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Picturesque entrance to Nassau with Paradise Island off in the distance. Again we chose the self-guided walking tour rather than the glitzy overpriced tours. At our third stop we talked with a fellow passenger who was using a guide much better than ours and who shared an extra copy with us. Nassau retains some of its Colonial past. The impeccably dressed guards outside the Pink Government buildings and uniformed school children all greet you with a wide smile and exchange of pleasantries.
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1671 Harry chose to stay aboard while Marsha headed to town with a historical walking tour pamphlet in hand. Most tropical locales have a bit of a worn shabby vibe - it's part of their charm. St. Thomas has a bit more than most. The government of this U.S. territory doesn't seem to be doing its job very well. For example, there is a Fort there with National Landmark Status that is in dire need to stabilization and restoration. If, however, you took some care when pointing your camera there were some pretty sites. Working on more photographs... Marsha and Juan Paolo We signed up for a historical bike tour. The owner of Tri-sports - St. Maarten Juan Paolo and his assistant Martin led our group along the beachfront path and around the curving bay and back. We stopped along the way to learn a bit about the history of the Island and it's people. We really liked the vibe in St. Maarten. It is really laid back and casual. Plus it's a really pretty place. Still working on more photographs... Norwegian Epic We are off on a 7 day cruise to St Maarten, St Thomas and Nassau. Marsha found an incredible deal on an inside cabin that we couldn't pass up. The Ship - Norwegian Epic (one of the world's largest) the advantage of a large ship is there are more choices. More restaurants, more entertainment choices, more deck space. The disadvantage is, of course, more people. We thought that the boat was big enough that the number of people didn't make much of a difference. But, it is not a very intimate experience. For example, if you meet someone at dinner, with 4,000 people on the ship there is a good chance you will never see them again. Another advantage is that when you are in port you can look at the other ships and confidently say - "My ship is bigger than your ship ". Note: calling this a ship is generous. It is really a floating hotel that can travel 20 knots/hour on water. The Entertainment - Blue Man Group, Cirque de Soleil, Second City Improv., a great Blues Band, an extremely entertaining dueling piano show, a murder mystery show and more. Of course there were most of the other traditional entertainment things, but we didn't do any of that preferring to sit in the sun. The Food- all cuisines, all the time, The quality was good - service attentive - venues nicely appointed. The Activities - we didn't do much more than sit in the sun, or move to the shade and take an occasional dip or hot tub soak but there were many more options. Full fitness center, water slides, basketball court, climbing wall, bungie/tampoline jump, rappelling, walking/running track, etc, not to mention the bingo, dating game and other mindless stuff. You just make your own choices. We hardly ever have more than one drink per day although some chose to start imbibing shortly after breakfast. Many seemed to be enjoying the casino we only walked through on our way elsewhere. The ship departed at 4pm after we had our mandatory escape drill. Sailing out of Miami is quite nice. The rest of the evening was spent having dinner and acquainting ourselves with the ship. Deck 15: Pools, Water slides, Rock Climbing, etc. On the way out of Port of Miami Goodbye, Miami Beach
Day 18: Hemingway Home and Museum; Southernmost point buoy; Key West to Homestead/Florida City FL2/1/2013 A great name for this cat: Photoshop Key West grows on you. At first you think it’s too honky tonk and loud. Unless you like honky tonk and loud in which case your happy from the start. Then you start to realize all the different kinds of activities you can participate in and it begins to get more interesting. Then you start to learn a bit about it’s history, architecture and inhabitants and you’re hooked. This morning we delved a bit deeper into Key West history by means of a Key West historic site audio tour. Then we joined the throngs lining up to take the obligatory photo at the Southernmost Point in the U.S. and continued to Hemingway’s Key West home. Our tour guide was funny and good at his job, which was good because there really isn’t much to see. His stories about Hemingway were good and the building itself is picturesque. Dinner was so good last night that we returned to Kaya Island Eats for lunch today before leaving Key West. It did not disappoint. The drive back to the mainland was uneventful and we have spent the rest of the day preparing for our cruise departure tomorrow. Sailing out of Miami on the Norwegian Cruise Lines Epic bound for St. Marten, St. Thomas and Nassau. We will probably not have internet access for the next week. See you on the 9th. |
Table of ContentsHarry Forsdick & Marsha BakerWe enjoy traveling and writing about our trips. Not only does it provide a way to express ourselves with words and pictures, but it also is a good way to remember what we've done... Categories
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