Today we ate an early breakfast and were off the ship by 8:15. {I need to add that I got up and worked out. Very proud of my accomplishments. :)} About 10 of us boarded a van driven by a native islander by the name of Francis. He drove us around narrow roads, up and down mountains which sometimes made me a little queasy. The island is 14 x 27 miles long and is the southern most island on our trip. We started with a quick self guided tour in an old catholic cathedral and were greeted by a local schizophrenic yelling obscenities and calling us to repentance.
Next, we stopped and looked at a banana plantation and each ate a banana, which was slightly sweeter than ours. {I had thought a plantation would be a building where they package them as well but it was just a field of banana tress. Which makes complete scene but took me by surprise. We also got to see what a cashew nut looks like before it is shelled. Then we stopped and tasted some warm Creole bread which was delicious. We stopped in a small fishing town and several of us used the restroom. I was surprised to see so much poverty on this small island paradise. We saw an active volcano with the strong smell of hydrogen sulfide gas and bubbling waters. {Then we stopped to see a waterfall. I was brave enough to get in the freezing cold water. There was also a hot spring and a mud bath place close by that we saw but didn't have time try.} We probably spent nearly 3 hours driving and stopping for pictures. {I was pretty disappointed at the beginning of the day because it was really foggy and dark. You really couldn't get a clear view and enjoy the beautiful scenery, which is half the reason we took this tour is so we could get all the scenic over look pictures. Luckily, around 11:30 the clouds started to part a bit and it started to get nice and sunny out.}
Snake handlers ( with boa constrictors) were located along the roads. Snakes were originally placed around banana plantations to deter the slaves from escaping. After a poisonous type became widespread, mongoose were brought in to eat them. They are still found on the island, as are boa constrictors, which if you kill with your car results in a $5,000 fine and jail time. {Dad tried to make conversation and joke aruond with a snake handler but the guy obviously only knew a few phrases in English. However, it seemed like he kind of tricked dad into thinking her knew more because dad talked to him for a good 3 minutes, all the while the rest of us watched the conversation from a distance and laughed.}
There are 168,000 residents on the island. Several guides told us the ratio of women to men is 7:1, and that the AVERAGE family has 7-8 children, some many more. The houses and people looked very poor, but friendly. They seem tolerant of every nationality. They mostly speak English and French, but they have a national language that is slowly fading. Their main trade is tourism and fruit exports. They have lots of tropical fruit . Today I ate a fresh mango, banana, apricot {which was really an abricot}, guava, and saw a cashew tree, with the nut located as part of the stem of the fruit.
The morning was cloudy and light rain put a frown on our faces until about the end of the land tour. After the land tour we took a boat to a beach where lunch awaited us.
I anxiously ate so I could snorkel. This was supposedly one of the best places to snorkel and we were not disappointed!!! The water was beautifully clear. I could see down about 40-50 feet. The fish were amazing. They swam very close to us. All kinds of fish and beautiful colors, what I would want in a fish tank. I swam down about 15 feet chasing after them. No Sharks! The biggest fish was probably 2 feet long. I saw some kind of stripped eel. Very cool. I had fun snorkeling with Karen and later exploring with Mike and Kristin. {Mike also had a blast snorkeling. It was pretty amazing. Mike especially liked that when he was in the water his skin was protected from the sun and his sun burn wasn't able to be bothered by the sun. He was really in a lot of pain. Poor guy, maybe now he will remember to ALWAYS put sunblock on ;-) }
After snorkeling we jumped in a boat and got a tour of part of the island from the water on our way back to the ship. We saw a famous bay where the original Doctor Doolittle was filmed. Also, where season 10 of the Bachelor was filmed. {Along with the "bat cave" where thousands of bats live and a rock formation that looks like a high heel shoe and can be seen in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.}
We got back on the ship around 4 pm, did a 2 mile run on the treadmill at the gym, then showered and went to a nice dinner at 6pm. {which dad was working out Mike and I were taking our afternoon nap in the thermal suit. Its the best way to relax after a full day excursion.} At 8 pm went to a game show on the ship,{it was a minute to win it game show and Mike even participated in the action. His task was to put hose on his head with a tennis ball in the bottom and use the hose on his head to knock over several bottles. It was a lot of fun!} then at 9 pm a show in the Pacifico Theater (which is every bit as big as the PAC in New Phila). I loved these three guys who did a tribute to early Motown artists. They were great, entertaining and funny. At 10 pm, Karen, Kristin, and I went back for another on game called Copy Cat. {The contestants would be given a task that is something a crew member would do then had to try to complete the task well. It was pretty funny watching them make towel animals, fancy cakes, fold napkins and other funny tasks.} By now it was 11 pm and we were tired. Went to bed with moonlight reflecting off the ocean. I like to open the sliding door to our deck and listen to the waves while I sleep.
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