December 3, 2010

Thursday 11/18: Scarborough, Tobago, in port from 8am-5pm

After a late breakfast at the buffet, I headed off the ship in search of people with whom I could share a taxi to the beach. I went to Pigeon Point Beach ($20 taxi each way for up to 4 people, or $30 if you need a van taxi that holds up to 6 people, plus $3 per person entrance fee to the beach) and it was everything I wanted it to be. I had been waiting all week for the typical Caribbean beach lined with huge palm trees and clear blue water, and Pigeon Point Beach had it all! Here’s a picture of the beach:

When you first arrive, there is a pier with several glass bottom boats waiting to take passengers on a 2-hour snorkeling/swimming excursion. The guy wanted to charge me $20, but thanks to the reviews I had read on cruise critic, I knew the price should be only $15 and he immediately lowered the price when I called him on it. It definitely pays to do your research or they will rip you off wherever they can! 

Glass Bottom Boat:

They piled about 20 people into the boat and we went off shore for 30 minutes to reach Bucco Reef. They gave us life vests and snorkel equipment (apparently for no extra charge, although I had brought along my own equipment), and let us snorkel for about 30-45 minutes. The reef was really interesting, with a ton of coral in different shapes, sizes, and colors. There were a few fish, but not as many as I had hoped. Here’s one of my snorkeling photos:

Then we got back on the boat and went over to Nylon Pool, named because the water is as clear as fishing nylon. The best part about this area is that even though it is very far from shore, it is shallow enough that I could stand (and I’m only 5’2″) The bottom is just soft sand, so we relaxed in the water for about a half hour and it wasn’t tiring because we didn’t have to actually swim! Here is a picture of me standing in the water (notice how far away the shore is in the background!):

After that, we got back on the boat and headed back to the beach. I spent some time walking around the beach and enjoying the beautiful scenery:

Tons of shade from the palm trees:

By this time, I was hungry and ready for lunch so I bought a $6 fried shark platter with french fries and salad from one of the 3 or 4 vendors selling food. The food was great!

There were a few picnic tables under the palm trees where we could sit and eat and relax, so I spent the next hour or so there, then went to go meet our taxi driver as we had asked him to pick us up at 3pm. It was a good thing we planned to leave the beach so early because the ride back to the ship took a full hour (as opposed to the 20 minutes it took to get to the beach that morning!)… be aware that there’s a lot of traffic in the afternoon, so definitely leave enough time to get back to the ship before it sails away!

Tonight was our second formal night, so I went right back to my room to get ready. Since the big theater show wasn’t until after dinner, I went up to Revelations lounge to see the acappella group perform. The group is called “These Guys”, comprised of 4 men in their 20’s, and they are fantastic!! I went to a few of their performances throughout the week, and they sang different songs every time. Their harmonies are on pitch, and they are fun and entertaining, and I highly recommend checking them out if you get a chance. Then I went to dinner, with the following menus:

Wild Mushroom Vol-au-vent:

Salmon Gravlax:

Lobster Melange (it was a really nice touch when my waiter went around and removed the shell from everyone’s lobster tail!:

For dessert, all of the waiters and assistant waiters walk around the dining room with Baked Alaska on Parade, and they make a big to-do about cheering for your waiter. There were no other options for dessert that night, so I guess you are out of luck if you don’t like ice cream cake!

After dinner, I went to the show, which was a broadway production medley. In between some of the song and dance routines, they focused on some specific shows, like Les Mis and Titanic. I’m really not sure who’s brilliant idea it was to perform songs from a show about a sinking cruise ship while on a cruise ship, but sure enough they did it! Probably not one of my favorite parts of the week haha The rest of the show was okay though.