February 18 - 22, 2025 - Golf Cart Repair - A Visit by Annie, Violet, and Wren

My Blog Reflection 

The memories we make with our family is everything.

Candace Cameron Bure

Monday, February 17, 2025

The night before we left for the cruise something broke on the golf cart brake pedal. It would go in on an angle and would not return after being pushed. I had no time to investigate before we left. I suspected a broken spring. After supper I investigated and found an entirely different issue. The rubber block that holds the pivot rod for the brake pedal had broken on one side due to old age. (This is a 1985 cart). Here is a picture.

Tuesday February 18, 2025 - Chasing Down the Part

I took a picture of the broken part and looked it up on the golf cart schematic drawing I had. The part was shown but there was no name was given to it. Since I had no name I couldn’t Google it to find the part online.

The girls LOVE to ride around in the golf cart so the first thing in the morning the three of us headed to “Cruisin Carts”, which had excellent reviews for helping people with their carts. The parts man there was outstanding. He told me the name of the part - a brake block. He didn’t have the part in stock and said ordering one would take several days. He then hunted a shop guy up to see if they had a used one on a cart somewhere. They guy said the cart they had was in pretty bad shape and he wouldn’t want to try and take it off. They sent me down the road to a “Capital Carts” because they carried more parts. The guy at ""Capital Carts" was great. He thought he had one in stock and looked and looked. Not finding one he looked online and said I could get a new set of blocks for both sides of the rod, with new hardware, for $10.99 on Amazon. Knowing I wanted it right away to ride the girls around, he called “Discovery Carts”. They had one in stock so we headed there. It was about five miles away. When I got there the guy had the block - $38.60 for one side with no hardware. I told him “thanks, but no thanks. I expected double the online price but not quadruple. I got online and ordered the set from Amazon. It will be here tomorrow.

The girls and I then went to the park’s annual shareholders meeting so I could vote on several issues. There was a huge turn out due to a vote on whether or not to install speed bumps. (It got defeated 10 to 1.) They provided donuts so after the girls each got one we found a seat up front. The meeting dragged on and on due to people, who didn’t read ahead of time what was being voted on, were wanting to argue issues, over and over. I had voted so after an hour we left. I was really proud of how well the girls behaved. They just sat there and ate their donuts and never complained about the extremely boring meeting. Back at the house the girls played while Annie worked online.

After lunch we loaded up the car for a trip to "Honeymoon Island Beach" near Dunedin. Annie heard about it from a friend and we had never been there. It was rocky and not nearly as nice as "Fort DeSoto Beach", where we usually go. It was great for shelling and the girls loved doing that and collected many shells up and down the beach. On the way home we stopped at “Frenchy’s” for a great meal. 

Wednesday February 19, 2025

In the morning we went up to enjoy the pool before the predicted afternoon rain arrived. The girls had a great time. I got in with them, Annie and Kelly did not.

The brake blocks arrived for the cart so I installed the one on the broken side. Here is a picture. The new one is some type of plastic, not rubber like the old one. I don't know if that is good or bad but I'm sure it will outlast me even if it is plastic.

While Annie was working online we took the girls to “Catapult”, a huge  indoor bouncy house. They  jumped and jumped for an hour and were pooped. We stopped for an ice cream on the way home. It started to rain so we had to finish our ice cream in the car.

Due to the the predicted rain, I had earlier moved the grill from the backyard onto the carport. As the rain poured down we all sat around on the carport while I grilled chicken thighs for supper.

Thursday February 20, 2025

Some weeks back we had purchased tickets to a lunch hour dinner theater that was today.  We went to it while Annie and girls went shopping. The play was entertaining but the meal was pretty mediocre. I doubt we will go back next year.

Annie and the girls, fresh from shopping, headed once again to the pool. It was cool and windy. Kelly went along and sat on the pool deck and shivered. While the heated pool kept the girls warm, the air was almost cold.

We then headed to "Whimzeyland" in Safety Harbor, Florida. The owners have taken all types of items, like bowling balls, bottles, etc. and displayed them in several yards and houses. The houses are B & Bs.

The girls loved climbing on this concrete moon crescent covered with tile in the front yard of one house.

For supper I made smash burgers with potatoes and onions on the Blackstone griddle. I had trouble keeping the griddle hot enough because of the wind. I need to buy some wind guards. I also have one burner that is hard to light so I need to check into that at some point.

Friday February 21, 2025

In the morning Annie took the girls to the pool one last time. They don’t care if it’s cool, they love to be in the pool. Once back at the house the four of them tied dyed T-shirts using t-shirts and a kit Kelly had purchased for them. The shirts turned out nice. A souvenir to take home. Being Friday evening we had "Friday Night Pizza Night". When they are in California on Friday nights they Facetime us while they are eating pizza for supper.

Saturday February 22, 2025

Before they left for the airport I took the girls for a long golf cart ride through our park and through the park that adjoins us. They love to "drive" while taking turns sitting in my lap.

It was then off to the airport in Tampa. Their flight home was long but uneventful, which is always nice.

Sunday, February 22, 2025

We did very little, just hung out around the house all day doing laundry, etc. I bought the ingredients to make a crock pot Lasagna dish which I found on the internet. It cooked all day. It was “ok” but I wouldn’t make it again. It made enough for four meals so I froze half to have some other days..

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February 14 - 17, 2025 - Last Three Days of Caribbean Cruise

 

My Blog Reflection

"To travel is to live."

Hans Christian Andersen

Day 7: Friday February 14th

In the morning we met our guide, Laurie, for a bus tour of Antigua. She was fabulous. I wish I could have kept track of all she told us but here is some of it.

All greetings are "Ya man". Totally cool.

St. John's is the capital of Antigua, with a population of 97,000. Antigua, along with neighboring Barbuda, form an independent country in the British Commonwealth. The English settled here in 1632 and imported slaves to build sugar plantations. There is no sugar production anymore. They obtained their independence in 1981.

Our first stop was at a fort area overlooking the ocean. Quite the harbor area.

In this picture you can see some of the land fortifications to the harbor below. We were told they also strung a cable across the opening to keep ships out.

From this location below and to the left you can see an island owned by Eric Clapton - 45 acres. He bought it after he had too many neighbors on the other side. He built a drug rehab center for celebrities but if any local resident wishes to go they are admitted for free. He built a house out on the end of the island that he rents out for $10,000 per day.

Our final stop was at Nelson's Dockyard. It is a UNESCO site and a National Park.

When it was in use as a dockyard no cats, dogs, children, nor women were allowed. Men were hired to scrape barnacles off the sides of ships in the harbor. They were paid a pint of rum and a gallon of beer per day. As a result, a job that was supposed to take four weeks, would take them four months. LOL

What is now their museum building was built in 1855. It is the youngest building on the site.

The harbor and surrounding hills protect the area and the buildings from the forces of nature. All of the original buildings are still standing and well-preserved.

It was interesting that in Antigua there is no real estate tax until the house is completed. To take advantage of this quirk in the law, most people leave an area uncompleted forever. To help the poor, there are no real estate taxes on smaller homes. Bigger homes are taxed 3-5 percent of the value of the property per year.

Everything is imported. All the cars are from Japan. It looked like 80% were Toyotas, even our bus was a Toyota.

There are many Anglican churches on the two islands due to the English colonization. The islands are now an independent Republic but still under the King of England.

There are five women to every man. It is common for men have inside children (born in marriage) and outside children (born of other women).

Schools are paid for by a 6% income tax. All children wear school-supplied uniforms. Every school uniform is different so you can identify what school a student attends. If you find a child playing hooky, you are paying for their education, so you report them. They are then dealt with by the school administration often with corporal punishment.

To continue on in school after 6th grade a student has to write an essay for review. They are given three chances to write an essay that will pass. If a student doesn't pass he/she is sent to a trade school.

Clearly there is a lot of poverty. If you pay Medicare through your paycheck then your healthcare is free. If you don't you are billed.

Cheap wooden two bedroom houses cost $30,000 to $80,000. Other homes up in the hills, owned by wealthy individuals mostly from other countries, cost up $100 million. Crazy.

Back on the ship, for Valentine's Day we gathered in the grand foyer with a large group to renew our wedding vows in a ceremony conducted by the Captain. Here we are on the sidelines waiting for the Captain to arrive for the ceremony.

A large number of couples participated. A lot of red lighting for Valentine's Day.



At the end of the ceremony loads of confetti was dropped from above which made it very festive.

After the vows ceremony we went to the theater to see the show “Topper” by the ship’s troupe. It was very weird singing and dancing. We didn't get it at all.

Day 8: Saturday February 15th

We cruised all night, all day, and all night again to get back to Fort Lauderdale.

Final cruise thoughts:

I believe at three different ports we were delayed waiting for an ambulance to pick someone up off the ship and cart them to the hospital. I named this the “75+ Crippled Rich White People’s Cruise”. I would guess 80% of the passengers were over 75 and out of 2500 passengers only about a half of dozen were non-white. A huge number of passengers were handicapped or infirm. I never saw so many regular wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, electric scooters, walkers, canes, knee braces, and gimpy old people in one place in my life. They all have money so they were pampered by the crew. After cruising with this crowd for nine days I felt blessed.

It was always entertaining to watch folks struggling to walk up the steps out of the theater when the ship was swaying. We met one couple who were on their 40th cruise! I can't imagine a fourth. We met another couple who have been married 67 years. As I said, a 75+ crowd.

The ship was the Celebrity Eclipse. It can accommodate 2800 passengers and has a crew of 1200. It was launched in 2010 and refurbished in 2021. A nice sized ship, not overwhelming in size.

Our stateroom was on the 12th deck and was next to the elevators and the pool area. We thought it would be a noisy location but it was not at all. The elevators were the quietest I've ever seen and there were two sets of doors between us and the pool activities and music. We heard nothing. Our balcony was great with two lounge chairs and a table to sit and watch the ocean glide by. The food was for the most part excellent, especially the seated evening meals. I ate escargot as an appetizer every night. 

We paid for the drink package and learned quickly which bars to get drinks from. Some made awful drinks but most did well. The shows were enjoyable but not memorable.

We had great seas. The trip back to Fort Lauderdale was two full days. North winds as we left St. Martin caused more rocking the first day back than any other time on the entire cruise, but it was not bad at all.

The staff were the most friendly, professional, and impeccably dressed of any I have ever seen, whether on land or at sea. They are mostly young people who sign up on this ship for a season. Our evening waiter, who was from India, told us he is signed up until the end of July. He will go home then for a while. They work ten to twelve hours a day for the length of each cruise. We pulled in port and the ship loaded passengers and supplies and headed back out that same day. Essentially the crew gets no time off.

As mentioned earlier, our tour guide, Jasper, was flown home to Michigan from the Dominican Republic. When we left the ship we were told he was still in the hospital there.

We had a departure meeting on Saturday morning. Denise jumped from one topic to another, never getting any one item settled at a time. Luckily a ship crew member was there to help keep her track. One passenger, who had taken this cruise before, finally stood up and explained all we needed to know to disembark in two sentences. Refreshing. Luckily I attended the meeting because the wrong luggage tags had been left in our room. We were departure group 14.

The last day we went for a sit down lunch in the main dining room for the first time. The food was excellent. We sat next to a couple from Bakersfield, California. This was their second cruise. He was retired military. They had a long day flying back to California.

In the afternoon we attended a matinee performance by the singer, Gen Maldonado. She put on another good performance.

Kelly spent a little time in the casino. She didn't want to bring any money home. After a lobster dinner we went to bed early.

Day 9: Sunday February 16th

This cigarette display on the ship struck me as so odd. I haven't seen anything like it in many years.

 

It was a very leisurely day as things wound down. Kelly went to the casino and won back the money she lost yesterday plus some more. (She didn't share any with me.) 

We went to see a magician show in the theater at 2:00 p.m. He was entertaining.

We have to have our bags outside our room between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. tonight. We packed our bags, put them outside the door, and went to supper at the grill, rather than the main dining room, so we could catch the 7:00 p.m. show in the theater. It was okay but not the show I expected.

Arrival in Fort Lauderdale: Monday February 17th

We had to be out of our room by 8:00 a.m. and at our muster location for disembarking at 8:25 a.m.  At 7:00 a.m. we went to the buffet to get a hearty breakfast before the long ride home - a three hour bus ride to Port Charlotte then a two hour drive to Pinellas Park. The disembarking process was really well orchestrated. We were in group fourteen. They called numbers three at a time for people to get off the ship. This kept crowds of people with wheel chairs, scooters, and carry-ons from bunching up and creating chaos. 

Once you were off the ship you walked into a huge building where luggage was sitting in groups by number. With the large signs marking the group areas, I quickly found our luggage at Group 14, grabbed it, and headed to Customs. With facial recognition we didn’t even have to show our passports. 

Once through Customs we walked a short distance to catch our bus back to Port Charlotte. The bus ride was fine but on the drive back to Pinellas Park we encountered a lot of traffic.

I enjoyed the cruise but don't know if I will ever do it again.

Once we reached the house we found our daughter, Annie, and granddaughters, Violet, and Wren, from California, waiting for us on the front porch. It will be fun spending the rest of the week with them.

February 11 - 13, 2025 - Days Four Through Seven of Our Caribbean Cruise

My Blog Reflection

"To travel is to live."

Hans Christian Andersen

Day 4: Tuesday February 11

We cruised overnight and docked at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic around 7:00 a.m. The Dominican Republic is very mountainous. I hadn't expected that. One half of the island is the Dominion Republic and the other half is Haiti. They are very different countries due to very different histories and do not get along well. The Dominican Republic was colonized by the British. Haiti was colonized by the French who brought in many slaves. The Dominican Republic is safe for travelers, Haiti is not.

When we arrived in port, just in front of us, three cranes were unloading sand from a ship into bobtail trucks. I never thought about needing to import sand.

We thought about paying for a short tour but decided just to explore a little on our own. It was a short day departing at 2:30 p.m. We walked around the many shops. In the "duty free" shop we purchased a bottle of "Mango Rum". Last year we were given a bottle of "Shipwreck Mango Rum" by friends, Scott and Beth, and really enjoyed it. We thought we would get a bottle here. As we were leaving it started to pour rain. We waited in the duty free shop for a about a half hour. When the rain let up we headed back to the ship for lunch. The cruise ship docked to the right of us was quite a bit larger. On the left you can see the three cranes that were unloading sand all day.

Once back on board the sun came out for the rest of the day. I took a short nap on the balcony after lunch. Life is tough.

After we pulled out of port mid-afternoon we learned that our tour director had taken ill and was left in the hospital in the Dominican Republic. We were told he was subsequently flown to the US for treatment.  We now had to communicate with his assistant, Denise, who unfortunately had little knowledge of everyone's itinerary. This created a lot of confusion. Denise is a very nice and helpful lady but she was about as organized as a hardware store after an earthquake. Overall she did fine having all of this dumped in her lap.

After supper we went to the theater for the show by “Shades of Michael Buble”. These three fellows from New York performed a nice medley of Michael Buble type songs.

Immediately following in the theater was a show by the comedian Julie Barr. Once again she was quite entertaining.

Day 5: February 12

We arrived in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, at 11:30 a.m.

As part of our cruise we had signed up for a golf cart tour of "Waters Island". It sounded great from the description. At noon we had to take a small ferry to get to the island. Once on the island we were assigned to “Lisa's Carts” to get a golf cart for the day. Once we did our golf cart tour we were scheduled to have lunch at 3:00 p.m. at "Heidi's Hilltop Restaurant".

Getting things organized for this "tour" was as chaotic as anything I've ever been involved in. Upon arrival we learned that there was no tour. You just drove the golf cart around the island on your own - no guide, no map, no points of interest given, etc.

We met with our golf cart concessionaire, Lisa. We then rode in a dilapidated old pickup truck which had been converted into a small trolley-like bus to her business place. Once there the cart drivers, of which I was one, signed in and deposited $500 for possible damages. This process took place at the bar and took forever. It was clear they were much better suited to make drinks than complete paperwork. Finally we got our four-person cart. Mike and Carol, a couple from Ohio, were assigned to ride with Kelly and me. 

As I said, we had no map. We were told to just stay on "the paved road" and we wouldn't get lost. Thanks a lot. Shortly down the road we saw a hand-painted sign saying “Fort” with an arrow pointing left. We thought that must be something to see so off we went. The more we drove up the hill the worse the road got. I use the term “road” loosely. It was actually a potholed obstacle course. Once at the top you walked through the woods to a bunker and a big pit where a huge gun was to be installed. I read on the sign that by the time this "fort" was all built during WWII the war was over and the gun was never installed. So much for the being a fort.

There is a storage area and bunker behind the "big gun". It was all trashy and not illuminated for viewing by tourists. It was a joke really. Here is Kelly trying to figure out what might have been in there at one time. You would think they would have kept it cleaned up a little.

We crawled back down the hill in the golf cart, got on the paved road and soon came upon a trailer with a sign stating that they were selling local art. Carol wanted to stop so we did. While there Mike got a beer and Carol got a root beer icy. Now there was no riding around in the golf cart so we sat there for twenty minutes while they enjoyed their drinks. (Ticked me off but what are you going to do?)

By then it was almost our scheduled time for lunch so we headed in the direction of "Heidi's Hilltop Restaurant". We had a choice of French Dip Roast Beef and chips or hamburger and fries. Kelly and I opted for the roast beef. The food was good but the place was nothing to write home about. (Yet here I am doing just that.) LOL. By the time we finished lunch our time on the island was about up. We headed back down to the beach area to turn in the golf cart and to then catch the ferry back to the ship. While we saw nothing on our "tour" there actually wasn't much to see. This little "excursion" was not cheap and everyone in the group thought it was a MAJOR bust. We all expressed to the acting tour director, Denise, about how bad it was and that it was not as advertised.

Back on board the ship, after another nice supper, we went to the Cabaret Show in the theater which was performed by the ship's troupe. While it was entertaining I'm glad I didn't have to pay to see it.

Day 6: February 13

Again we cruised overnight. Upon docking in the morning we all disembarked early for a walk to the catamaran for our scheduled excursion - a day out on a catamaran, snorkeling, swimming, and lunch on the beach. When we got off the ship it was extremely windy. All catamaran companies except ours cancelled. Nonetheless, with the high winds, we opted to cancel even though we would not get a refund. Instead we walked aimlessly around the tourist shops then headed back to the ship. We later learned that the catamaran trip was quite rough and a number of people got seasick. Denise, who said she was a sailor, said she was afraid to eat the lunch and then get back aboard. That tells you something. We were glad we skipped it even though we lost our money.

A fuel barge tied up to the ship and pumped diesel into the ship for over five hours. It was an eight inch filler hose so it is hard to imagine how many gallons we took on. I was told that much would last two days at sea.

We scheduled a guided bus tour of St. John's for the next day. 

Two of our daughters have birthdays on February 13th so we wished them a "Happy Birthday" using "Whatsapp" on the wi-fi. We had no cell phone service so we couldn't call them. The ship provided everyone "basic" wi-fi. It worked fine for me but Kelly was not satisfied with the speed so she opted to pay $80.00 to "upgrade" her connection. Her upgrade was no better than my free wi-fi and she let them know how disappointed she was. I believe that and $3.00 might have gotten her a cup of coffee on shore. LOL

Every afternoon a "snack" was delivered to our stateroom. Here is a picture of one. A tasty treat while sitting out on the balcony.

Supper this evening was a special treat our tour guide arranged for us in the "Tuscany Restaurant". This restaurant is normally only available to those who opt to pay for a cruise upgrade. (About another $1,000.00.) The food was outstanding and more than plentiful, as was the wine of your choice which was poured freely. We had Italian bread, salad, multiple appetizers, a main course or our choice with sides, and a choice of several different desserts. I ordered the fillet mignon and it was the best I've had in many years.

After supper we went to the theater to catch a show by Gen Maldonado, who sang songs of several famous divas. She is an excellent singer from Brooklyn, NY and could really belt out the songs.

Every evening after the shows there were various activities, music, etc. We are not "party animals" anymore, if we ever were. After the show in the evenings we would enjoy a drink in a bar area and then head to our stateroom, calling it a night.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

February 8 - 10, 2025 - First Three Days of Our Eastern Caribbean Cruise

My Blog Reflection

"To travel is to live."

Hans Christian Andersen

Our Eastern Caribbean Cruise was nine-days long two of which were cruising to and from our destinations. There is so much to blog about the trip that I will break it down into three sections, three days at a time. 

Day 1: Saturday February 8th

We drove for two hours from Pinellas Park to Port Charlotte, Florida, to meet up with a bus of other cruisers with all of us then headed for the cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale. From Port Charlotte we headed to Fort Myers to pick up a few more cruisers. The bus took off at 7:45 a.m. from Port Charlotte. It was a three hour ride to Fort Lauderdale from Fort Myers. When we arrived at the port there were five cruise ships there. A very busy place. Here is a picture from our balcony.

Our ship was the "Celebrity Eclipse". It can handle 2,500 passengers and has a crew of 1,200. I couldn't believe the small ratio of crew to passengers. Our stateroom had a nice balcony and was on the 12th Deck next to the elevators and the pool area. We thought it would be quite noisy but it wasn't. The elevators were the quietest I have ever ridden on and there were two sets of doors between our cabin and the pool.

We pulled away from the dock around 1:00 p.m. We then literally stopped and pulled up to the next dock only about a two thousand feet away. The captain announced that someone on the ship had a medical emergency and an ambulance was on the way. The ambulance stopped just below our balcony.

Our assigned time for our sit down evening dinner in the "Moonlight Sonata Restaurant" was 5:45 p.m. We requested this earlier seating. Everyone has to dress a little for dinner in the main restaurants - collared shirts, long pants, no flip flops, no T-shirts, and no shorts. It was excellent dining with alcoholic drinks included if you liked. The appetizer menu did not change from night to night but the main menu did. I ordered escargot in olive oil for my appetizer every night and they were always delicious. This is something I rarely get in Missouri.

After dinner we went to a show in the theater by comedian Julie Barr. She was very entertaining. It was announced that the Superbowl would be shown in the theater the next evening. Go Chiefs!

Day 2: Sunday February 9th

The ship moves between 17 and 20 mph. (I have an app on my phone that calculated our speed.) Several cruise ships were nearby as we cruised. Here is one. I didn't expect that.

In the morning we attended a lecture about pirates, which was interesting because I know so little about them - past and present.

In the afternoon we attended a show by the instrumentalist, Kuba. He included a video of him playing the "Earth Harp". It is a room-sized instrument and there are only two such harps in the world. He is one of only five musicians who can play it. His main instrument was the vibraphone. It has metal keys whereas a xylophone has wooden keys. The ship's orchestra accompanied him. He also played an instrument that used radio waves to make sounds as you moved your hands over it without touching it. It was invented in the 1940s and was quite interesting.

We then settled in to watch the Superbowl. Sadly, the Chiefs were beat like an old rug. The worst I've ever seen them play. The crowd was 90% Eagles fans. Disheartened, we left before the game was over.

Day 3: Monday February 10

After traveling overnight we arrived in Grand Turk, the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the Bahamas.

We took a morning bus tour to see the island and get a little history.

At one point we stopped to have a gentleman show us some local sea creatures - non-poisonous Jellyfish, Conchs, and Sea Cucumbers. There is one male to every thousand female Conchs. Our tour guide said that old boy must be kept busy. The Sea Cucumber was cool. It digests its food and releases sand as a by-product. Here are some pictures. The Jellyfish is first, then the Conchs, male and female, then the Jellyfish and Sea Cucumber.

The male is on the left.

I got to hold the female. I don't think she was happy being out of the water.

We next drove by the lighthouse which has been in use since 1852. It was built out of metal in England and shipped here and assembled. Very unusual construction.

The U.S. Naval base previously located on the island of Turk is now a community college, which is a great use of the nice buildings our government left behind.

Diesel generators provide all power for the islands. This must be expensive because gasoline is $8.00 per gallon. I am sure diesel isn't a lot cheaper. I asked about the weather. The high temperature is 85 and the low temperature 85. They have a rainy season from August - November.

A red head cactus called a "Turk Cactus" is where part of the island's name came from. The African Caicos tribe crashed on these islands centuries ago, thus the other name of the islands. There are forty islands but only eight are inhabited. The islands are a British territory but they use the American dollar for currency. The total population of all eight islands is 56,000. The largest hotel is 26 rooms. The islands are clearly not a destination for tourists to hang out for days on end. There were no yachts in the harbor.

In this picture the dark blue water is where it the sea drops off to 22,000 feet deep. Absolutely crazy. On the way to the islands we had been cruising over this deep blue water and I wondered why it was such a deep color. Now I know.

There are no snakes, nor alligators, nor any poisonous bugs on the islands. My kind of place.

They have no sales tax, no income tax, nor real estate tax. Instead there is a 35% tariff on everything coming onto the island. Everything has to be imported.

Donkeys were originally brought to the islands by settlers in the 17th century primarily to assist with labor-intensive salt mining operations. Now they are protected and roam around freely everywhere.

Salt production from dehydrating salt water was the main industry on the islands for many, many years. This was done using large salt ponds scattered throughout the island. Many ponds still exist but look like big mud puddles now. Since the salt industry is gone there is no employment. You either work for the government or you are involved in the tourist industry. About 30% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Our last stop on the tour was the beach where we were provided a chair and umbrella for one hour. After an hour we would have to pay. An hour of sun was enough for us. It was a beautiful beach.

In the evening we attended a singing and dancing show put on by the ship's troupe. 

To be continued . . .