EXCURSION TO BAMBOO BEACH, JAMAICA

We were very excited to finally visit Jamaica on our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas. Despite this being our 13th cruise, we had never visited this island. Unfortunately our previously-booked excursion to the Blue Hole was canceled (literally the day we boarded the ship), so we had to choose another excursion for our port stop in Falmouth, Jamaica.

We chose the excursion to Bamboo Beach because it gave us the opportunity to visit a beach and samples of Jamaican food would be served as part of the excursion. It also wasn't an all-day excursion so we would have some time (not enough!) to walk around the cruise port terminal and do some shopping.

It's about an hour and fifteen minute drive from Falmouth to Bamboo Beach. This allowed us to see some of the beautiful countryside scenery of Jamaica...

Bamboo Beach is a really nice beach with lots of sugary sand and turquoise water.

Comfortable beach loungers were available for us under swaying coconut palm and almond trees just steps from the water.

We laid out our beach towels on our loungers and immediately headed into the water. I'm not much of a swimmer, and I am very cautious about burning in the Caribbean sun so I wear a t-shirt over my swimsuit along with a hat and sunglasses. But I absolutely love just wading out in the cool Caribbean water as far as I can. My husband loves laying in the sand and having the waves pummel him. We had so much fun.

I wanted to taste some real Jamaican food and part of this excursion included tapas-size portions of different types of the local dishes. The young women who worked at the beach club served us the food and drinks right at our beach chairs. We were able to sample several different dishes including jerk chicken, cole slaw, spicy sausage, flavorful fried dough, rice and vegetables in a spicy sauce. All were delicious.

We were entertained with some Jamaican dancing by young men and women in traditional costumes.

We really enjoyed our time at the Bamboo Beach Club. It has a really nice beach...

Jamaican reggae music playing under the shade trees...

Souvenirs for sale...

A walk-up bar...

Plenty of beach chairs with great views...

And friendly people...

We would highly recommend it for anyone sailing to Jamaica. 

All photos were taken by my husband and me during our visit to Jamaica in November, 2017. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

CARNIVAL VISTA IN PHOTOS

We planned our 10th cruise onboard the new Vista because we wanted to see the newest, biggest member of the Carnival fleet. The itinerary wasn't my favorite: we had already been to each island more than once, but for this one time we would cruise based solely on the ship, not the itinerary. We did have a wonderful time and the ship is beautiful. Here are some photos...

Carnival Vista is a huge ship: it's 1,055 feet long. Over 1,450 hardworking crew members take care of over 3,950 passengers. Here the ship is docked in Grand Turk.

The beautiful atrium on the Carnival Vista: The 3-story center sculpture sits above the bar and reaches to the ceiling above.

The scenes on the vortex are animated, with the fish, stingrays and seas turtles swimming around as if you were in a large aquarium.

Of course like any cruise ship there are numerous places to drink:
Alchemy Bar...

Piano Bar 88...

Skybox Sports Bar...

Havana Bar...(I love the décor in here!)

Red Frog Rum Bar...they brew their own beer.

There are so many places to relax on the ship...

So many fun things to do...

Soak up that Caribbean sunshine...

Swim in the pools, relax in the whirlpools...

For the kids there's the Waterworks fun area...

 

For the adventurous there's the Skyride...

or the Skycourse obstacle climb...

For the less adventurous there's mini golf and shuffleboard...

Overall Carnival Vista is a wonderful cruise ship.  There is so much to do, so much to eat, so many memories to make and so many new friends to meet.

For more information on Carnival cruises, click on its website here.

Thank you for visiting.

A Great Europe Trip Planner

All photos were taken by me during our cruise in November, 2016. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

WATERLOGUE WISTFULNESS

There is something exciting about seeing a real Dutch windmill for the first time. When I visited Amsterdam a few years ago, I was thrilled to see them dotted along the countryside during train excursions to Delft, the Mauritshuis and the Kröller-Müller Museum. At the Keukenhof Gardens there is a windmill that visitors can actually go inside. Walking up a flight of stairs visitors can see how the giant blades rotate. The photo below shows that windmill along with some of the beautiful trees that were in bloom during my visit.

If you are interested in purchasing variations of this print, please visit my Travels in Watercolor blog by clicking here.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my visit to the Keukenhof Gardens in May, 2010.
Waterlogue image created by me.
Unauthorized use is prohibited.

WATERLOGUE WISTFULNESS

For this post of Waterlogue Wistfulness I show one of my favorite photos taken during my visit to the Keukenhof Gardens in 2010.

For 8 weeks every Spring, from mid-March to mid-May, an area known as the Bollenstreek, a triangle-shaped area stretching between Haarlem, The Hague and Leiden, is aglow with glorious colors. Everyone knows the Netherlands is famous for growing tulips. We've all seen pictures of the fields in brilliant color--rows and rows of brilliant reds, pinks and yellows. The fertile sandy soil plus the climate in this area make a perfect for the flowering bulbs to thrive.

In the middle of the Bollenstreek sits the Keukenhof Gardens. Every year over 7,000,000 flower bulbs (yes, SEVEN MILLION!) are planted each year. Every year the gardens are designed differently from the previous year; it takes 30 gardeners to plant the millions of bulbs each year. But seeing these fields yourself is a memorable experience.

If you are interested in purchasing variations of this print, please visit my Travels in Watercolor blog by clicking here.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my visit to Delft in May, 2010.
Waterlogue image created by me. 

 

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (PART 2)

After boarding the Atlantis Submarine we and our fellow submariners settled into our seats.

Our undersea journey began with the pilot diving over 140 feet to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea to view the shipwreck of the Lord Willoughby...

The submarine then slowly glided up the 2-mile coral reef which offered us marvelous views of myriad types of coral...

Hundreds of tropical fishes including these horse-eyed jacks...

Barracuda...

and Hawksbill turtles

NOTE: The tint on the windows of the submarine really hampered the quality of our photos. These photos don't even compare to the actual views you see during the ride.

Click here for more information on Atlantis Submarine.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

All photos were taken by my husband and me during our visit to Barbados in April, 2015.