Squeekie on our Verandah, working on her tan and her sudoku puzzle.
Squeekie watches as Rotterdam closes in to Trinidad; it is just after sunrise.
The Trinidad & Tobago ferry zooms by Rotterdam as we approach Port of Spain.
Rotterdam pulls close to the pier in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Captain Olav inspects his ship after docking.
The steel drum band on the pier was prepared for the rain storm which soon arrived.
The former railway station in Port of Spain is now a bus terminal.
Our tour bus arrives at the House of Angostura.
This is part of the bottling works at Angostura.
The House of Angostura makes rum as well as bitters.
Through this door we got to see the room where the bitters recipe is made.
I took this picture of the secret blending room, but it didn’t turn out very well.
This letter signed by Simon Bolivar is part of the museum collection at Angostura.
More of the Angostura museum displays . . .
. . . and a very old bottle label.
There were a number of originals of the famous cartoons done by British artist Malone.
Then we got to taste some of Angostura’s products.
Moss liked his Angostura Bitters and water!
On the way back to the ship, we saw much abandoned junk in the harbour waters . . .
. . . like this ship which just looked sunk and abandoned . . .
. . . and this completely trashed wreck.
The crew painted Rotterdam’s hull at the dock in Port of Spain . . .
. . . while Squeekie watched the painting.
We posed for pictures on Deck Six Forward with Port of Spain in the background . . .
. . . and the busy harbour ahead of us
We watched from our verandah as Captain Olav carefully maneuvered our great ship away from the dock . . .
. . . and away from Port of Spain and Trinidad.
Squeekie posed by the Barbadian welcome sign in the port area.
Then we boarded a catamaran to take us up to where sea turtles could be found.
Our cruise north from Bridgetown allowed us to see the lovely sea front of Barbados.
Squeek and Moss on board the catamaran.
“Snorkeler Squeek” in the water; there’s a turtle just ahead of her (to the right).
“Snorkeler Squeek” searches for turtles and other sea life.
A sea turtle come up for air.
A close-up of that turtle.
Squeek took this picture of a sea turtle with her underwater film camera . . .
. . . and this one, too.
I took this picture of Squeekie happy to have seen the “honus” of Barbados.
Squeekie back aboard the catamaran with our friend Elaine.
Now we are on the beach, enjoying sea and sand.
Squeekie (in the middle), with Moss ahead of her, ride aboard the Banana Boat.
Now Squeekie is aboard the “Great Big Brawler,” waiting to skim over the waves at speed . . .
. . . and everyone on the beach could hear her laughs of excitement!
Both Moss and Squeek were very happy on the way back to Bridgetown.
When we arrived back at the pier in Bridgetown, crews were still painting the Rotterdam (see the lift crane at right).
Our drive through Bridgetown took us past the statue of Lord Nelson in National Heroes Square . . .
. . . and past the Parliament Building.
Before long we were at the Banks Brewery, a Barbados landmark.
Inside, we saw the old brew room, where we were permitted to take pictures . . .
. . . and the bottling room, where we were NOT allowed to photograph.
The Banks Hospitality Centre and Gift Shop was a cute little building in front of the brewery . . .
. . . where Squeekie had beer and Moss enjoyed a “Shandy” (lemonade and beer).
Then it was off to the famous Mount Gay Distillery to taste some rum.
Mount Gay Rum claims to be the oldest brand name in the world, dating from 1703.
This very old pot still is how batches of rum were made in the eighteenth century . . .
. . . but in 1831 this Coffey still was invented (named for the inventor not the product made) that made it a continuous process.
After the museum and the factory were explored it was time for a taste of the product; Squeekie liked their “Eclipse” brand—but she was “pretty looped.”
Moss preferred the “Old Label” type—ten years in the barrel.
Moss bought a book and some shirts, but no rum to take home.
Back aboard Rotterdam, a steel “pan” band was entertaining the guests while barbeque was served.
Squeekie took these pictures of the Barbadian dancers . . .
. . . the guy on stilts . . .
. . . and the guy doing the limbo beneath a burning bar.
At midnight, Squeekie watched as Rotterdam pulled away from the pier . . .
. . . and slipped out of the Bridgetown harbour.
Don MacDonald (left) and Moss (right) at their usual places up in the Crow’s Nest on “at sea” mornings.
This is the first of several pictures Squeekie took of the artistry presented at the “Grand Show Buffet.”
It is hard to believe that this is crafted from food items.
Look at all that shrimp!
Chef Bernie was VERY proud of what he and his staff had crafted!
Yummmm-- this is made from chocolate.
Meanwhile, in the Ocean Lounge, Moss and his fellow “Orphans” were cheering on . . .
. . . their finals contestant, Janet Hanna (centre, in red shirt), as she answered the questions . . .
. . . selected by Cruise Director Bruce.
This is the Burj-al-Arab model crafted from wine corks, wire, and glue.
Later this afternoon, Moss enjoyed High Tea in the Crow’s Nest . . .
. . . with his special Squeekie; there would not be too many more of these on this trip.
This was our stateroom on Deck Six, Room 6126, decorated with mementos of our journey around the world . . .
. . . and a few animals, including Suzie and Roy (above pillows), and Puppie (out of picture at left) . . .
. . . and cards from family and friends . . .
. . . and Squeekie’s certificate that she had climbed Sydney Bridge, and King Neptune’s authorization for us to have crossed the Equator at the “Golden Line,” and other things as well.
These are Jun (right) and Here (left), the two stewards who worked so hard to keep our cabin clean—thanks, guys.
The next morning, as Squeekie watched from our verandah . . .
. . . the island of Saint Barts came into view; it was our last stop in a foreign port.
Squeekie was eager to board the tender to take us ashore.
The harbour at Gustavia is small but very protected, and . . .
. . . as we went inside the harbour at Gustavia, we could see Rotterdam offshore.
It was Sunday and the town was mostly asleep . . .
. . . or at church. . .
. . . but it is the Caribbean and even the priest was informal.
Gustavia may be the smallest capital city in the world; just a few blocks long . . .
. . . and barely two blocks wide from harbour to hill.
Squeekie took a panorama of the inner harbour . . .
. . . which is filled with the yachts of the “rich and famous.”
Moss enjoyed this quiet, slower-paced Caribbean island . . .
. . . while Squeekie walked over to this fort on the ocean-side to get some pictures.
Squeekie found that the fort had been converted to a police post . . .
. . . but she walked past, and photographed, some very plush homes.
When Moss and Squeek joined back up, they continued their exploration . . .
. . . and found both Sheryl (who took the picture) and Captain Olav in his civvies . . .
. . . so Moss took a picture of them together.
Then Moss settled in to this small, harbourside bar for a Sunday morning beer . . .
. . . while Squeek went to see ultra-posh Shell Beach.
On her way back, Squeekie photographed this very chic Smart sports car.
Squeekie joined Moss for a beer in the bar . . .
. . . and found that Wally and Brenda also had settled in (that’s Wally at right).
Squeekie looks very chic in this attractive small port town . . .
. . . and Moss looks happy to be there, too!
Some last souvenir shopping was done . . .
. . . then it was back out to the Rotterdam.
In the afternoon Captain Olav guided Rotterdam away from this very nice island . . .
. . . as it was washed by a small rainstorm.
Before Dinner, Squeekie went to see her winning picture in the Photo Gallery.
This was Squeekie’s winning picture.
Then Roy and Suzie joined us for Mother’s Day dinner in the Pinnacle.
Squeekie all decked out at the Mother’s Day Ball in the Queen’s Lounge.
Captain Olav asked Squeekie for a dance.
One Hundred and Seventh Day (Wednesday, May 6, 2009)-- Today is another “at sea” day and it is becoming apparent to Squeekie and I that this cruise is coming to a close—there is just one week remaining until we arrive at Fort Lauderdale. The only places we have remaining to which to go are three islands in the Caribbean; fortunately, we have never been to any of the three, so it will still be of real interest rather than just some tourist trap place, which is how we have gotten to feel about the Pacific Mexican ports. We carried on our normal schedule for at sea days, Squeekie going to her “Sports of Call” events to collect “Dam Dollars,” and I went to trivia. We spent some morning time in the Crow’s Nest, and afternoon was mostly in our stateroom; Squeekie enjoyed sunning out on the veranda, and has maintained a very nice tan for most of this cruise. There really is nothing more to report today.
One Hundred and Eighth Day (Thursday, May 7, 2009)-- When we woke up this morning we were off the Port of Spain, the capital and main port city of Trinidad. Trinidad lies just seven miles off the coast of Venezuela, but that small stretch of water has ensured that this island, whose almost 1900 square miles of area makes it the sixth largest in the Caribbean, developed a Caribbean culture with just a small leavening of Spanish American.
Let’s start with the customary bit of history-- The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Amerindians. Both islands were encountered by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498. Tobago changed hands some twenty-two times (more than any other Caribbean island) between the British, French, Dutch and Courlanders (Latvians), but eventually ended up in British hands. Although Trinidad remained officially Spanish until 1797, it was largely settled by French colonists. In 1888 the two islands were incorporated into a single crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962, and became a republic in 1976. Thanks to various types of labour brought in to work in Trinidad’s plantations, the island is a fusion of many different cultures: it hosts an annual pre-Lenten Carnival; and it is the birthplace of Calypso music, the Steelpan (or Steel Drum) musical instrument, and the Limbo dance.
Following arrival of the Europeans, the main island of this group, Trinidad, originally had an economy based upon agriculture. The Spanish and later the British brought slave labour from Africa to work the sugar cane fields. With the British government’s abolition of the slave trade in 1807, plantation owners in the new British colony of Trinidad were left with a severe shortage of labour, because the slaves tended to work to death in the heat and humidity of the Caribbean. In 1833, the British government announced complete abolition of slavery throughout the Empire by 1840; in fact, the Trinidad governor completed full emancipation by 1838. To deal with the problem of “shortage of labor,” Trinidad planters compensated for the loss of their slaves by importing indentured servants from the 1830s until 1917. Initially, Chinese, free West Africans, and Portuguese from the island of Madeira were imported, later they were replaced by indentured workers from India. The sugar plantations which dominated the economy of Trinidad in the nineteenth century gradually gave ground to the cultivation of cacao. Trinidadian chocolate became a high-priced, much sought-after commodity late in the nineteenth century.
The arrival of diseases in the 1930s, coupled with the Great Depression, essentially destroyed Trinidad’s cacao industry; cocoa is no more than a marginal crop today. As for “King Sugar,” the national government nationalized the major remaining players in the early 1970s and, although some cane still grows on the island, the last sugar mill closed in 2007. In part because of the sugar industry, Trinidad also had 150 miles of railway, in addition to electric trams in Port of Spain and the second town, San Fernando. Unfortunately, with the decline of sugar and the ballooning of oil, autos replaced railways (and trams); the last electric trams and trolleybuses were “phased out” between 1954 and 1956; the railway ended passenger and freight service in 1968, although Port of Spain’s imposing railway station remains in use to serve the island-wide motor-bus service.
Although the famous “Asphalt Lake” had long been an important resource on Trinidad (and remains so to this day), not until 1857 was an oil well drilled and petroleum discovered beneath the island. By the beginning of the twentieth century oil had replaced sugar as the main export product of the island; to this day Trinidad still produces about 150,000 barrels of oil each day, as well as a great deal of natural gas. This has made the island nation one of the richest in the Caribbean.
Well, now back to our day’s adventure-- We entered Port of Spain, Trinidad, under a sky that was partially sunny and partially cloudy. Squeekie and I enjoyed our now customary light breakfast out on the back deck, watching Rotterdam’s arrival in port. We were surprised to see the wrecks of a number of ships just sitting in the harbour mud, and both wondered why this allegedly oil-rich nation has not removed these navigation hazards. Oh, well, we’re in the Caribbean now, where time moves slowly and life seems to dance to a different tune. After we returned to our stateroom, we went out on the veranda to listen to the steel drum band that was playing for us on the pier—we were pleased that today was one of the fairly rare days on this cruise when we docked on the port side of the ship (our side). As we watched and listened, however, clouds seemed to build over the interior, and before long it appeared as though we were in for another dose of rain here in Port of Spain, something which has happened frequently on this cruise, or so it seems.
By the time we debarked from the Rotterdam and headed to our tour bus, rain had become a reality and the steel band had disappeared. Our tour this morning was to the famous House of Angostura, where the famous bitters and some rum are both made. Fortunately, our tour guide gave us a fairly good commentary as we negotiated the crowded and wet streets of Port of Spain. At one point we passed by the large concrete building which once had been the main railway station in the city and for the island’s rail network. All of that is now gone, although there has been some serious discussion of building two new commuter rail lines. The building is still used as the central station for the island’s bus system, and some of the old rail routes were paved over with island asphalt to provide private routes for the busses only. Despite the wetness from the rainstorm (heavy but fairly brief), the town seemed to be in reasonable condition, although here, as in other humid climates we have visited, I did notice mold staining walls and paint jobs. After going through town we arrived at the “House of Angostura” factory and museum, the focus of our tour. As an historian interested in business history, I found it very interesting.
What I learned at the House of Angostura Factory and Museum-- Angostura bitters, often just named Angostura, is a concentrated bitters for food and beverages made of water, alcohol, gentian root, and vegetable flavoring extracts. Despite having an alcohol content of nearly 45%, Angostura is not classed as an alcoholic beverage. The exact formula is a closely guarded secret, with only five people knowing the whole recipe.
Born in 1796, Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert studied medicine in Berlin and tended to the wounded at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, where 125,000 Prussians came to the rescue of the Duke of Wellington and jointly defeated Napoleon of France. In 1820, Siebert made his way to Venezuela along with some fellow Prussians and thousands of British veterans. They went in pursuit of a noble cause, the support of General Simon Bolivar in his war of independence against Spain. Siegert sailed 240 miles up the Orinoco to where the river narrowed at the port of Angostura (the name means “straits” or “narrows” in Spanish), which was the headquarters of Bolivar’s revolutionary government. There Siegert was made Surgeon General and put in charge of the military hospital.
By June 1821 Venezuela had wrested its independence from Spain, and the Liberator moved his campaign westwards, to Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, but Dr. Siegert remained behind in Angostura (which was renamed Ciudad Bolívar in 1846). While there he investigated local herbals and crafted a pain relief tonic; he began to sell the product in 1824. Angostura bitters were alleged to have restorative properties, reportedly a remedy for hiccups, and also a cure for an upset stomach. Angostura bitters also were used to mask the flavour of quinine in tonic water, and in this way eventually became a key ingredient in many cocktails. The recipe soon became very successful and well known around the world. Around 1900, concerned over the political instability of Venezuela, the Siegert family moved the company to Trinidad.
What else did we see? We watched a movie telling the history of the House of Angostura from the days of Simon Bolivar, and the museum also displayed many items of its history, even including some of the medical tools and the microscope used by Dr. Siegert in Venezuela in the early 1820s. This was one of the finest jobs I have seen of crafting remnants and images to make a company museum. Then we had to pass through a door with a sign warning that it was a restricted area. We were permitted to go into this dark room to see what must have been the early blending equipment used to make the product, although there was no evidence that it was still in use today. I tried to photograph the displayed equipment, but the picture was out of focus. That’s what I get for doing something we were told not to do!
The factory also made rum—after all alcohol is a primary ingredient in the bitters’ recipe, so why not make more to sell? We saw the various stages of the distilling process, although I can’t help but wonder that, because pressed sugar cane always has been the primary raw ingredient in the manufacture of rum, what would the House of Angostura do now that sugar processing has come to an end in Trinidad? Our tour ended in the tasting room, always a welcome stop, and we were allowed to sample a range of items. I must say that a few drops of Angostura Bitters shaken into plain water is nice in and of itself. I really liked an interesting mixture known as LLB, lemon-lime with bitters shaken in.
Well, that was the major tour of ours for the day. Squeekie and I had talked about hiring a taxi to drive around Port of Spain and to drive by some of the old high-class homes in the area known as Queen’s Park (I think), but we were persuaded not to go to the trouble by Elaine, who had already done this and said that the homes were mostly in poor repair and it would certainly be a disappointment to see what they have become. So instead, we just went to the craft market to look around, and then went to the Crow’s Nest for the remainder of the afternoon.
Rotterdam pulled out as the sun began to set and the lights began to turn on in Port of Spain. Our visit to Trinidad was brief, but of interest, and I would certainly like to return here, perhaps after they build the new commuter rail lines they are planning. Tomorrow, we will come to another important Caribbean island.
One Hundred and Ninth Day (Friday, May 8, 2009)-- Bridgetown, in the southwestern part of the island of Barbados, was our port of call today. We entered Carlisle Bay and came in to dock right in the heart of Bridgetown’s port area.
Here is the culture and history brief-- Barbados is the eastern-most Caribbean island and is less than one million years old. It was created by the collision of the Atlantic crustal and Caribbean plates, along with a volcanic eruption. Later coral formed, accumulating to approximately 300 feet. It is geologically unique, being actually two land masses that merged together over the years.
Recent archaeological discoveries unearthed at the site of Port St. Charles point to settlement some time around 1623 B.C. The first indigenous people were Amerindians who arrived here from Venezuela. Paddling long dugout canoes they crossed oceans and currents that challenge modern sailing vessels! At a later date these pioneers were replaced by the Arawak Indians, but around 1200 A.D. the Arawaks were conquered by the Caribs, a taller and stronger Amerindian tribe who also were cannibals. This warlike and savage people, who gave their name to the region, are reported to have barbecued their captives and washed them down with cassava beer. They were incredibly accurate bowmen and used a powerful poison to paralyze their prey.
Despite the Caribs' ruthless warlike abilities, the island was taken over by the Spanish soon after 1492. The Spanish imposed slavery on the Caribs; this slavery and the small pox and tuberculosis imported from Europe ended the Caribs' existence Spain, however, had little interest in Barbados and passed it over in favour of the larger Caribbean islands. This left the island open for anyone who wanted to colonize it.
The first English ship touched Barbados on May 14th 1625 under the command of Captain John Powell, who claimed the island on behalf of King James I. Just short of two years later, Captain Henry Powell landed with a party of 80 settlers and 10 slaves to occupy and settle the island. This expedition landed in Holetown (formerly known as Jamestown). Bridgetown, which soon became the main port for, and capital of, the island, was founded in 1628. The colonists established a House of Assembly in 1639, which was the third oldest Parliamentary democratic institution in the new world. Within a few years much of the island had been deforested to make way for tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane plantations. The production of sugar, tobacco and cotton was heavily reliant on labour, which first was provided by indentured servants. White civilians who wanted to emigrate overseas from Great Britain could do so by signing an agreement to serve a planter in Barbados for a period of 5 or 7 years. There is even some evidence that essentially white slaves were seized through kidnapping; also, convicted criminals were shipped to Barbados. Descendants of these white slaves and indentured labour, referred to as Red Legs, still live in Barbados.
Beginning in 1644, Dutch traders imported Africans from West Africa to be labour in Barbados; what began as a form of indentured servitude quickly became out-and-out slavery. As a result of this labour supply, the Barbadian sugar plantations dominated the Caribbean sugar industry for over 100 years, until Jamaica’s sugar industry surpassed it. Slave transport ended in 1807, and emancipation finally arrived in 1834. The sugar industry survived, however, on a combination of paid labour imported from India (called “coolies” on this island), and mechanization of the planting and harvesting. There still is a sugar industry on the island, but it is nowhere near as profitable as it was a hundred years ago.
Barbados remained a British colony until internal autonomy was granted in 1961. The Island gained full independence in 1966, but maintains ties to the Britain monarch, represented in Barbados by the Governor General; it is a member of the Commonwealth.
OK, here is our day-- We were up early enough to see Rotterdam’s approach to Barbados, specifically, to Bridgetown, the island’s capital and main port, which is in the southwestern quadrant of the island. Again, Rotterdam docked so that our side—the port side—faced the land.
Squeekie and I were very excited for our adventure this morning. We were to board a catamaran that would take us northerly up the west coast of the island to a place where sea turtles frequented, where we would be turned loose to snorkel among the animals in the waters of this bay. I was interested and Squeekie was excited! We could hardly wait to go. A bus took us a short way from our dock in Bridgetown to a pier where we could board the catamaran. The twenty-five or so people who were with us were all excited with the prospect of seeing sea life. We motored away and turned northerly up the island for a few miles, but I really don’t know how far specifically. (I can find no name of “Turtle Bay” on any map of Barbados, so I am not really certain where we went, except that several people said that the hotel that was on the land side of the beach where we stopped was the place where Tiger Woods had stayed on his honeymoon—but I have no idea where that is, either.)
The “cat” dropped anchor just a few yards off shore and one of the boat staff, a black woman whose name I did not get, went into the water to scatter food to attract the turtles. I am really not certain how many turtles showed up; at least two, perhaps more. All of us had to put on float vests, snorkels, and masks before we could step down the ladder to get into the water. I will say right now that, as much as I would have liked to have gone down in the water to get up close to the turtles, I stayed on the catamaran to get photographs of Squeekie as she went after the “honus” (that’s Hawaiian for sea turtle). She used the underwater film camera we had brought along, while I used her Canon to get pictures on top of the water. Squeekie also reported that the water was not quite as warm as she had expected—was this because of the weather and time of year, or was it because as the easternmost island it is more exposed to colder water from the Atlantic? I just don’t know. Squeekie later reported that she found using the traditional film camera underwater to be difficult for a number of reasons, and I can see why—digital technology spoils you for anything else! In any case, Squeekie enjoyed what she was doing enough to be nearly the last one out of the water.
When everyone had seen the turtles, the catamaran crew upped their anchor and headed in to a nearby beach right in front of the hotel where Tiger Woods is said to have stayed on his honeymoon. The front ramp on the “cat” was put down and we all got to walk through the very small waves and on to the sand, which was very fine and powdery. Oh, did I love this beach, but I am not yet ready to give up the Mauna Kea’s Beach in Hawaii! The tour people offered two types of ride over the water, with a banana boat, so called because of its long, narrow shape and yellow colour, and on a sort of air mattress. Squeekie went for rides on both of them and laughed out her fun to the world at large. She also took a short walk over to look at the hotel. It seems very nice of course, but I still prefer the Mauna Kea, even if they are beginning to price themselves out of my range.
Sadly, this wonderful excursion came to an end all too soon. Before long we were back aboard the “cat” and returning to Bridgetown. Actually, this was a close call because we had scheduled a second tour in the afternoon, and we had only about a half an hour after returning from the turtle safari until the start of our second adventure. Given that we had to go back to our stateroom and shower after the ocean and beach sand, it was a close call, but we did make it, but with no lunch. Now I can assure you that we certainly were NOT starving at any time on this trip, but it would have been nice to have had something during this transfer time, because the second tour included stops for alcohol. I really wasn’t certain that I wanted to taste beer or rums on an empty stomach!
Well, with no lunch a reality, we made it to our second tour bus in time, and soon took off through Bridgetown on a mission to visit two important Barbadian industrial landmarks. As we drove through Bridgetown’s traffic, we passed a number of famous land marks, and our bus driver/guide, who seemed to be knowledgeable, was able to keep up a dialogue despite having to react to the harsh realities of traffic. We passed through National Heroes Square (formerly Trafalgar Square), with its famous statue of Lord Nelson, the British Admiral who defeated Napoleon’s navy and who also spent some time in the Caribbean. On the edge of this place is Barbados’ architecturally important Parliament Building, in which that historic House of Assembly still meets, as it has since 1639. Other landmark buildings we passed included the 18th century Anglican cathedral, and park area known as Garrison Savannah, which once had been a military parade ground but where now international cricket matches are held.
Before long we came to our first stop, the Banks Beer Brewery, producer of what is considered to be the Barbadian label for beer. The brewery was small by American standards, but it was clean and well run. We were not permitted to take pictures inside the bottling works, but again I confess that I tried, with a bit better luck this time than at Angostura yesterday. When the mechanical and production side of the tour had finished, we went into the tasting room. Squeekie had one of their lagers, which I think she liked; while I enjoyed a very unusual “shandy” drink made at the brewery named “Twist.” This shandy, which is only available in the Caribbean, is a lemonade with just a hint of beer in it. Needless to say, given my preference for sweet things, I loved it! Then we visited their gift shop. After this it was back aboard the bus for a drive over to the other important industrial operation in Barbados, the Mount Gay Distillery.
Anyone who knows anything about Caribbean history, or European naval history since the sixteenth century, knows the important cultural role rum has played. The British Navy included rum in their sailors’ daily rations until some time in the 1980s! And of course, “Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a Pirate’s Bottle of Rum” is a famous line, too. When Europeans began cultivating sugar cane on Caribbean islands in the early seventeenth century, they quickly brought in knowledge of what to do with some of the cane juice that was not boiled down into sugar. Once distillation of high-percentage alcohol became technologically and economically feasible, some of that cane juice was going to be distilled to make rum alcohol.
Mount Gay Distillery in Barbados claims to be the oldest surviving rum distiller in the world, so Barbados—correctly or incorrectly, as it may be—claims to be the birthplace of modern rum, although I am certain the Portuguese and maybe even some Arabs or Indians may have been making it even earlier. (There is some argument among historians as to when the technology of the so-called “pot still,” the first type of distillation unit, was invented; the Chinese may have been making brandy from rice wine as early as 800 B.C., and the Roman acquae vita may have been distilled spirits, but it is certain that pot stills were known to Europeans by the fifteenth century A.D.)
Sugar cane cultivation came into the island of Barbados in the 1630s. It is known that the first pot stills, making a primitive rum from cane juice, were operating on the island by 1637, which might make Barbados the birthplace of rum as we know it today. The famous Mount Gay Plantation was in operation on the island by 1650, and they were distilling rum as early as 1667. However, they claim to have absolute proof of continuous distillation since 1703, which is the date they announce to the world on their bottles. At any rate, Mount Gay celebrated their 300th anniversary in 2003, and claims to be the oldest still-operating rum producer in the world.
Our tour of the Mount Gay facility was very interesting, although their museum was nowhere near as specific (to the firm and its history) as was the Angostura museum yesterday in Trinidad. A very well-trained, and one could say proud, woman conducted us through the facility, explaining about the company’s history and also about the cultural importance of rum in Caribbean history. She also explained about that unique Barbadian institution, the rum shop, which is somewhat like a pub to British, or a saloon to Americans, but on a very small scale and at more personal level. We were invited to taste six different rums manufactured by Mount Gay, and I liked most of them (the silver was not to my taste). We also learned that their brand is sold in the United States, and the “Eclipse” name of one of their types of rum was created in 1910 to commemorate a unique event in Barbados history, a day where both a total eclipse of the sun and the passage of Halley’s Comet could be seen at the same time. Wow! I must say, however, that as good as was the rum, it did not settle well on our empty stomachs, and both Squeekie and I were pretty dizzy by the time we came out from Mount Gay’s Rum Shop. Oh, yeah, we did buy polo shirts to commemorate the event, but no rum; we still have an unfinished bottle at home.
When our tour bus brought us back to the port Squeekie stopped to look in some of the shops, and bought yet another turtle. I am not sure where all of the turtles we have bought on this trip (and yes, I did buy some of them for her) will find a nesting place in our home.
Rotterdam was not leaving Bridgetown until just before midnight, so a special event was planned for the guests this evening. A local steel band was brought on board to play in the Lido swimming pool area, and a big barbeque cook out was set up on either side of the pool. I would have loved to have eaten this, but Squeekie doesn’t like these buffet-style meals because she always claims to eat too much. Hmmmmm. . . . So instead we were one of rather few people who sat in the LaFontaine Dining Room for the late seating this evening. Squeek invited her friend Sheryl, who works in the gift shop, to join us at our table this evening, because being in port the ship’s stores were closed. After dinner I went back to our stateroom but Squeekie went to the show in the Queen’s Lounge, which featured a number of Barbadian entertainments. Rotterdam departed from Bridgetown at midnight, and we both enjoyed watching as we slipped away from the town and harbour.
Well, tomorrow we will be at sea en route to our next port of call. I must say that I have enjoyed seeing the Caribbean islands in this way, and have not felt too rushed, although there continues to build a rising feeling that time grows short.
One Hundred and Tenth Day (Saturday, May 9, 2009)-- This “at sea” day was typical of most we have had on this trip, with one important difference. Squeekie and I both spent time working on our journals and blogs in the Crow’s Nest in the morning, with time outs for trivia and Sports of Call activities. Meanwhile, all morning long the culinary department was preparing for yet another big event, a buffet in the lower level of the LaFontaine Dining Room known as the “Grand Show Buffet.” Clearly the entire staff from Chef Bernie down to the lower levels worked very hard on this, making both foods to enjoy and decorations to wonder over. The dining room opened at 11:30 for those who wished to come and take pictures before the eaters demolished everything, and Squeekie went to take the pictures, some of which are here in the blog. I refused to go (I had little time to get back for our trivia contest anyway), in part because I knew Squeekie would not eat in the buffet and therefore I could not go because I wouldn’t eat alone. As you can see from the included pictures, a great deal of culinary and decorative creativity was demonstrated this day. Thanks, Bernie and all, it was wonderful!
At noon today was the culminating trivia contest which would decide which team was the winner. No, the winner was not decided by how many daily contests were won by that team. Instead, those teams which had won a certain number of points (I forget exactly what it was) would be invited to participate in this final event. This had been done at the end of the first half of the cruise, and now it was to be done again for the second half. Needless to say, our team, which had showed itself to be quite good, was one of those who made it to this final contest. The difference between this event and the daily contest, besides deciding which teams could participate, was that each team that was in this playoff had to determine just ONE member to come and answer the questions, and no help could be given from the other team members. We had asked Janet Hanna to be our representative, and I know that she spent over a week studying past questions to prepare for this contest. So there we were, our team, the “Orphans,” (I have no idea why our leader chose that name, but it must have had importance to her) sitting in chairs in the Ocean Lounge on Deck Five (where the daily at sea trivia contests always were played), facing a table where were sat the representative contestants. We cheered for Janet, because we know she was good, and prepared!
Cruise Director Bruce selected the questions out of a wine bucket and read them, while the other cruise staff kept time, kept the table-bound contestants isolated, and kept score. A total of ten questions were asked and Janet did quite well! Her final score was seven correct out of ten, which was good enough to tie us for second place (silver medal, if you will). Unfortunately, the representative from the “Almost Mensa” team (what a braggart name!) got eight out of ten correct, and thus earned for himself and his entire team a free lunch at the Pinnacle Grill. Janet, once again I wish to thank you on behalf of our team for the very fine job you did on our behalf!
That afternoon Squeekie took more photographs of places around the ship, but at two o’clock she took time out to go and look at the outcome of the “World Cruise Icon Challenge,” an event which called for guests to use materials at hand to commemorate the voyage, or events or places visited. Squeekie was so impressed by one of the art projects that she came and got me and took me over to look at it. It was a model of the famous Burj-al-Arab hotel in Dubai, the very one Squeekie and I had enjoyed drinks at when we were there oh, so long ago it seems, now. This model was crafted entirely from wine corks with wire and glue to hold it together, and it was a marvelous job! I don’t know who was the creative person who did it, but whomever you are, you must be commended!
We then enjoyed afternoon tea in the Crow’s Nest and had a nice chat with Kim. There was not too much to the remainder of the day or evening, however. Tomorrow we will arrive at our last stop before returning to the United States. Why, oh why, must this awesome trip come to a close?
One Hundred and Eleventh Day (Sunday, May 10, 2009)-- We arrived off the island known as Saint Barth in French or Saint Barts in English (actually Saint Barthelemy, but no-one seems to use that name very often). Saint Barts remains a French “Overseas Collectivity.” This island has an area of twenty-one square kilometers and a population of 8,398 (in 2006). Its capital is Gustavia, which is also its main harbor; this name is a remembrance of the fact that once upon a time this island was a colony of Sweden. The island is one of the four territories among the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean that comprise the French West Indies (along with Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Martin). Because it once was a Swedish colony, the Swedish influence can still occasionally be found in architecture and street names. The language, cuisine and culture, however, are distinctly French. St. Barth has long been considered a playground of the rich and famous, and is known for its beautiful pristine beaches, gourmet dining in chic bistros, and high-end designer shopping.
A tiny bit of history-- First discovered by Columbus in 1493, he named this island after his brother Bartholomeo. Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts) is one of the few islands in the region that did not have a large native population, and was largely ignored by the Spanish for a long time. It was first claimed by France in 1648, and French settlers arrived in 1659 to begin planting tobacco and indigo, primarily. However, thanks to the small but wonderfully protected harbour at its capital port, Gustavia, and by the little attention paid to the island by authorities, the island’s main income soon derived from smugglers and outright pirates who used the island as a safe haven equidistant from the Bahamas and the northern coast of South America. In 1784, the King of France traded the island to the King of Sweden in exchange for trading rights in the Baltic; typical of the era, he did this without even consulting the people of the island. Slavery was practiced in Saint-Barthélemy, but the last legally owned slaves in the Swedish colony were bought free by the Swedish government in 1847. In 1878, King Oscar II put the sovereignty of the island to a referendum and the island was returned to France. The Swedish period left its mark in the names of many of the streets and the capital town (in honor of King Gustav III), and the presence of Sweden's national arms, the Three Crowns, in the island's coat of arms.
See, that wasn’t too intrusive, was it-- Today was a Sunday, and it marked our arrival at the last foreign port on our awesome World Cruise. Squeekie and I watched our arrival off the mouth of the harbour at Gustavia (Rotterdam was way too large to attempt to come inside) from our verandah, rather than from our usual place on Deck Six Forward. This was to be a tender port, that is, we had to board and ride a tender in order to land ashore, but we had no firm plans for the day, so we went off to breakfast in the Lido. While there several people stopped to congratulate Squeek, and it was in this way that we learned that she had won an honourable “Second Place” in the just-completed passenger photography contest. She had submitted one picture in each of three categories—landscape, wildlife, and people—her wonderful picture of sunrise over a lone tree in the Maasai Mara, her image of a zebra mother and colt, and a Maasai woman and child standing in mud in front of a hut. All were very fine pictures. I must add, as you yourselves must have noticed from some of the pictures placed on this blog, Squeekie is a VERY GOOD photographer, with a fine eye for composition! Of these three the sunrise picture earned the most votes and garnered her second place in the landscape category. First place was won by a picture of gigantic Sand Dune Seven near Luderitz in Namibia, taken by the arrogant man I did not like, but with whom Squeek chatted amicably enough. The winning wildlife picture was a cute baby elephant image taken by Marsha Steinbrunner.
After breakfast we got our tender tickets and soon enough were headed in to Gustavia. Because it was Sunday, most all of the shops were closed, which was fine because we were not assaulted by vendors hawking their wares, but I suspect that there is not that much of that sort of pushy sales on this island, which is redolent with the high-class airs of the rich and famous. As my feet were hurting badly again, I sat under a nice tree while Squeek walked up a hill to photograph an old fort and some of the fine homes on the hillside.
After we hooked back up we continued our exploration of what must be the smallest capital city of any place in the world—even moreso than Victoria in the Seychelles. We even bumped into Captain Olav! It was great to see that this man who shoulders such great responsibilities so much of the time had a brief moment to escape and be a tourist—he even was ashore in civvies, that is, out of uniform! Later, Squeek walked over to Shell Beach to explore this apparently famous playground of wealthy visitors, but I opted instead to sit in a bar on the waterfront and watch the world go by. While in there I bumped into Wally and Brenda from the ship (Wally was the other male member of my trivia team), and we had a nice time chatting about life in general. To my great surprise, I was able one last time to enjoy a Windhoek beer; how ironic! I am not a beer drinker in my non-cruise life, but Windhoek does appeal to me because of its not-bitter taste, and I have enjoyed discovering it. Also, it was still before noontime and I was drinking a beer! How much did this cruise change my life and habits?
Eventually Squeekie returned to the bar and joined with us in conversation—she had a pina colada, if I remember correctly. On our way back to the pier to get the tender, we found that a few curio shops had opened, and we stopped in to get shirts to remind us of this very unusual Caribbean island, so unlike any other, I think because of its very upper class airs.
When there was nothing more we wished to do in this tiny but very cute town we went back out to the Rotterdam aboard a tender. Then we each got some ice cream in the Lido, and settled in to a quiet afternoon in the Caribbean. We didn’t really wish to experience sailaway this afternoon, because there would be no more exotic ports on this trip, which was coming to an end. . . .
Tonight the Pinnacle put on the last of the special dinners, to honour Mother’s Day. Squeekie wore her lovely green silk dress, using the fabric she had been given by Ruth DeNault, and she also wore the beautiful gold necklace she bought in Oman, the one which looks like a gold cloud around her neck. Seeing her in this finery reminded me once again that I am an incredibly lucky man to have such a beautiful, and socially adept, life partner!! We sat at our usual table, and were joined by Karen and John, a couple Squeekie had gotten to know on her Kenya safari. Kim also invited Roy and Suzie to join us for dinner (places were set), and Karen’s koala bear Canberra. This was an interesting dinner and we had a wonderful time chatting with this nice (but unmarried) couple from the environs of Washington, D.C.
Then we went forward to the Queen’s Lounge for the Mother’s Day Ball. We were there early enough and entered through a tunnel of crew who wished Squeekie a “Happy Mother’s Day.” Oh, was she pleased! Quickly we began dancing. Squeek even got to dance with Olav, who was careful (gentlemanly?) enough to ask my permission first.
When the ball wound down we went up to our own stomping grounds, the Crow’s Nest for our favourite nightcap, Bailey’s on the rocks. I didn’t stay long, but Squeek didn’t want this evening to end and stayed while I went down to the room and crashed. (She closed the bar down at 2:30 AM!) When I got back to the stateroom I saw that Holland-America had given us each one last gift. Mine was a pair of sterling silver cufflinks, Squeek’s was a silver necklace; each with the company’s logo in the silver.
There is little more remaining to write. At Saint Barts we were just over 1200 miles southeast of Florida and the end of our wonderful journey of discovery. Needless to say, we are VERY sad to see it coming to an end.
