C. Victory Sept. 16 '12 Review with pics

[Karpkg]

Good morning to you! Lovely shot of dawn.

 

Good morning to you too!

 

I'm supposed to be doing other stuff but I'm camped in front of the 'puter instead.

 

[5waldos]

Good morning to you too!

 

I'm supposed to be doing other stuff but I'm camped in front of the 'puter instead.

 

 

And we are down to the last couple of days- hair, nails, finish packing, read your review :)

[Karpkg]

 

We meet Nick and Val, son and father team. Nick's born and raised Barbadian, I don't remember if the dad's originally from Canada or also from Barbados. Love the accent! At first I thought Australian but no, has a lilting cadence to it. Very friendly, laid back. Like was mentioned they prefer smaller parties but their boat fit us to a T. Everyone was clambering everywhere- the kids were at the front jumping on the net or lying down, sitting on the chairs gazing out or in the back or inside.

 

 

 

THIS IS THE LIFE!!! I WANT THIS LIFE!!!

 

 

 

Nick and his dad at the helm.

 

[Karpkg]

The Jolly Rogers was parked just across from Calypso.

 

 

Val the driver.

 

 

Inside the Cat.

 

 

 

Go downstairs, on your left the sleeping quarters

 

 

bathroom on your right

 

 

The boat was rescued. You should see the pictures. It was rescued after a hurricane. In the pictures it's floating upside down with a huge gash/hole in the side. It took a year to renovate it. I look around and you would not have known it.

 

[ibcnusoon]

Just out of curiosity, were there shops in the port of Barbados? We are a party of 6, but my stepmom has decided not to go on the catamaran cruise with us on Calabaza because she's just not comfortable on the water like that.

 

I told her she could shop in port while we are doing this excursion, but just wanted to make sure there were shops in port and if it will be safe for her to walk around. I don't see her going downtown or leaving the port area!

[Karpkg]

We're hitting the shipwrecked areas first. Depending on the weather conditions which were clear and calm this day, Nick decides where to go and his dad brings us to those areas. We start at the best shipwrecked area. It's in shallower water and visibility is fantastic. No one else is around.

 

Nick's chummed the water so the fish appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nick dives down bringing DH, Billy and Sis there.

 

[Karpkg]

Just out of curiosity, were there shops in the port of Barbados? We are a party of 6, but my stepmom has decided not to go on the catamaran cruise with us on Calabaza because she's just not comfortable on the water like that.

 

I told her she could shop in port while we are doing this excursion, but just wanted to make sure there were shops in port and if it will be safe for her to walk around. I don't see her going downtown or leaving the port area!

 

Inside the terminal, not just outside.

 

 

Outside tour booths

 

 

There's the Pelican Center which you can walk outside the port entrance to, although I can't tell you how far it is since we were driving and I was busily snapping pictures. Go to the Port of Call section and look up Pelican Center and see if people can tell you if it's walkable or if you'd have to taxi to it.

 

[ibcnusoon]

Inside the terminal, not just outside.

 

 

Thanks, that's perfect. Just a few shops is all she needs, plus it's indoors and away from the elements.

[Karpkg]

I'm not courageous to dive down that far. So I toss Nick my camera and say, have a go!

 

He took these pics. I really, really like this guy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

 

Why are men fascinated with toilets?

 

 

Inside the wreck looking out. Beautiful!

 

 

 

Billy just as adventurous. He's on his way inside the wreck.

 

[Karpkg]

Boats start arriving. We surface and Nick shouts out, "Follow me to another!" so the Cat trails behind and we snorkel to the next. He tells the history, I don't remember, and we check it out. It's in deeper waters.

 

I get the camera back. He chums the waters again, and I swear in this pic it looks eerily like hungry Piranhas after me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third and last place is further out and again deeper waters. I'm now exhausted and start heading toward the boat. Everyone else is still snorkeling around.

 

I've also swallowed a lot of sea water. Unfortunately I'll have to buy my own snorkel next time because I need one with a very small mouthpiece. My sis has her own and I used hers when in St. Thomas and her mouthpiece is custom for her mouth and worked great for me. So I end up feeling nauseous the next couple hours until my stomach adds its contributions to the vast ocean.

 

Loved the easy entrance into the boat.

 

[darcien007]

Had the chicken mofongo and thought it was great! The only issue was that I was tasting the garlic sauce for hours afterwards - and Tamie could tell, too - lol!!

 

We really enjoyed Cosol! Unfortunately, we had another newly wed in our van who got car sick - poor kid.

 

Kar - we went to Sapphire Beach and pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves. OK - maybe with 20 neighbors or so. We DID notice that there was quite a bit of jellyfish in the water!

 

I agree...I was tasting garlic for days. But really good food. We went to Megan's bay and had it pretty much to ourselves. Not jelly fish at all. But someone did say they saw a fin. :eek:

[5waldos]

:):):):):):)

 

You just made me smile. Big time!

 

with the fish pictures- not the other discussion

[pferrar]

looking good.. we did silvermoon that day with a couple of people from our roll call and we absolutly loved it.... awesome time, especially with the turtles.

[Herfnerd]

We lucked out in Barbados. Took a cab to The Boatyard and paid $12 admission that included a chair, umbrella, drink and cab ride back to the pier.

 

Wasn't there five minutes before vendors came up to us offering to take us out to snorkel with the turtles and shipwreck. Paid $20 each to go on the "Boys terous" with eight others from the Victory. Gear, snacks and rum drinks included - well worth it!

[Karpkg]

We're back on board and leisurely heading out to our next stop. The sail's unfurled and we're on our way. Rum Punch for the adults, regular punch for the kids, and I'm....hanging in there.

 

You've been wanting to see the turtles, eh? We arrive again at a spot with no one else in sight.

 

We dive overboard and the turtles start appearing.

 

 

 

 

 

At this point now I'm swallowing even more sea water and I'm feeling really bad. I head back to the boat. I took these with my regular camera but just had a thought:

 

Tip: If you trust the people you're around with, such as someone who's not going to snorkel, ask if they can take pics with your regular camera.

 

 

[Karpkg]

More turtles using my sis' camera in an underwater pouch. Billy had his own underwater camera but I didn't get copies of his. Maybe later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

The turtles were swimming spaced far apart from each other. One would cruise into and out of view, another would circle around us then come in flapping slowly. In my head I'm yelling, "Krush! Krush! Come here!" I can almost hear him saying back, "Duuuuuude, whatcha dooooiiiiiinnnnnngggg???"

 

 

 

 

Was this Payne's Beach? I dunno...

 

 

Nick says he's out of turtle food so the turtles will soon start to leave, and Val yells out "How 'bout lunch?" So the rest of everybody reluctantly boards and we're off to another area.

[Buffettfan 225]

Boats start arriving. We surface and Nick shouts out, "Follow me to another!" so the Cat trails behind and we snorkel to the next. He tells the history, I don't remember, and we check it out. It's in deeper waters.

 

I get the camera back. He chums the waters again, and I swear in this pic it looks eerily like hungry Piranhas after me.

 

 

 

 

Cool photo- very neat, unusual viewpoint. Photos remind me of Nemo adventure enjoying review, and your beautiful family

[Karpkg]

We hug the shore and sail for about half an hour. Then lunch is served.

 

 

 

Everyone's starving. "Wow Nick, did you and your dad do all of this?" He grins but his dad comes in. "Are you kidding me? This is catered in from The Boatyard. Their food is fantastic!"

 

Anything you could want. Any drink you wanted. Nick knew how to mix those Rum Punches. Billy and DH were in heaven. Beers were plentiful too.

 

I had already been sick overboard earlier and couldn't eat much. But everyone kept reassuring me the food tasted as good as it looked. :o

 

After lunch we dropped anchor offshore a beach and hung around. I started feeling a lot better. We jumped overboard again and played in the water then swam ashore.

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

 

Cool photo- very neat, unusual viewpoint. Photos remind me of Nemo adventure enjoying review, and your beautiful family

 

Thanks!

 

And Nemo's one of my very favorite movies. Love the one liners. Let's see...we've encountered the jellyfish, met with Krush...ya think sharks might be next? :eek: :D

[kcparrothead]

I'm loving your review and I'm only on Page 3!! Thanks so much for writing this! Could you tell me how long your Bio Bay tour was from start to finish? I know you said it was over around 9pm, but wondering what time you started.

[Karpkg]

Land Ho!

 

 

 

Another Cat shows up. It's big and it's filled. They stay on board, we're snorkeling around, going to land, coming back out to water, and they're watching us. Oh yeah, act like we own our boat...:cool:

 

 

Nick signals us with a boat horn and we climb aboard. So long beach who shall remain unnamed!

 

I think we circle the island. I don't know, I stretch out on the net and me and my son falls asleep. Music fills the air, light breeze, gentle rocking...OH YEAH!!!

 

 

 

[Karpkg]

I'm loving your review and I'm only on Page 3!! Thanks so much for writing this! Could you tell me how long your Bio Bay tour was from start to finish? I know you said it was over around 9pm, but wondering what time you started.

Here's the itinerary I got from them.

 

BIO BAY AND RAINFOREST

 

Duration : 10 hours

Approximate Pick Up Times: San Juan Area (11:00am), Rio Grande (12:00pm), Fajardo (11:30am)

 

Itinerary: Specific times for different sites and pick ups may vary. We will call you the day of your trip to give you the exact pick up time for your location. Transportation Pick Up at Hotel Lobby

 

11:00am Arrival at El Yunque National Forrest

12:20pm Visit to El Portal Information Center

• Video, Information, Souvenirs
  

12:30 – 1:00pm Visit to La Coca Falls

• Picture Area
  

1:10 – 1:25pm Visit Yokahu Observation Tower

• Picture Area
  

1:35 – 2:00pm Hike to La Mina Falls

2:15 – 4:00pm Restaurant Stop for Dinner

• Meals are not included*
  

4:30 – 5:50pm Arrival at Bio Bay Departure Point

• Check In and Pre Ride Instructions
  

6:10 – 6:45pm Kayak Launching

6:45 – 7:00pm Arrival to Laguna Grande

• Interpretation
  

7:30 – 8:00pm Kayak Landing

8:30pm Drop off at Hotel Lobby *9:30pm

[Karpkg]

The group wakes me up and says we're heading back.

 

Sis playing Vanna on Price Is Right, saying Who wants to guess how much? This is the million dollar view!

 

I'm awake and refreshed.

 

The kids are steering this time.

 

 

The Victory. This time I'm sad to see it. We spent the entire day with these guys.

 

 

We gather our belongings, dock and hop off. I get a wave from Nick but a kiss on the cheek from Val. Awww, they were fantastic guys! We had an awesome time.