THE JOURNEY ENDS ...

THE JOURNEY ENDS -- Full Circle ….

We've circumnavigated the world, from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale, a total of 45,614 miles, the equivalent of going 1.6 times around the world! We’ve visited 25 countries on five continents, from the primitive to the exotic and places in between; we’ve had the opportunity of seeing the people, cultures and politics of many countries, which has given us a better understanding of global concerns. I must admit that we’ll miss the captain’s daily updates from the bridge, the 650 crew members whose sole purpose in life was to make us comfortable and happy, and of course, the motion of the ocean ….

As we pack away the treasures we’ve gathered from around the world, we can’t help but reminisce about the places we’ve seen, the people we’ve met, the experiences we’ve had, and how much our lives have been enriched. We hope that by sharing our trip with you, we have somehow touched your lives, too.

Thank you for joining us. To quote our cruise director’s favorite saying each evening, “I hope you had a great day today, and that you have an even better day tomorrow.” God bless!

GUSTAVIA, ST. BARTS

GUSTAVIA, ST. BARTS, French West Indies

Our last port of call on our incredible trip was at the tiny Caribbean island of St. Barts (named by Christopher Columbus after his brother Bartolomeo when he discovered it in 1493). It is only about 8 square miles, but they’re some of the most luxurious 8 square miles in the world boasting a “U” shaped protected harbor, and steep hills and valleys opening to the sea. We drove around the island, taking in the spectacular views and enjoying the villas with their red clay tile roofs nestled in the hills and the many picturesque cemeteries filled with colorful flowers.

St. Barts is a chic, civilized and little known part of France, and is a perfect playground for deep sea fishermen and yachters. They have annual yacht races with St. Maartens, only 14 miles away, and this event attracts international participants. It was originally a trade and supply center where pirates could repair their ships and dispose of their loot.

Our final afternoon ashore was spent relaxing at Shell Beach and being entertained by an energetic Jack Russell terrier who splashed about in the waves retrieving a stick or her ball. She even accompanied her master when he went snorkeling!! What a perfect way to end a fantastic trip!

And now the “fun” of trying to fit all our treasures into our suitcases begins…

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS

Bridgetown was founded by the British in 1628 and their influence is apparent in the many churches and cathedrals throughout the island, and the fact that it is divided into “parishes” (St. James, St. George, St. Michael, Christ Church etc.). It is a Christian country with 270,000 inhabitants and is 166 square miles, some of it reclaimed land. They gained their independence from Britain in 1966. Many fortifications (26!) were built to protect the island from invasions by Spanish, French, Dutch and even pirates, and the ruins of these can be seen along the coastline.

As we drove around the island we saw the remains of large sugar plantations and the last of the windmills which were used to grind the sugar cane to produce sugar, rum and molasses. They have two distilleries and produce two brands of rum -- Mount Gay and Malibu (coconut flavored). They also have a large flour mill that is used to process wheat purchased from Canada and other countries.

Tourism is important to Barbados and they have many beautiful hotels along their white sandy beaches, and several golf courses. We passed though Holetown, with its quaint upscale shops, hotels and condos, and then visited Sandy Lane Country Club where Tiger Woods was married. Apparently he reserved the entire club and hotel for his wedding guests. The views were spectacular!

We also had the unique experience of taking an Atlantis submarine dive to 150 feet. What an interesting undersea world! We saw lots of small fish, a single stingray and a medium sized turtle foraging for food among the coral formations. Some areas reminded me of the desert with white sand and sparse brush. One of the more unusual plants was a wire plant that coiled like a spring -- winding counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the south! We were also able to see how the sea life affects sunken objects when we moved past a ship wreck and some old tires. The clarity of the water and the colors of the corals were awesome!

It easy to see why people choose the Caribbean islands for vacations -- we loved them and look forward to a return visit some day.

PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD

PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD and TOBAGO, West Indies

We’ve arrived in the Caribbean Islands, land of gentle waves and beautiful soft sandy beaches! Seven miles off the coast of Venezuela lies the two island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. They were once part of South America but rising seas and movement of the tectonic plates caused them to separate. Trinidad is a pretty big island covering nearly 2,000 square miles (40 by 80 miles at its widest points). Its northern point is 15-½ miles from Venezuela while its south western point is only 7 miles away. Its “little sister” the tiny island of Tobago, is only 20 miles away.

The population is about 1.3 million, 42% of East Indian origin, 38% are from Africa and the rest are of mixed origins (Britain, Asia and Europe). Slavery was abolished in 1834, but the whites’ pigmentation didn’t allow them to work in the sugar cane and cocoa plantations so laborers were brought in to do this type of labor, first from India, and later from China and other nations.

Calypso and steel drums originated here -- the steel drums being made from salvaged car parts and old pots and calypso from African songs. This is the basis for their Carnival celebration, one of the oldest and most spectacular in the Western Hemisphere. The buildup for Carnival begins at Christmas. The early working class citizens and slaves were allowed to poke fun at colonial authorities and this “play” theme has survived through the years with caricatures and names being mocked in the various colorful costumes. Carnival starts in Savannah Queen’s Park which was once a sugar plantation owned by the Pisches family in the 1700s (their tomb is in the park) and is now used for various recreational events and activities.

The most notable landmarks of Port of Spain are the Magnificent Seven estate homes, now owned by the government and in various stages of restoration. They are excellent examples of many different architectural styles, all in the same area -- Moorish style White Hall (because of white coral and white roses), baroque style Roodal Home (“gingerbread house”), Stollmeyer House based on Balmoral Castle, French style Mille Fleurs, and Red House which was built for Queen Victoria’s visit in 1897 and is the current seat of parliament.

The botanical gardens boast unusual trees such as the rainbow bark, Brazil nut, cannonball, and sausage and bootstrap trees. Trinidad is also noted for its rum and angostura bitters production, flying fish sandwiches, cinnamon and nutmeg, and some oil and chemicals. Last month they hosted the Conference of the Americas and remnants of President Obama's visit are still displayed throughout the city.

DEVIL'S ISLAND, FRENCH GUIANA

DEVIL’S ISLAND, French Guiana

We’ve crossed the equator for the fourth time on this World Cruise and have reached the group of three Salvation Islands (Iles de Salut) off the coast of French Guiana in South America -- Ile du Diable (Devil‘s Island), Ile Royale (where we land) and Ile St. Joseph. The area is collectively known as Devil’s Island. The notorious French penal colony was opened in 1852 and its inmates ran the gamut from political prisoners to thieves and murderers. The conditions were harsh, diseases ran rampant, escape was almost impossible due to the currents and sharks and most inmates died there. France stopped sending prisoners there in 1938 and it was closed forever in 1952.

What a tropical paradise these islands are today! This port was chosen as a place for us to relax before the final stress of packing …The vegetation is very lush with both deciduous and palm trees, and lots of coconuts lying on the ground. On our walk around Ile Royale we passed overgrown ruins of various prison buildings and the remains of the pillar that supported the cable used to send food and supplies to the almost inaccessible Devil’s Island only about fifty yards away. Some of the original guards’ quarters have been converted to a small hotel, restaurant and gift shop and there are only a handful of permanent residents. Private yachts often visit here but tourism is very limited.

We enjoyed seeing the wildlife -- lots of birds -- chickens, domesticated peacocks and two pet military macaws, large rodents called agouti, and iguanas. These were particularly interesting to watch as they sat in a swamp on the thick layer of water lily leaves, even lumbering across them without sinking! We even had a picnic at the top of a hill overlooking the waves as they crashed over the rugged rocks below.

The island was a delightful spot if you didn’t let the ghosts of its dark past intrude to spoil the natural beauty…

We were blessed to have had a smooth crossing across the Atlantic Ocean back into the Northern Hemisphere and fortunate with our challenging landings at the small remote islands of St. Helena, Ascension and Ile Royale. We’ve turned our clocks back for the last time and are now back on Florida time in preparation for the final week of our incredible trip.

GEORGETOWN, ASCENSION ISLAND

GEORGETOWN, Ascension Island

Another tiny bit of the undersea range of volcanic mountains that managed to peek up through the Atlantic Ocean! This is even smaller than St. Helena Island 700 miles away, and is a dependency of St. Helena.

The winds and waves were quite strong when we arrived, and the captain dropped anchor and we waited until it was safe enough to disembark via our tenders. It was a challenge for both the tenders and the passengers -- waves broke over the bottom steps of the 21 narrow, steep stone stairs leading up to the shore …

There are very few permanent residents on Ascension Island. It is basically a cable and wireless communications center with facilities for tracking satellites, a former NASA station, and BBC short wave relay station, and people come here to work for 6-12 months. It was a staging post for British soldiers en route to and from the Falkland Islands.

There are many seabirds especially “Wideawake” or Sooty Terns and Boobies in the Bird Island Sanctuary, and is also one of the most important nesting places for the Green Turtle who swims over 1200 miles from Brazil to lay its eggs in the sand of one of the 32 beautiful beaches.

Fishing, swimming and snorkeling, along with their “brown” golf course (crushed lava mixed with diesel oil and sand!) keep the part time residents occupied in their off duty hours. Tourism is almost non existent because of the island’s inaccessibility.

Although we had only about 2 hours ashore, we were glad to have seen the crystal clear, deep blue waters and inviting sandy beaches of this remote place located approximately equidistant from South America and Africa.

ST. HELENA, UK PROTECTORATE

JAMESTOWN, ST. HELENA, UK Protectorate

What a beautiful place this tiny island turned out to be -- the mountains and valleys looked like the Austrian Alps, very lush and green. There are different climates from the dry rugged cliffs rising from the sea to the more temperate areas of tree ferns, cabbage trees, whitewood and even Norfolk and Scotch pines, lilies, orchids and poinsettias!

Twelve hundred miles from Africa, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, this 47 square mile volcanic island is one of the most isolated places in the world (mail and supplies are delivered via a mail ship every two weeks)! It has only one town, its capital, Jamestown, whose population is about 850. There are two other main “districts of population” -- Longwood with 950 and Half Tree Hollow with 1130 people. There are other homes scattered throughout the hills along the switchback roads circling the island. And it has a golf course! Its greens, however, are “browns” because they consist of ground lava mixed with oil! This may be one of the few courses that Tiger Woods hasn’t played …

Its claim to fame is that it was Napoleon’s last place of imprisonment. We toured around the island in a 1929 14-passenger Chevrolet convertible! We visited his original tomb where he was buried in 1821 (his body was later sent back to Paris in 1840) and Longwood House, where he lived for the 6 years of his exile. The people respected him and he was allowed to roam most of the island freely. Longwood House is a large villa and he had a staff of about 75 people who also lived there. It is now a museum.

Other places of interest we saw were St. Paul’s Church which was brought from England in pieces and assembled here; Diana’s Peak in the National Park where many of the island’s native plants, trees and blushing snail (from ten million years ago!) can be found; Jacob’s Ladder, the very steep 699 step staircase from Jamestown at sea level to the fort at the top. Ammunition and supplies had to be dragged up these stairs. We also visited Plantation House where the governor lives, and in whose backyard 4 of their most famous residents live -- giant tortoises originally from the Seychelles. Jonathan, about 150 yeas old, allowed us to scratch him under his chin …

There is much history here in addition to Napoleon‘s exile, and we imagined the visits by famous (and infamous) characters such as Captain Bligh, Arthur Halley who plotted his comet’s path from here, Charles Darwin, the Duke of Wellington and Captain James Cook. We loved our brief visit to this historic and remote island.