Still Tuesday, April 28

Barbados. A quiet morning spent with Mark on the Lido deck in the shade by one of the pools. Our main entertainment was watching the crew emergency drill putt-putting about the harbor in all of the life boats, followed by hosing down and stowing each boat. After that, I found a wifi area to post and read e-mail. (Will wonders never cease! Mark actually acquired a computer and an e-mail account two weeks ago! I nearly fainted when I found out!) Then after lunch an equally quiet afternoon in one of the lounges people-watching.

Oh, we did, sort of, get the dinner seating business worked out last night. No telling what will happen next week when one or more of Mark’s relatives and/or friends come on board for the second week. Well, I have faith in Mary being able to either wheedle or intimidate the staff into doing whatever she wants, so I shan’t worry about it myself.

So I came back to my cabin and laid down for a quick rest just about the time the ship was getting ready to sail. D’ya remember those old motel/hotel beds called “Magic Fingers” where you put in a quarter for a few minutes’ vibrating massage? Well, lemme tell ya, the stern side-thrusters on this ship are to “Magic Fingers” what a megamouth shark is to a nurse shark! WOW! Sorta makes you wish that it took longer to leave the dock! Mark and Mary say they get the same effect up on Deck 14.

Wednesday, April 29

St. Lucia. The port of Castries is lovely as always. This time we are docked at Point Seraphina instead of downtown...not that the two are very far apart! Here is a photo of the downtown area. As you can see, the island goes just about straight up from the water. The interesting tidbit I learned last time I was here (see the South American blog) is that St. Lucia has the highest per capita number of Nobel Prize winners of any country...2 winners from a population of about 100,000.

I seriously contemplated going ashore to at least wander through the shops some, but never got around to it. About once an hour there would be a sluicing downpour for about 5 minutes, plus I was comfortable siting under cover on Lido Deck and I couldn’t think of anything I needed to expend energy looking for in the shops. So now I’m 0 for 2 on island visits! Maybe I’ll get off tomorrow at Antigua