Kingstown, St. Vincent

Thursday, 11 Jan 2018 – For the second morning in a row, our ship docked alongside a monster of a ship, the “Azora” (a ship of the P & O line).  The Insignia is dwarfed by the Azora.  As we ate breakfast and lunch in the Terrace Café, we could see some of those passengers relaxing on their balconies.

At the Port Entrance

Our 2-hour bus tour started at 10:00 AM.  Again, we were on a small bus with 15 passengers, with Sarah as our guide and Deno as the driver.  Also, again it rained on and off.  St. Vincent is a mountainous and scenic island.  However, clouds hung low on the tops of the highest hills, making decent photography impossible.  From Kingstown, we rode up into the hilly southern part of the island, riding by expensive houses.  In the front yard of one nice house, a goat was tied to a tree.  (We saw several goats in an open area not too far from that house.)

Bananas were the island’s main export until disease stopped banana production.  Now tourism is the main industry.  Cocoa production is increasing, and coffee is just starting.

At the Beach

We pulled off for about 20 minutes at a scenic view point, where we could see houses clustered all over the surrounding hills.  At a second stop beside a small beach, we were treated to fruit punch.  Several nearby tiny, rocky islands create dramatic scenery in that area.  We stopped briefly for a third time where we could look down at our ship from our higher view point.

After returning to the ship, we ate lunch and then swam.  Before dinner, we danced.

 Tonight was Italian night in the Terrace Café.  Tables were set with red & white checkered tablecloths; the wait staff wore hats and orange shirts.  Meats included a whole roasted pig, which was on display.  Broiled lobster tail is always available for dinner in the Terrace Café and, until tonight, Sally has been unable to resist that.  Last night she ate lobster tail for the sixth time since we’ve been on the ship, but tonight she finally ate something else instead!  Meanwhile, Jesse is enjoying all of the food, especially the desserts!