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Travel

Did Someone Say Rum? Martinique, Part 2

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Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique

The next stop on our Martinique tour was the Depaz Rhum Distillery. Now this was pretty nice rum, and the facility has some very historic origins. There was plenty to see and photograph there. The taste of rum was good, but was pretty skimpy, however.

Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique

I didn’t end up bringing home any ‘liquid souvenirs’ from this trip. Unfortunately the cruise lines are strict about bringing liquor on board. And while I could have brought it onto the ship from the port on this cruise, the rules would prevent me from taking it on the next ship. Strange but there is no getting around it – I asked ahead of time!

Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Trees at the Depaz Rhum Distillery on the Island of Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Distillerie Depaz, rum distillery in St-Pierre, Martinique
Photography

Out Of The Ashes: Martinique, Part 1

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Approaching the cruise terminal in Port de France, Martinique aboard Celebrity Equinox

Our stop in Martinique was our first visit to this lovely island, so we made the best of it by taking an all-day ship tour. Over the course of 8 hours we visited: the ruins from a 1902 volcanic eruption, a rum distillery, a local restaurant for authentic Creole-influenced island cuisine, a botanical garden, and to balance off the rum distillery, a church.

Approaching the cruise terminal in Port de France, Martinique aboard Celebrity Equinox

For length, I have divided the photo highlights from Martinique over 3 posts. The first one covers our approach to the island and our visit to the ruins and the Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre.

Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre, Martinique
Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre, Martinique
Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre, Martinique
Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre, Martinique
Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre, Martinique
Musée Frank A. Perret, memorial to the Catastrophe of 1902 in St-Pierre, Martinique
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
Cachot de Cyparis, ruins of a 19th Century Theater and Prison, both destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1902
St-Pierre, Martinique
St-Pierre, Martinique
St-Pierre, Martinique
Travel

A Stop At St. Kitts

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Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts

We don’t always do tours on the islands we visit, but there were several where we found something interesting to do. On St. Kitts, we took a ship tour to the Fairview Great House and Botanical Gardens for a guided visit to the estate and rum tasting. Yum!

Rum tasting during our tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts

The rum was pretty good, but it was all flavored rum, which is not my thing. We didn’t mind the tastes, though! 🙂

Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Tour of Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden on St. Kitts
Welcome to St. Kitts!
Sailaway from St. Kitts on the helipad of Celebrity Equinox
Travel

Sailing From Fort Lauderdale, Part 1

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Drawbridge carrying 17th Street/US A1A over the Stranahan River in Fort Lauderdale

Kathy & I enjoy cruises that depart from Fort Lauderdale, and we’ve done a bunch of them. The airport is close enough to the cruise port that you can see the top of the ships from the concourse. It’s an easy flight from Charlotte and the schedules usually provide plenty of choices for flights.

Drawbridge carrying 17th Street/US A1A over the Stranahan River in Fort Lauderdale

We generally arrive in Fort Lauderdale the day before a cruise and stay at a hotel along 17th Street, which crosses the Intracoastal Waterway via a drawbridge that provides a nice view of the cruise port and all of the big money yachts that sail in and out of the harbor. More money than I’ll ever have!

Drawbridge carrying 17th Street/US A1A over the Stranahan River in Fort Lauderdale

Departing the port is always fun, because a number of the residents of the high rise condos near the opening to the sea will stand outside, wave banners, blow horns and generally say ‘bon voyage.’ One of the residents even has a webcam where he will upload footage to a website and you can watch yourself sail by. Some cruise passengers go so far as to bring their own banners, wear bright colored clothing and make a point of standing on the Port (left) side of the ship facing the camera.

Yachts docked in the marina along the Stranahan River in Fort Lauderdale
Yachts docked in the marina along the Stranahan River in Fort Lauderdale
Yachts docked in the marina along the Stranahan River in Fort Lauderdale

Since we did a back-to-back sailing on the same ship, Celebrity Equinox, we returned to Fort Lauderdale 10 days later, so Part 2 will have some of the photos from our “turnaround day.”

View of the Port Everglades Cruise Port in Fort Lauderdale
View of the Port Everglades Cruise Port in Fort Lauderdale
New construction along 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale
Departing Port Everglades aboard Celebrity Equinox
Shadows on the Promenade Deck during departure from Port Everglades aboard Celebrity Equinox
Departing Port Everglades aboard Celebrity Equinox
How many motors are enough?
Pilot boat during our departure from Port Everglades aboard Celebrity Equinox
Postcards

Postcard From Belize

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High Temple, a Mayan structure at Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, Belize

While in Belize we took a ship tour to the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, a site consisting of the remains of several Mayan temples and other structures from Mayan times. It was a fascinating tour and I even got to climb one of the pyramids (not this one)! You can get a sense of the size of this temple by finding the worker – about halfway up, just to the right of the stairs – doing restoration work.

This is the last Postcard from our voyages, as Belize was the last port where we got off the ship. We have visited Cozumel numerous times, and while Grand Cayman is very nice, it is another port where the ship does not dock. A “tender port” is where one of the ship’s tenders or a larger boat from shore is needed to get onto the land. In both cases we decided to enjoy a mostly empty ship.

More photos to follow!

Postcards

Postcard From Key West

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The Sunset Pier Bar in Key West, Florida

We made it home from sunny Florida to gray and cloudy Charlotte yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. I’ve got my photos downloaded and should be able to start on some editing and processing over the next few days. We were gone a while, so there are a few more important things to do as well.

The first stop on our third cruise, aboard Celebrity Apex, was in Key West, FL. We pretty much wandered around looking for photos, and I kind of liked the repetition of all the tables along this pier. I’m certain the scene would be a lot different at sunset, but early in the morning I was able to get the tables and umbrellas all in a line, mostly uninterrupted by tourists!

Postcards

Postcard From Curacao

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The Queen Emma Bridge and the waterfront of Willemstad, Curacao

The Queen Emma Bridge is a pontoon bridge connecting pedestrian traffic between two sections of Willemstad Curacao. The bridge is hinged and opens regularly to enable the passage of oceangoing vessels. On the opposite end from the hinge is a small shelter where an operator controls two diesel engines turning propellers. The propellers are mounted perpendicular to the length of the bridge and allow it to swing parallel to the shore. The process only takes a few minutes to complete, although the bridge can remain open for much longer depending on ship traffic.

Postcards

Postcards From The Caribbean

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View of the Mount Liamuiga volcano on the island of of St. Kitts

Kathy & I are currently “binge cruising,” having just completed the first of three cruises to the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale. The first cruise, aboard Celebrity Equinox, was a 10-night cruise that visited St. Kitts, Grenada, Martinique, St. Lucia and Antigua. We took tours on all but Grenada, and needless to say I came back with a few photos, which I will likely not look at too much until we get home.

We embark this afternoon aboard the same ship, Celebrity Equinox, on a 9-night cruise that will visit Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). On Saturday, February 18 we move to Celebrity Apex for a 7 night cruise to the Western Caribbean. After that we head back to Charlotte to rest and go on diets. 😉

I’ll have some more photos but no specific timetable to posting them. Too many things to do to spend time on the computer. Today was a good day to look at a few because we didn’t have to get off the ship! More later!

Trees at the Depaz Rhum Distillery on the Island of Martinique
Boat on the beach in Anse La Raye on the island of St. Lucia
View of Nelson’s Dockyard from The Lookout. Part of the Shirley Heights Military Complex on the island of Antigua