Pirates of the Caribbean!

Day 7, March 18, 2011   

    

We followed six other cruise ships into Bridgetown, Barbados Harbor this morning.  We were the smallest by far, and we can’t imagine what it must be like on some of those “floating apartment houses”.  The estimated 25,000 passengers and crew made the streets of Bridgetown very crowded.  We’ve been here before so we weren’t interesting in taking any tours or participating in any water activities.  We walked over a mile into town and visited two very old and elaborate Churches.  Local women welcomed us into their churches and they were anxious to share the Church’s history with all who entered. St. Michael’s Cathedral was built in 1651.  George Washington is believed to have worshipped in the Cathedral during his only trip abroad. 

     

You could see and feel the British influence in the buildings and monuments.  The policemen were dressed like Lord Nelson’s fleetsmen.  

The mile walk back seemed longer as we wandered in and out of the wharf area referred to as the “Careenage” because ships often were keeled over (careened) so barnacles could be scraped from their hulls and seams could be caulked and painted.  Our favorite stop on the walk back was the public fish market.  The picture will give you a good idea of what we saw, but we would need “smell-a-blog” to truly represent the market.

   

We sailed out of Barbados at 4:00 pm, and made a sharp left into the Atlantic.  Our captain set our course at 88 degrees.  We are at 13 degrees N latitude and Cape Verde is nearly straight east of us.  We have 2029 nautical miles to go before we see land again in four days – Cape Verde here we come!

We are hoping for a smooth sail, good internet access and clear skies at night – Good friend, Tom Senning reminded us that tomorrow’s full moon will be very bright because the moon will be in the nearest position in it’s eighteen year cycle.  See you on the observation deck!