Gym's Ramblings: Winter 2022.- The Amazon Expedition: BVI and Conclusion

Tortola, BVI

After leaving Rouseau, the ship's captain had to put the pedal to the metal because the Insignia had to sail 260 nautical miles and be in Tortola, the next morning. That night the ship sped north past Guadeloupe, Monserrat and Saint Kitts. Then, as the sun rose over the Atlantic, she glided into the territorial waters of the British Virgin Islands. As she slid into the docks at Road Town, the cruise had reached the final stop on the return trip across the Caribbean.

As our intrepid travelers disembarked for the day, Gym had a little deja vu. Road Town was another stop on the 2006 tour. The stop here in 2006 was also near the end of the cruise and the teenagers were tired of getting off the ship to conquer additional island nations. If there wasn’t another inner tube or a zip line, they weren’t interested. So back then, Gym and his dear wife decided to leave them on the ship, and mom and dad strolled into town to check out the 'duty free' shops. On the 2022 visit, a more involved exploration of the island was planned.

The 2022 tour began with a hike through the jungle, to the highest point on the island. That point was up above Road Town where there were some fantastic views of other nearby islands. It was muggy, as it had recently rained. The rain had soaked the trail and the footing was a little dicey in spots but everyone made it to the top without incident. At the summit, the hikers climbed a tower to a platform that had 360-degree views of the surrounding area.

In the afternoon, with the exercise out of the way, they did something a little less strenuous. The two adventurers went to the beach. They rented chaise loungers to stretch out and relax after their rather strenuous morning. There was a trendy bar nearby, where rum punches were available at a reasonable cost. It was idyllic but they only had a couple of hours. Gym took a dip in the warm waters of the Caribbean and thought about the snow that he would inevitably face in a few days. Later that afternoon, they hopped on a shuttle bus and made their way back to Road Town, where they checked out the 'duty free' shops again, before re-boarding the ship.

The last leg of the trip was a long dash past the long length of the Bahamas, to Miami, where the adventure began. It took two and a half 'sea days' to finish and this afforded the passengers time to reflect on what a great trip it had been.

The Amazon had been a fantastic experience. It was a truly powerful force of nature. There really is no better way to explore it than on a smaller cruise ship. As for the Amazon Basin, Gym's sense of what is going on there is that the degradation of the rain forest is not so much an industry-organized assault but the steady consumption of the valuable resources by the millions of low-income and poorly-educated people that live adjacent to the river.

The big bonus of the trip though, was the volume of Caribbean island nations that were visited on the way to and from the mighty Amazon. There were eight stops in total and five were new ones for Gym and Mrs. Gym.

On December 10, 2022, the adventurers unceremoniously disembarked the ship and then ran through customs to meet a pre-arranged ride to the airport. They hurried to make a very tight connection for their return flight to Canada.

At home, the winter waited patiently for them.