to get off the ship. It was bad enough to see the ship's doctor. (There's a hefty fee associated with that, so you don't do it lightly.) Of course, he shared it with me so we muddled along the other days until we got to Trinidad where neither of us felt well enough to get off the boat. But that was the one port that came with warnings not to venture outside of the main tourist area and to be constantly on your guard - so if we had to miss a port, that seems the best one to miss.

I say we muddled along because I caught my foot trying to settle into my beach chair on Barbados and broke my toe - the same toe I dropped a shredder on a month or so ago. I was not going to let that ruin my beach day. I figured the salt water would make the bleeding stop (and it did). I just pretended to be asleep when the beach vendors came by. They're selling everything from ice cold beer to jewelry and beach cover-ups and I didn't want to buy anything. When we got back on the ship, I decided I needed to see the doctor because even though I'd been fighting off getting Mark's cold, I was losing that fight. He also took a look at my ailing toe and told me it was most likely broken. The only way to confirm it was to do an X-ray. I asked if it made any difference in the treatment options. (It didn't so there didn't seem to be any reason to go to the expense of the X-ray.)

And now we've been back for two weeks and I've seen my doctor here to get more antibiotics in hope of finally getting rid of the cold. My toe is still broken. It's healing and I may mention it to the orthopedic doctor this afternoon when I see him, not because I think he can or should do anything about it, but because I re-injured my wrist at the same time I broke my toe.