We had breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet again. It was Scott's first breakfast on board so he was very pleased with the selection!
After breakfast we headed back to our stateroom to get changed into our suits and pack for our excursion. We grabbed a quick snack since we would miss lunch and then headed to our meeting point. We arrived just in time and hardly needed to sit down before we were headed off the boat.
The transfer was quick to our mini-bus. We all set on the left side in single seats so we all had an excellent view and enjoyed the breeze from the windows.
The ride was 45 minutes and brought us through several towns, residential areas, the rain forest, national park, up the mountain and back down again.
The island is beautiful with colorful homes and lavish vegetation. There are still remains of homes abandoned after Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004. Tyler enjoyed seeing the children we passed waving from their school yard. Our driver shared lots of interesting facts about the places we passed. He showed us a nutmeg and cinnamon tree and showed the three diesel generators that provide electric to the entire island along with a small island off the coast.
After 45 minutes, we arrived at our location. We had signed up for an adventure river tubing experience. We geared up with helmets and tubes and we're headed down the river single file. Just as we got in the water, it started to rain... Just a short shower which is common in the rain forest, but it helped cool us off.
There were rapids and lots of rocks in the water. Our tour guides did flips and tricks. They sang songs and splashed us. It was a good time! The tour itself only lasted apps 45 minutes but was fun.
On the drive back, we stopped at the highest point on the island (1910 ft) and took pictures.
When we got back onboard, Sammy needed a swim so we headed right up to the pool. She burned some energy while Tyler played his iPad and mom and dad got snacks.
We headed back to our room suspecting the kids needed some down time... But Sammy announced she was ready to back to kids club. So I took her down while Scott got cleaned up. While she was playing, I grabbed a shower and prepped for dinner as well. Tyler, Scott and I got to watch as the crew unhooked the lines and we left port. Tyler and Scott saw a HUGE sea turtle in the waters below! It was really something! Then we enjoyed this beautiful rainbow as we pulled out of port.
Tonight we were scheduled to return to the restaurant we are in last night, so instead, we ordered dinner from Palo, the adult only restaurant on board. Because we have concierge status, they set up a gorgeous spread in our stateroom dining room and brought it in three separate courses.
The presentation of it all was impressive and I had never seen a shrimp so big. Scott and I both raved that our filet was excellent.
After dinner, we headed down for the magic show... Magic Dave came over before the show and did a card trick with Tyler... Mind blown!
During the show he asked Tyler up on stage to help with a trick! He did a great job and we all laughed as we watched the video over and over.
A few moments later Sammy was asked to help with a trick from her seat. She had to tell him when to stop shuffling and then he guessed the card where she said stop.
We were so excited that both kids had a chance to be involved with the show! I'm sure that doesn't happen often in one family. But Sammy was disappointed that she didn't get to go on stage. By the end of the last trick, she was done. We transferred her back to the stroller and got back to the room as quickly as possible.
We got the kids prepped for bed and lights were out around 10:00pm. It's pretty rough seas tonight so I hope we all sleep well.
It was a great day! More tomorrow from Barbados!!
