On a murky Suday morning we returned to Gatwick airport to catch the nine hour flight on the Dreamliner to the Caribbean island of Barbados.
We then joined the Thompson Celebration in Bridgetown and as dusk fell on a balmy evening, we slipped out of port and embarked on our Caribbean adventure.
The following evening we attended the Captain's Gala dinner.
St Lucia.
We spent a superb day in St Lucia with Spencer Ambose and his daughter, She-She. First thing in the morning we hopped aboard Spencer's speedboat for an exhilarating trip along the coast to the town of Soufriere. We transferred to a van and we made our way up to the local mud baths which sit at the bottom of a steaming volcano.
We then headed over to Toraille waterfall to wash of the mud in the refreshing water. We the stopped of at local banana plantation where we learned about the local fruit and tasted the sugar banana. Next stop was Captain Hooks bar for a tasty Caribbean lunch before hitting the Jalouise- Sugar beach beach that lies between the Islands famous Pitons, for a couple of hours of sunbathing and snorkelling.
We jumped back on the speedboat for the journey home, stopping off at some of the bays where the rich and famous have holiday homes and a location where they filmed scenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Curacao.
We arrived on the island of Curacao and took a tour in an old converted school bus which had its windows removed to let in a cooling breeze. Our first stop was at the Curacao liqueur distillery to taste a couple of samples of the famous drink.
We then headed over to the Spanish waters area with it impressive marina and views of its very own Table mountain. We then head for the beach and had a spot of lunch.
In the afternoon we wandered the streets of the old town with its brightly coloured buildings that had a Dutch influence. We watch a huge cargo ship pass through the famous floating bridge.
Aruba.
We arrived on the Island of Aruba and were met as planned by Ivan one of the locals who gave us a short tour of this lovely Island. Our first stop was the California lighthouse on the North West coast, we then moved onto look out point which gave great views of the surrounding area.
Our next stop was the Volcanic rock park before we moved onto the rugged East coast which is normally hit by high winds and is the location of an old Dutch gold smelting plant. Ivan then bid us farewell as he dropped us off at Tulips restaurant where we enjoyed lunch before we hit the gorgeous Eagle beach with its pure white sand and stunning blue sea.
Bonaire.
The Thomson Celebration cruise ship arrived at the Dutch island of Bonaire on a very warm day, we disembarked early and boarded the Catamaran "Mushi Mushi"and headed for the local marine park for a morning of snorkeling.
The waters around Bonaire are crystal clear and we saw numerous fish and some beautiful coral reef. The skipper of the yacht was very informative about the island and had a good sense of humour.
In the afternoon we took a stroll around the local town and did a bit of shopping and took on the local sights. In the evening we went to the ship's theatre to see a entertaining show based on London's most famous musicals.
Grenada.
In the morning we spent an hour in the show lounge where the ship's Captain and the Hotel manager held a very interesting Q&A session.
We arrived in Grenada and caught a water taxi over to Grand Anse beach and spent a few hours relaxing under the swaying palm trees, swimming in the warm sea and downing a few local beers.
We headed back into town where they were holding a mini carnival and then we just had time to pop into a local sports bar for a quick drink and to catch up on emails.
We then sailed back to Barbados.
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