St. Thomas again ... and the wind down

March 10 we arrived back in St. Thomas, and this time were planning to do a zip line.  Our favorite prior to this was one we did in Cabo San Lucas last year, so we were hoping today’s zip would be at least as good.

The stilt walker greeted us as we got off the ship in St. Thomas.

We got our tour bus that took us to the base camp.  Several of the people I’d been on another tour with were on this one as well, which was pretty nice.  We were building a rapport.

The guides got us all geared up and then took us to the top of the zip hill in an open-air, safari-style truck.  We all got out and climbed up to the first zip platform.  Today’s adventure would feature six zips and two suspension bridges.  Each zip would be faster than the previous one … yahoo!!!

 

This was a new style of cable attachment for us.

Yahoo!!

They told us to handle the cable attachment like a baby.  Jaz is beating up on hers.

Zip, after zip, after zip.  Each was truly faster and more exciting than the previous one.  The suspension bridges were ho hum after the ones we’d experienced on Dominica at the adventure challenge the previous day.  We were checked out on suspension bridges and these were no challenge at all.  But they were still fun.

Zzzzzzzzz.

The goofy group for the day.

Coming in for the landing.

A beautiful view.

The last zip was the best one of all … the yo-yo zip … long and fast AND it went forward, and then you went backwards on the line, and then forwards, and then back again.  The final forward time the guide hauled you in with a Mary Poppins-style umbrella, without the open covering.  It was a hoot.  You grabbed onto it and he guided you to a moving staircase where you got unattached and then climbed down.  That truly was the highlight of this zip, and once again, we had a great time.

Jaz going backward.

Coming in from the final zip.

We got back to the cruise port and guess what, found some of the iguanas again.  I can’t pass up a shot of an iguana, so you must suffer. 

This one looks well fed.

Hello there.

Back to the ship, out of the port, and we were on our way again, heading out on the turquoise-blue ocean, and looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow.

The at-sea day March 11 was relaxing and I was sure glad we had it.  I was tired.  We attended a final lecture on piracy and its legacy in the Caribbean, the fourth in a series, that was quite interesting and we were glad we'd gone to all of them. 

We also attended another lecture on the birth of a cruise ship, the one we are on, the Royal Princess.  Chris Joly, Warranty Manager with Princess, had a PowerPoint presentation and talk that gave us the history of our ship from the planning stage, to the building of, to the day the Royal was christened and made her maiden voyage.  It was extremely interesting, and included stories about some of the other Princess ships.  We were really glad we’d gone to hear him.

And the last thing we did was go to the final Princess production show with the dancers and singers.  It was the best one of the cruise, and we’d missed it the first 10-day cruise.  (They repeated as this was two 10-day cruises back-to-back.)

Princess Cays, March 12, would be our last stop before Ft. Lauderdale.  We’d planned a not-so-adventuresome tour for the day and boarded the tender that would take us to shore.  It actually involved more of a bus ride than we really wanted, but we toured a 25-acre nature preserve called Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve.

This plant is called a Darling Plum because of its heart-shaped leaves.

 

This is a beautiful pond in the preserve.  However, water is a precious commodity on many of the islands  Some are water-rich; others are not.  One way island gardeners conserve water is to plant native trees that have adapted.  They drop their leaves during the winter drought and in the wet summer months leaf out again and bear fruit.  Islanders also use underground cisterns to store rainwater for gardens.

The preserve has a nature trail walk and we were guided by a young man who knew a lot about the plants.  There were various sections, and each contained medicinal types of plants that can help with a certain problem, such as internal issues, child issues, female issues. 

More than 200 species of  plants are used for medicinal purposes in the Bahamas.  There were a number of plants, like aloe, that were in multiple areas.

While there weren't tons of flowers in bloom, there were a few.

There were also sections of edible plants and another on poisonous ones … don’t go near them, don’t touch them.  Not to worry. 

There were ponds that had turtles, and little falls.  It was a really nice tour although we sure don’t like long bus rides.  At least this one didn’t go for hours.

This young lady worked for the preserve and was photographing our group.

 

Come to eat at the Wild Orchid.

We had lunch at a restaurant in Rock Harbor, and I enjoyed a bowl of conch chowder.  I’ve had this soup before, and this was a good one.  While I’m not thrilled about tomato-based chowders, I do like this soup.  Yummy!!  The harbor is yet another gorgeous place with beautiful ocean water gently slapping against the beach.  I sure would have liked to put my feet in the sand and water, but we just ran out of time. 

Just another beautiful beach.

The driver had us back about a half hour before the last tender was leaving to take passengers back to the ship … the tour had run a bit late, but it was worth it.  And back to the ship we went, and on to the sad task of packing.

Back to our ship for the last time.

It’s always sad to have to pack up and get ready to get off the ship.  But, we got our luggage together and outside of our door before dinner, and then we were just down to the odds and ends of sleep clothes, and clothes for the disembarkation day, camera and computer gear and the like.  Waaahhhhh!!!