When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale, our luggage was wet from blowing snow in Ottawa. Others were not so lucky as there were more than a few people who missed the Koningsdam sail away party.
After a couple of days at sea, we arrived in Phillipsburg, Saint Maarten. Ellen went to town in the morning while Jim went America's Cup racing.
In the afternoon, it was Jim's turn to go to town while Ellen went horseback riding.
We decided to change our excursion in St. Johns, Antigua. The lobster lunch and sail was a good choice! The 5 islands had lots of birds, Valley Church Beach had butterflies, and the lobster lunch was delicious.
Day 6: Fort-de-France, Martinique. We went to the Jardin de Balata and Saint-Pierre, with a brief stop at Sacre-Coeur de Balata. The Sacre-Coeur church was built to accommodate all the people who moved to the Balata area after Saint-Pierre, the main city of Martinique before 1902, was destroyed by the eruption of The Lady of the North, Montagne Pelee. The botanic gardens had lots of wildlife, plants, and a view of the Montagne Pelee volcano.
Here is the Lady of the North, as seen from the botanic gardens.
The veterinary office in Saint-Pierre is a very nice blue.
When we returned to Fort-de-France, we decided to go for a walk around the town. The library looks like a church!
We planned to return to return to the ship by a different route as we could see the church spire near the port from beside the library. However, a local told us, "Don't go that way carrying a nice camera. There's some bad boys down there." So, we retraced our route and went directly to the church from the port. A stick fight broke out in the church!
In Roseau, Dominica we went up the volcano to the hotsprings. The driver had the bus nice and cold when he picked us up. Probably because he turns the air conditioning off when he reaches the steep sections.
The driver in Basseterre, St. Kitts kept the air conditioning on but he drove a standard transmission up a steep hill with sharp switchbacks to reach a gate into Brimstone Hill Fortress that is about 4 inches wider than his van. All while honking greetings to other bus drivers. Very impressive!
On the way back, we stopped at Romney Gardens where there is a batik shop and a 400 year old tree.
Back at the pier, we went looking for butterflies.
Pssst! It's behind you, Ellen.
For Day 9 in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., we went snorkeling.
Music track: Ocean Vibes by Waesto
Source: https://freetouse.com/music
Free Background Music (No Copyright)
Day 10 was another "At Sea" day and our waiter took our picture at dressy night.
At Holland America's island, Half Moon Cay, we did the "Umbrella Excursion". You get an umbrella and early access to the tender.
Cabanas are much more expensive than umbrellas!
The shuttle driver who took us to Aloft Hotel in Fort Lauderdale recommended taking a 5 minute Uber ride to Las Olas Beach. Ellen said, "It's only 5km away. Let's skip the Uber. We need the exercise."
We had some unwelcome exercise, as we ran through the Ottawa airport on our way home. We were 2 hours late and they were holding the connecting flight for us! Our checked baggage did not make it to Vancouver until the next day.