Friday and Saturday, December 7 and 8. With the stop in Jamaica, the ship was so far south that we now had two days at sea before we would get to the Bahamas. Again, we were happy for the quiet time. Darrell was able to get to the gym again and also to the computer room. He not only checked our email, but also the weather forecast for the Massanutten area. It showed clear but cold weather for Monday, the date of our return. However, there were reports of heavy snow just to the south for Sunday.

We attended Sandy’s 10:00 lectures on Bahama History: Short and Sweet, on Friday and Let’s Go Bananas on Saturday. The 9:30 show on Friday was another performance by the guitarist, Nestor Santurio; the one on Saturday featured pop music of the last four decades by the ships cast. 

GREAT  STIRRUP CAY, BAHAMA

 Sunday, December 9. The ship anchored off Great Stirrup Cay about 8:00, and tenders started going ashore soon after. The Bahama archipelago includes approximately 700 islands and more than 2,000 cays. Great Stirrup Cay, about 268-acres, is owned by the Norwegian Cruise Line. It is mostly just a beach, but a beautiful one lined with coconut trees.

As we got off the tender about 11:30, Darrell spotted a small tourist information stand and asked for a map. The reply was, “There is no map because there is no place to go.” There were plenty of beach chairs shaded by the trees, and we sat there for a while. Then we walked to a lighthouse at the end of the beach. At about 1:00 we went to the free barbeque in the largest building there, then ate at a table in the shade in a nearby shelter.

Landing on the Cay

Jane & lighthouse

The marina

We took the tender back to the ship and were on board by 2:20. We started to pack for the next morning’s debarkation. The ship sailed at 5:00. We went to dinner about 6:15.We skipped the 9:00 show to finish packing. Our luggage had to be out in the passageway by 10:00 p.m.

Monday, December 10. The ship docked about 7:00 a.m.We were already up. We had asked for the latest debarkation time because our flight to Dulles was not until 3:30. We were assigned the 8:45 time, but we still had to be out of our cabin by 8:00. We went up to the breakfast buffet just after 7:00 and were surprised to find that it was not crowded.

We disembarked, found our luggage and went out to the taxi stand. We were lured to take a van for slightly less money, but it turned out we had to wait more than half an hour while they filled up the van. Of course, we had time to kill so it did not matter.

We had toyed with the idea of taking a tour of Miami before going to the airport. Darrell had researched available tours on the ship’s computer. In the end, though, we decided we did not want any unnecessary hassle and would rather relax at the airport.

We arrived there about 10:30 and ate a large meal before noon. As we waited at the gate, they announced that our plane would not arrive until after the scheduled departure time. It finally took off an hour late, 4:30 instead of 3:30. The pilot made up some of the time, though, and we touched down at Dulles at 6:40. It took a long time to unload the plane and even longer for the luggage to get to the carrousel. The shuttle ot the hotel was prompt, but there were too many people waiting for it. We finally all got in when parents held their small children on their laps.

We retrieved out car without incident. Because snow was predicted, we decided to eat at a fast food place along the way rather than a regular restaurant. We stopped at a McDonald’s in Gainesville. There was no sign of snow on the ground up to that point. As we drove south, the grass along the road grew whiter and whiter, but there was no snow on the road. It was 18 degrees and we worried about black ice, especially as we crossed the Blue Ridge. But apparently there was none. When we got home at 10:30, there was four inches of snow on the ground. 

Observations. We are glad we took this trip. It was very interesting, and the weather was great. The service on the ship was excellent, and the food was truly the best we have encountered.

It was no surprise that most of Cuba was very run down, but it was worse than we expected in Havana. Block after block of prime properties along the Malecon are empty shells. They apparently were devastated by hurricane Irma in September 2017. Most show no attempt at repairs. Even buildings away from the water look like slums in many areas.

Nevertheless, the tourist industry in Cuba appears to be thriving. Unfortunately, they seem to have learned every trick to squeeze money out of tourists. Prices of organized tours are outrageous, equaling or exceeding those of Europe’s most expensive cities. The same is true if you try to hire a guide, a taxi or a horse-drawn carriage on your own. Tourists must use the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) that is the equivalent of 25 regular Cuban pesos. The guides on tour buses expect the same tips you would pay in Paris, in CUCs of course. As a result, these guides, and many others working in the tourist industry, have incomes equivalent to several thousands of dollars a month (“expert” web sites say $5,000 to $7,000), whereas the average income in Cuba is about $30 a month. Among college graduates, doctors average about $80, nurses $50, teachers $25, and so on. Surely this discrepancy must distort the economy greatly. We were told that many doctors drive taxis in their free time, and make more money at that than their professional salaries.

Yet the guides on tour buses, all attractive young women who speak perfect English, were generally substandard in providing information or in doing any guiding when the passengers were off the bus at points of interest. Generally, we were just turned loose to learn what we could on our own. Often, it was only at the insistence of passengers that the guide would let us know when to be back on the bus.

The Cuban people generally were very friendly and helpful, We saw no sign of animosity toward Americans. Many people tried to sell us things on the street or lead us to tourist shops, but they were not as aggressive as we have encountered in other poor countries.

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