November 14, 2024
We arrived in Barbados this morning!
For the next several week we will be crawling through the Caribbean. Below is map and list of Islands & Ports where will dock. Most islands have a 2 day stay - some longer and today and tomorrow just one. Unfortunately, we are hearing reports of island flooding in Grenada - they got hit pretty bad with storms. Today off for a stroll in town before hitting the beach!
Last night we had a welcome to Caribbean party on pool deck - was supposed to come as a pirate or in island wear.
Another great day exploring the South Pacific ! Today as soon as our ship docked in Honiara , and we were cleared by customs, I was off with 9 other residents, to get in 2 small speed boats and head out to Simon's Nature Reserve in the Solomon Islands . It was about an hour long ride across the Iron Bottom Sound but so worth it to experience this special place!
Fun fact - Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the World! It is estimated that there are at least 826 Papuan languages. Some are spoken by just a handful of people, while others by 100,000. (Thanks - Basia & Wikipedia for sharing this information).
Tully is a small sugar mill town about 2 hours south of Cairns and we traveled here with a group of about 20 other residents to go white water rafting in the Tully River at the Gorge in the National Park. It is the beginning of the wet season and the river was running at a high level, so the rapids were class 4 out of 5. We had some trepidation, but were excited for the adventure! OMG so much FUN!!