Passing On The Port of Greencastle, Ireland

 The Irish weather wasn't doing much better than it had on the west coast of Scotland. After a really rough night at sea (you always know it's rocky when the barf bags are set out at the elevators), we arrived in Greencastle, Ireland, and were greeted by lots of wind and mist and some rain.

Greencastle was to be the gateway to Londonderry. Originally I had researched and was sure I'd found that there was a shuttle that ran to Londonderry. I was a little disappointed to be proven wrong. Only a little disappointed as I was tired from a bad night due to my cold symptoms as well as the rock'n'roll ship. And besides all that, we had been to Londonderry before so we weren't missing out on anything new.

We arrived on time in port and the captain set about trying to anchor. Some of the tenders were set out and we could see them bobbing in the water. I was rethinking our plan to go ashore and wander about. 

The ship moved closer to shore and after three attempts, the captain finally announced that we would have to abort the port. There was no way they could safely handle the tenders and there had already been some damage to one in trying.

Another day at sea. A day for me to rest. A day to catch up on some writing/publishing. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone but there might be a new book out there available. I'll announce it soon. Meanwhile, I nursed my cold, slept a lot and enjoyed a lot of tea. Hopefully our next port, Greencock (gateway to Glasgow) would be more accessible. We'd never been to Glasgow.

Misty Ullapool Scotland

 Our day in Ullapool was another misty wet weather day with a few quick peeks at the sun. Every time we put our rain jackets on, the sun would come out and it would warm up. We'd pack the jackets back in the bag and ten minutes later, we'd need them again. 

Ullapool is a small fishing town and we could see several fishing boats when our tender dropped us off. Standing there in the mist was a Scot and his bagpipe to greet us.

And more steps!

 Our plan was to walk along the river and the Loch Broom. We found the river walk easily enough and enjoyed walking along the fast moving river with small waterfalls. 

We ended up walking through a residential area as well. The buildings were quaint even if they were a bit plain. The homes had very small yards but they filled them with beautiful hydrangas and flowers and all sorts of greenery.

Getting a bit chilled and wet, we headed back to the tender and to the ship. 

Our captain would later come on to tell us that we were in for some choppy weather. He wasn't kidding. I expected there would be times of rough weather on this cruise, we were in the North Sea area after all, but I didn't expect to come down with a cold as well. So not sleeping well to begin with and then trying not to get rolled out of bed was quite a challenge that night. Ah, the perks of cruising.

What would we find in Greencastle?

Stornoway, Scotland--Lews Castle

 Our friends from Aberdeen had warned us that Scotland could be a wee bit soggy at times. When we arrived in Stornoway, it appeared that could be the case. This time we were taking no chances. Our experience in Edinburgh had taught us to be prepared. Rain jackets stuffed in a sling bag, we boarded the shuttle into town. 

The deep water port was out a ways or so it seemed as the bus had to circumnavigate a lot of construction but before long, we were deposited at the bus stop next to the river in Stornoway. A rather serious wooden fellow greeted us as we set off to the Lews Castle. 

The trail along the river was flat but once we crossed the footbridge, we were greeted by steps. I could hear my knees groan after all the steps we'd managed at Dunnator. It wasn't bad though. There were not nearly as many and once we reached the top, it was a gradual trail leading up through the woods. 

With the dreary skies and the mist in the air, the woods felt like we were traveling to Oz but without the yellow brick road.

Construction of the castle was begun in 1847. It has had quite a history of owners and purposes for the Victorian structure. At present it is more of a venue for meetings, weddings and other get togethers. 

I was glad that we would actually be able to go inside as the mist had turned more to a misty rain. There was no need for moisturizer this day. 

The only area open to the public is the first floor and it was quite impressive, especially the ball room. They were already setting up for some occasion so we probably timed our arrival perfectly.

 There are several rooms and suites on the upper floors that can be booked but we weren't allowed up to see them.

A cafe and museum allowed us to continue enjoying our visit indoors. The museum was nicely done with very interesting displays of the people and their skills and occupations in the area. The most interesting item I found was a painted whale ear. I had no idea that whales had ears. The whalers, back in the day, used to carve scrimsaw on the bones and paint faces on the whale ears. Interesting artwork.

painted whale ear

With the windy, misty rain (I think it was clouds we were moving through) we made our way back to the bus and the ship. The island is noted for its handmade tweed fabric and I would have been tempted to buy something except for the fact that wool has never been my friend. I guess it's a good thing I don't live here.

Invergordon And The Loch Ness

 Wonderful sunshine greeted our day. We had a leisurely start as our excursion was scheduled for mid-morning. Knowing what false hope we had in Edinburgh with a clear start and then pouring rain, we put our light rain jackets and umbrellas in our totes and set off for the Marina Lounge to check in. This would a long excursion for us. Anything over four hours is long and this was to be at least four and a half but it would be a beautiful ride through the Scottish countryside.

Our guide for this adventure to Lock Ness was quite entertaining. She had a laugh that is impossible to describe and she used it often. There was no way we were not going to smile this whole trip. She was also quite full of information and she barely took a breath describing the countryside the bus was taking us through, including the glimpses we got of the highland cows. She was quick to point out that they were more like pets and not bred for food.

In about forty-five minutes or so we were making our way along the shor of the Loch Ness. Loch in the Scottish vernacular means lake. The loch is almost 23 miles long and at its widest point is 1.7 miles across. The depth is what holds the mystery. It reaches almost 8oo feet down into a crevice created by a fault line. Is that where Nessie lives?

Our stop was the Uruquhart Castle. My fear was that we would have hundreds of steps up and down again as my calves were still sore from the climb the day before at Dunnator. My fears were relieved when we say a nicely paved way to the castle that was a gentle up and down with few steps unless we wanted to climb the tower or other lookout points. 

In over 500 years of Scottish midieval history, the castle has been subject to boulders catapulted at its walls, fires set to destroy it and eventually barrels of gunpowder lit to blow it up. It's amazing anything at all is still left. 

As we explored and enjoyed the views of Loch Ness, eyes always searching for the elusive monster, I wondered if the inhabitants back in the day had appreciated the spot on the beautiful lake.

We trekked up to a couple of lookouts to see the views but passed on the narrow spiral staircase (not from midieval times I believe) to the top of the tower. 

Now, the report of a monster in the loch dates back to 565AD. The modern legend however began in 1933 by a sighting reported by Aldie Mackay, a hotel manager who reported along with her husband of seeing a large whale like creature. The local newspaper published the news.

Now for our guide's take on the legend. The most recent sighting she said was in March, the common time of year to "see" the monster. It happens to coincide with the beginning of the tourist season. The statement was followed by her hearty laugh.

Our ride home took us through Inverness, the capital of the area we were in. Lots of information was given to those of us on the bus, many of whom were already nodding off from the long day and I'm sure the day before. It was late in the afternoon before we reached the pier again.

The sun had shone brightly all day long. What a blessing! Great to be out in it with a cool breeze and wonderful pictures and memories to carry with us.

Aberdeen, Scotland

 Our packing for this cruise was planned around cool to cold days and lots of rain which seemed to be predicted as we anticipated our time in Scotland. The day in Edinburgh held true to that but we awoke to our arrival in Aberdeen to bright sunny skies. The wind however, was another thing. 

The deep port for Aberdeen which opened only a few years ago for larger ocean vessels, has a narrow entrance and the winds were rather strong as we approached. We thought it was taking a long time to get in and then came the announcement: everything would be delayed for a time until we could navigate the entrance and dock the ship.

It took three tries, several tugboats, the captain's patience and we finally made it an hour later than ezpected. When the captain announce we were good, he said he had been within ten minutes of cancelling the port. We finally made our way to the lounge to obtain our tickets for our excursion and await our call to the bus. The sun was still shining but we were toting rainjackets and umbrellas as insurance and had an extra layer of clothes on because we were expecting a windy day.

Our excursion was only delayed a half hour and we were soon well on our way out of the port and past the town of Aberdeen to Stonehaven where the Dunnator Castle was waiting to be explored. I was a little anxious about this excursion since we were warned that it was a bit strenuous with at least 180 steps down and out to the castle. Of course that meant 180 steps up on the return.

The drive was pleasant and we enjoyed the chatter of the Irish guide who now lives in Aberdeen where his previous job brought him. The countryside was all I had imagined Scotland to be, a pleasant change from the bustling and touristy city of Edinburgh.

The Blacksmith's forge

The Dunnator Castle is a ruin but you can imagine what an amazing place it was in its day. It sits on a rocky outcropping along the shore of the ocean, an amazing marvel of stone buildings that had to be difficult to put together with materials having to be hauled up and down by horses.

While the existing buildings are dated back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it is believed it was a fortress even before then dating back to the early middle ages. 

A large kitchen with a "walk-in' oven so to speak and the remains of a sink appropriately placed under a window as is called for in all kitchen design today made me smile. 

A huge area where a blacksmith would have done his forging was another ruin near the stables that were all of stone but had windows where the horses must have been able to stick their heads out. 

All in all it was quite an impressive area to explore but as I looked at my watch, I knew it was time to tackle all those steps we had come down and up to return. Huffing and puffing, I proudly made it up to the top and anticipated my knees complaining for the rest of the day.

Our next stop was the litte town of Stonehaven nearby where we were able to wander about for a bit and stop at a quaint inn for a cup of cafe mocha. Stonehaven has a pretty harbor and a boardwalk along it tht was lined with metal sculptures.

The morning passed all too quickly and thankfully not the sun. It got warm enough to shed one layer of outerwear. I hoped the good weather would hold for the afternoon where we had planned to meet with friends we had made on our 2025 world cruise and who lived in Scotland.

Our friends took us to the David Welch Winter Gardens in Aberdeen where we strolled through lush tropical greens and flowering plants and caught up on all that has passed in the year and a half since we'd been together. The cafe offered some treets and I had another cafe mocha, my secon of the day. This one was almost like hot chocolate. It was a great time together and just as it was about to end, the rain began.

Our walk from where they had to drop us off in the visitor parking to where our ship's gangway was turned out to be a bit wet but the warmth of the connection we'd made with friends made it all worthwhile. 

Edinburgh And The Castle

 After a nice sunny day (for the most part) at sea, we arrived in Edinburgh. The morning was very nice, sunny and warmish with a bit of a good breeze. By the time the afternoon came however, the skies began to cloud and of course we began to wonder what our excursion to the Edinburgh Castle would hold.

The drive through the city allowed us the opportunity to see some amazing architecture that was reminiscent of older times and interspersed with obviouly more modern reflections. Lots of memorials or monuments were scattered throughout as homage to many of the literary giants that Scotland has produced.

Our bus finally came to a stop in front of the Elephant House, a bright red building that is a cafe that offers Butter Scotch Beer. Sound a bit familiar? If you have read the Harry Potter books, this is where much of the story was written. JK Rowling spent her time at the cafe, a single mom trying to make a go of it by writing the stories that now have made her famous and very wealthy.

We left the bus and had not got too far down the castle mile walk toward the castle when it began to rain. Not too badly and one section of the walk was undercover where there was construction--very narrow passageway to navigate that barely allowed for two people to pass. 

However once we neared the castle it began to rain hard and then it began to pour, buckets of rain. We (a group of 40) tried to take shelter under some scaffolding that was erected near the castle entrance while our guide got our tickets but a guard insisted we move out of the way since we were slowing the pedestrian traffic moving through.

We moved out into the open, huddled together under umbrellas and rain gear that was not doing much good at this point. Our guide appeared a few minutes later, looking quite drenched but trying to be cheerful and handed us our tickets, set the time for reassembly near by and we were on our way.

I kept telling Bob that it was a castle. We would probably be inside. Was I wrong.

Most of the castle is an open area. The only places you could enter were a couple of museums dedicated to several different groups of soldiers and calvary throughout Scottish history. We went through them mostly to get out of the rain.

When the rain began to lessen, we got in a line for another building not really knowing exactly what we would see. It turned out to be the place where the crown jewels were kept. Well, actually the crown and a sceptor and a huge sword. 

There was a large war memorial that was very impressive but along with the crown jewles display, there were no pictures allowed. 

All in all, we did not think the castle that impressive. Blame the rain perhaps or our expectations being too high. If we had it to do again and knew there would be a shuttle to Charlotte Square, we would have used that to get into the city, grabbed a ride on a hop on hop off bus and seen the castle on our own--or not. You needed to be sure to order tickets online since they are time sensitive. Many who showed up at the entrance without a prepurchase were turned away as the whole day was sold out.

Hindsight is always perfect.

Disappointed in Dover

 

Our ride in a hired car from Winhester to Southampton's cruise terminal was a pleasure. It was about a half hour and mostly because of traffic. Our driver was very pleasant and deposited us at the terminal where luggage was whisked away to be delivered to our room and we seamlessly checked in for our cruise. 

Aboard ship quickly, we found our way to the Terrace Cafe and a cup of coffee while we waited for our room to be ready. We lunched and lingered and finally moved to a more comfortable lounge just before it was announced that we could get into our stateroom. 

We'd been aboard the Oceania Marina once before and noted some of the changes in decor that had been made in two years. It's a beautiful ship and our room was found to be comfortable with plenty of storage. Luggage arrived ahead of us and we found it waiting in the hallway. Our routine is to unpack and then explore the ship which we did. By evening and dinner, we were all settled and ready to enjoy a wonderful meal. It did not disappoint.

Dover was our first port of call and we woke to find a sunny day and the white cliffs beaming. The white cliffs are composed of chalk, a type of limestone composed of microscopic calcium carbonate skeletal remains of tiny marine algae. They are quite impressive.

It wasn't long before our captain announced that there would be a delay in going ashore as there seemed to be a group of protestors baring access to the port area. The protest was centered around a building where immigrants coming into the country were being processed. Most of them are from Afghanistan and are smuggled in on inflatable boats that come from France. Dover is the closest point across the English Channel from France and the choice spot for the crossing.

As the morning went on, we were informed that the captain had received word that the group of protestors had grown in size and for our own safety, we would not be going ashore and instead would be enjoying an extra day at sea (our second day of cruising was to be at sea). For us it wasn't as much of a disappointment as for others. We have been to Dover and seen the WWII tunnels and other interesting sites.

The captain in his own special good humor said that we would cruise slowly past the major part of the white cliffs and enjoya scenic excursion. Meanwhile, the entertainment staff scurried to organize all sorts of activities and we did enjoy the two days at sea.

Next up: Edinburgh, Scotland

A Walk Through Winchester

 

Finished with the Winchester Cathedral visit just before noon and still feeling full from our big morning breakfast, we decided to go ahead and begin our exploration of the surrounding area. I pulled up the city introduction walk from the GPS My City app and we began.

The King’s Gate was our first stop. It is one of the five main gates of the city and was first mention in documents that date back to 1148.

Next up was the last home where Jane Austen lived. She resided there for six weeks until her passing on July 17, 1817. The home is privately owned and not open to the public but there is a plaque on the outside wall commemorating her.

We walked past Winchester College but passed on the tour which was scheduled for later in the afternoon. Past the college and a bit farther, we found a path that led to the Wolvesey Castle ruins. The Castle was also known as the “Old Bishop’s Palace” and was the official residence of the bishop of Winchester back in 970. The ruins reminded me of another castle in Ireland, one I photographed and used as the cover for Secrets Among The Shamrocks.

Bob was eager to see the Winchester City Mill. We found a pleasant walkway along the Itchen River that led to the site of the mill. The mill sits on a busy street and you have to walk through a gift shop to get inside of it. To his disappointment, Bob found that the mill was no longer working but there were displays to show what it would have looked like when it did. Again there are references to it in cathedral records that indicate it could date back as far as 932.

There were several times that we had walked down High Street which is a very busy shopping area, all pedestrian and with booths set up each day with various crafts, produce, bakery, etc. in addition to the shops that line each side of the way.

On our next stop at the Guildhall we found the doors were locked and we moved on.

The military museum held no interest for us but we truly wanted to see the Great Hall of Winchester Castle, the main attraction being King Arthur’s Round Table. We were able to purchase concession tickets (special pricing for seniors, the perks of getting old) for 8 pounds or $10USD. Inside there was not much to see except kiosks that explained some history and at the end of the Great Hall high above our heads on the wall was the Round Table.

The table is 18 feet in diameter and weighs about 2 tons. It was taken down in in the 1970s to further examine and date it. There are places for twelve legs, thus seating for the legendary 12 knights.

While the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table lives on, the table is actually thought to have been built by Edward I for the grand tournament he held in Winchester in 1290 to celebrate the betrothal of his children. What a way to celebrate an empty nest!

It was tea time when we were finished and we made our way back to The Ivy restaurant for “cream tea”. The tea was refreshing and the scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam—perfect.

While at tea, Bob spotted a sign that said, The Royal Oak, oldest bar in England. Our place for dinner was decided. We dined on mussels, sea bass and sausage in an atmosphere of an old pub with beamed ceilings.

 [Note: My postings will be sporadic as the internet seems to be spotty. We are four days into our cruise as I post this and will try to catch up while it is still good.]

Winchester Cathedral

 Winchester Cathedral dates back to 1079 when William the Conqueror began its construction. It is one of the largest and most hitorical cathedrals in Northern Europe. It's length, 558 feet, makes it the longest medieval Gothic cathedral in the world. It was first on our list to explore.

After a wonderful breakfast at our B&B, The Old Vine, we set out to visit the cathedral. I had already purchased tickets online. The online purchase was interesting. You don't purchase a ticket for one day. Instead, your purchase is for an annual pass. What made it more interesting was that you couldn't move through the purchase process without making a donation. I ended up making a one pound donation for each ticket and was finally able to purchase them. 

Annual passes in hand, we crossed the street (The Old Vine is right there by the cathedral) and followed the walkway through the grounds to the entrance door. Not only is the size of the building impressive from the outside but stepping inside puts you in awe of its immensity. 

Many prominent people, kings and religious leaders (bishops and archbishops) are entombed there, many under the floors of the cathedral. It always makes me a little self-conscious when I have to walk over graves. 

One of the early bishops, St. Swithin, was known to be very humble and insisted on being buried outside the cathedral rather than receiving honors inside. His name has been associated with rain ever since as when the monks moved his remains inside in 971, rain pelted them. 

There are fascinating chapels scattered about. My favorite was the guardian angels chapel with the angels watching over visitors from the ceiling.

As we were walking, the huge organ began to play. The organist was practicing although you'd never guess it was practice. The walls and ceilings reverberated with the music, deep and rich.

Each section of the cathedral represents various stages of construction or reconstruction. It is confusing to try to keep the dates and styles of architecture straight. Someone who paid more attention to their art history class might have done better than I did.

Of course we searched out the grave of Jane Austen. The marker and grave was dedicated by her "afflicted" father, a term I'm sure was a way to describe the deep grief he felt. There was also a large bronze plaque on the wall to commemorate her life.

Whenever we visit a cathedral and the opportunity to go down into the crypt is available Bob can't pass up the opportunity. The only way to see it was to join a tour that occurs three times a day. We were an hour away from the first one so we opted to take a walk around the entire cathedral block. 

There was a beautiful garden area with a water feature and the picture I took shows the cathedral through the trees.

Returning to the inside of the cathedral, we found the crypt entrance and queued with others interested in the tour. It turns out the crypt was not a place of burial but rather a structure that holds up some of the upper portions of the cathedral. 

It holds two wells which are quite potable. The big problem that exists there however is a low water table and while the wells do not cause flooding the water rises through the porous floor of the crypt. It doesn't rise more than a good pair of boots will cover and during a special service in the crypt, the choir had to wear boots with their fine robes.

The day had become sunny and warm and I needed to shed my light hoodie. We returned to the B&B and Bob fetched my water bottle from the room before we would continue our exploration of Winchester. 

Nest up on the agenda was a tour outlined in my GPS My City app. Still not hungry after the large breakfast we had (mine was porridge and fruit and Bob's was an English breakfast, beans and all and we both had delicious sourdough toast) lunch was skipped. I opened my app and we were on our way. The first stop, the cathedral, behind us. 

It's Always An Adventure

 It's been a little over two months since we've done any significant travel. That's a long time for us and we were more than ready to take on our next adventure. Little did we know what an adventurous start it would be.

Our wonderful friends "ubered" us to the airport and sent us off with well wishes for a good trip. We checked our bags and zipped through TSA without any delays. Appreciating our good fortune in such an easy entrance, we decided to stop in at the Pub at CLE for lunch with plenty of time to spare. The Pub looks very British so it was an appropriate start to a trip to the UK.

Boarding our flight to Philedelphia posed no problems and the short flight on the little "puddlejumper" was good. Philly's airport is large and we had to find our way to the international terminal. Luckily it was all well directed with signs and we hopped on a shuttle bus that took us there. With a little time to kill again, we had coffees and debated whether we wanted a light dinner before boarding. Since we had a late lunch, we really weren't hungry and we anticipated a meal, albeit a bit late since our flight was scheduled for takeoff at 6:45. That would turn out to be a mistake.

We enjoyed chatting with a young man on his way back to Ireland where he is originally from and is now doing some impressive study in Dublin, then hustled to our appropriate line to board our large British Airways jet. Boarding was done with ease and we found our seats and settled in.

So far, so good. The plane taxied toward the runway then stopped. Not unusual. Lots of times there's a short delay if there is a lot of traffic. We didn't worry until the announcement came that there was a lot of bad weather passing through the flight path that our plane was to take. So okay, we thought, we wait it out a bit, short delay, and we would be on our way. Nope.

To make a long story-and I do mean long-short, we sat on that tarmac for the full two hours that the regulation allows while our pilot who kept us updated on the half-hour (another regulation) let us know that he was working hard to get us another flight path since ours was now closed. Back and forth with all the powers that control such and he sounded a bit exasperated at times but still kept a slightly humorous tone or light tone. Hands were tied. Meanwhile we watched quite a lightening display as the storms moved through.

After two hours, we taxied to another gate where any passengers who desired to disembark were allowed to do so. Now we were approaching well over three hours as the few who disembarked needed to have their luggage retrieved from the cargo hold. It took a good half hour for ground crew to find it all. We sat at the gate for a time and finally received the news that we could at least pull back from the gate and once on the tarmac again, fingers crossed, get the okay for the new flight path.

The Ivy restaurant

A rousing cheer went up with applause when the pilot announced we were on our way and began the approach to the runway. Another cheer and applause when wheels lifted off the ground five hours after we had been originally scheduled. Meanwhile, in the plane's little kitchen, the dinner food had been ruined by waiting in the warmers too long. Instead, we got to eat the planned breakfast snack which was a warm rolled up breakfast sandwich. I thought of those granola bars I had been tempted to pack and decided not to. I won't do that again. Lesson learned.

So, all in all, we could have flown most of the way to Japan in the twelve hours we sat on the plane--only six of which were actual flight time thanks to a tail wind.

We did breeze through immigration, retrieved the luggage, had time for a light breakfast which was really more a brunch and waited for the next National Express bus to Winchester. We couldn't transfer our original ticket purchase to the later bus but the gentleman in customer service said we might get the money back from the airline because of the delay. Bob will work on that.

An hour ride to Winchester, a short local bus ride and a seven minute walk in a misty rain and we finally arrived at our B&B, The Old Vine. The rooms are over a pub and the bathroom has two packages of ear plugs should the noise get too loud for us. It is definitely a lovely quaint establishment and room. We crashed for a short time but then needed to find some dinner. 

While the pub below offers food, we found an interesting place called The Ivy nearby and decided on that. So glad we did. Wonderful shephard's pie and pasta with a creamy tomato sauce. After such a long day and a half, we treated ourselves to dessert as well. It will be an early night between jet lag and not much sleep on the plane but we are looking forward to a better day tomorrow exploring the town and the cathedral, the Winchester Cathedral. (Okay all you 60s teenagers, don't tell me that song isn't playing in your head now.)

Exploring Nevis, BIrthplace of Hamilton

 Celebrity Cruise Lines holds a special place in our hearts since it was the cruise line we used for our very first cruise on the Horizon in 1993. As I stated in my prvious post, we had been to all of the three ports on this short seven day cruise aboard the Celebrity Beyond. 

After the Dominican Republic with its "built for cruise ships" port at Peurto Plata and our ship excursion to St. John from St. Thomas (actually a very fancy ferry ride), we were ready for something new. We've done all the St. Kitts exploring which is nice if you haven't been there several times so we opted to go over the the neighboring island of Nevis.

This was an independent excursion meaning we had researched the ferry options and prices and what we could see in Nevis. I had found the points of interest within walking distance of the ferry terminal and mapped it out enough that we could find our way.

Often the best laid plans are something you have to adjust when the reality of the situation hits. St. Kitts cruise port is still under construction and it's a long walk from the ship to where you enter the port and of course, the shopping area. The ferry that I had found on my map turned out to only be for cars. So, we asked and found we had a bit of a walk to get to the passenger ferry.

It was at least another ten minute walk that felt like a half hour since the day was heating up along with the rising humidity. We finally found the right place and bought our tickets. When I researched, it had said we needed to pay in cash but when we got there it seemed you could have gone online to purchase. Oh well, cash worked just fine.

We sat in the cool waiting room for the next ferry run which was about a half hour's time. As we sat, I watched lots of boxes of supplies being loaded onto a small boat at the dock. When I noticed the name on the side, I wondered if that was more of a water taxi and when the actual ferry would dock. It wasn't long before we discovered that it was the ferry.

Cargo had to be moved in order to accommodate a full load of passengers and I believe one lady was left behind to wait for the next ferry. With the cargo all piled up behind Bob who sat in the last seat, I hoped it would be a smooth ride. Luckily one of the crew sat with the boxes to be sure they didn't fall.

The ride was about a half hour to forty minutes but we could get a nice view of a finger of St. Kitts that extended toward Nevis before we hit a short span of open water. Once at the dock in Nevis we quickly exited and found our way to the main street. First on the list was to visit the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, born January 11. 1755 on the island of Nevis.

Slave chains from a ship.

Until I researched the trip, I had no idea he came from Nevis. The walk was short although a little harrowing on a narrow street that suddenly had no sidewalk. We found the house and the museum easily enough and paid the ten dollar fee for each of us. The museum was very small but very interesting with artifacts from the very early days when slavery was a big business. 

Across from the museum was the small white house where the Hamiltons lived. It was filled with more information about Alexander Hamilton and how he got to become one of the founding fathers and the first treasurer of our country. He also founded the Coast Guard among several other important achievements. We learned many facts we either hadn't in our US history class or had forgotten since high school was at least sixty years ago.

Bob found a map of other interesting sites on the island and the town of Charleston. Most of the sites were old churches built by slave labor. We walked by a few (none were open doored) and decided that maybe it was time to return to the ship. In the Caribbean time is not always important and when you're not on a ship's excursion the ship doesn't wait for you. We were taking no chances that the ferry schedule would be crazy and we wouldn't make it back with time to spare. Besides, the temperature had climbed with the humidity and we were both done in.

The ferry ride back was much less crowded and our walk back to the ship a little shorter when we found a parking lot to cut through. Another successful adventure with our return to the ship in plenty of time to shower and relax a bit before dinner.