Why would Pirates ever come to the Caribbean? As soon as we left the serenity of the Panamá Canal yesterday, there was ‘motion on the ocean’ and the first rain of the holiday. Balcony’s hosting cocktails had to be cleared of items susceptible to rain.
We found out from the Captain at dinner last night Colombia has barred cruise ships from all Ports, so our call at Cartagena today was cancelled (their loss). My excursion of Columbian Rum and Chocolate tasting and an opportunity to buy Columbian coffee was left floundering. Instead a day at sea was mustered, however, Cunard came up Trumps (perhaps that’s not an expression which should be used anymore) and instead of the originally planned sea day tomorrow (Friday) we’re calling at Aruba one of the ABC islands. I’m told by passengers and crew there is no need to book an excursion and a walk into town were there are restaurants, coffee shops and bars will be sufficient.
Coming back to the Caribbean… it’s not what I imagined. As I eluded, we’ve sailed choppy seas although as I type this I can’t feel any movement but then again, I’m ensconced in the Chart Room bar eating snacks and sampling my first ‘Little King’ cocktail with a huge spherical ice cube I’m longing to melt and water-down this unusually strong libation. In addition to choppy seas it’s been blowing a gale. The wind transported me from bow to stern with very little effort on my part. Abandoned glasses were falling and rolling around deck as deck stewards desperately stacked and secured loungers, tables and chairs and battled against the wind to place them in their boxes for the night.
Taking a photo was a battle against the wind and possessions in pockets blew away, carried long distances by the wind until finally being devoured by the dark and vast ocean.
Despite the will of the wind, I stood in defiance, cocktail(s) in hand watching the vast and magnificent sun lower itself, probably also battling the wind until it disappeared beneath the horizon. My iPhone unable to capture the significant size of the sun compared to what my eyes could see. X6 zoom gave a better impression of what the naked eye could see. I waited a while longer for the sky to turn a red hue and the stars to one by one to grant me an audience. Not a cloud in the sky thanks to the wind having likely blown them all to the UK! There was no land visible on the horizon in any direction. The Caribbean had disappointed until sunset, when it may have just started rescuing my disappointment.
Slightly concerning I had run down my provisions at home before coming away. My Mum confirming ship gossip that supermarkets had a run on provisions such as toilet roll. Fortunately, they will do their best to try and pick me up a few bits so I have some basics upon my return (or the panic buying may have subsided in two weeks time). Passengers who are not American or from the UK are waiting to hear whether they will be getting off in Fort Lauderdale. This is a developing situation and I’m fortunate to be in one of the safest places in the World right now and so far, we have toilet paper and a never ending supply of food and drinks with eager staff only too willing to serve (although I and other passengers appear to be making a significant dent in to the bar provisions and slowly cocktails are bring modified or discontinued but fortunately the selection is so vast it would take years to try all the libations on offer). We were first affected in FuerteAmado, Panama City when we had to tender from ship to shore. Cunard had booked the first slot of the day but regrettably for us another ship had arrived early and before us, so the immigration and health inspectors boarded their ship first which led to an unexpected delay in our ship being cleared. Cunard guests on Cunard excursions, Grills passengers and those with over 1,000 nights onboard receive priority for tender boats. Unfortunately, I didn’t fall in to any of those categories as I’d signed up with a guest I’d met on the same ship in 2016 on a private tour who was a little disappointed they had priority tender disembarkation and I didn’t. Then, another guest came to my rescue and gave me their priority tender pass and we managed to get a seat on the first tender to leave the ship. It never ceases to amaze me how regular Cunarders will do their best to ensure other guests are looked after. Some guests waited three hours to disembark after I did. The guided tour in the historic old area of Panamá city was magical. So many photos were taken, locals met and even a domino match where I teamed up with General Noriagas old chef, but lost, twice! I hope he was better at cooking than he was at dominoes!
Aruba, Aruba!
Our replacement port of call Aruba is the ‘A’ of the ABC islands – Curaçao and Bonaire being the others.
We docked at Oranjestad the capital where there are lots of jewellery shops, bars and cafes. There is a public art project called Paardenbaai (Horse Bay) which involves multiple horses around the town. It is said to date back to 1824 when horses were imported and flung overboard and a strategically placed bourse on the shore would encourage the horses to swim towards it.
I didn’t find much of interest in Oranjestad except a Starbucks were I made use of reasonably fast WiFi and I managed to upload some photos, some of which had been waiting a week to upload. If I come to the Caribbean again, I think I’ll look into doing a tour.
We sailed away past the airport as a few aircraft landed and we had a good view straight down the runway. The sunset was beautiful and the sun disappeared below the horizon very quickly.
CruiseWithGary 