ST GEORGE'S GRENADA BOXING DAY DEC 26 2012

Wed DECEMBER 26, 2012 - BOXING DAY IN GRENADA, CARIBBEAN
arrival 8am all aboard 945pm

When we looked out of our porthole shortly after 6am, all we could see was the concrete wall of the pier -looks like we were docked!   After checking the news (several channels available depending on the satellite including BBC, MSNBC) we had a leisurely stroll up for breakfast arriving to blue skies and sunshine just as a passing shower passed by!  We wiped off the seats while PUTU wiped off the glass topped tables with a squeegee, and positioned our chairs to keep the sun out of our eyes while we ate breakfast enjoying the views of the hills of St George's Grenada all around us.

After breakfast we sat at the back of the ship at a table bringing the last of the blog up to date so that we could use the WIFI in St George's.  In this area at the back of the Wind Spirit starboard side is the only place where the passengers are allowed to smoke.  I was surprised at how many folks came for their morning fag - and amongst these several young folks.  Being a Christmas Cruise there are many multi generation families on board - Grandparents, children and grandchildren.  The youngest grandchildren are in their late teens or early 20's and there must be at least a dozen amongst the families.  The majority of the passengers are from USA and Canada, with much smaller numbers from UK and Switzerland.

Anyway - we are docked at the old main pier (not the new cruise ship terminal) where we first docked in January 1998 with Mom and Dad - we were here for their 50th wedding Anniversary.  Docked behind us is the Voyager from the Voyages of Discovery cruise line.  We hear there are more cruise ships docked at the main cruise ship pier on the other side of the harbour.  We are now about to head out and explore!!!

We walked around the old Harbour (saying No to all the taxi drivers - no problem they were just  looking for a fare, not aggressive) and took photos of St Georges- it is a really pretty half moon shaped harbour, with lots of colourful buildings around the harbour and going up the steep hills behind the harbour.  St Georges has quite a history from invasion to a devastating hurricane in 2004.  Columbus "discovered" Grenada back in 1492 on his 3rd voyage but the indigenous Carib Indians were most unfriendly so it was not colonized until 1650 when the French founded St George's.  Then the island went backwards and forwards between the British and French until Grenada became a British Colony in 1783 and remained so until independence in 1974.  There was turmoil in 1983 when it was invaded by the USA due to what appeared to be a communist takeover in Grenada backed by Cuba.  This was an overnight invasion, over as quickly as it started, and that was the end of the Cuba communism supported threat in Grenada - now it continues as a beautiful, if small, 21 miles by 13 miles island (population 110,000)  known as the Spice Island - the biggest nutmeg producer in the world and also a myriad of additional spices including cloves, cocoa, ginger, vanilla and every fruit you could think of.

Touring the island is not fast due to the mountains and narrow winding roads.  Grenada is situated in the Southern Caribbean about 100 miles north of Venezuela and seldom sees hurricanes, but in 2004 Hurricane Ivan devastated St George's which is home to about one third of the population, 35,000, and destroyed almost 90% of the buildings which are slowly recovering but it has been a long slow process.

The harbour entrance was protected since the 1700's by two forts and we had visited the larger Fort George on a previous visit - located high up with wonderful views.  Due to the long way around from the old harbour to the newer harbour (where the cruise ship pier is located) a tunnel was dug through the mountain making this a pleasant walk.  Essentially nothing was open in the Old Harbour and the only stores open on the other side of the tunnel were the stores in the cruise ship pier - there were a couple of large cruise ships visiting (a big Celebrity ship and the Silversea Silver Spirit).  Given that it was Boxing Day it's amazing that any stores were open!  We also found free WIFI outside the LIME communications centre and managed to sendoff a couple of quick emails and update our blog.

Wandering back through the tunnel we headed for BB Crabcake, a small local restaurant on the waterfront that came highly recommended.  We were looking for a cold Caribe beer and our timing was perfect.  We had no sooner had the ice cold draft Caribe $8 US for two half pints) than the rain started and it was a tropical downpour - very heavy and quite short, just long enough to enjoy our beer while we watched every table in the restaurant moved inside and wiped down while everyone waited to sit down again!  Then we wandered back around the harbour which looked freshly painted with vibrant colours after being washed down by the rain.  All the local fishermen were back in port for the Holiday Season and we enjoyed a conversation with 3 locals, including Captain Willy and a young Rastafarian,  eating lunch on the deck of their boat which had seen many years of service.  Captain Willy told us they go out for two weeks at a time fishing then return to St George's to sell their catch: red snapper, tuna, mahi mahi.

Back at the Wind Spirit we ate a light lunch and enjoyed a lazy afternoon looking forward to the BBQ on deck that night.  The BBQ was excellent, especially for me the crab salad in avocado and the grilled lobster - I had seconds that lobster was cooked to perfection!  Just as enjoyable was the Angels Harps steel band (known as the best in Grenada) who came on board and played for over two hours - just great music and smooth - wonderful music! They headed off around 930pm and then it was line dancing!  The Wind Spirit does this perfectly - a good number of staff members have learned the routines - so they all get up and start dancing - this encourages the guests to  get up and join in since there is already a good crowd on deck!   Everyone had lots of fun and after several tunes there was a long conga line around the deck.  Then the anchor was raised, the Wind Spirit turned towards the harbour entrance, and the sails were being raised as we slipped away.  Vangelis 1492 was on the speakers as we sailed away from St George's, Grenada and before long the twinkling lights were fading away on the horizon and all we could hear was the wind in the sails on the Wind Spirit.  The full moon was out too with clear skies and all the ships flags over the deck.  The best relaxation anyone could wish for before retiring to the gentle rolling of the ship on the swells of the Caribbean Sea.

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TOBAGO CAYS CHRISTMAS DAY DEC 25 2012

DECEMBER 25, 2012 CHRISTMAS in the CARIBBEAN
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Maligayang Pasko Tagalog (Philippines)
Selama Hari Natal - Indonesian
Well here we are - Christmas in the Caribbean, it's 7am and we're pulling into the Tobago Cays - the beautiful sand spits completely uninhabited. In fact out of our porthole we can see Petit Tabac - the island where the deserted island scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was filmed with Johnny Depp!! After a Merry Christmas we find our way up to the Veranda for breakfast midships outdoors on deck 4. We have fresh tropical fruits with muesli and crispy warm pastries for breakfast then head down to the lounge where we have a 9am departure for snorkelling the Tobago Cays at the 4km Horseshoe Reef and our second stop is snorkelling with the turtles on Christmas Day - how wonderful is that!??

The Tobago Cays are an archipelago of 5 uninhabited Islands - Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tabac and Jamesby. They are the key element in a 1400 acre sand bottom lagoon Tobago Cays Marine Park run by the St Vincent and Grenadines Government. They are surrounded by 3 larger inhabited islands of Union Island, Mayreau and Canouan. Mayreau and the Tobago Cays were privately owned from the 16th century until April 1999 when, after long negotiations, the Tobago Cays were purchased by the State of St Vincent & the Grenadines but Mayreau remained in private hands.

We have to choose a breakfast table outside in the shade - much too hot in the sun even though the tables are all under canvas sails. Putu and Ati wish us "Selamat Hari Natal" Merry Christmas from our Indonesian and Bali crew, and "Maligayang Pasko" in Tagalog from our Philippino crew. The latte coffee and iced water are needed to hydrate us for the day ahead in the water, on the beach and in the sun.

At 9 am we are called and boarded onto the zodiacs 10 passengers at a time - are we still in Borneo or are we now in the Caribbean? The seas are quite bouncy and there are massive black clouds on the horizon, but we are soon helped on board the large Wind and Sky catamaran with Kendrick and Michelle and Captain ? looking after us. We sail first to Horseshoe Reef - the wind is quite strong but snorkelling to the reef is no problem and as part of the marine park here we really enjoy the wide variety of fish: stop light parrot fish, blue tang, damsels. trunk fish, pipe fish, lots of soft and hard corals, sergeant majors. file fish, star fish, and a fish cleaning station, - we really enjoyed ourselves although the surface was bouncy and a little too much for some passengers not used to snorkelling.

Back on board we cruised just around the corner from Horseshoe Reef to a spit of sand which is the Baradal Turtle Sanctuary where many green and hawksbill turtles can be seen and where there were lots of anchored private and charter sailboats close by - all visiting for Christmas - and this is where the turtles lay their eggs and feed on the sea grass - we must have seen 7 turtles in the 10 minutes before we jumped in the water to snorkel - all swimming just under the surface, or down 10 feet to feed on the grass, and then popping to the surface to breathe. When we jumped in to snorkel we saw more turtles than we have ever seen before - at one point had 4 turtles in a 10 square foot area underneath me, Terry had 2 turtles swimming the opposite direction. It was superb even though the sea was choppy the visibility was endless!

Those who couldn't swim so well had been pushed by the current to the sandy beach where the zodiac picked them up and brought them back to the catamaran - on and off the catamaran into the aquamarine water was easy - down the steps between the two front pontoons or off one of the two steps at the back of the two pontoons. Some folks came along for the ride and really enjoyed themselves to say nothing of the (very potent) rum punch after everyone had finished snorkelling! Actually I really can't say that nobody got wet! The clouds that had been resting on the horizon moved towards us and started to welcome us to Christmas Day with very wet drops! We got soaked after we came in from viewing the turtles and dried off! Not to worry - the Captain played and sang Christmas songs, crew member Michelle and Kendrick poured the rum punch and we had fun! We had taken along our two red Santa hats with animal fur trim and everyone took photos to remember Christmas Day in the Caribbean when they went home.

We sailed past the beach where you could spend the day(watersports, paddleboards, kayaking) - everyone off the Wind Spirit looked as though they were having fun in spite of the rain! We soon managed to transfer from the Wind and Sea catamaran to the zodiacs from the Wind Spirit and get on board. After warm showers and drying off we were soon in the Veranda eating lunch - as always a significant variety including Caribbean crepes, chicken burgers, and salmon wellington and as always a lovely fresh salad with lots of fixings. Putu and Ati, two of our crewmen from Bali and Jakarta, were taking good care of us.

The skies looked as though they were getting brighter so I suggested to Terry that we take the zodiac back over to the beach on one of the uninhabited cays - so we grabbed our gear and off we went with Gibson driving the zodiac and just Terry and I as passengers wearing our mandatory life jackets. It was a wet landing on the beach and the Wind Spirit table set up with cold refreshments. Just at that point the winds started to pick up and within one minute we were in the middle of what appeared to be hurricane winds! The rain poured so hard that we couldn't even see the Wind Spirit which was only a couple hundred yards from the shore!

We chatted with Wilma from Union Island who was set up with her table selling tshirts, sarongs, shell jewellery and two chaps with her selling fresh BBA lobster. Wilma had 8 boys (and gave up trying to get a daughter at that point!) all of whom live elsewhere than Union Island which has approximately 5,000 population. They come by small boat to this deserted beach (about 20 minutes from Union Island) since this is where all the sail boats are anchored - a beautiful location, but today everyone was on their sail boat and hiding from the rain so no sales of clothing or lobster - what a disappointing way to spend Christmas Day for these hard working folks.

The rain and winds (think tropical downpour or hurricane )started to let up after about 30 minutes so we decided to head back to the Wind Spirit and take advantage of the break in the weather!

Back on board we dried ourselves off again and put on dry clothes before spending the afternoon listening to Christmas Carols and relaxing with a good book! The skies started clearing and we pulled away a little early at 4:30pm, when everyone was back on board, listening to Van Gelis 1942 as we headed to Grenada where we would dock around 10pm and get a very good night's sleep!

But first we went to the "REPEATERS" cocktail party in the lounge at 5:30pm until 6:15 and enjoyed champagne and wine plus very nice appetizers - tempura asparagus, spicy meat balls, crackers with salmon mousse, or cucumber and proscutio, tint wraps with cream cheese - very delightful. We met Pat and Stephen from Arizona, and Darlene and Harry from Rochester, New York - and we all chatted non stop until dinner at 7pm. Gonzalo (Destination Manager) and Jason (hotel Manager) welcomed us all and we even had carols sung to us by the ship's Doctor from the Philippines.

At dinner we were seated by Karma the Maitre'D and joined by Harry and Darlene where our conversation and philosophies continued unabated until bed time. A traditional turkey dinner was offered (Terry said it was delicious) but I opted for the ahi tuna and fingerling potatoes - cooked to perfection! The Christmas Pudding for dessert was a little dry and not enough brandy sauce for my liking although it was beautifully presented!




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PIGEON ISLAND ST LUCIA CHRISTMAS EVE DEC 24 2012

DEC 24, 2012 PIGEON ISLAND, ST LUCIA
CHRISTMAS EVE - HOW MARVELLOUS!

We looked out the port hole and saw Pigeon Island and the Fort on top! It's about 3 years since we climbed to the Fort on top - quite steep but so hot! Today we would be quite happy to just look up! Sandals Grand Antigua is along the beach here, very noticable with all the red roofs and suncots and cabanas along the beach. Wind Spirit would be running tenders between the island and the ship and had an arrangement for sun cots on the beach for anyone wishing to swim, snorkel or just hang out.

There are several tours available today, zip line, dive, snorkel, sight seeing and visit the town of Castries, or island sight see and visit the town of Souffriere. Since we have been here twice before we decided to have a quiet day and make it as far as the dock! We had a slow breakfast chatting with Putu and Ari - 2 very enjoyable crew members from Bali. They give such great service - as soon as you sit down at the Veranda they arrive with coffee for Terry, and latte for me. There is a wide variety of hot items to order, eggs any way, California, Spanish, or traditional eggs benedict amongst the list! My favourite item is the fresh muesli with fruit, sometimes followed by a piece of toast, english muffin, or Danish pastry (Terry is exercising massive control this time and restraining himself to only 1 or 2 pastries!)

We took the tender over to the island and sat at the small restaurant close by along the water where we had been told they had free internet if you bought a drink - so with cold beer local PITON beer and a diet coke, we spent over an hour sending and retrieving emails - while watching the sailboats pass by, the clouds coming and going, and relaxing in the sun. The restaurant, called Jambe de Bois (wooden leg or Peg Leg) named after a 16th Century Pirate who visited these shores. The WIFI connection was excellent and we saw several Wind Spirit crew members enjoying lunch and skyping on their phones with their families in Bali and Philippines - it was already Christmas Day in Asia and you could tell that the conversations were happy, but that the crew were wishing to be home with their families for Christmas.

Jambe de Bois had a pretty large menu and the smells from the kitchen were mouth watering. There is an outdoors deck, where we sat, with a variety of old wooden tables, chairs and benches - all with very unique characteristics and some of the furniture made from wood washed up on shore. It reminded us of Bankie Banks bar in Anguilla although that bar and restaurant sprawls much more than Jambe de Bois. We thought about a swim, but the last tender was leaving the dock at 2:45 for a scenic cruise along the Western Coast of St Lucia finishing with a scenic cruise past the Pitons around sunset. We decided to head back to the Wind Spirit. Sitting in a very old and faded yellow plastic kayak was a rastafarian with his arm hanging on to the dock - sitting on the dock he had about a dozen turtles made of shells for sale. We chatted with him - his children are in Canada and will be arriving today for Christmas. They have been granted the opportunity to finish their two final years of schooling in Canada and he is obviously very proud of them.
Pigeon Island used to be a small island just off the island of St Lucia. Several years ago they built a causeway (land fill) so that Pigeon Island is now connected, and part of, St Lucia but it has still retained its' name of Pigeon island. The Fort on Pigeon Island has a history of its' own.

We raised anchor and set off as promised - all 5 sails were raised and Wind Spirit looked beautiful as we sailed along the coast with the engines off. We arrived at the Pitons around 5pm and anchored - we could see all the cameras flashing in the various resorts and hotels up and down the very steep mountains here that drop, like all fjords, thousands of feet into the ocean - what a beautiful photo opportunity they had with the beautiful 5 white sails of the Wind Spirit set against the two pointed PITONS mountains and the sun setting behind us on the horizon.

Meanwhile we waited for the 20 folks on the Souffriere and Pitons Tour to arrive and come aboard by tender. They were obviously late arriving since it was pitch black when we went inside to get showered and changed for dinner and they still had not arrived. Folks on the morning sightseeing tour to Castries had arrived back just before 1pm, very late, and they said the traffic in Castries was a nightmare - gridlock - and that was how we remembered the traffic in St Lucia. When we had stayed at Sandals Grand St Lucia several years before - the resort would provide a shuttle to take you to the other two Sandals properties in St Lucia - the Sandals Halycon and Sandals? Golf Resort. Each time we took the shuttle we always seemed to spend for ever in the bus held up in traffic - and you could be sure that with today being Christmas Eve, last day of shopping for the locals and visitors alike, that the traffic would be worse than ever.

Dinner tonight was Terry's favourite - Beef Wellington - although he has not found any restaurant yet as good as the beef Wellington we used to have at Oliver's in Calgary 20+ years ago! Terry looked forward to dinner all day - the menu is posted every morning in the very centre of the ship by the shore excursion/pursers' office. We had a quiet table for 2 and dinner was excellent - we enjoyed a bottle of Rutherfords Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma California - very smooth and recommended by Cesar the sommelier on board. Tomorrow is snorkelling in the Tobago Cayes - time to get some rest and be ready for the day ahead!

BEQUIA DEC 23,2012

SUNDAY DEC 23, 2012 BEQUIA, GRENADINES CONTINUED

We continued walking around the harbour stopping to talk to another charismatic Rastafarian with very long rasta locks wound in massive loops on top of his head. He was sitting in the front yard of his brothers house, which was covered in a myriad of comments all painted on the walls. This chap spoke to us of how disappointed he was in today's population on Bequia - how when he was a kid every family used to grow their own crops in the yard and the ground was covered in grass in crops and today everything is barren - which was also the state of the fenced garden he was sitting in! I have to admit that between the strong Caribbean accents and the discussion topics I couldn't easily follow what each Rastafarian was telling me, other than the Rasta religion is significant and very precious to them.

Eventually, almost 5 hours later, we caught the tender back to the ship - at the dock Wind Spirit had set up a water station under a sun umbrella which also had very tasty freshly made tiny shortbread cookies - there was a also a starving little dog sitting there who loved the shortbread cookies that I gave him! Considering how thin and hungry he was, he amazed me by taking each cookie so gently from me.

Back at the Wind Spirit it was a quick 5 minute change into swimsuits then back on to the zodiac departing for St Margaret's beach, a couple of miles around the coast from the harbour. A long golden sandy beach with beach hollows scooped out , obviously from where the waves had pounded onto the beach when the water was rough. Today the ocean had good swells which just made for fun floating up and down in the water and laughs as we entered and exited the water, perhaps not quite as elegantly as we would have liked should anyone have been taking photos at the time! There was a restaurant at the dock where we landed at St Margaret - Jack's - which looked very nicely done, and again it was frequented by the sailors anchored in the harbour with lots of small rubber tenders tied up there. It cost 2 EC for a Jack's customer to lie in a sun cot, or 15EC for a non Jack's customer to lie in one of Jack's suncots on the beach. There 3 or 4 locals also renting a few sun cots and selling miscellaneous beach items - noone actively or aggressively approaching the beach goers, just passively sitting by their goods ready to sell to anyone interested in buying them.

The last tender was at 4:45 back to the Wind Spirit and we were soon showered and changed for the sail away from Port Elizabeth, Bequia to the strains of Van Gelis 1942.

Wind Spirit at Pigeon Island St Lucia Christmas Eve

Merry christmas Eve 2012 from St Lucia

DEC 22, 2012 BARBADOS & EMBARKING THE WIND SPIRIT IN BARBADOS

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!