Puerto Rico & Caribbean's Cruise (2019)

This trip was 14 months in the making.  In February 2018, my brother Ronen and his wife Yudit asked if they could join us on a cruise.  They wanted a short cruise “just to see how it is” and we agreed.

It was too early to make the necessary hotel and flight reservations, but a couple of months later I started to research and then organized the cruise from Puerto Rico to the Caribbean’s.

I chose Celebrity Cruise Line’s Summit and the wheels was turning.

Day 1: April 11, 2019

Puerto Rico

We left home in the morning and flew with American Airlines to Miami, where we connected to the flight to San Jose, Puerto Rico.  We arrived at around 2:00 PM to our hotel, The Casa Blanca, which is located in a quiet and narrow road, right next to center of the historic section of town.  The hotel lobby was beautiful, decorated with Spanish style furniture and décor. Our room was spacious with 2 queen size beds and a comfortable bathroom.  The hotel is going through renovations.  There was no phone in the room.

Ronen & Yudit arrived a day earlier and were waiting for us in their room.  We decided to walk and find a restaurant not in the tourists’ area but in town.  When we visited the city few years ago we stumbled upon such a place and for some reason the name was stuck in my head.

We took a taxi and 10 minutes minutes later arrived to Los Pinos Café on Ave Ponce de Leon.  The time was around 4:30 but we were ready for dinner.  The service was very simple and the food…OMG.

We decided to walk back the 3 miles back to the hotel and made several stops along the way for picture taking.

  

We stopped at a deserted fort, in a middle of an urban neighborhood and then headed our way to Constitution Ave, where we saw the beautiful City Hall.

We then stopped at the Holocaust Memorial on Constitution Ave. The memorial was inaugurated in 2012. The memorial is made from weathering steel with carved out images representing a family whose shadows are cast in black granite. For me it is these shadows that really make you stop and think and also give rise to the statues title ‘In the Shadow of Their Absence’.

  

Around the statue there were bilingual plaques relating to the atrocities carried out on the Jews during World War II.  The monument not only commemorates the holocaust it also honors the 17 Puerto Rican tourists who lost their lives at the Lod Airport massacre in Israel in 1972.  A walkway entitled Path of the Righteous honors those who risked their lives to help others during the Second World War.

Once we made it to the hotel, exhausted from the heat and the humidity, we retired to our rooms.

Day 2: April 12, 2019

Puerto Rico

We woke up at 7:00 and headed to Starbucks, right next to the hotel, and had breakfast.

We met with our Walking Tour guide, in Plaza Colon and started the Historic Tour of the Old City.  Maria, the tour guide started by telling us a bit about the place where we met:

The Plaza, also called Columbus Plaza is located at the entrance to Old San Juan.  Originally, the city wall, La Muralla ran through this area and a large gated entrance was located on this spot. However, this portion of the protective city wall was removed in the late 1800's, but this area still serves as somewhat of an entrance to Old San Juan from the rest of the city. As such, along Fortaleza Street on the southern side of the plaza is where the buses stop and where the taxis congregate.

The plaza is surrounded by restaurants and cafes and souvenir shops. There are park benches in the plaza, but most of the plaza is not shaded very well, so it can get a bit hot in the middle of the day.

   

The highlight of Colon Plaza is the statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of the plaza. The statue features the discovere standing proud on top of a pillar with ships and sea serpents coming out of the base.

A fountain surrounding the statue shoots streams of water towards the base of the statue. The statue commemorates the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Puerto Rico by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the new world. Christopher Columbus originally named the entire island of Puerto Rico to be San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist), however the island was later renamed and only the capital city of San Juan retains the name. Bronze plaques on the base of the monument provide pectorals representations of the ocean journey and arrival of Christopher Columbus and the meeting of the indigenous people.

We walked in a narrow alley and arrived to a bank that its interior is covered with old and historic plaques.

      

A short walk from there stands Fort San Cristobal.  The fort was the biggest fortress on the American continent, when it was inaugurated in 1783.  It evolved over the years, with many changes made until it became what it is now. Along with other historic fortifications, it’s a part of the San Juan UNESCO World Heritage Site.


A short walk from the fortress we viewed, what maria called, the narrowest house in the world!.  Located on Calle Tetuan is La Casa Estrecha (the Narrow House). It has the reputation of being the smallest house in the world.  The house is sandwiched between two much larger houses. Maria added that on the inside, it is only 5 feet wide, goes back 36 feet, it has 2 stories. People speculate the original purpose of this house was slave quarters. Future plans may include a museum.

We stopped for Icy break at a small kiosk and had Limbers, an icy treat that is similar to an Italian ice, but with a tropical fruit twist.  The icy treat got its unusual name in honor of Charles A. Lindbergh, the first pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. When Lindbergh flew solo to Puerto Rico on his 26th birthday, in 1928, he was offered a frozen fruit juice. He enjoyed it and since then the locals started freezing the juice and called it Limber in honor of the man who inspired this much loved frozen treat.  The flavor options were endless.

We made a short stop at Parque La Palomas, also called The Pigeons Park.  The park is located next to Capilla del Cristo at the end of Cristo Street. It is only a small park but offers a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of Old San Juan and provides the pigeons of the area a great place to find shelter and food. As is typical in cities around the world, where there is a large gathering of birds, there will be someone selling bird food. For $1 you can continue this worldwide tradition.

The park is very picturesque with a couple of large trees whose trunks have twists and intertwines over the years to make really interesting trees. The back wall of the park provides special shelter to the pigeons by way of cut out holes all along the wall. I am not sure if these holes have been there since the park was opened, but the pigeons appreciate them.

Maria told us that Cristo Chapel was built to commemorate what legend says was a miracle. In 1753, a young rider lost control of his horse in a race down this very street during the fiesta of St. John’s Day and plunged over the steep rock. Moved by the accident, the secretary of the city invoked Christ to save the youth, and he had the chapel built when his prayers were answered. Today it’s a landmark in the old city and one of its best-known historical monuments.

   

Our next stop was at Fortaleza Street, just in front of "La Fortaleza", which is the PR Governor's residence.  The street was covered with colorful umbrellas.  Maria explained that after hurricane Maria, black and white Puerto Rican flags began to pop up around the island.  They were displayed as a sign of protest for some while for others they were a sign that the storm stripped away the beauty of the island. The Governor of Puerto Rico decided to change all that and few weeks later the entire street was covered with the beautiful umbrellas, in front of his house.  Maria added that “You can never strip away Puerto Rico’s true colors.”





   

We continued on Fortaleza Street towards the Governor’s house and arrived to a convent by the name of Convento De Siervas De Maria San Juan, established in 1886.  We entered the shrine, as a group of nuns rehearsed a concert.  It was a great stop.

  

Our next stop became a known symbol of Puerto Rico History: Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a XVI century citadel.  The fortress was built by the Spanish and was named in honor of their King Philip II. The fortification was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan from seaborne enemies.

The last stop of our wonderful tour was in the front of the Ballaja Barracks, where we saw a beautiful sculpture having three larger-than-life bronze figures intertwined in a struggle. The figures describe the rescue of the district of Ballaja by the Puerto Rican people. The figures are interacting on top of a cloak which represents "the forgotten".

We walked towards our hotel and stopped for a well deserved rest.

Dinner was at Don Tako, a Mexican Cantina, where we had a fantastic dinner.  Their Fish Taco’s were the best I have ever had.  We ended the night at an Ice Cream Parlor for deserts.

We returned to our hotel and before retiring, we packed our luggage for our next leg of the trip.

Day 3: April 13, 2019

Puerto Rico

As we were checking out, we received the terrible news that my best friend, Mendel, passed. 

“Life must go on”, said my loving wife, “Let’s enjoy the cruise.  We can mourn when we return home”, and so we did.

We walked to a small alley, where we found a home style restaurant for breakfast.  The place was packed with locals.  Always a good sign for good food!

We walked and arrived to Castillo San Felipe toured the grounds, and then returned to checkout from the hotel.

   

We checked into the Celebrity Summit and found our cabins to be beautiful.  The ship was renovated few months ago and everything there smelled new!

Tova & I already have been on this ship, cruising to Canada in October 2016, so we became the “guides” for Ronen & Yudit, showing them the highlights and locations of everything.

After lunch, we unpacked, took a nap and got ready for dinner at The Blu, our dining room for the next 7 days. Seeing my brother’s reaction to the elegant dining room, the service and the quality of the food, made me very happy.

After dinner we went to the theater to watch a comedian by the name of Derrick Cameron, a San Diego native.  His routine was okay (nothing special).

Day 4: April 14, 2019

St. Croix, USVI

The 84 square miles, makes the island to be the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the most eastern part of the Unites States.

The ship arrived to the island at 8:00 and we already had our breakfast and were ready to start exploring.

A pretty welcome-girl posed for pictures at the port.

We booked our driver at the port.  That was a big mistake, as their service was poor and slow.  Nevertheless, after waiting 30 minutes for the driver (though he was actually there the entire time, but waiting for a larger group to show up, so he could make a bigger profit), we were on our way.  The driver was rude as well and made us feeel unwelcomed.

We planned to visit the Botanic Garden on the island.  When we arrived there, we saw evidence of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.  


      

The place was practically deserted and whatever left on the ground was not enough to get us excited.

We strolled amid the ruins of this 17-acre estate, a former XIX Century sugarcane plantation village, which contains varied ecosystems from semi-arid cactus to lush green rain forest.

  

We returned to the port and sat Polly’s Bar, for ice cold beer, before returning back to our cabins.

  

Dinner was great with beautiful presentation of delicious dishes. In the theater tonight, the singers and dancers of the Summit, performed for 45 minutes with energy and dynamic, a performance of a show called “SoundTrack”, redefining music from famous movies.

Day 5: April 15, 2019

St. Maarten & St. Martin Islands

We woke up at 7:00 and had breakfast at the Oceanside Café.  While we ate, the ship was in the process of docking in the island.

We exited the ship at around 9:00 and found a nice guide/driver by the name of Joseph, in the city of Philipsburg  and headed first to the French island first: St. Martin.

Our first stop was at the border between the two islands and we then continued to the Nude beach called Orient Bay Beach.  The beach was almost empty with a dozen or so nude people laying around on towels or reclining chairs.  Pictures are not allowed there (make sense!) and after 5 minutes of strolling on the white sand, we returned to the car.






  

Joseph then took us to a top of a hill, and we stopped at a panoramic spot, where the entire island, the beautiful Marigot Bay and the ocean were right in front of our eyes and cameras and the views were spectaculars.

    

We then drove through the town and saw evidence of the devastating category 5 Hurricane Irma, which hit both islands on September 6th, 2017.  The hurricane left utter wreckage in its wake. Roofs were whisked away, and shops were knocked down to the ground, by the strong winds, and floodwaters inundated hotels, grocery stores, schools and homes. An estimated 90 percent of all structures were destroyed or seriously damaged. This was then and now what we had seen was the recovery efforts firsthand.

“The storm wiped them all out”, said Joseph, “and now we are rebuilding our islands”. What I found was both hopeful and unnerving, as constructions were felt everywhere of roads and building.

We stopped at the bottom of the hill, where we would visit the next attraction: Fort Louis.

Joseph described the site: Fort Louis was built in 1789 on a hill overlooking Marigot Bay and the island of Anguilla, by the locals in the town, on the orders of governor of St Martin and St Barth, following orders of the king of France at the time. Its primary function was to defend the harbor warehouses where goods were stored (salt, coffee, sugar cane, and rum).

Later the fort was abandoned and fell into ruin.

In the 19th century it was restored once more, only to be abandoned again. During this period it was also the site of battle between the French and the English, as the latter regularly came across from Anguilla to raid the warehouses.

   

We climbed the steps leading to the fort and the views from the top were astonishing. From its highest point the site offers an unrestricted view of Marigot Bay, Simpson Bay lagoon, Simpson Bay, Anguilla, the Lowlands, and Nettle Bay.

  

We spent almost an hour, looking at the views and tried to capture in our cameras the speeding iguanas.

We headed to the second islands, belonging to the Dutch Government: St. Maarten.  Joseph, who was born on the Dutch side of the island, was proud to tell us some facts about this island: 

The Island’s history started peacefully. Even though the island was no ace in the imperial holdings, the island did have its share of skirmishes and smoky gun battles. It changed hands many times between the Spanish, Dutch and French powers. The old stone forts, which guard many of the islands inlets, are proof of the island’s turbulent past.

Traces of Stone Age settlements have been found on the island, dating back to 6,000 years ago. Around 800 AD most Caribbean islands were settled by Arawak Indians who arrived from South America to settle down to a life of fishing, hunting and farming.

However, in the XIV century, the cannibalistic Carib Indians followed the Arawak Indians. They were a much more war-like tribe. They also named the island as Soualiga, which means “Salt Island”. This was due to its main mineral deposit. In fact, the remains of the Great Salt Pond can still be seen in Philipsburg today (we did not visit).

The legend says that the island received its name from the day Christopher Columbus landed on the island. That was on November 11th 1493.

Even though the Spanish sighted the island, they didn’t settle here immediately. Conversely, in 1630 the Dutch and French established small settlements there. The Spanish saw this as a threat to their influence in the region and launched attacks on the island - driving out both the Dutch and French settlements.

The Dutch and French fought together to beat back and repel the Spanish, and finally in 1644 they achieved their goal so the Spanish finally abandoned their claims to the Eastern Caribbean altogether. In 1648 and after driving out the Spanish, the Dutch and French agreed to divide the island. Over the next few years, the boundary was the subject of numerous disputes, which were not settled until 1817. In this timeframe the island changed hands between the two powers 16 times!

We made sure Joseph stops at Maho Beach, right next to the world famous Princess Juliana Airport.

Maho Beach is famous for seeing the planes taking off and landing at the airport.  When they land, they come very close to the beach and the spectators' cheers them on.  I, of course, heard about this attraction and joined the crowd for pictures taking.  A sign with a warning was posted in several place on the fence between the beach and the airport, as the planes create a turbulence that is greatly dangerous.  As I was taking pictures, earlier upon my arrival there, I was knocked down to the sand.  I could feel the strong blow coming from the jet’s engines.  

In July 2017, a tourist was killed after a blast from a jet that was taking off nearby knocked her into a retaining wall. She had been standing at a fence that separates Maho Beach and the runway. The area has become a popular, and even though it was dangerous, tourists flock here seeking to feel the powerful winds of an aircraft's jet-engine revving for takeoff just yards away.

At the time of the incident, the woman had been hanging onto the fence along with several others, according to a statement from the Police Force of Sint Maarten. As a large plane was taking off, the woman was “blown away by the jet blast and was seriously injured.  She later died in the hospital.

  

We drove into town, shopped for awhile and then returned to the ship.

After dinner we went to the theater to enjoy a show called All McCartney Live, featuring the music legacy of Paul McCartney.  It was a great tribute to The Beatles.

Day 6: April 16, 2019

Dominica

Woke up at 7:00, as our ship was arriving to Roseau, Dominica and after breakfast we met with our guide David and started, what turned out, a beautiful day.

  

   

David started with a brief introduction: Roseau is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of around 15,000. It is a small and compact urban settlement, the oldest and most important urban settlement and port on the island of Dominica.  The port is used for foreign trade. Some exports include bananas, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges, and cocoa. The service sector is also a large part of the local economy. There are several private institutions registered in Dominica, like Ross University, All Saints University, New World University, and Western Orthodox University.

        

Trafalgar Falls was our first destination.  We drove for about 25 minutes, passing beautiful forests with lots of flora, and arrived to the Visitors Center.  We walked, on a well-maintained path, for additional 10 minutes and viewed the famous twin waterfalls.  A viewing platform allowed us to photograph both falls a short distance away. The Father Fall was at our left with a drop of more than 280 feet and the Mother Fall was at our right with “just” half the size.

   

Next stop was at a hot spring, nothing special except the “rotten eggs” smell, and then drove to the Ti Tu Gorge, which means "Little Throat Hole" in Creole and it accurately describes this place. We had fun wading, swimming and looking up at the "throat" of a mountain as a waterfall, located inside the gorge, was filling the pool Where we were.  The gorge was formed thousands of years ago and is flanked by the rock walls that provide an intricate and breathtaking setting.

  

Both Ronen and I, jump into the pool and swam towards the water fall.  It was quite an experience and helped was needed and provided by the local personal as we got closer to the "mouth".

On our way to the next stop, we saw a School Bus that was smashed under a falling tree.  David told us that it is a souvenir from Hurricane Maria just few months ago.  The bus was cleared of the students just 10 minutes before it was crushed.

We drove to a hill, overlooking the ocean and saw our beautiful ship, resting in the calm waters of the Caribbean’s Sea.

Our last stop of this busy day was at the Champagne Beach. This place was named "Champagne Beach" because of small gas bubbles continuously rise from the volcanic sea floor creating fantastic underwater scenery, which is with combination of crystal clear water and extensive marine life.

Ronen & I rented some snorkeling gear and swam to the reef, where the action took place. It was a perfect day for snorkeling and diving. The beach itself was very rocky with black volcanic sand in spots.  The sight of the bubbles coming out of the sea’s ground was breathtaking.

On the way back to the hut, where Tova & Yudit were waiting, I fell awkwardly on one of the rocks on the beach and had back spasms that lasted long after the cruise. (I am okay now!).  As we arrived to our cabin, I took some pain killers and felt better.

After dinner we view a show in the theater by the name of Chandelier.  The show illuminated a series of characters whose emotions were brought to life through contemporary songs from Queen to Lady Gaga to Bruce Springsteen.

Day 7: April 17, 2019

Bridgetown, Barbados

After breakfast we disembarked the ship and went to the downtown area of Bridgetown.

We visited the church, the Governor House, and then stopped for some shopping in the Duty Free department Store.

  

Our main goal was to visit the historic Nidḥe Israel Synagogue. (The Synagogue of the Scattered of Israel).  We entered the complex, which is the only synagogue in Bridgetown and one of the oldest synagogues in the Western hemisphere.  In 2011 the synagogue and excavated Mikvah were designated as UNESCO protected properties within the World Heritage Site of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison area.

It was developed by Sephardic Jewish settlers that arrived in Barbados from Brazil around 1628, soon after English settlement of the island in 1627.  The building originally covered an area of approximately 2,000 square feet and held about 300 people.  The synagogue was damaged in the 1831 hurricane, but subsequently was rebuilt on the same site in 1833.

The Sephardic community was orthodox.  The men worshipped separately on the lower level and the women used the upstairs gallery.

After the synagogue was rebuilt by 1834, the number of Jewish residents in Barbados began to dwindle.  Many of them migrated to the United States where they started other Jewish communities, especially in New England.  Some left to the United Kingdom.

By 1929, the synagogue was sold by the last remaining Jewish resident, to a Bridgetown solicitor.  The synagogue was subsequently desecrated, being used over the ensuing period as offices, a law library, and for a company of traders.  By the early 1980’s, the building ended up in disrepair and was seized by Government in 1983.

Within this period of transition, an influx of Ashkenazi Jews from Europe settled in Barbados in 1932.  Relatives of a number of these people still reside on the island today.  By 1985, this new community petitioned the Government to turn the building over to the Barbados National Trust, and by 1986, the renovation of the building began.  The original design of the synagogue was recreated using old photos from the Barbados Museum, and some items from the original building were retrieved.  The renovation was completed in 1989 when the building was rededicated as a synagogue and opened for services.

  

We visited the cemetery and saw some reallyold graves and then the museum, which traces Jewish history in Barbados dating back to the arrival of the earliest Jews in 1628 and highlights their contribution to Barbadian society, were worth seeing as well as the interior and the exterior of the Synagogue.

   

We returned to the ship and after dinner were treated to a BEAUTIFUL PERFORMANCE by 2 members of the New York Ballet Theater, accompanied by a great violinist by the name of Katerina Rosa. 

    

According to the Ship director we were the first audience to watch this performance as celebrity Cruises through an exclusive contract with the ballet company.

Day 8: April 18, 2019

St. George’s, Grenada

      

We woke up as the ship was docking at the beautiful port of St. George, Grenada.  After breakfast we disembarked and started a self-guided tour of the city.  Not far from the port we found Fort George.  

Towering 175 ft above the St. George's harbor, Fort George is not only the oldest but undoubtedly the most significant fort on the island, having always stood at a focal point as major changes occurred in political and military landscape of Grenada.  Dating back to the 1600's, while Grenada was still a French colony, Fort George was originally known as Fort Royal and served as a battery with commanding views over the sandy shoreline.  Between 1701 and 1713 Fort Royal was upgraded as part of the plan of making Grenada a trading post, an agreement forged between Spain and Great Britain in 1713 that governed the supply of African slaves to the Spanish colonies in the Americas.

After the British seized control of the island in 1762 Fort Royal was renamed Fort George, in honor of King George III.

The most significant and well-known role of Fort George is unquestionably during the Grenadian Revolution and US Invasion. In 1979 the fort became the headquarters of the People's Revolutionary Army and was renamed Fort Rupert, in memory of Rupert Bishop, the father of the then Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Forever etched in the minds and memories of the Grenadian people is the execution of at least 24 persons in the central courtyard of Fort Rupert including Prime Minister Bishop and four of his cabinet members by the more Marxist wing of his party on October 19th, 1983, Bloody Wednesday.

Although Fort George now serves as the headquarters of the Royal Grenada Police Force some areas are opened to the public daily. There is even a (modern) gym in the complex.

  

  

We strolled around the main courtyard and enjoyed amazing views of the beach all the way down to the new Cruise Ship Terminal and the downtown area.

   

The only historical elements which have been well preserved over the years are the massive 1800's cast-iron cannons, which are still in perfect working condition and (we understood that) they are sometimes fired off on special occasions.

         

We stepped down the hill and continued to walk towards the busy fishing port.  The scene was picturesque and we strolled slowly to the other end.  Many fishermen were offering their fresh catch and locals were busy checking out the fresh fishes and other sea creatures, before making their decisions for buying.

I noticed a statue, made out of bronze, standing tall in the harbor.  The statue was presented as a gift by the Costa Steamship Line and to the people of Grenada for their help in rescuing the 400 passengers and 300 crew members from the Bianca C cruise ship which caught fire after an explosion in the harbor in 1961. Christ of the Deep stands guard on the harbor in thanks to the people of Grenada.