St. Maarten
George didn't feel so well this day, so my dad and I toured St. Maarten while everyone else hit the beach. We learned so much and had a great time seeing this beautiful island.
Then, it was back on board for a little lunch.
St. Thomas
We had so much fun on our tour of the island, the next day we did the same thing with George, but this time on the island of St. Thomas. It is still hard to get used to riding on the wrong side of the street!
San Juan, Puerto Rico
We didn't have very many hours on our stop to San Juan, but we chose to go to the old fort which guarded the ocean entrace of the city. We all went together to explore it, except for my dad who felt he'd rather stay on board the ship since he had explored Puerto Rico pretty sufficiently a year ago when he went with my brothers and sisters.
Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, but Brady was pretty afraid of the dark tunnels through the fort. I think he thought it was like a Halloween spook alley and things were going to jump out at him. We talked him through it, however, and then he had a great time.
Carter and Connor looking at the drawings the prisoners in the cell drew.
After exploring the old fort, George and I and Kevin just got a cab driver to take us around the city in the remaining time we had while the rest chose to go back to the ship.
This is another fort which guarded the city against any enemy coming in by land.
Near this old fort, there is a very interesting above-ground cemetery.
This was truly a historic, beautiful city.
Labadee, Haiti
Labadee is a private beach owned by the Royal Caribbean. When the earthquake struck in Haiti near Porto Prince, everyone wondered if we would be going to Haiti. However, this area was not touched at all--they barely felt it since it is 6 hours north of Porto Prince, and we were told we would actually be helping their economy with most of the 4,300 people going to Labadee since so many Haitians are hired there. It ended up being our favorite stop!
These were little shops where the islanders sold their wares.
They fixed us a wonderful BBQ lunch on the island. Brady always kept us entertained!
A short distance from the beach was a big water bounce area where the kids had so much fun climbing, going down slides, etc.
Connor coming in from the water park area.
Here comes Kade.
We were there most of the day, but it was still too short. George and Dad take a little rest on the walk back.
And it's back to the ship for the return trip to Ft. Lauderdale.
