Island Time!!!

A brief update from the last post on the medical emergency. We have no idea how it turned out and we arrived in St Maarten as scheduled without incident.

Yesterday was St Maarten day. We came, we browsed, we spent, we went back to the ship. Pretty much describes our day. Oh, and we had Italian Gelato at the new Gelato stand along the beach. Yummy!!!

We did buy a new small underwater-capable camera. Not that there's anything wrong with the old one, but we did find out in December that they don't make the rechargeable battery or the camera any more, so even if the battery finally gives out and won't charge, the whole camera becomes useless. And it's always a good idea to look for electronics in the islands. The new camera is about the same size, but has most of the same capabilities as our 35mm, AND it takes HD video! Some of the photos from the new camera are included below.

One of the things Monica was looking for even before we left was a travel snorkel set so she wouldn't have to take organized tours or rent the equipment when we visited the islands. Well, we even found that in Philipsburg! See:

While we were doing that, Norm and Barb took the boys touring, and a good time was had by all. Even though Norm said there was NO WAY the boys were going to Orient Beach (where one-half of the beach is designated clothing-optional), that's where they ended up for some swim and water sports time. We never heard any comments about the bathing suits, or lack of same, so we assume they stayed safely away from the dividing line. They toured much of the island and had a local lunch in Marigot on the French side before their beach stop. The boys really enjoyed the whole experience – we didn't see them until about 7:30 last night, just before dinner.

Sailing away from St. Maarten

Before dinner at the Wheelhouse Bar - the first photo from the new camera

Last night was the Ultimate Deck Party around one of the pools. We watched from above on the Sun Deck; the boys showed up long enough to get a drink and some food before disappearing with some of their friends (Jason ran into someone he knows from home – sound like anybody we know??) to hang out someplace where there was no Conga Line.

Today we arrived in St. Thomas at 7:00 to a somewhat overcast morning. Barb and the boys were supposed to go on a Helmet-Snorkel tour, where you wear a helmet over your whole head instead of just a snorkel, and ride underwater scooters of a sort to see the sites. Unfortunately, Jason had an allergic reaction to something he had at breakfast and ended up in the Medical Centre for an hour getting epinephrine to counteract it. So they missed out on the tour. Instead, Mitchell came to Emerald Beach with us and Norm for a few hours.

A hummingbird sipping nectar from an aloe plant

We met Barb and Jason for lunch at the Parrot Bar and Deli just off the waterfront. It was a really good meal, and just enough to keep us going until dinner tonight – or until we get a little peckish and need a chocolate milkshake or oatmeal-raisin cookie or something…

This will be the second formal night, and the menu has already got the Ortofsky men salivating: Escargots, French Onion Soup, and Lobster Tails. The food so far this cruise has been excellent wherever we've eaten, so we're expecting this to be just as delicious. We'll put up some photos in the next post.