Puerto Rico and Southern Caribbean Cruise - Day 4 - Tortola
Tortola
We woke up already docked in Tortola and went up to Cabana's for breakfast. After breakfast we met up with some folks from our cruse meet group who were also going on our excursion and disembarked the ship. We walked about 5-10 minutes to the Village Cay Marina where we would be boarding a catamaran for Norman Island with Aristocat Charters. Last year, on our Facebook cruise meet group, someone had set up a charter that others could also join in on. If enough people signed up, the charter would sail with our group. As it happened, I believe we filled all 30 slots on the charter.
We were to meet at 9:15 AM for a 9:30 departure. As we were waiting, the sky began to grow dark and then raindrops began to fall and then it began to absolutely pour. We all sought refuge at a nearby cafe until the rain passed. It did eventually pass, but not before one family in our group decided they didn't want to sail in the rain. (Which is too bad because the rest of the day's weather was absolutely perfect.)
The rain passed quickly and the tour operators came and found us and took us out the catamaran and we set out, sailing south from Road Town, Tortola, around Peter Island (a private island currently owned by a company who operates a resort there) to Norman Island (supposedly the island featured in "Treasure Island").
Once we arrived near Norman Island, we stopped at a spot along a rocky shore for a little snorkeling. Emmaline was hesitant and a little nervous at first, but once she got the hang of it and saw all the things she could see under the water, she enjoyed it. They also had two paddle boards on the catamaran that folks could use to paddle around the area. The water was cool but not cold (apparently around 78 when I looked it up later, but it felt colder to me) and we adjusted quickly once in the water. We saw lots of different kinds of fish and even a barracuda that was chilling out in the shade under the boat.
After we snorkeled there for awhile, we moved on to a little cove with a beach (Bight Bay) and even a little restaurant (Pirates Bight). We moored a little ways off from the beach (probably around 300 meters by my estimation) and they brought up some lunch. While we ate lunch, some folks decided to take the paddle boards to shore...and leave them there. So pretty much the options were to either swim all the way in to the beach, or swim a much shorter distance (maybe 50 meters or so) to a rocky shore and from there, get out of the water and clamber over a rocky pathway to get to the beach area. Some folks grabbed a pool noodle and took this latter option but Emmaline had really been wanting to have a go at the paddle board on her own (she had ridden earlier with Roger as a passenger) and she was unhappy that both paddle boards were now stuck on the beach.
I had packed my swim goggles in the beach bag so, donning these (and wishing I'd packed a cap), I swam to the beach. I really enjoyed my swim to the shore, feeling good and strong being back in open water and having a real swim. I even spotted a couple small sea turtles along the way, which was really neat. I grabbed the paddle board and paddled my way back to the boat. Once there, I accompanied Emmaline (swimming alongside her in the water) to the beach while she paddled then I took the other board back to the boat so others could use it. At some point Roger paddled out to the beach as well and I ferried paddle boards in various directions and swam back and forth, probably making 5-6 round trips at least. All the while, I was enjoying myself swimming and paddling. According to my Apple Watch, I did 90 minutes of "Exercise" that day, probably most of it was that swimming, though probably some was paddling the paddle board. The crew thanked me for the ferrying, commenting that I must be a swimmer!
Eventually it was time to load up and move on, this time we made our way to The Indians. The Indians are four rocks that protrude from open water a little north of Norman Island. It's unprotected so the water can be a bit choppy. Our guides recommended noodles for everyone (I hadn't been using a noodle all day and even though I probably would have been fine, I took one anyway). Emmaline and I went back into the water and this was definitely the best snorkeling all day. There was a lot of coral and all kinds of fish and even little crabs scuttling over the rocks that stuck up out of the ocean.
After some time there, we packed up again and made our way back to Road Town, Tortola. We said good-bye to our guides and made our way back onboard the Wonder around 4 PM. We ordered some fruit and a cheese and cracker platter from room service ("All Hands On Deck") and we all rotated through the shower while Mickey Mouse cartoons played on the stateroom TV. We got ourselves ready for formal night but we decided to skip the show, The Golden Mickeys, because, of all the shows, it's probably the one we've seen the most.
At 7:15, all doled up, we went and took some photos in our formal outfits, however, we didn't end up buying them because at the end of the cruise, we preferred the photos from semi-formal night more. Then at 8:15 we went to dinner for our first of two nights in a row in Animator's Palate. I actually think I enjoy the show with Sorcerer Mickey at the end more than the animation show. It's fun to animate your own character, but I just love watching the drawings progress and come to life and then when Mickey comes out, the joy on all the faces is so much fun. I always get a little something in both my eyes! After dinner, we were pretty zonked from spending a day in the sun so we went back to the room and went right to bed.
Click here for Day 5.
We woke up already docked in Tortola and went up to Cabana's for breakfast. After breakfast we met up with some folks from our cruse meet group who were also going on our excursion and disembarked the ship. We walked about 5-10 minutes to the Village Cay Marina where we would be boarding a catamaran for Norman Island with Aristocat Charters. Last year, on our Facebook cruise meet group, someone had set up a charter that others could also join in on. If enough people signed up, the charter would sail with our group. As it happened, I believe we filled all 30 slots on the charter.
We were to meet at 9:15 AM for a 9:30 departure. As we were waiting, the sky began to grow dark and then raindrops began to fall and then it began to absolutely pour. We all sought refuge at a nearby cafe until the rain passed. It did eventually pass, but not before one family in our group decided they didn't want to sail in the rain. (Which is too bad because the rest of the day's weather was absolutely perfect.)
The rain passed quickly and the tour operators came and found us and took us out the catamaran and we set out, sailing south from Road Town, Tortola, around Peter Island (a private island currently owned by a company who operates a resort there) to Norman Island (supposedly the island featured in "Treasure Island").
Once we arrived near Norman Island, we stopped at a spot along a rocky shore for a little snorkeling. Emmaline was hesitant and a little nervous at first, but once she got the hang of it and saw all the things she could see under the water, she enjoyed it. They also had two paddle boards on the catamaran that folks could use to paddle around the area. The water was cool but not cold (apparently around 78 when I looked it up later, but it felt colder to me) and we adjusted quickly once in the water. We saw lots of different kinds of fish and even a barracuda that was chilling out in the shade under the boat.
After we snorkeled there for awhile, we moved on to a little cove with a beach (Bight Bay) and even a little restaurant (Pirates Bight). We moored a little ways off from the beach (probably around 300 meters by my estimation) and they brought up some lunch. While we ate lunch, some folks decided to take the paddle boards to shore...and leave them there. So pretty much the options were to either swim all the way in to the beach, or swim a much shorter distance (maybe 50 meters or so) to a rocky shore and from there, get out of the water and clamber over a rocky pathway to get to the beach area. Some folks grabbed a pool noodle and took this latter option but Emmaline had really been wanting to have a go at the paddle board on her own (she had ridden earlier with Roger as a passenger) and she was unhappy that both paddle boards were now stuck on the beach.
I had packed my swim goggles in the beach bag so, donning these (and wishing I'd packed a cap), I swam to the beach. I really enjoyed my swim to the shore, feeling good and strong being back in open water and having a real swim. I even spotted a couple small sea turtles along the way, which was really neat. I grabbed the paddle board and paddled my way back to the boat. Once there, I accompanied Emmaline (swimming alongside her in the water) to the beach while she paddled then I took the other board back to the boat so others could use it. At some point Roger paddled out to the beach as well and I ferried paddle boards in various directions and swam back and forth, probably making 5-6 round trips at least. All the while, I was enjoying myself swimming and paddling. According to my Apple Watch, I did 90 minutes of "Exercise" that day, probably most of it was that swimming, though probably some was paddling the paddle board. The crew thanked me for the ferrying, commenting that I must be a swimmer!
Eventually it was time to load up and move on, this time we made our way to The Indians. The Indians are four rocks that protrude from open water a little north of Norman Island. It's unprotected so the water can be a bit choppy. Our guides recommended noodles for everyone (I hadn't been using a noodle all day and even though I probably would have been fine, I took one anyway). Emmaline and I went back into the water and this was definitely the best snorkeling all day. There was a lot of coral and all kinds of fish and even little crabs scuttling over the rocks that stuck up out of the ocean.
After some time there, we packed up again and made our way back to Road Town, Tortola. We said good-bye to our guides and made our way back onboard the Wonder around 4 PM. We ordered some fruit and a cheese and cracker platter from room service ("All Hands On Deck") and we all rotated through the shower while Mickey Mouse cartoons played on the stateroom TV. We got ourselves ready for formal night but we decided to skip the show, The Golden Mickeys, because, of all the shows, it's probably the one we've seen the most.
At 7:15, all doled up, we went and took some photos in our formal outfits, however, we didn't end up buying them because at the end of the cruise, we preferred the photos from semi-formal night more. Then at 8:15 we went to dinner for our first of two nights in a row in Animator's Palate. I actually think I enjoy the show with Sorcerer Mickey at the end more than the animation show. It's fun to animate your own character, but I just love watching the drawings progress and come to life and then when Mickey comes out, the joy on all the faces is so much fun. I always get a little something in both my eyes! After dinner, we were pretty zonked from spending a day in the sun so we went back to the room and went right to bed.
Click here for Day 5.
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