2014 Winter Getaway - Day Four

This day began early.  To join the trip to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, we had to be at the Westin Resorts dock at 7:30 a.m.  Once there we turned in our passports and immigration papers and boarded a fast boat called "Blast".  At 8 a.m. we were on our way for the two-hour trip up the Drake Passage, passing Tortola on the way.

The excitement of the morning was an unexpected whale sighting.  Apparently these large creatures come south in the winter to calve.  The one we saw surfaced several times for our enjoyment before we sped away.

We docked at the Virgin Gorda Yacht Basin and transferred to a jitney that took us to the famous Baths -- so named because this incredible collection of boulders is a formation known as a batholith.  The huge rocks have risen (and continue to rise at a miniscule rate each year) along the shoreline where the action of the waves has continued the erosion, forming caves.

The way through the Baths was fairly arduous, at times ducking between rocks, wading though pools of sea water, climbing over big stones.  But it was beautiful.

We returned to the Blast for a trip back down the Drake Passage to Cooper Island where we ate a light lunch at a shoreline restaurant.  Then the Blast took us to Norman Island where we were able to go snorkeling at the Caves -- three of them -- of buried treasure fame (and fantasy).  It was fun to see the colorful assortment of tropical fish and to peek timidly into the largest of the caves.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.  More tomorrow...

2014 Winter Getaway - Day Three

Today is Sunday.  So what does one do on a vacation Sunday in St. John?  Of course -- go to church, especially since there's one of your brand in town -- in this case, St. Ursula's, Cruz Bay, in the Diocese of the Virgin Islands.

Yesterday we had checked the location and the service time.  The church, in a building built in 1994 and consecrated by Bishop Don Taylor before he was elected Suffragan in New York, seems like a going concern.  It has a rector, a deacon, a choir and air-conditioning.

The congregation, mostly from St. John with a smattering of visitors such as we were, sang with great energy.  Fr. Rymer's sermon was a tad long (not by island standards, I have heard) and focused on love triumphing over law.  And the Peace, inserted between the breaking of the bread and the distribution, was a marathon.

What do you do on a vacation Sunday in St. John after church?  Shopping, of course.  So we headed to a nice jewelry store and found a new bead for Jan's Pandora bracelet -- a silver turtle, in honor of the one we saw while snorkeling yesterday.  Then there's Sunday lunch in a cafe by the harbor where the ferry docks.

We ended our Sunday morning by signing up for a day sail to Virgin Gorda tomorrow.  And we rested.

2014 Winter Getaway - Day Two

One of the charming features of the Virgin Islands is the little flocks of chickens: mother hens shooing chicks across streets or herding them into safe spots while the crazy traffic (open air taxis and rented four-wheelers) whirls around them.  And the roosters, many of them, who feel challenged to greet the approaching dawn more loudly than the other.  It`s a great way to start the day.

Not that we started Day Two with the roosters.  Sleeping in is a good thing to do on vacation, especially since we had stayed up a little later to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Our B&B has a rudimentary kitchen and a few staples.  Yesterday we added English muffins and bananas from the local mini-mart, so coffee, orange sections with bananas and the muffins got us started.  Then it was time for the big outing.

Starting again at the US Park Service headquarters with string backpacks filled with towels, snorkel gear and electronics, we hiked the lower Lind Point Trail back to Honeymoon Bay.  After a swim to test the water (beautifully warm) and Jan's hip for swimming (no problem), we donned our masks for a go at snorkeling.  The photo is taken at Honeymoon Bay

It's always exciting to see what's underwater, but this outing was better than usual.  First we encountered a turtle, probably 30 inches from nose to tail, munching along in the sea grass, paying no mind to us hovering above.  Then, looming into view just ahead was a good-sized fish, maybe 2 feet long.  (Checking the guide to tropical fish when we got back, we found that we had encountered a Great Barracuda.) Happily, after looking us over, he moved on.

After that excitement, we continued on and saw more of the usual -- brilliantly colored fish, brain coral, sea fans and long-spined urchins.  Then we made the hike back to the Hillcrest Guest House for lunch and a quiet afternoon.

More tomorrow.

2014 Winter Getaway - Day One

Once in a while, plans click into place.  We made plans back in September to travel to St. John, US Virgin Islands in February.  But we had no idea that this year's winter would be so harsh.  With three snowfalls greater than 6 inches in this last week, our getaway could not have been more timely.

The vacation was booked by Jan through Expedia.  The flight to the Virgin Islands was non-stop from Newark to St. Thomas.  For some unknown reason we qualified for the new preferred traveler program TSA has set up; we were ushered to a shorter line, did not have to take off our shoes, and were through in 10 minutes.

The flight on United was uneventful.  After reclaiming our suitcases, we took a very full taxi to the ferry at Red Hook, on the other side of St. Thomas.  The ferry ride was 20 minutes, so we arrived at Cruz Bay on St. John about 4:30 p.m.  Another taxi ride brought us up to the Hillcrest Guest House, our home for the next 5 days.

This morning we walked down to the center of Cruz Bay and over to the National Parks Service headquarters where we got information about the various hiking trails throughout the island.  We decided to try a short one called the Lindt Point Trail, which leads to Solomon Bay, Honeymoon Bay and the Caneel Bay Resort area.  The photo is of Jan at the beach in Honeymoon Bay.

The hike was about a total of three miles in some pretty rocky terrain but Jan and her new hip made it in good shape.  (Considering it is two days short of two months since she had her hip replaced, this is outstanding.  She and her top-notch physical therapists deserve much praise.)

More tomorrow...

Day 9 - Prague and the Flooding

We left our safe harbor on June 2, transferred by bus to the Prague Hilton where our luggage was unloaded.  Our bus then took us to the Castle Hill where we were to walk through the castle complex.  Because it was Sunday, the Cathedral of St. Vitus was closed to tourists.  As we walked around it, the wind and rain increased, making sight-seeing practically impossible.  All I remember about the cathedral is that St. Wenceslas is buried there, and is not known by the Czech as the king of the Christmas carol.  Because a Slav princess married an English nobleman, the fanciful story of Wenceslas was born as an English carol.

Our bus tour continued to see a few of the highlights of Prague, including a 250,000 seat stadium built not for Olympics or soccer, but for other competitions; a look at some of the unique architecture and elegant housing of the city; and the famous King Charles Bridge, spanning the now ever-rising river.  After a brief lunch of crepes and cappuccino at a little cafe, we walked around the Old Town, watching as the town employees began to erect a flood barrier along the river in anticipation of the flooding that was sure to come.  (The photo shows the extent of the flooding in the middle of Sunday afternoon.)

In another rainy moment we walked across the King Charles bridge and on through winding cobblestone streets to the Old Town Square to watch the Astronomical Clock mark the hour.  As it did, there was a procession of figures of the apostles past windows that opened above the clock, while smaller figures representing attributes such as vanity, greed, and death moved their arms to ring bells.  It was a charming little show that took about two minutes.

We then walked through a section of the town with elegant homes which had been converted into stores for some of the most expensive outlets and back to the bus.  We returned to the hotel, found our room, and tried to warm up.  At 5:30 p.m. we took a hotel taxi back to the castle complex to an evening of classical music performed in a medieval hall by five string musicians.  The acoustics were so good that it sounded like a small orchestra.

We're home now, after an uneventful flight with good airline food (love the European airlines!).  All in all, it was a great trip, and now we look forward to next year's cruise on the Rhone River. 

Day 8 - Litomerice and a Change of Plans

As you have read in the various blogs this week, we have had a lot of rain.  In fact, we have had so much rain that the Elbe River is flooding.  As we have traveled upstream, we have watched the level of the river rise ever higher on the banks, and now overflowing some of them.  This is a problem for our Viking ship, as the high water reduces the clearance under some of the older bridges along the way, and breaches the docking stations where we would disembark.

After a morning session to go over the details of leaving the ship tomorrow for the hotel in Prague, we visited the ship's wheelhouse where the captain and program director gave us an orientation as to how the ship is navigated.  After lunch, we were called together again in the lounge for a briefing on the flooding and its effect on our cruise.  We were told we would be able to make our secheduled visit to Litomerice, a small historic Czech town, but that we would not be able to go further upstream, as the docks there were already flooded.  After the visit to Litomerice, our ship would turn around and go back downstream to a commercial safe harbor built after the 2002 flood.  It would be there where the buses would pick us up tomorrow morning to go on to Prague.

Our visit to Litomerice was eventful.  A portable gangway was deployed as the ship's entrance was already about six feet above the dock (normally we would walk straight out from the entrance to the dock).  The rain was still heavy, so Jan and I pulled on our raincoats and got out the umbrellas and slogged along following the guide.  Our tour took us through the town's market place and on to a local micro-brewery where we were able to sample three of the brews and see the brewing equipment.  The rain let up a bit, so then it was a walk through the market square to the St. Stephen's Cathedral, to visit an example of the early baroque style of architecture.

Our day ended with the Captain's Farewell dinner at which this picture was taken.  While we dined, the captain navigated us into the commercial shipyard.  It was another confirmation for me about the care with which Viking takes care of its guests.  Even if the water gets higher, we are safe and will be able to make our way tomorrow to Prague for one more day of this great vacation.

 Day 7 - Saxon Switzerland, Germany and Decin, Czech Republic

The sun finally made more than a brief appearance today and it was most welcome.  The morning was devoted to a presentation by our Program Director on the history of the Czech Republic, his homeland.  It started in 1938 with a Munich Treaty between Hitler's Germany, England and France, which gave Hitler a section of what was then known as Bohemia, a homeland of Czechs and Slovaks.  After the war, the country became Czechoslovakia, under Communist rule.  Finally, after the Berlin Wall came down, after a so-called "velvet revolution", Russia ceded control and the area became two sovereign countries -- the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

The area through which the Elbe flows at the eastern end of Germany is quite mountainous and became known as the Saxon Switzerland.  The afternoon tour took us to a famous site known as the Bastei rock formation.  It is a series of sandstone columns formed by water action over eons of time.  A fortress had been built there, but later became the favorite spot of painters and rock-climbers.  A stone bridge, some 600 feet above the Elbe was built in the 18th century and became a magnet for those wanting a terrific vantage from which to see the Elbe Valley.  We climbed down to the bridge and crossed it (along with several hundred other tourists, even a bride and groom celebrating their wedding.

Tonight we are docked at a Czech town called Decin.  However, we are not at our regular Viking dock -- it has rained so much that the river has risen above the level of the dock, so we are tied up to the rock wall next to the village.  The river may flood below where we are, but as we are heading upstream, it should not be a problem.  And there is no concern that the water will be too low for safe passage!

Tomorrow we experience more of the Czech Republic and will spend the last night on the ship.  The day after, we will visit Prague and stay one night in that city.