Life's a Stitch

Docking at Falmouth, Jamaica, evidence of the devastating hurricane was apparent. Blue tarped roofs and uprooted trees showed the damage.  Our ship was one of the first back to a town that depends on tourism.

We walked into town where some shops were closed permanently, unable to survive the four months without  business. A grocery store was still being powered by generator. 

We went to a craft market and I bought my nativity animal 🦒. Although a bit large, it came with the vendor’s story of hurricane survival, injury and determination.

Greg accompanied me geocaching. As there were no physical caches in the area, we completed an earth cache that could be accomplished from the 19th floor of the ship. It required reading background info on a geological formation, in this case a tombolo: a bar of sand or shingle joining an island to the mainland. 

We were required to answer questions proving we understood the concept and had observed the subject. Mission accomplished. And yet  one more country cashed in.

Two sea days were on the agenda before docking at our ultimate destination in Galveston, Texas. It was easy settling back into the shipboard routine, but this time I added my at home habit of walking at sunrise. 

Afterwards was knitting group, trivia and origami. Being progressive origami, each subject is more difficult and this day’s was a cat. The white one is the teacher’s, mine is the orange, showing signs of overfolding. Ellen’s, the black one, had an unfortunate ending being squashed in a fit of frustration. The next day was better for our turtles.

One of the best onboard eating places was the Food Hall, where there were a variety of small international food kitchens. The Indian food was the best and we were given a demonstration of baking naan on the wall of the tandoor.

We quarantined C to the cabin when he developed a hacking cough, sounding like many other passengers. That’s the problem with travelling with a few thousand people in a confined space. I’m not fond of these large ships. In the end, three of us caught the same cold despite meticulous handwashing. Just can’t control airborne disease. At least tested negative for Covid. 

We’re back in North America and are fully recovered.

There will be more posts for our holiday adventures.