Dec 22, 2012 DEPART BARBADOS & EMBARK THE WIND SPIRIT
THe morning was quite cloudy and so watched the sun rise making its' way up behind some very large clouds on the horizon. After morning coffee on the deck we closed the bags and checked out downstairs, leaving our bags with the bellman for pickup later - checkin on board the Wind Spirit was not until 3pm.
Off we went in our half a car (KIA) with towels for the beach. The Hilton is very close to the main town of Bridgetown (yes, I am pretty sure that the town got its' name from the bridge that connects the two side of the town over the river), then about 1 mile further on is theexit to the cruise ship pier first passing the Pelican Arts & Craft Centre - built for the convenience of the cruise ship passengers. We continued on around the island up the West Coast (our favourite side of the island with beautiful white sandy beaches, some coral for snorkelling and one area where) there are lots of turtles. Also on the West are many exclusive homes and resorts including the Fairmont, Sand Bay Golf Resort and close to town a building site with "future site of the Four Seasons resort" but that has been there for as long as we can remember!
In Barbados due to the British influence, you drive on the left side of the road, and at all the major intersections there are roundabouts, all named after some prominent politician or local character in Barbados. There is now a wide and fast highway that runs pretty much through the centre of Barbados to help you get North to South and East to West on the island but we enjoy taking the old road that runs around the island. There are lots of buses you can take very reasonably that say B'TOWN as they head into Bridgetown, or on the West side of the island, SP'TOWN as they head out of town towards Speightstown.
Our first stop was at The ROTI hut for our lunch - we pulled up in shock. The doors to the tiny bright pink building on the corner of the street was closed, and there were 4 men busy painting the larger building next door in fluorescent orange with white trim on the windows and steps. "what are you looking for" said one of the painters, when we answeed "The ROTI shack" he siad, oh no problem it's still here - it had moved into the orange building since we were here last and was just getting a new coat of paint so there were no signs today! We went inside and it is a huge improvement - they now have tables and chairs inside, and a br with high stools - very nicey done! So we sat and enjoyed our curried chicken and potato roti (wrapped in an envelope of flat dough) with a Banks' beer and diet coke - all for $34 Barbados dollars ($17 USD).
Then we continued North to Mullins Bay - a beach we have always been fond of. We were surprised to see that the beach was quite steep today and much narrower than our previous trips, due to the water and ind conditions. In fact even while wewere there you really had to time your entry and exit from the water and miss that 7th and 8th wave unless you wanted to go for a submersed entry or exit! One couple on the beach were lying contentedly on their towels when one huge wave came racing up the beach and practically floated them out to sea - he spent the next 30 minutes walking up and down the beach trying to dry out his shorts (he was NT wearing a swimsuit!)
All too soon it was time to head back to pick up our bags from the Hilton, we stopped at the CHATTEL HOUSES along the road - 10 brightly painted houses, each constrcted the way the original Barbados homes used to be, all wooden and each in a different colour - these are a shopping centre selling made in Barbados goods as well as designer clothing and shoes. Barbados probably has some of the nicest and most unique times for sale anywhere in the Caribbean. There is still a huge British influence here with lots of businesses and homes owned by British folks. We also heard far more German spoken here than we have before, and there has always been a large number of Canadians and US citizens taking vacations here as well.
We soon had our bags in our half a car and were back to the cruise ship pier, dropping off the car right at the pier and dropping our keys into the highly secure wooden hole in the door in the Stoutes wooden shack that said "Key Drop Here"! The it was a 2 minute checkin at the Wind Spirit table, our bags were taken away to be delivered to the ship, and we were driven the hundred yards and on to the ship we went - walking past the huge long line of hundreds of folks waiting to board the Celebrity Eclipse also in harbour that day. We were handed a welcome rum punch, had our photos taken and Wind Spirit cards issued and it was time for a quick bite before the Verandah restaurant shut at 4pm. With only 146 passengers max on the ship there were no lines anywhere.
At 615pm we had the mandatory emergency drill, followed by a wonderful dinner in the AmphorA lounge - portobello mushroom with cheese, pear with goat cheese salad, chicken calypso (Terry had sea bass) followed by chocolate cake with coconut - an excellent dinner. Monty from Denver and Matt from Zurich Switzerland shared our table and we had really interesting evening - in fact we sat there for 3 hours and were the last folks out of the dining room - so you know that we didn't make it to the small casino on board (poker and blackjack tables as well as a few slot machines) or to the lounge to listen to, or sing along with, John the piano player from New York.
For those of you who know how much I have always loved the blue glass dishes and glassware on the Wind Star cruise line, they have now all been changed. The glassware is now clear and the glass charger plates with wavy edges are a beautiful black and gold - truly beautiful and would fit with my African theme at home, but I have to say that I still prefer the previous aqua coloured charger plates - too bad - they are gone! In fact this cruise is the very first cruise for the Wind Spirit after its' refit and upgrade. The cabins are beautiful - new linens with thick fluffy towels, and pure white cotton sheets and pillowcases all edged in navy trim - very nautical and fresh looking.
There are 4 decks on the Wind Spirit - decks 1 and 2 are the staterooms, deck 3 the main floor for the casino, library,large main lounge with very comfortable seating and large enough for everyone - one decorated Christmas tree the only nod to this being a Christmas sailing , main entrance, AmphorA restaurant. The 4th deck is all outside with the Verandah indoor and outdoor restaurant (almost everyone prefers to be outdoors although inside is beautifully done), the sun deck, the tiny swimming pool (good for dunking but one length would be you touching one end with your toes and the other end with your finger tips - this could be a slight exaggeration!). We really like the ship - the public areas are beautifully done and it feels quite spacious. The 5th deck is a small deck at the aft of the ship, overlooking the sun and pool area, with two large wooden ships' wheels and room for a dozen sun cots. This is where we you can watch the sails being hoisted when we leave port.
The Wind Spirit can motor at 11 knots per hour, but with all the sails up it can sail at over 15 knots per hour! These ships boast to sailing at least 70% of the time with the sails up and as often as they can with no motor. The Wind Star cruise line works extremely hard to be as eco friendly as they can be and sailing with the wind is very eco friendly and what the passengers are looking for. There are for ?feet tall masts and massive sails on this ship. There is no pulling sheets (ropes) to hoist the sails - it is all done by technology at the bridge and so exciting to see. All 3 of the Wind Star ships (the Spirit and Star at 146 passengers each, and the Surf at 300 passengers) are elegant to see and look impossibly beautiful when all the sails are up. It does not lie on its' side like a regular sail boat but the sails are adjusted as need be to take advantage of the wind but to keep the ship upright with a small side to side as it slices through the waves.
Tonight we left Barbados at 9:30pm (scheduled to leave at 10pm)- giving everyone chance to arrive in Barbados from their various flights in Europe and North America. The lights of Barbados were fading quickly as we headed West towards the Grenadine Islands - tiny little islands in the country of St Vincent & the Grenadines. We were last here on the Wind Surf in December 2010 and I suspect not much has changed in the last 2 years!
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