A Day at Sea

     Today is a day at sea for the rum crew.   We are enroute to Barbados for a day of distillery and rum shop visitation.       We will start out with St Nicolas Abbey, then to the Foursquare Distillery, followed by Cockspur’s West Indies Rum Distillery.   The rest of the shore time will be spent visiting some of the many rum shops on the island.

     Today it was off to the gym at 6:30 this morning for an hour workout on some of the finest equipment that I’ve ever seen.     This ship has great equipment throughout, and the gym is no exception.    After a great workout and breakfast, I retired to the pool for some tanning and relaxation.     After lunch it was time for the rum seminars.

     The first one was a great lecture and tasting by Bacardi’s David Cid.    David covered the beginnings of Bacardi in 1862 by Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, and the his approach using the “scientific method” to bring rum out of the cellar as a spirit and how he was crucial in redefining the “Spirit of the Caribbean”.     There was an opportunity to taste several of the Bacardi brand rums including the new Bacardi Oakheart Spiced rum.      David’s discussion of yeast, and fermentation was very informative and will be the subject of another blog when I get back home.

     Next was another seminar, this time by Esteban Ordonez from Don Q and the Serralles Family’s distillery in Ponce, Puerto Rico.     Esteban spent a lot of time discussing the importance and the ins and out of aging and blending of the rum.    It is the belief of the Don Q people that barrels need to be used for three different types of aging before they are ready for use in their rum aging method.     They believe that they like most others that you need to start with American Oak Barrels use to age Bourbon, the Canadian Whiskey, Scotch Whiskey, before they are ready for Don Q to be aged in the barrels.     He also discussed the “science of distillation” and the “art of blending’ rums.     We were able to taste several of the Don Q Rums including their top of the line Solera aged Don Q Gran Anejo.

     Finally was the cocktail contest by the Bacardi people after a discussion of the cocktail history of Bacardi and the late 1800”s and the early 1900’s in Cuba.       After the discussion teams were chosen, off to our tables we went to create three cocktails.    First one was the “Mojito”, then the” Daiquiri”, and finally the “Bacardi Cocktail”.     When the results were compiled, and our team won the overall with our “Bacardi Cocktail”, yeah team!!!    These events were very good and I did enjoy the seminars and the cocktail competition.

Watch for the next edition with pictures and stories from Barbados, home of great rums and the “Flying Fish Sandwich”.     ;o)

A Second Day in Old San Juan

     Second day in Old San Juan, it’s off to the trolley and a tour of Old San Juan.      Today we are following the wall as we travel around the city.    Known as the walled city, Old San Juan is a historically significant place that was held and attacked by many countries since its beginnings in the Sixteenth Century.     The fortress is immense and is strategically located at the entrance to San Juan Harbor with Fort San Juan de la Cruz across the harbor from it placing any enemy vessel in a deadly cross fire as it tries to enter the bay.

After leaving San Felipe El Morro Castle, it was down into the walled city to explore the walls and the architecture of this magnificent old city.   Wandering through these narrow streets is an adventure in itself.   You turn a corner and a new world pops up right in front of you and you just can’t keep the camera from taking another and another and another picture.     As we moved toward the South side of the city we were back to the walls again and the feeling that the city had to be impregnable from the land or the sea.     These walls at least 20 feet thick and made of stone and concrete are just plain impressive.     With our time in Old San Juan running out far too quickly, we headed for the port and the Celebrity Summit to get aboard for the beginning of our next adventure.

   

     Once aboard the Celebrity Summit, we got checked in, had the safety drill, move into our room, then it was time for some lunch in the Waterfall café for some lunch and then off to the Setting Sail Party by the pool on the 10^th deck.     The crew made sure that we were well stocked with rum drinks as the ship slowly backed out of its berth and was turned around and got under way.     I can feel the ships movement now as we are at sea and I am in the room typing about today’s events.

Tomorrow is a day at sea so we will be wandering around the ship and seeing what the ship has to offer us as we embark on our sea day. ;o).    

                                                                                                                                               

Walking Through the Walled City of San Juan

Castillo De San Cristobal

Castillo San Felipe Del Morro



This is a recovery day here in Old San Juan, we walked through the streets and spent some time in Paseo de la Princesa.     This is just below the wall of the city on the Southside.      Old San Juan is known as the walled city, because there are stone walls on three sides of the city that protected it from attack from the sea.     The two major fortresses are San Felipe El Morro Castle and San Cristobal Castle at East and West ends of the city.     These 16^th century fortresses have protected San Juan proudly since their construction.    Today nearly 2 million visitors a year visit these “Castles”.     If you ever come to San Juan you will be remiss if you don’t take the time to see these magnificent structures.

     The Walled city itself is a pleasure to walk through the blue cobble stone streets and enjoy the colorful buildings.     The restaurants, and bars here in Old San Juan are as unique as the city itself.       Many of the bars have historical significance to the rum world, like Barrachina where it is claimed in 1965 that the Pina Colada was first created, even though there is a lot of controversy about that, because it is also claimed that it was created at the Caribe Hilton also in San Juan in 1954.    As we wandered through these narrow streets, we found ourselves just enjoying the walk and seeing all of the unique architecture and colors of the city.

     Our stay in Old San Juan is a short on, because tomorrow we have a couple of welcome parties, then it is boarding of the cruise ship for the Rum Cruise.    I wish I had a little more time here in San Juan to get over to the Barrilito and Bacardi Distilleries here  in San Juan, but that can be saved for another visit when there is more time.     We will have to just see what tomorrow has to offer, with Rums of Puerto Rico and Don Q welcome parties.     ;o)

Travel Day to San Juan

     This day is a travel day; we are leaving the Virgin Islands today headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico.     We spent the morning enjoying our last moments of beautiful views and great fun in the Virgin Islands.     I spent some time this morning with my old friend Robert Z and then back to the condo to pick up the rest of the crew and off to the airport.

     Last night Marta and I spent the evening enjoying a fine dinner at Mim’s and a fun time at Iggie’s enjoying the live music and Jason’s fine cocktails.      Jack and Lauren, two of our lab mice, use to live in St. Thomas and work at Iggie’s.   They gave us some really great recommendations of where to eat and drink, and we really appreciate their recommendations because the food, drink and the vibe was absolutely excellent.     

     Today was a recovery day after 5 fun filled days in the Virgin Islands and all of the hijinks of the week; we need to recover before starting the Rum Day in Puerto Rico and the Rum Cruise to follow.      Tomorrow we are visiting a distillery or two here in Puerto Rico, and wandering around Old San Juan visiting some very unique watering holes.      Until tomorrow, it is a laid back evening here in the room.     ;o)

Last Day at Sea: Jost Van Dyke & Cane Garden Bay

     Today we slept in a bit and hit the water headed for Cane Garden Bay and the Callwood Distillery.     It was a bit rainy as we past to the North of St. John and Tortola to slide into Cane Garden Bay in a nice 2 foot swell.    After securing the boat on a mooring ball it was off to the distillery.    It was good to revisit the oldest continuously operating distillery in the world again and to tour around this place where rum is still made the way it was hundreds of years ago.     Seeing the old wood fired pot still and the old condenser it is just a living museum of rum making.     After buying a bottle of Arundel Cane Rum to take back to the boat it was off to Jost Van Dyke for the rest of the day.

     The light rain did not deter us from our voyage across the water from Cane Garden Bay to Great Harbour and Jost Van Dyke.    Our first stop after docking was Corsair’s, a great little bar and grill that is just loaded with character and memorabilia.     After having a great British style grouper & chips lunch and a couple of really tasty cocktails, we were ready for the safari ride over the mountain to White Bay and a visit to the Soggy Dollar.

     The ride over the mountain is an “E-ticket ride” at Disneyland; it is vertical up one side of the mountain and vertical down the other.    We just prayed that the brakes would hold as we enjoyed the fabulous scenery on the approach to White Bay.     A few “white knuckled” minutes later and a great at job by our skilled driver we were safe and sound at the Soggy Dollar.    Immediately it was off to the bar and having Mic fix us Pain Killers from the place that they were first created.     The drinks were fabulous and it was a pleasure to watch the Painkiller master work his magic.     We spent the next couple of hours hang and chillin’ on the beach and enjoying the beauty and the pain killers.    Alas it was time to make the trek over the mountain again and make a stop at Foxy’s before getting aboard the Naughty Nymph #43 again.

     We spent quite some time at the Soggy Dollar, so it was a short visit to Foxy’s.  Fortunately we got the chance to sit and talk with Foxy for quite some time on Monday when we were diverted from Cane Garden Bay by a 12 to 18 foot North swell.   We were able to have a cocktail there before getting underway again.

      Now it is back to St. John and the US Customs check in and home again to Red Hook on St. Thomas.  Tonight we are headed for dinner at Mim’s on Bolongo Bay the over to Iggy’s for an evening bash as our last hooray here in the Virgin Islands.    Thursday it is back to the plane for a short hop to San Juan for 2 days of distillery visitation.     ;o)

St. Johns and the Southside of the Channel Today

     Today we head for the south side of St. John and the string of islands on the Southside of the Sir Francis Drake Channel.      As we leave Red Hook Harbour, the seas are angry and jousting us around leaving us wondering if we are going to have another day of heavy seas to contend with.     Fortunately, the sea calmed down as we approached the Southside of St. John.    

     St. John’s South coast is absolutely beautiful, with the cliffs and the phenomenal houses perched on them.    The sea has the most beautiful shades of blue that can hardly be described.     It’s like Jimmy Buffett says in his song, “don’t try to describe the water if you haven’t seen it,”  it is really hard to describe even if you have seen it.     As we cruise toward the east South of St. John, we saw Flying Fish skimming the water for hundreds of yards at a time over the water.

     This day is a shorter day of traveling than yesterday, and will be spent in more ports for a longer  time than yesterday.     Our first stop of the day is at Ginger Island  and the Ginger Island Hotel.    This beautiful resort boast a newly renovated property that has a great bar and restaurant.     There are cute little Boutiques  and  a beautiful beach making this one of the neatest little resorts that we have come across.    We spent some time sitting at the bar and enjoying their fine and unique cocktails.    Between the cocktails, the beautiful waters, and beach made this a great place to hang out.

     Next is one of the BVI’s favorite and most popular hangouts.     The Willie T, also known as the William Thornton, this ship is a restaurant, bar and party palace from opening until closing.    We had a great lunch onboard along with fine cocktails and hijinks.       After lunch and a few cocktail, it was up to the second story deck for a dive into the clear blue sea and a short swim.     The word is if you dive naked off the aft second story deck you get a free tee shirt.    We sat and enjoyed the waters and the fun at the bar, but it was time for us to head back to St. John and Skinny Legs.

     The waters were still flat and easy to cruise on as we traveled from Norman Island to Coral Bay to visit Skinny Legs and have an afternoon snack and cocktail.     We pushed our nose in among the dinghy’s and threw an anchor aft  to hold the boat in place and we were ashore headed into the jungle and searching for Skinny Legs.     It is a real adventure just to find this quaint little place, but it is well worth the search.   The vibe at the place is local warm and friendly, and the food is great and the beer is ice cold.     All of us  really enjoyed our short stay at Skinny Legs, but the sands were running out of the hour glass a t a rate to quick, and it was time for us to head back to Red Hook and the end of another fun day on the waters of the Virgin Islands.       It was up to the Caribbean Saloon for a couple of cocktail for the Captain, me and the rest of the crew before returning to the condo for the night.

     Tomorrow it is a day at Jost Van Dyke with stops at White Bay, Great Bay, and the Northeast corner of the island with stops at some the BVI’s most famous watering holes.     If the Seas allow we will also be making a stop in Cane Garden Bay to visit the Callwood Distillery.     ;o)

St. Thomas Day 3 Time to Hit the Water for the BVI

     Day 3 finds us heading out of Red Hook Marina in a 29 foot Fountain boat heading for the BVI.     After checking into the BVI at Soper’s Hole, we headed back into the Sir Francis Drake Channel and headed for Road Harbour and a cocktail at Pusser’s Outpost.     After a brief stop in Road Harbour it was back out into the Sir Francis Drake  Channel again for a trip up past Beef Island, the Bluffs, The Dogs, and Seal Rock before heading into  the Gorda Sound and the Bitter End Yacht Club and Saba Rock for lunch and a couple of fine rum cocktails.

     Saba Rock is a unique little resort, museum, bar, and grill   perched literally on a rock that send you out into the Atlantic Ocean at the eastern most end of the BVI.      We all wandered the rock and visited the Toucans, museum, and sat ourselves down for a fabulous lunch and some more cocktails before continuing our voyage.     Gorda Sound was loaded with sailing vessels and other interesting vessels that we weaved around as we entered the moorings outside of Saba Rock.      As we enjoyed our meal and cocktails we noticed a couple of large tarpon swim by near the boat and a number of people riding their tenders in from moored boats for lunch as well. 

Foxy  and Bahama Bob at Foxy's

     With lunch behind us it was off to the North Side of Tortola and hopefully into Cane Garden Bay for a visit to the Callwood Distillery and Stanley’s.     As we worked our way around Seal Rock and the Dogs headed toward Beef Island, we noticed that we were experiencing 15 to 18 foot long frequency swells.     We kept a stiff upper lip and progressed to the West, but as we did we noticed that the beaches on the North side of Tortola were being hammered by some huge and beautiful surf.      We were not having any problem navigating the swells as we kept moving to the West , but a check of the conditions in Cane Garden Bay, we  chose to take a stop at Jost Van Dyke and see Foxy for a while.     We had a couple of cocktails with Foxy and his Daughter, talked about everything under the sun for a couple of hours before heading back out to sea for the final leg of the day taking us back to Red Hook Marina.

    A stop at the Island Time Bar and Duffy’s Love Shack  for a few cocktails before heading back to the condo to plan for tomorrow’s day out on the water.      It looks as though we are going to spend the day on the southern side of the Sir Francis Drake Channel exploring St. John and Normand Island.     Be sure to keep up with us as we continue our adventure in the Virgin Islands.    ;o)