Cruise Day #4 — Tortola, BVI

Paul — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:18:54 +0000

After yet again a moderately rolling night, we awoke to partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures. We opted to skip breakfast and instead headed down to the Java Cafe for a couple of mochas, which we consumed out on the balcony while feeding Emerson al fresco. We enjoyed the sights of sailing through the Virgin Islands, both US and British, before arriving at Road Town on Tortola in the BVI. On the way in we listened to a lot of Jimmy Buffet music played by the meathead… err parrothead, sorry, Freudian slip… in the next cabin, who insisted on accompanying (out of tune) Mr. Buffet in his vocals while excitedly pointing out islands (which he often misidentified) to his family.

We docked around 9:30 and went ashore a little while later, having waited for the initial surge of exiting passengers to clear and thereby making the wheelchair (for Pop) and stroller (for Emerson) navigation easier. We spent the next couple of hours exploring Road Town w/ me pushing around Pop, while L and Mom tended to Emerson. We walked along the waterfront and also visited a few shops, notably Pusser’s of Royal Navy fame (we bought a bottle of rum and a tin cup commemorating Admiral Lord Nelson’s Victory at Trafalgar).

Overall, things went well — nobody was lost, injured, or overheated. We did learn a few valuable lessons about navigating successfully with a baby in a warm weather location. I think of this trip a bit like a set of training wheels for our future sojourns.

We were back on the ship by early afternoon (just in time, as it had started to rain) and enjoyed the rest of a relaxing day aboard ship. For dinner, went to the Venetian main dining room, which was pretty good (especially my arugula, fennel, and roasted pumpkin salad, as well as Libby’s chicken tikka). For dessert, I went up to the Garden Cafe for a made-to-order pineapple crepe (one of the best culinary features of NCL). Yum!

Country count: now 31!

Here’s a photo from my iPhone of the harbor at Tortola:

Packed, Ready, and in Need of a Sherpa

Paul — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:19:36 +0000

Tomorrow morning we head down to Miami for our 9 day cruise aboard the Norwegian Dawn.

Here’s a map of the planned itinerary:

NCL Dawn 9 Day Southern Caribbean

We’re (finally!) packed and ready to go. As regular readers will know, Libby and I pack light. Very light.

Our new world traveler, Emerson: not so much on the light packing!

1 baby = five (FIVE!) pieces of luggage and related gear
2 parents = one mid-size suitcase (also crammed with baby gear) and a small backpack for camera/electronics

Wow. We had a baby, but now I need a sherpa!

Paul & Libby's World of Travel » British Virgin Islands

Cruise Day #4 — Tortola, BVI

Packed, Ready, and in Need of a Sherpa