Lollipops and Stalagmites

Don't they go well together?

Caving in Bridgetown

This was a pretty cool excursion. Rather than visit the beaches of Barbados, we went into the depths and saw some pretty cool natural formations in the caves.

A head start

As we depart for our next destination, we left behind 2 big cruise boats in our dust, I mean waves. We were heading very far south so we had to make an early departure as we'd be cruising all night.

Roti

On this short little stopover of 6 hours, we discovered something we've been missing for a long time - roti. Abdel's mom makes the best we've ever had, but this place was pretty good. Even more impressive was that the boys loved it too. Too bad the ship wouldn't let us bring food on otherwise, it would have been a real roti fest.

Tourists?

It's funny, even though on this island, they speak our 1st language of English, we stand out more as tourists than our current home in the Dominican Republic. Maybe it's because everyone saw us walking off that big boat.

St. John's Cathedral?

We're not entirely sure the name, but it was the most impressive looking building in the sleepy capital. Very nice people with a very relaxed attitude on life. No problem!

Contemplation

If I ever take up a life at sea, I'll have Grandma and Opa to blame for bringing us on this cruise boat experience. It is sure is neat, seeing the world from this vantage point and travelling from port to port.

Blog # 2000

A milestone has been reached. With this blog, we are now at 2000 blog entries. What a beautiful one it is. This is a photo of a natural wonder - a rainbow - as we arrived into the port of St. John's.

A boat, a boat!

Yes indeed, here's a nice shot of the Costa Mediterranean on our way back from the great day 3 excursion in the British isles.

The men and boys retreated to a swim on the deck pool while Grandma and Mommy ventured off into Roadtown, the capital for some local shopping. Fortunately, they were only allowed 1 hour.

Couple of Poor Men

Opa and I looked pretty comfortable here at the poor man's bar. We just won't tell the locals that we arrived via a cruise ship. That would really blow our cover.

A Cold One

Man, these British Virgin Islands are hot. How does one really cool off on the island of Tortola? For the less affluent type, there's always a Carib at this little watering hole off the beaten path.

Style over height

Unlike brother Darius' attempts at high jump records,

I was focused on technique. Here's hoping the judges

give me style points.

Jumping for joy

What a great game. Trying to time a jump to land on the sand just as the waves were coming in. Didn't always make it, but sure had fun trying.

Our turn

We saw Daddy conquer the rocks so now it's our turn. Climb up, jump down and repeat. Great workout for these young legs.

Rocky Training

Rocky Balboa would be proud of this type of dryland training.

Look at Daddy running up the rocks overlooking the sea.

Spelunking

One of the important skills of being an animal rescuer like Diego is to be able move in and out of small spaces like caves and crevices. You never know when you'll be called upon to make a rescue.

Crevices

It's a little bit cramped in here. We feel a little bit like a couple of clams. Can somebody let us out of our shell?

Face Gorda

Not exactly on the main path, but when a challenge presents itself, it's sometimes difficult to turn it down.

Careful Grandma

Grandma still has lots of adventure left and would not miss seeing us on this quest to the other beach. Let's just hope there are no bats in these caves.

Brothers in Arms

It's best to pick a buddy when venturing so that nobody gets left behind. In our case, somebody always had to keep an eye on Darius and I got that difficult assignment.

Scaling up

While Opa watched over our things, we headed out on an adventure

through some caves out to another beach. Through, over, under, down and even up, just like up this ladder.

Beachcombers

Caribbean version of course. Here we don't need wet suits and there's not a lot of logging to be done. However, we enjoy some good beach caving.

Straddling

The symbology is not quite there as I'm not actually straddling the 2 rocks, but I'm certainly working on my rock climbing skills.

Virgin Gorda

Trust me, I didn't pick the name. The fat virgin, while not aptly named,

was indeed a beauty to behold. Beach, caves, rocks to climb - you had our attention.

Ready for Adventure

Let's see what these other smaller Caribbean islands are like. We decided to ease into the cruise by planning an excursion. This excursion involved a speedboat ride to a different island from where we docked to see a beautiful beach complete with neat cave and rock formations. Geology and tourism combined.

Cruising

This was the beginning of a real change of pace for us. Opa and Grandma were coming down for a last visit to the DR and so we all decided to take advantage of geography and head out on a famous Caribbean cruise. Departing from La Romana in the DR, our 1st international stop was in Tortola, an island in the British Virgin Islands. What a beautiful start to the journey.

Hup 2, 3, 4

Here we go, stepping to the beat of the music. Caraban in Toronto has nothing on us down here at the Lycee in Santo Domingo.

Now you see me, now you don't...

I seem to be a little bit happier with the mask on. After all, why should I pose for a photo on Carnaval day without my mask on?

French Carnaval?

It was Caribbean carnaval week and my French school got right into it. This included designing our own costumes and doing our very own parade.

Scrambles!

When the party energy drops just a little, it means it's Pinata time. There's nothing like a massive free for all scramble for candy.

Make your wish

You wish for 2 more cakes? Wait, wait, wait, you're not supposed to tell us! Hey look, 2 more cakes.

Ring of Attention

Mommy says that I'm made for this. I certainly do not mind the spotlight especially when people are gathering to see me blow out my candle.

But, no sign of Darius...

Scoops of fun

Happiness is hanging with your best bud at your own birthday party with a couple of ice cold scoops. What a day!

Sizing Up

In animation we know who might win, but should this guy be sizing up Daddy, the man who's paying the bill for this party?

Ice cream break

Hey Darius, what are you doing in the middle of all the action? I thought it was my birthday.

Best pal Franco

The only person who could compete with Darius for the prime seat next to the birthday boy was Franco. And Darius, in good spirits, was happy to give up this seat.

Musical Chairs

This is one of my specialty games as I can use my small size and quickness to sneak around and grab a chair at the last minute. But, being a good host, I didn't win this round.

Dance to the music

Let's get it started, let's get it started. This was hype. Okay, okay, he wasn't a clown, but he was a party starter.

Clown Bench

Not to say we weren't being clownlike, but we're referring to us sitting on the bench awaiting instructions from the clown. There's Franco, Pablo, Javier Actis among others.

Facing off

It might be my big brother's birthday, but that won't stop me from having fun. Just watch out for my spider sting.