Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The rest of the story...


First two days we were at sea. We ate, lounged, went to comedy shows and live Broadway shows, the casino, watched outdoor movies at night on a drive-in theater size screen, napped, read, relaxed.

When we arrived in Freeport, Bahamas the remnants of tropical Storm Chantal was dumping, and it rained most of the morning. We walked around the shopping district and then went back onboard ship. No excursions. That night after the wonderful stage show, we returned to our cabin to find a note on the bed. What now!

Attention: The U.S. Embassy in Nassau has issued a tourist alert. Do not carry large sums of cash or wear flashy jewelry. GREAT! (Probably a bad experience for a tourist on the last cruise.) We don't have glam jewelry or large sums of money. We had purchased an excursion to Atlantis Water Park (but not the slides) that you see advertised on TV. It was delightful. We swam in the Caribbean, ate lunch, stopped for a few minutes in their massive casino, explored the remarkable underground cave-like aquarium where I fell in love with this little yellow sea horse. Look at the shrimp around the corner. There were people swimming with a manta ray the size of a Mini Cooper car, sting rays with their barbs snipped, humongous fish and all sorts of sea creatures and sea life. It was amazing!
 

Yes, there were some highs and lows of this vacation, but the highlight of our trip was a spontaneous moment as we set sail for home. We looked over our eighth floor balcony and saw "flying" fish darting across the water. Then to our surprise we looked down into the crystal clear turquoise sea and spied a pod of submerged gray bottle nose dolphins just below the surface dining on those flying fish. In the past I've seen dolphins breech and pass near us as we've sat on the beach, but never have I been able to view them like this.  MADE MY DAY! I didn't have my camera handy, so I didn't get a picture, but it will forever be ingrained in my mind.

We're thinking maybe next vacation will be by train or plane. 

 

13 comments:

Rae said...

The last part certainly made up for the beginning. It sounds fabulous. The dolphin sighting was the icing on the cake.

Kim Lehnhoff said...

Sounds like you had a marvelous time, despite the shaky start!

Just think of the stories you can write about the people you encountered!

Unknown said...

Happy to hear you had some high points, along with the lows. The Dolphins are amazing creatures. Oh and I love that shrimp, peeping around the corner :)

Val said...

I love the colors in that sea horse picture. Looks like he's got a stalker.

Lisa Ricard Claro said...

I'm so envious! We've been on several cruises and loved every one. It's on my list of things to repeat. Glad you had a fun and memorable trip.

Sioux Roslawski said...

Linda--You didn't mention a vacation by bus. I would highly recommend it. A trip across the country on a Greyhound bus is an experience like no other. To maximize the number of characters you encounter, you and Bill should split up and sit in different parts of the bus.

By the end of the trip you will have enough writing material to last you a lifetime...

Pat Wahler said...

All's well that end's well, right?
I'm glad you (finally) had a wonderful trip.

Pat
Critter Alley

Merlesworld said...

Sounds like a great trip .
Merle......

Connie said...

Wow, Linda, I just finished catching up on the last three posts. That was some trip!! It started out as such a nightmare for you, but it sounds like it ended on some very high notes. I'm glad you had a good time once you finally got on the cruise. Sounds like it was a very memorable time. I would have loved to see the dolphins too. :)

Susan said...

Well I enjoyed reading about your adventures, Linda, both the good and the bad part. Glad the trip seemed to have been redeemed with the dolphins. Redeemed by dolphins! Susan

Lynn said...

Wow, what an experience. I hope I don't have half the hassles when I hop on a train next week. Eeek. Love your picture by the way. I've read all the previous blogs that I didn't get to...

Alice said...

Not every Carnival cruise includes
a real live carnival. I don't suppose you've ever had a dull vacation??? Enjoyable read (if not ride).

Terri Tiffany said...

I'm so glad it turned out ok after that beginning! I love to cruise and the fun is around every corner.