TravelwithMitsugirly NCL Escape Day 3 roatan

Mitsugirly needed to ESCAPE from the cold weather

Day 3: MONDAY DECEMBER 16

An extra hour of sleep and not having to get up super early for a port=winning!!!

Walking once again...we headed up to the buffet for breakfast. Even though we weren't in port until 10am, we knew that they always seem to let you off early and with my mobility problems, we would need extra time. I believe I set my alarm for 7:30am, which is still later than we would normally do.

Pulling into port

They are still working on the new dock.

Pulling into port, the locals are already sitting out there playing music and dancing for tips. They can't wait.

There were 2 men standing/leaning on this platform. We watched them for quite some time and I began to wonder if they were even real. We started taking bets. Like they seriously didn't move for a very long time. Then FINALLY...and I lost the bet. LOL

I took one look at the pier when they turned us loose and thought OH EM GEE!

Once we got out on the pier, there were wheelchairs all lined up. The hubby walked up and ask them if they could wheel me down the pier and they said yes, that's what they were here for. Then off we went.

I stopped them and said I wanted to take a picture real fast OUT of the wheelchair. I slothed my way over to the crab and did our picture.

Then off we went again. I was pushed all the way to the port entrance and then I had to walk it the rest of the way.

So Roatan...oh how we've loved you every time we've been here. This is my "go to" place for scuba diving. The reef here is just AMAZING!

I actually considered not wanting to cruise for the fact that I wouldn't be able to scuba dive, snorkel or swim really. So, I searched everywhere for something to do here. We felt like we've done a lot and we are not your "tour" type of people most of the time.

SLOTHS!! Just like me!! That would work. But going to see the sloths really wouldn't be an "all day" thing for me. So I really wasn't sure.

Then I got this really wild thought....like really really wild thought!!! I contacted West Bay Divers (that we dove with 4 months ago). I actually texted the owner of the company (who was so nice to text me after our dive last time to make sure we had a good time...like that has NEVER happened before with ANY tour/dive/excursion company. That really made me have high regards for this company). So after texting the owner, he gave me his email. I told him everything that had happened to me after returning from my last cruise, the condition I was in, and ask for his thoughts about being able to.....you got it, scuba dive!

To my surprise, he wrote me back instantly and told me that if I could obtain a release from my doctor that I was able to dive then they could accommodate me! They have the diving scooters and said that I could tandem with an instructor and it would pull me along with them and I wouldn't even have to worry about using my leg. SAY WHAT?!? PERFECT!!! I was so excited I almost jumped for joy, but sloths don't jump, so I stayed firmly planted on the ground.

I went for my ortho follow up at the beginning of December and got a release statement saying I could travel AND dive with no restrictions! (I had to chuckle at the "no restrictions").

So....WE'RE GOING DIVING TODAY!!!!

Right outside the port, we met up with our driver. He said "follow me". We crossed the street and started walking...and walking...and walking. Wait, I totally forgot that the last time we were here we had to walk down the street for our ride and it was hot and sunny out. This time it was hot, sunny and I had a broken leg and a super heavy boot!!! I was going SLOW!!! Like really slow! He kept turning around to see if I was back there. I'm pretty sure I was panting like a dog that just chased a rabbit.

He did take a shortcut to cut down on the walking and into the graveyard we went. Yikes!

If this is any indication of what today might go like...I'm turning back now. Still going...whew

We finally made it out of the graveyard and onto the street where we would still have a very long walk along an uneven road and side of the road, where we were dodging traffic as if we were playing frogger.

We FINALLY made it with me huffing and puffing and chanting "If I had known we would have to walk this far, I would have booked with someone else that picked me up at the port!" Seriously!

We checked in with the dive shop and immediately seen Eva, who was our dive instructor last time. The hubby made the comment "Weee'rrrreeee baaaaackkkkk" and laughed. I said with excitement "Are you our instructor again?" She told me no, that she already had another group going out with her that day. But she wasn't really smiling and didn't seem friendly for some reason. I felt like she was looking at us weird and almost biting her tongue about something. You know how you walk into a room and everyone shuts up and you just know they were talking about you? That's the unwelcome feeling I got at that moment. 🤔

Then we started talking about our "plans" for the day and then that's when they hit me with the news...they were NOT going to be taking me out with the scooter. They said it was against PADI rules for someone that is not certified to be on the scooter diving...even with an instructor. I told them about my conversation with the OWNER and he was the one who suggested it to begin with otherwise, I wouldn't have even scheduled a dive because I can't kick with my foot/leg. I told them everything that had happened to me and to my surprise, everyone already knew! They let it be known that I was the talk of the entire office and staff and they had all read my emails. Well, if they read my emails, then they knew what my intentions were for the day and SOMEONE should have told me that this was not going to happen. They explained to me they could get their license yanked if they did it. They called the owner of the company to discuss what to do next.

Meanwhile, I'm super hot about the situation and thinking I just wasted my time and money getting here for no reason because I really didn't want to just hang out on the beach and be hounded by the locals to buy stuff. By no means do I want someone to get their license taken away but I should have been told!

As they were on the phone with the owner, I took Sakari out to the beach to get our "Christmas" photo.

I went back up to the office and they explained the situation again. They did say the owner said he was really sorry for the confusion and he wasn't aware that they couldn't ride tandem with a non-certified diver. But, what they were willing to do was to give me my own instructor and if I couldn't kick with my leg/foot, they would pull me along. While that doesn't sound too appealing to me, for the simple fact that I like to get close to the coral and take pics, or whatever the case, it was all I had to go on. I do know that some dive companies offer handicapped diving and people dive without even having a leg. So, if they can do it, so can I.

I WAS DOING THIS NO MATTER WHAT!! I told them I'd play it by ear and if I couldn't do it or it became too uncomfortable, then I was stopping. They said we'd go super slow and at my pace and my instructor would be right beside the entire time. At any time we could stop. Ok, I agreed.

Also, we were going to do a BOAT dive. I had told them that I already did Mandy's Eel Garden 4 months ago and wanted to go somewhere else. They had given me a list, prior to coming, and I had looked over a couple of places. Turtle Crossing sounded interesting, somewhat shallow and hopefully we'd see some turtles.

We had our "class" and then I headed over for a quick bathroom run while they took our equipment out to the water for our skills test. When I returned, my instructor was standing at the dive shop deck and said "I'm sorry, I will not be able to take you. I just dropped the tank on my foot". GASP!!! Oh em gee....his foot was terrible! A HUGE knot on the top of it and continued to swell as he stood there. He said he was in so much pain and his girlfriend was on her way to pick him up and take him to the hospital. Meanwhile, they were trying to call someone to come in to help with the dive. I felt so bad for him!!

So we actually arrived here at 11:30am. Between all the talk back and forth about how to dive, doing our class and skills, then waiting on someone to arrive as another instructor, we did not get out on the boat until around 1:45pm. It was a long wait.

Then after the instructor showed up, they gathered all of our equipment, put it in a wheelbarrow and said "We're heading to the dock". But wait, where's the dock???? It was quite a walk for someone like me without a boot or shoe or anything. Sand is very hard to walk in when you don't have a broken foot. I tried to stay on the part where the water comes in and hardens it a little, but of course your feet sink somewhat and with it being on a slope, it was a very hard walk for me.

When I finally made it to the dock, we passed about 8 armed guards standing on the dock, in uniform and all with machine guns. Now that was somewhat scary!

Then came the task of trying to get on a moving boat...oh boy. It took me awhile to gather the courage and then some more time to maneuver onto the moving boat. I was so freaked out and holding on for dear life to the boat. I hate when someone tries to "help" you by giving you their hand. Your hand is attached to an arm. Your arm moves. I don't want to hold your unsteady hand trying to get on a boat. Give me something solid to hold on to because I can guarantee I'm not letting go of it. I held onto the top of the boat bars and eased my way down to a seat. Whew!

Off we went.

It was a very short ride. We stopped down at Bite on the Beach to let someone off there and then on to Turtle Crossing.

We stopped, everyone got on their equipment, and it was time to get in the water...from a moving boat. The hubby went in first. Then they had me walk to the end of the boat and sit on the back end. They put my bcd and tank on and told me I would just kinda roll into the water as they lifted the tank. It felt awkward and I was scared. I kept looking how far down it was. I kept looking over at the sharp blades on the motor sitting there. I could just picture myself falling sideways and hitting those blades and cutting myself open. I was just really starting to freak out. But, I tried not to let it show.

They lifted the tank up and I leaned and in I went. Whew, I was never so glad to hit the water. Now to see what my ankle felt like. It was weird...super weird. I could feel every piece of hardware in my leg and ankle. But, it didn't hurt. It would just take some getting used to.

I held onto the rope and tried to take my mind off of my foot as I watched Sakari get ready to come in. The were going to have her walk

Ok, it was time to do this thing!!!

We started easing our way down the rope. Hubby had already took himself down lol no issues. I was kind of waiting on Sakari to get down and move out of my way. My instructor kept giving me the signal to go on, but she was in my way.

I guess I would have to let go of the rope and just go on. No issues so far.

We were starting to drift off a little and Sakari was having some issues. I wasn't sure if it was her ears or what. Sometimes she has issues, sometimes she don't. She would later tell me it was a combo of equalizing her ears and a lot of issues with her mask. I really need to get her another mask of her own. She left hers at our dive shop about a year and a half ago during her last class and when I checked back with them, no one had turned it in. So, I really need to get her another that actually fits her face.

I was kinda circling around and trying things out while we waited on Sakari and my instructor was holding onto me and then letting me do a little on my own. I felt ok and gave her the signal I was ok. She eased up a little and out of my personal space. I honestly can't stand for someone to get close to me when diving and I'm always looking around to make sure there's no one near me at all times. But, I knew that this was needed this time around. (The hubby took a lot of videos with the GoPro but I worked the ENTIRE DAY today trying to find a GoPro editor to use to post them because they ended up horribly green and I just hate the way they look. I downloaded a program, worked the entire day on it, even added music to it, then once it was done...it put a huge logo across the entire thing!!!! I was pissed. I wasn't even going to start the rest of this review until I had it figured out).

Sakari finally managed to make it down and we were off. She was armed with the Olympus Tough TG4 and I will share her pictures first.

So I'm going to share these really crappy GoPro videos my hubby did because it kinda goes along with the review. I'm sorry in advance for the green look they have to them. I tried. I tried really hard to find a program to make them look better. But, I'm done trying. LOL

Here we are finally going down and Sakari still trying to make it down the rope.

At this point, I was figuring out that I was able to do this on my own and was feeling a little more comfortable. My instructor had let go of me and was just staying close by.

A little more time had passed by and I was feeling more and more comfortable. My instructor seen that I was managing on my own and stopped being right by my side. (Of course this came after several reassurance signals from me that I was going to be able to do this on my own).

Sakari had finally made it down and was starting to take her pictures. You know she's ok when you start to see that. But, the instructor was holding on to her in an upright position, which of course she's going to complain about. She hates being held on to. I know exactly how she feels now.

Sakari desperately trying to go on her own and wanting to play in the bubbles.

Now remember, Sakari is an artist. She doesn't see things the way the rest of us do. She tries her hardest to explain to me "her world". Have you ever heard of the people who will see a color from hearing a note/song? That's kind of her. She will see an object that we see as what it is but she will see it as something else. She says her brain will see weird things and she makes something else out of what we are seeing. It's hard to explain.

So, she's chasing our bubbles...but what was she seeing in her mind? The opportunity to catch a unique picture...of jelly fish. Look at the bottom of this picture.

Then she managed to catch a really good one of my bubbles.

Is that picture above not the coolest picture ever???

I have to admit, there was a lot of bleached out coral in the area. 😞

The hubby went off in a different direction really quick and it caught my eye. He looked as if he had seen something and I started slowly trying to make my way over there. I was really hoping that I wasn't missing anything.

It was a school of blue tangs. So pretty. I love when we see these swimming together like this.

Since I am going to do my pictures after hers, you will notice these blue tangs again when I get to my pictures. We only ran across a school of them once. I just thought I would mention that.

Hubby found a Trumpetfish.

Would you look at the amazing color of this sea fan? The base is so purple! How beautiful is that.

There was a school of some huge Bermuda Chubs (I think). At least that's what they looked like to me.

The hubby was taken off guard when a huge Spadefish was coming right at him. I really wish pictures and video could show the actual size of some of these fish. It's really hard to tell that they are so big.

Another video with the GoPro comes to you in a beautiful hue of GREEN of course!😣

I really like the next video. We were swimming in a valley (really not sure what it's actually called) and from the video, it looked like the walls were not very tall and it was very shallow. But at the end of the video, you can easily tell that it was pretty deep and we are going up the wall.

This video is pretty good and I call it the sticky fingers coral

A really cool valley that was too small for us to go into, our instructor kicking like a frog (lol) and Sakari still being held by a strap with her instructor.

And then we seen it...I think me and Sakari seen it at the same time! It was so beautiful.....

But it wasn't letting us get close to it at all.

Following a Parrot fish

Ok, time to show my pictures and get caught up.

I'm honestly not sure what happened with my first picture. After going down into the water and heading toward the bottom, which had a sandy area, I snapped my first picture (as we waited on Sakari to come down the rope).

We were at 22.3'

She was slowly making her way down.

We kinda circled the area around and around while I got used to moving my foot/leg and waiting on Sakari. We were at 14'-23' at any given time.

At some point, we all took off on our little scuba journey, exploring the reef around us. As I mentioned before, I did see A LOT of bleached out coral.

I took a picture of my watch and it was now 2:15pm and we were headed out.

We were around 16' at this time.

This maroon blob of coral was pretty neat.

We are staying around 17-18' feet now and weaving our way around all the coral.

20-22' now and finding more valleys to go down in.

So many beautiful colors

So having this broken leg and ankle did provide to be a bit challenging this time around diving. Out of all the diving I have done, each time I concentrate on my breathing and air consumption. One thing I did learn when Sakari was doing her classes (I paid attention to everything so that I could learn too) is how to control your breathing to make yourself go up and down and stabilize yourself and buoyancy control. Well this time, I would really have to work on it. While I think I do a pretty good job most of the time, I always know that if I get too close to a coral and need to zoom away quickly to keep from hitting it, I can always kick. But this time...not so much. So, that meant that I had to be VERY careful with the coral that I chose to try to get close ups on. I had to make sure that it would be in an area that I knew there was no risk of touching a coral. I absolutely LOVE macro shots and I had a new camera that operated differently from my old and should be better for macro shots....if only I knew how to use it and practiced a little more then they would have turned out a little better.

Here was my first macro

Sometimes a flash helps...sometimes it don't. This time it did. I absolutely LOVE the bokeh in this next shot. This is how they all should be if shot right. I need practice.

This didn't quite focus on the front "branches" of the coral like I had wanted it to but I still think it's neat. (Why my camera decided to focus on the "branches" on the furthest side is beyond me.

We are 15 minutes into the "true" start of our dive, after Sakari came down, and her instructor is still hanging on to her by the "rope".

Beautiful green parrot fish chomping away, took time to smile for the camera.

We are still around 20-24' at this time. This is where I seen the hubby dart off in somewhat of a fast pace. I knew he had seen something interesting and I was going to try to make my way over.

Only I didn't have to go too far because once they passed him, they headed my way and around me. So beautiful....

Then I spotted the most beautiful Rock Beauty Angelfish. I'm not even sure if I have seen one before either diving or snorkeling. I have seen one once in a saltwater store, but that's it I believe. She was a beauty and a pretty decent size. She was a ways down there, and a camera never seems to show the true size of something. I hate that about pictures. But her beautiful yellow caught my eye. I just wish I could have got a close up and especially of her lips! They are black protruding from her bright yellow face.

We are now around 30-35'

Although this picture did not turn out the clearest, I liked that everyone was in it...and Sakari is still being held onto by her instructor. 😏

I really wished this picture would have turned out a little better. I don't know why it turned out so dark. Maybe I was focused more on the light shining down. But, I still thought it looked pretty neat. You could see the sun out above, the light beaming down and the darkness of the ocean ahead. It kinda had a dreary feeling.

Now this is my all time favorite sponge. I see these blue beauties almost every time I dive and the color of them is just one of my favorites. (That and the purple ones). While I may know most of my fish names, I'm not very good (at all) with sponge or coral names (except brain coral...everyone knows that one lol).

Isn't it beautiful????

And there's that unmistakable brain coral

Once again, around 15-20 minutes into the dive and I'm left. The hubby, my personal assistant and Sakari on her instructors leash...all way up there.

There goes my personal assistant. LOL

A damsel has claimed this coral

There's one of my favorite sponges again....but the looks of it caught my eye...

It had a blow out...or either one of the residents that took up shop decided they wanted a window in their new home. I am at 38' now and in case you wondered, the water temp was 86.1 degrees. 😲

A very pretty Spotfin butterfly fish. Of course these fish were being shy today and just didn't want to show their face. The Spotfin Butterfly has a black line down it's face.

So the eerie picture that I took of the dark and the sun shinning from above...look at this next picture. I remember taking this picture. Off in the distance there was the ring of light. It never moved. I remember looking at it and thinking "I wonder what that is". It did not beam from above, it did not look like someone swimming with a light on their camera, it was just there. It was not round but oval shaped. I remember thinking Nemo and the light on the angler fish...only we weren't deep lol

I don't know what it was about this area. It was a lot darker. Maybe the sun was behind the clouds. But, it was just a weird feeling and dark and not so clear at the time. We were only at 33 feet in this area.

As I'm staring out in the deep blue (that wasn't really too deep of course) I got this weird feeling that came over me like I was being watched. There was the feeling of pending doom lurking over me. I was kind of frozen. I seen something coming at me. It was pretty big and swimming from side to side. It was coming right at me. I didn't know what to do. I just sat there as it got closer and closer.

Then I seen it was a pretty big fish. It was coming right at me with no fear. Then it kind of went off to the side. Oh gosh...why am I frozen? I need a video of this!!! Then I started recording.

As he went by me, he glanced over and just floated by looking at me. I really wish that a video could capture the size of him. It makes him look so small.

Ok, I was safe and he wasn't under attack. Time to move on.

I must have been following Sakari because I noticed in this shot (on the bottom left corner) was the sea fan with the purple in it. I must have not noticed it as much when I was swimming, otherwise I probably would have gotten a close up of it.

I'm not sure what happened to the exposure on this one. I was trying to get a close up of the Christmas tree worms.

And then there it was....the puffer fish...ahhh So cute!

We were at 13.7' at this time.

He was definitely keeping his distance from us.

Here's my video of the puffer

It's funny when you are down in the water, you never really see all this stuff floating by you like you do in the video. The camera must pick up every microorganism there is. LOL

Now PLEASE someone tell me what the heck this is??? This will make the 3rd time I have seen whatever this is (in different locations in the Caribbean). It kinda reminds you of an eel, it appears like a soft type of skin (looks like...meaning it's not coral) and it's always coming out from under some coral. It sways back and forth with the water and always appears like it's not alive. It usually has some type of stripe/spot coloration and the end of it is kinda like a square and not rounded. ANYONE???? This drives me nuts each time I have seen it.

Is it some really massive type of worm??

Is it some really massive type of worm??

Purple brain coral? Or was this the start of some bleaching?

Hey! I see you taking a video of me!

Well I'm going to take a picture of you then. LOL

This next picture just goes to show...I make a lot of blooper mistakes when I take pictures as well. Everyone always talks about how great my pictures are, and I have always said for every 5 pictures I take I get a good one that I want to use. At this point, I'd like to say for every 5 pictures I take I get 1 bad one I can't use. 🤣

Here's proof of that and I have no idea what happened to the focus. LOL

It was very obvious that we were heading back and almost done with the dive. We were now about 50 minutes into the dive and I was looking at Sakari on her leash and noticed her look down at something and bring her body down real fast to take a picture, tugging at her leash during this movement, then once she snapped the picture, back up she went quickly (as in the movement of her body). Well I noticed when she did that, she kinda came up quick enough to hit her instructor and he let go of the leash. She was free...free as a mermaid. She was happy finally.

My personal instructor was kinda hovering in place and pointing off in the near distance. I slothed over slowly to check it out. She kept pointing. I had to get closer.

There was something in that hole. I thought maybe it was an eel.

But no, it was the biggest darn black grouper with his pointy teeth glaring out at us. I took so many pictures but it was so hard to see him in there. I ended up having to crop in a picture and lighten it to even see him. Here's that pic

The hubby was taking a video...it was quite apparent that the size of this thing combined with it's teeth freaked him out a little bit and he didn't get nearly as close as I would have with the GoPro and I wouldn't have casually swam by and kept going. LOL I guess I'm going to have to learn to operate a GoPro AND my camera while swimming to get the shots I want. 😉

See my teefers???

I looked up and could see the boat above us. Darnit...the dive was over.

Sakari was still fascinated with the bubbles.

She took a picture of the boat above her.

Our dive was about an hour long. Then came the task of me trying to get back up on the boat using a ladder. I knew this wasn't going to be easy and especially with the boat moving. Thank goodness the water was fairly calm that day. I started questioning my decision to do a boat dive at that point. I mean after all, we didn't even get to see any turtles at turtles crossing. 😞

But, I didn't have a choice. I had to get back up on the boat one way or another and from the looks of the boat, it didn't have a hoist on it. I removed my flippers and my bsc and tank. I slowly stepped up one step at a time and finally made it. I was so relieved.

The hubby told me how proud he was of me and I honestly couldn't believe I was able to do this dive. But, I had put my mind to it that this was going to happen! I did pretty good for having a broken leg and ankle. There were maybe 2 times that I twisted it the wrong way and it had some pain. But, for the most part, it wasn't too painful the rest of the dive (or maybe I was just so into everything around me that I didn't notice it as much). The movement of my leg just felt tight and very awkward.

Sakari would take one last photo for the day...#photobomb

On the ride back...we would talk about what all we had seen and the excitement was still there about mommy getting to do the dive.

We arrived back at the dock and there was only 1 military guy standing there at this point. I just had to get a picture.

Do you see the ghost guy? Maybe that's what the military guy was going to check out. Was his eyes deceiving him?

I really dreaded the walk back to the dive shop. I knew it was going to feel longer than the walk there since I had just spent an hour diving and wearing myself out. I eventually made it and was relieved.

Meanwhile, Sakari's instructor was on to the next group of people.

Sakari had morphed into a mermaid. She got a new mermaid tail for Christmas. This is the new and improved mermaid tail. They have the fins on the back and side now!!!!

So call me crazy but you just can't take a fish out of the water...even when their fin is broken.

I decided I would head out and do a little snorkeling. I had given Sakari's dive log book to the instructor and we always get a DSD book with each dive to be completed and stamped. I keep track of all of them and I was told that she would fill it out in a little bit.

So, off I would go to do a little snorkeling in the area.

This would be the very first cruise that I did not take my fins with me. I figured I wouldn't need them since the dive shop provides these for the dive and there really wasn't any need for them anywhere else. It would save on some weight and added space in our luggage. I honestly felt lost without them.

This meant while snorkeling I would need to kick with my feet...which provided to be somewhat painful without a fin. So, I stayed really close to the shore and floated and walked while looking down.

This is a picture of a flounder (with the eyes on the side of it). I caught it out of the side of my eye and by the time I tried to take a picture, it was swimming off. Of course the pic turned out crappy.

Then I spotted Patrick. I went over to say hello and get a picture.

There was a family near me and I heard the 2 girls say "I found a starfish!!!" But they hadn't. They were just joking. So I went over and showed them mine that I really had found. They checked it out and then it was released.

So, Sakari was near by and I told her "follow me". I went back over to the girls and their dad and said "Did you find anymore starfish?" They replied "no". So I told them "I found something better than a starfish. Have you ever seen a mermaid?" They thought I was nuts until up popped Sakari. They were so excited!!!

I arrived back to the dive shop and the hubby was just hanging out. Prior to me going out to snorkel, our driver was there and was picking up other people to take to the port. He ask if we wanted to go with them or stay a bit longer. Sakari wanted to stay and that's why we decided to stay longer and we'd catch him on the next round. He gave us a set time that he'd be back and it was getting close to that time.

Our instructor had signed and stamped our books/page.

We had been talking about Sakari taking her scuba classes and they were very encouraging about her (and us) getting certified. I was showing them her book and I pulled out her PADI seal cards. When I pulled out the Master PADI seal card that PADI sends to you once you complete the course....I dropped it. It's a hard plastic card (like a credit card) and wouldn't you know that it went STRAIGHT down, without flipping over, turning or anything, and of all places to fall...it went straight into the crack of the floor decking!!! What's the chances of that??? Only me. I panicked. I didn't know what to do. I went around to the front of the little office area to see if the deck was open from that way. Nope, it was a cylinder block. The staff checked out the boards and they were nailed in and not screwed in. There was just no way to get her card. I was so upset that I did this and once I told Sakari what had happened she was upset as well.

The staff did mention that I could contact PADI and ask for a replacement card and just pay the fee and they'd send us another. THANK GOODNESS! Now that I'm talking about it, I still need to do that.

The hubby went down on the beach and flagged down an ice cream guy. He knew that his girls were not in the best mood now after the PADI card issue.

I ended up with some type of pineapple and ice cream and man it was SO GOOD!

We showered and put dry clothes on and our driver picked us up on time.

The ride back to the port was fairly quiet and we were all a bit tired.

Our driver said "I'm going to try to drive you all the way up to the door at the port. I'm friends with some of the port workers". Well, I know from previous experience that most vendors are not allowed to pick you up in the port but they are allowed to drop you off there. We came right up to the entrance and he didn't stop and talk to anyone there and just drove in. I think he was trying to be impressive...or get a bigger tip.

We headed back to the ship and didn't even do any shopping. We were all hungry and ready to eat. Last time we had walked next door to the resort and ate but this time we decided to save our money and eat back on the ship. All I know is I just wanted to sit down and relax and get my belly full.

After arriving back to the ship, we went straight for some grub. O'Sheehan's is was! I absolutely love this place and the food.

Goofy hubby....

I ordered the chicken fajitas and they were yummy!!!! Sakari and the hubby ordered chicken wings (they come in 6) with no sauce. Sakari ordered 1 order and the hubby ordered 2. I also ordered to chicken wings because I had really worked up an appetite today! Jamaican Jerk for me. They were really good.

The hubby also ordered the nachos. They never came. So, we had to flag down the waiter and tell them he was missing some of our food. They quickly brought them out.

They kept our pop refilled for us, which was a plus.

Sakari decided that she wanted more wings and got another 6. See, I'm not the only one that was really really hungry! hehe

It feels so weird to being pulling out of port when it's dark but I absolutely love it and would rather be pulling out when it's dark. The city is so beautiful all lit up.

After eating, Sakari insisted on going to do the ropes course. She was so upset after waiting so long before and didn't get to do it that she wanted to make sure she got a chance today. Daddy decided to sit this one out. We hung around in the area waiting on her to make it to getting on.

She waited in line, made a few friends to talk to, got her harness on and they move over to where you get on the ropes course.

Up she goes....

She made it to the very top. Then I see a worker coming her way and directing kids off the ropes course. She was told to go back. They were shutting it down. What the heck? It wasn't that windy out IMO. Like are you serious?

She was SUPER UPSET about this. When is she ever going to get to do this ropes course????

I tried hard to get her out of her "gloom" and suggested we go play some putt putt golf since we were up there. She was still pouting, but agreed.

Of course it's always a riot when we play putt putt and we had a lot of laughs. Finally she was coming out of her gloomy status.

Plinko putt putt

After we finished some putt putt, we were walking back over to go down the steps and discovered the chess game. Hmmm...Sakari has never played chess before. I took it upon myself to offer to teach her. I learned to play chess at a very young age and my dad bought me a chess game for Christmas one year. I still have it. It comes in the form of a box and all the pieces are inside. When you open the box and flip it over, it's the board to the game. It is really heavy duty and everything is magnetized.

So, we set up the chess game. It had been so long since I had played. I think the last time I actually played chess was on a cruise, maybe in 2014 or so. I challenged Billy (Kendra's fiance) to a game and spanked his butt on it and walked around bragging the rest of the day.

So, after explaining the object of the game to Sakari and trying to tell her what each thing does, we started playing.

Before long, 2 boys came along and started watching...and of course helping Sakari. When she went to move and it was a big mistake, we would tell her not to do it and explain why. I learned that one of the boys (the older one) was actually on the chess team at his school and the other just knew how to play...and play really well. I learned that I had forgotten a few things and man was I rusty!

In the end....SAKARI WON!

She was super excited now and ready to take on the world! She said "I wanna go play games at O'Sheehan's. So off we went.

First up was a battle of air hockey. I needed to redeem myself. Sakari was off to a good start and had 3 points to my 0.

Was I really about to let this munchkin beat me at 2 games tonight? I think not. I got a good stance in my boot, warmed up my wrist and game on!

Mommy took the lead in the end and won with a score of 7 to 4! Redeemed!!!!

We decided we would make this into a game night. I mean after all, daddy wanted in on this competition.

Over to the pin bowling. Game on round 3.

I did not start out good at all. My very first round the machine messed up and only gave my first bowl number and then moved on to the next person. Wait...what happened to my second turn???? That would put daddy ahead of me and it was a battle the rest of the time.

I found it VERY difficult to bowl with my boot on. I couldn't do my little "strut walk" down the lane, throw the ball, then kick that leg back like I normally do. I was so stiff and couldn't bend the way that I normally do because of the boot. So, I zombie walked up, flicked the ball, and Frankenstein walked my way back to sit down. I'm sure I looked hideous.

In the end, daddy won and Sakari had a blast.

We had some fun that night and I was super tired and wanted to head back to the room for the night. My leg and foot was very painful and swollen at this point but it was a good day. I got to do what I love most (scuba and being in the water), we had some good food, and we got to play some games onboard. Yep, it was a good day for sure!

I laid down after my shower and I was out like a clap off light. I don't remember a thing at that point.

So, remember I said I worked the entire day on Sunday making a video only to see that they put their watermark across the whole thing and ruined it? Well, I decided to break down and buy the program so that it would remove the watermark.

Now...I'm a "photographer" (lol, not really but that's just my skill) and not a movie maker. But, I will eventually learn. This video is "crappy" ....just saying. There's green, there's blue, there's purple, there's some choppy video. But, there's a few good ones. A lot of the footage are the clips within my review, but there are several others.

I put the clips together, a few pictures, and added some music.

If you are interested in viewing it, it's a little over 15 minutes long and located on Youtube now.

Prepare you eyes...it's my first attempt. You've been warned. LOL

Day 4

BABY BAY BEACH

St Thomas 2020

St Thomas 2020

St Thomas 2020

St Thomas 2020

St Thomas 2020

TRAVEL WITH MITSUGIRLY

mitsugirlys cruise ( and land) adventures

Mitsugirly needed to ESCAPE from the cold weather

Day 3: MONDAY DECEMBER 16

Mitsugirly needed to ESCAPE from the cold weather Day 3: MONDAY DECEMBER 16

Mitsugirly needed to ESCAPE from the cold weather

Day 3: MONDAY DECEMBER 16