mattersofthemoment

Merry Christmas

Love,

David and Marie

As mentioned in our last post, there were no more island visits to come.  But alas, 2 more sea daze remain.  This is the last posting about this cruise – honest, lol!

The Spa Pool

We head for home in Florida – 1100 nautical miles to go.  Lobster tail night in the MDR preceded by a wine tasting.  It’s a great party and our new table mates from FL and SC are very nice. We have so great a day that we are happy to rest up on our last day at sea. We sail past the tiny Salvador island which was Columbus first landfall in Oct 1492. After 12 days we too are ready for landfall.

Martini Bar

Porch Seafood Restaurant

You will be very happy to know these are the last 2 islands we visited on this cruise that we will be writing about…

Martinique is a large island and Forte-de-France is a large city with sprawling suburbs of stately white apartment buildings. Ici en Martinique, on parle français parce que nous sommes en France.‎  Reminiscent of South American port cities, there is a large port area and we are birthed in the industrial area. We walk into the downtown core. No one is hawking anything and we enjoy the peace of it all. We stroll along the waterfront boulevard lined with clothing, perfume and shoe stores. We visit the large cathedral full of tourists and light candles for Dave’s deceased cousin Claudia and for her daughter Louise who both died prematurely last month. We do some shopping and head to the Fort on the hill. It is Monday and it is closed today – darn. No beach today either. We head back to the ship and rest up before catching a wonderful singer from Las Vegas – Savannah Smith. She sings a whole bunch of great songs like Bonnie Rait’s sorrowful “I can’t make you love me”- best show we have seen so far.

There is a link to Canada.  After the Seven Years War known as the French and Indian War in North America (1754-63), France attached little value to its North American possessions.  When the British asked France what they wanted to retain, New France or the islands – Martinique, Guadalupe and St Lucia, they chose these highly profitable sugar-producing islands as part of the terms of the Treaty of Paris.  For France, however, the military defeat and the financial burden of the war weakened their monarchy and contributed to the advent of the French Revolution in 1789.

St Kitt’s by contrast is one of the smallest islands in the West Indies with a large volcanic shaped peak at its centre. We venture off and find the best shopping yet at the lowest prices. I pick up a lovely water colour painting of the local Catholic church. Marie some perfume for Michelle. ‎Ball caps are 3 for $10. Look out Tim and Kyle! We chat with some friendly sales clerks. There is a large group of young children all dressed in colourful uniforms from a nursery school. We feel beached and islanded out at this point so head back on board for a lazy afternoon.

Pulling away from St. Kitts

Barbados was the centre of the sugar trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. Rich English bought up all the land. They brought in slaves from Africa, sent sugar to New England and then rum to Africa for more slaves‎. In 1700 Barbados generated more trade than all other British colonies combined!! There was a slave rebellion at one point that was eventually extinguished. The slave trade ended in the early 1800s but not slavery itself for sometime after. It was not until 1951 that universal suffrage was proclaimed and independence in 1971 I think. Bit of a bleak history here.

For some reason have always wanted to come here known as the spice island for its nutmeg and mace. First impressions are good. St George’s does not look overly commercialized, but in relatively good shape that time has passed it by a bit. White, pink and yellow buildings with red tile roofs. I can here a man’s voice, I think he is singing. The crow of roosters can be heard. A church bell chimes, then another one. Multiple steep pointed hills ‎covered in green. They had a major hurricane in 2004 and the island was flattened. They have rebuilt it since then.

In 1979 a Marxist-Leninist goverment under Maurice Bishop was established here after a coup. In 1983 an even more hard core communist government was established after another coup. The U.S. under Regan invaded Grenada and ousted the communists after 7 weeks. The invasion was strongly condemmed by the U.N.. No visible evidence of any of this now.

We take a water taxi to ‎Grand Anse Beach. It’s a 2 mile stretch of blond sand, quiet clear waters – indeed one of the nicest beaches in the Caribbean. We spend the heart of the day walking the beach and swimming. We do some shopping and after take a local bus back. What a ride with music and the horn blaring all the way! The young man on board tells me they are very development oriented. If you keep positive, stay out of trouble, things work out for you here. Everyone seems vey happy, friendly and calm. This is our best day yet!

Marie buys some spices and I a shirt. We meet a little boy named O’Rian who is gorgeous. As we leave a full moon comes out and the town clock strikes 6 o’clock, the start of Advent. This has to be one of the best gems of the whole trip. Thank you Lord ‎for all your gifts and blessings. Protect Grenada and it’s lovely people.

‎

We arrive on the tiny island of Antigua not knowing what to expect. There are 3 other cruise ships already there. It’s a banner day. The island known for its public beaches is picking up business due to the hurricane flattening of nearby Dominica and St. Martin islands.

We wander up the central avenue crowded with 1000s of tourists for the day. We head to the Anglican Cathedral first founded in the 1600s. It is being restored and everything needs repair. It has been sometime since they have offered worship services here‎. God helped them restore it twice already from earthquakes damage so they will succeed again. The sidewalks here are very dangerous with huge gaps and big drops. They have open deep gutters along the side of the road for storm rain run off.

We grab a cab for what we thought was Limerez beach. 5 other people join us. We are dropped at Mystic Beach which is only 10 minutes away. Spend the day floating in the ocean and walking the beach which is beautiful. The restaurant bar we are in front off is run down. There is an abandoned house next door and nothing much else around. This island is particularly poor. As we go to leave we are told that our cab driver has sent someone else to pick us up but we think it is a scam. After chatting with him on the phone we know it’s true so we take the other cab back – $3 per person – a woman drives us with her daughter in the back who proudly announces she is in kindergarden.

I buy a St Kitts teeshirt (they don’t have any that say Antigua it seems) and Marie picks up 2 tees for the boys. We get back in time for salmon dinner and a nice chat with our table neighbours from Atlanta.

The next day we arrive in Castries, St. Lucia, a much larger island with lots of buildings and traffic. Lush green hills surround us. I am a little groggy from one too many Irish coffees last night. We walk off after lunch and do a little shopping in the local market. It’s teeming with people and it’s hot. We see a young man shouting at people, some other rough looking men and a policeman here and there. There is an air of desperation in people’s faces. I chat with a man who wants to sell me marijuana and explains there is a lot of poverty here.‎ Later in the day when it cools down, I see young children playing happily and singing. Everyone seems in a better mood as the day cools and draws to a close. I have a flash that we are all the same with the same needs and wants. As we have been here before, we do not take a tour. Have seen the Pietons (twin pointy hills) and the steamy sulphur springs already. As we sail away lights are coming on all over town except in the shanty town visible from our ship.

That night, our table mates explain the fantastic tour they went on with an ex-pat guide from Montreal. A lot of organic farming, bananas everywhere and a laid back lifestyle when you get out of Castries.

A lazy day at sea before 6 islands straight. A great day to pontificate. Is cruising a good or bad thing?

On the con side, it is aimless self indulging wandering, burning up bunker fuel, over eating and drinking, taking advantage of cheap 3rd world labour, polluting the seas etc. Just building the ship itself consumed so much energy, caused massive waste and pollution. Some passengers feel overly entitled, are rude and don’t do lineups well (not on this cruise so far). Staff working 7 mos. straight without a day off exposes social and economic disparities and promotes stereotype thinking. Secularism gone wild and it’s expensive. Some have a phobia of ships and the sea.

On the pro side, massive amounts of employment is provided for 3rd world people, particularly youth. The pay rate is sufficient to attract them and many send money home. People of all nations and races mix and see how others look and act. Money is transferred to destination ports and many people benefit economically. Guests and staff get to see beautiful parts of the world they would never otherwise see, sample ethnic foods, learn something new, fall in love Dreams are fufilled, families are having fun, busy people relax and take a break, wives don’t cook and clean. No grass or snow to tend etc. Most importantly one can wander the world and contemplate it’s beauty and mystery. Mankind is destined to wander, explore and dream (think of Cabot, Cabral, LaSalle and Columbus et al.).

In the end it’s a personal choice that more and more people seem to be choosing. This is our 14th cruise. We prefer ocean cruising as the pace is calmer and the public spaces on board are simply fantastic.

Went to the Porch out door sea food specialty restaurant – jumbo garlic shrimp, ceviche, sea bass, lobster tails, mussels, ‎scallops – as much as we could eat washed down with as much Spanish bodega white wine as we could drink. Probably the best seafood meal we have ever eaten. Our waitress Olena from Ukraine kept urging us to have more. The restaurant manager from Bosnia asked us twice how we were doing and explained the importance of training they do for new staff. Best dinner yet. Wow!

‎

We arrive at Coco Cay the small private island owned by RCL. There is hazy sunshine as we tender in. Have been here 10 years ago. 3 or 4 small crescent beaches with lots of chairs and beach equipment rentals. HAL’s Half Moon Cay is much nicer we think. I walk the beach while Marie reads. I see a live conch and a black sting ray. It clouds over and stays cool. We have a BBQ lunch with rose wine. Have a great conversation with Courtley from Guyana. We head back to the ship by 1:30. I hit the pool.

The only disappointments so far are the weather (not sunny yet) and the fact you can’t walk fully around the promenade deck (it’s blocked off at either end) nor sit outside on it. Many of the older ships allow you to walk a full lap right around the ship and sit out there in a deck chair close to the water. ‎ No big deal as the walking track on deck 14 is really nice.

We attend the Cruisecritic social and meet Siobahn and Rick from Pembroke and some of the ship’s officers. We are en route to Antigua having skipped Puerto Rico due to hurricane damage. We had wanted to go there to meet some Oblates and offer help.‎ We see there are dancing lessons in the lobby and make a note for tomorrow. The sun comes out at noon and we hit the pool deck.

Dinner of duck and lamb and wine. Followed by the show of dancers amd singers and a stand up comedian. So so. We hit bed exhausted again.

This is our first cruise on Celebrity (X). First impressions are good. We arrived at the Park ‘N Go at 10 AM and we were on board the Silhouette by 11:25. Only discomfort was that we were asked to wait so some concierge class guests could board ahead of us. Greeted with champagne and smile, we wandered the ship and found the lawn club with real grass growing on the top deck. Heading for the Lido we had a delicious lunch of fish and salads washed down with wine as we have the drink package.

Have met staff from St. Vincent, Mauritius, Indonesia and Goa. All are extremely friendly and helpful. Our cabin seems narrower and deeper with a balcony. The ship holds 2800 passengers and was built in Germany in 2011. It is indeed beautifully engineered with lots of stainless steel and glass. A little sterile in design compared to ships like O’s Marina built in Italy. Passengers are the same demogaphic as us although we might be slightly older than the average age (but younger in spirit!!). We were able to get a reservation in the main dining room for when we wanted. So far so good.

Dinner in the main dining room was great. Prime rib for me and salmon for Marie. Our somelier gave us the whole bottle of red. Then they asked us 3 times if we wanted more. Fantastic food and service. Finished the evening with a little disco dancing at the martini bar. ‎All in all very impressed with X and loving it.

Dave and Marie

(Our condolences to the Devaney family in the loss of Louise and Fr Carl Kelly’s family. We keep you all in our prayers)

Have you ever wondered why Roman Catholics are forbidden to join the Freemasons?  The reason it seems is that the very tenets of Freemasonry, that all religions are equal (including none), its focus on “deism” and its promotion of secularism, are simply incompatible with the Catholic faith.  Hence one cannot claim to be a Catholic and a Freemason at the same time, as their world views are mutually exclusive.

I do not know any Freemasons, but my deceased great-uncle was a Freemason of the Scottish Rite 14th Degree . I have inherited his ring and am not sure what to do with it.  As well, a deceased neighbour was once the Grand Master of the Madawaska Lodge that I pass everyday on my way to swimming.

Scottish Rite 14th Degree Ring. Virtus Junxit, Mors Non Separabit (Virtue has united and death shall not separate) is inscribed on the inside with the name of the Freemason

I do not think Masons are bad people nor do I think there has been a conspiracy to subvert civil society against the Catholic Church to establish nations free from divine monarchy and Church control.  I think the notion of the nation-state with fixed boundaries and separation of church and state came about from forces that far exceeded some men secretly discussing their world view over coffee and brandy.  Nevertheless, the Freemason philosophy and world view is indeed alive and well in Canadian society.

Curious to learn more about the antagoism between this “secret society” and the Catholic Church?  This recent article in the UK Catholic Herald explains it well.