Caribbean cruising ... part II: All at sea ...

Christmas day was spent gently sailing further away from Bonaire and on toward Jamaica, with nothing but sunshine and silky sea water in between. We booked ourselves a rather strange and wonderful 9am Christmas Day treat ... a Rasul steam. I won’t go into any great detail but needless to say it was hot, sweaty and yet ... sweet smelling and thoroughly delightful. It ended with us clinking fully charged champagne glasses .. chin-chin.

I’ve not mentioned the overwhelming culinary options on board Ventura but will endeavour to give you a flavour (pun intended!) of what was on offer. We were designated a dining room: The Saffron Restaurant, for dinner each night at the early sitting of 6.30pm and discovered this entailed sitting down to eat with 6 complete strangers - apparently it’s part of the “cruise experience”. When Bob found out what the scoop was, he was heard to say… “ I’ve been talking to strangers all bloody year I don’t want to have do that on holiday as well!” ... fair enough. So we marched over to the - very pleasant and endlessly patient - Maitre’d and requested a table for 2. After a little negotiation (we played the Honeymoon card) we were reassigned to a small table in The Bay tree Restaurant at the back of the ship on the deck 7. Phew.

We loved our little corner of the restaurant. We were sat right at the back near the deep-set bow windows and took it in turns to look out at the twinkling lights of passing Islands or into the restaurant itself. People watching is always fascinating of course. Though we had our own little table, we were sat very close to a lovely Caribbean couple who now live in London. They more often than not ate elsewhere but always showed up on the formal nights dressed beautifully. Along from them was a larger round table with 4 couples plonked together in a random cruise style ... 2 of them jumped table the very first night. Oh the intrigue! Of the remaining six, two were widowed sisters from the Wirral and one of them was VERY deaf ... I SAID DEAF! Bless her but she had no idea just how LOUD she was SHOUTING ... though fairly annoying at times - it was hard to hear ourselves think - after a while it was just funny ... she was also highly opinionated which made for some fabulously raised eyebrows around the listening catchment area ... most of the restaurant it seemed.

A snippet of Montego Bay from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Our next port of call - on Boxing Day - was Montego Bay, Jamaica. Now Bob’s been to Jamaica many times: BC (before Christine) and has lots of fabulous family memories from those visits so we didn’t have any urgency to get off and explore. The Ship was docked a fair way out of town and there was nothing of note at the port side (we checked it out ... there really was nothing) so we continued to unwind onboard and make the most of a relatively empty vessel. It was heavenly warm this day and whileing away several hours on the top deck, basking in the delicious warm sunshine, reading books and playing cards was all we wanted to do - so that's what we did - simples. Setting sail that evening was wonderful ... the sky a bright, deep gold and black canvas.

The following day we were to anchor off the shores of Gran Cayman and be shuttled to the shore by tender, however ... the weather had changed a fair bit over night and the sea was simply too choppy for the little sea craft ready to tender us across to the Island and so we had to turn around and go slooow towards Cozumel Mexico and my birthday!

Yes dear reader it was my 49th birthday on December 28th 2010 and I found myself alongside Cozumel Island. We were anchored alongside several other large cruise ships from various countries all of us marvelling at the bright sparkling turquoise waters and sharing an intermittent Mexican sun. I went ashore alone ... as is my want sometimes and let Bob gorge on a glut of sky sports football - bless him! Actually he said he had a headache but I knew what was really going on.

The little port-side retail therapy village was actually very pleasant and I had a lovely time sauntering around soaking up the colourful atmosphere. I bumped into 2 other passengers we’d talked to at gatwick when we thought we might be stranded ... Mike and Sven ... who insisted on buying me a birthday drink - I had a Mexican beer, they had margaritas. We shared a platter of nibbles and laughed raucously at our collective flamboyant natures. Twas fun. They wanted more margaritas than this 49 year old can even contemplate, so I left them to their 3rd (!) and I wended my way back to my footie-mad husband. When I got back to our little cabin, a card and a plate of chocolates awaited me... from the Captain no less! Ooer missus ...

Birthday meandering in Cozumel - Mexico from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

That evening instead of dining at Bay Tree we booked ourselves into The White Room - a Marco Pierre White restaurant no less. Ooh la-la ... tres posh nosh. This up-market eatery cost an extra £20 each (plus drinks) and was actually worth it. I’m sure it would have cost an arm and a leg at a similar land-locked extablishment. When they found out it was my birthday (I told them) they brought me a large peice of chocolate cake ... unfortunately we’d already ordered our sweet and so the cake went uneaten ... it lay in our fridge a few days, before being unceremoniously binned. What a waste ...

It took 2 days to get to our next port ... the marvelous, the wonderful, the unforgettable ... New Orleans! We sailed up the majestic Mississippi river in the dark, on December 29th and docked early morning on the 30th. It took till 4pm before we cleared immigration and customs - argh! The whole thing was a mess. We were given numbers and called in groups and stood in line and bla, bla, bla ... in the end the authorities ran out of time and staff, so that when we went through to get our passports stamped, they’d dispensed with finger prints and photos, making a mockery of the entire sorry process! Hey ho. We wandered into the French Quarter and forgot about the stupid charade and soaked up the fog and steam of this marvelous city. Deep breaths everyone and - ahh.

We had the luxury of several days here and wandered back that first evening when our land legs refused to carry us any further. We were aboard by 7pm and in bed by 10pm - poor ickle pooped-out cruisers that we were. Bright and early next day we were up and off as soon as could be. This was also a turn around day for some of our fellow passengers. 300 new sailing compatriots boarded the ship replacing 400 out going holiday sailors. It was funny to see gaggles of newbies looking lost and confused at every deck level. Smugness is not a state I'm that familiar with - I'm unsure about most things a lot of the time - but the taste was sweet the few moments it lasted.

Bob and I have both been to New Orleans many times before but that didn’t detract from the palpable excitement of this delightful place.We’ve always been there in spring or summer when the climate can be stiflingly hot and muggy and the resultant street smells overwhelming to say the least. So being here in the middle of winter was a treat. It was grey and overcast but strangely warm.

We both love Cafe Du Monde which is situated slap bang in the middle of the French Quarter. We made our way through the crowded streets for their famous cafe au lait and beignets - a deep-fried doughnut mixture that comes in curled up squares and covered in icing sugar ... delicious! By the time we got to the cafe there was a huge line of people patiently waiting their turn to squeeze into the place. Not wanting to be static for too long, we walked on whistfully and passed them all and with it, the chance to savour the sweet, crispy delights of a well cooked batter mix. However ... Bob noticed a few people exiting the small side room onto the street several feet away from the main entrance, leaving the door wide open and a table in the corner empty! Before I could act on my embarrassment, he was in like flinn and there we were sitting inside and almost instantly being served by a sweet older Korean woman who just lurved our accent. When in doubt? Go with the flow I say.

New Orleans I from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

We spent the next few hours walking the beignets off and luxuriating in the wonderful street entertainment, churches, shops and bars. It was a fabulous way to end the year.

New Orleans take II from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

We decided to stay on board for the evening festivities as we didn’t relish the thought of being squashed in the revelling, no doubt, drunken, heaving, crowds ... even on the delightful and inspiring streets of New Orleans. Perhaps it’s simply an age thing. We had fun on board, dressing up for the occasion. I even wore a white feather boa, bought from the French Quarter Market that day - hurrah. Somehow, despite our wanting to see the fireworks over the Mississippi river at midnight, we fell asleep before the bewitching hour and missed the whole thing. C’est la vie. Happy new year everyone!

This is as good a lace as any to end this episode. Thanks as ever for stopping by to peruse my cruise notes ... there are possibly 2 more instalments yet - hang on in there!

I hope to see you here again in a couple of weeks, by which time I'll be ensconced once more in the heart of Santa Monica, Los Angeles - never a dull moment n'est pas?

Take care till then.

Much love

Christine XX ;-)

Blogging for Christmas

In December, 2010, Bob and I had the fortunate task of choosing where we would spend Christmas which also served as our official Honeymoon. We each had criterion to stick to ... absolutely no cruises (me) and definitely no longer than 16 days (Bob). So that’ll be a 28 day Caribbean Cruise then! I won’t bore you with the details of how this came about but will say in our defense, that we know a bargain when we see one.

First of all though, we had to leave the Isle of Man, visit Jo and Mike for a pre Christmas hug and also beat the snow storms blitzing the UK the week we flew out to our cruise starting point, Barbados.

Boxing clever - or so we thought - we drove very carefully down to Gatwick airport, 24 hours before we needed to, in order to beat the first blizzard sent to try us. That done and feeling rather smug, we endeavoured to deliver our car to the long stay parking lot of our choice, the day before our flight, as originally intended. What should have been a quick and simple 20 minute trip, turned into a 4 and a half hour snow-filled saga!

Having felt the chilling wrath of the snow Gods once, we decided to circumvent another icy trial, by leaving our hotel valiantly early the morning of our flight. It actually took no time at all to arrive at the departure level at North Terminal, though the ground was severely iced over. Our intrepid taxi driver crept and crunched along the eerily quiet roads to drop us off at 5.30am - our flight wasn’t due to leave till 10.30am! We really didn’t want to take any chances.

The next 12 hours (yes that’s right - 12!) were a veritable roller coaster of nail biting excitement, the sort we can all do without. Part of the high drama was due to an enormous amount of snow enveloping Gatwick in a relatively short amount of time which left a heavy, white, sparkly blanket over the entire airport and surrounding area. Easy-jet and BA immediately cancelled all flights for the next 48 hours. Our Thompson charter flight, transporting only P&O cruise goers, held out till the very last possible moment . We were finally called to board the plane at 3.30pm. Our captain kindly informed us that the crew were nearing their legal limit of the maximum hours they could work. He also told us that they are allowed a discretionary extra, unspecified, extension which they had all agreed to use. A loud spontaneous "Hurrah!" went up from the packed plane. He then told us the absolute maximum time remaining would take us to 4.30 - it was then 4pm. We went very quiet for the next ... little while. After being doused in industrial quantities of deicer (the plane ... not us personally) we pulled away from our Gate on the 6th attempt and finally came free of the frozen stand and took to the still snow-clouded skies. And in real, by now hysterical excitement, headed for Barbados and all things Caribbean. The time? 5.10pm! Eek.

Blizzards to blistering Barbados from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Our first glimpse of Ventura, the ship that would become our floating living quarters for the next 4 weeks, was utterly jaw dropping. Towering above everything around it, for what seemed like miles, Ventura dominated the skyline of Bridgetown, capital and well worn cruise port of Barbados. Checking in to board the ship, was a chaotic, cheerful and mercifully quick affair. After finding our stateroom at the back, port side of the ship on the top accommodation deck, we marveled at the heat of the night and our new temporary home. Exhausted but relieved and happy to be there at all ...we fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

At one point in the middle of the night, now in full sailing motion en route to St Lucia, I woke to the gentle sway of our moving colossus and couldn’t resist a peek out over the balcony. Still warm and muggy, the black night was studded with twinkling stars and the calm sea looked glossy and inviting in the moonlight - a beautiful dream-like experience. Sigh.

The following morning however was definitely not the most fun we’ve ever had. There were apparently 3498 other passengers aboard Ventura as well as 1500 or so staff; one of my negative assumptions about cruising was simply that - too many people in a confined space with no way to escape! I think everyone tried to have breakfast at the same time and in the same place that first morning - that’s what it felt like. We had to elbow past people - they started it! - in order to get to the self-serve buffet and fight to find a seat. I was NOT happy. The thought of being on a floating Butlin’s style holiday camp did not thrill me ... I know what I’m talking about ... I used to be a Red Coat!

Our breakfast ordeal over and safe and alone in our little haven of a cabin once more, we began to relax. Still feeling somewhat discombobulated by our journey there, we decided to spend the day onboard and forgo the pleasures of St Lucia - it was grey and drizzling which helped cement the decision. So while most of our fellow cruise goers left the comfort and safety of the ship, we were free to roam and investigate it’s many and varied rooms, decks and facilities.

We made our way to the gym area on the top deck overlooking the lush green cruise port of St Lucia. We don’t normally go in for gym-like regimens but for some reason, probably the wonderful views, we managed to spend time there every day - exercising and everything. We also found the Thermal suite - Lordy! - which housed a beautiful mosaic-tiled steam room complete with fountain and cold water sinks, plus a dry heat room where the tiled seating, perfectly sculpted to a reclining position, were wonderfully heated to a high degree - sweating obligatory. Then ... outside the hot rooms were a line of, once again, tiled beds mildly heated for a fabulously relaxing lie-down. What’s not to like? This became our daily ritual ... 40 minutes in the gym followed by an hour in the Thermal suite ... ah yes cruising is delightful!

Happy Island Hopping from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

After St Lucia we stopped in Antigua which has a rather vibrant, colourful and smelly port town, an unprepossessing introduction to the Caribbean for me. The people however were warm and friendly with beautiful bright smiles. Tortola was our next Island call and showed us a sweeter smelling and calmer side to a Caribbean cruise port. Hilly, lush and tranquil with far fewer people in the town centre then we expected, our short saunter was most enjoyable. Our great friends Diane and Bryan Ansell, used to live here. So Bob text to let them know we were on their old stomping ground and offered to pay off any outstanding bar bills they may have left! Diane text back straight away to say she’d love some curry powder from the Sunny Caribbee Herb & Spice Co, though she doubted we’d be able to find it. As he stopped to read her reply ... we were stood right outside!

Toodleloo to tiny Tortola from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

We had fun in Aruba, chatting to a delightful woman visiting family for Christmas; she now lives on nearby sister Dutch Antilles Island Bonaire, our next stop and told us about the famous flamingos and beautiful lakes there, she insisted we go see. The busy cruise port is basically in shopping over-drive which we managed to dodge quite well apart from the Bob-the-Fish swimming shorts ... Bob couldn’t resist! It was also stiflingly hot!

Adorable Aruba from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Bonaire is a quiet, rural, diver’s paradise where flamingos and lizards abound. We took a $10 taxi ride with 8 other passengers around the Island which took all of 90 minutes. Our driver, a lovely local woman originally from Holland, gave us great value for money with her many witty and informative comments. Due to the heavy rainfall of late, the lake that usually holds the majority of flamingos, was closed to the public. Most of the roadways were water-logged; she drove us to 2 alternative lakes to see the beautiful sight but the flaming red birds were far, far away (think Father Ted!) and not easy to spot.

Beautiful Bonaire from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Each morning about 7am we woke in a new port and every evening around 6pm we pushed off from wherever we’d anchored for the day, to sail the gentle night waves, ever onward to our next exotic Caribbean Island. It became an hypnotic, mesmerizing routine - which we got used to it frighteningly quickly.

We spent Christmas day "at sea" ... out on the open waves gently rocking from side to side ... it was delightful. I trust you all enjoyed your Christmas wherever you were. I'll leave it here for now and come back in a week or so with a little more.

Thanks as ever for stopping by to read my muddled meanderings ... it's very much appreciated.

Take care ... see you soon.

Much love

Christine xx

Summer shennanigans! A late blog of sorts …

I wrote this Blog in September in the vain hope I'd have something online before I went on tour with Rob Cross ... obviously the phrase to emphasise here is "in vain"! So these musings on my summer sojourn in sunny California lay dormant in my virtual draft drawer. Not wanting to waste my efforts and to give me a little breathing time before organising my flip and thoughts on our recent Caribbean Christmas cruise, I thought I'd publish what I have here and add a few extra bits to keep you satisfied. I can dream can't I?

Here's what I wrote way back then - hope you enjoy:

Before I set off for all things of a touring nature, I thought it prudent to put a short summer blog together and to perhaps whet your appetitie for what's to come over the next few months? I will of course be blogging the length and breadth of the tour with footage of our stange and wonderful travels as well as documenting each gig. If you manage to make it to a show (Oct 13^th – Nov 21st) – and I sincerely hope you do! - I may ask you to be a cameraman/woman for the duration of at least one song … it's an idea I'm working on! (All published now and here for your perusal below this Blog).

Anyway … this summer … August 1st 2010 to be precise … I landed in Los Angeles once again and was met by my fabulous friend and co-writer Mike Slamer. I stayed with him and Susan – his equally fabulous wife - for the first few nights of my 7 week stay, ostensibly getting over the long-haul flight and readying myself for a week of relaxation with them and several other mutual friends, at Lake Mead near Las Vegas!

It's Ok … I know I'm ridiculously lucky … really I do! They and another family: Jeff and Nelly Neben and their 3 gorgeous children – Jake, Hannah and Danni … had invited me on one of their annual summer jaunts … they took pity on me knowing I'd be on my own for a couple of weeks before Bob turned up in California. Bless! They're all deligthful human beings and I love everyone of them!

Unfortunately for Sue, due to some silly work shennanigans … she had to forgoe the first couple of days of her vacation, which meant Mike and I had to drive from their home in Santa Clartia to the Lake shore in Nevada … just less than 300 miles! … without her … :-(

The trip itself was relatively easy … for me ... Mike however drove the whole way … towing a 30 foot boat! Didn't seem to bother him … until maybe 20 miles short of our destination when he realised he'd left the boat keys back in Santa Clarita! Doh! We drove up to the lake – which is stunning btw … and went in search of possible spare key options, which turned out to be quite simple and easy to recitfy. Hurrah.

The next part of the plan was going great too … Mike positioned the trailer, truck and boat in alignment and asked me to back everything into the water … while he got onto the boat, ready to ride her round to the slip. I managed to back into the water no problem but … Mike couldn't turn the engine over … the battery, much to his surprise, was absolutely flat. So he gesticulated for me to pull forward … which I did … eventually.

Turns out that … when I kindly offered to clean the boat, before we left … in my eagerness to do a good job ... I'd managed to push EVERY switch possible to the ON position and drained the whole system! OMG! I felt such an idiot. Mike, bless him, was a complete gentleman about it and simply drove out to buy a new (expensive!) battery and … an hour later … we were back in the same position but this time everything went as it should and we were out on the lake in no time at all heading to meet our friends who'd arrived the day before.

This was my first time in this stunning location and I was blown away by the stark beauty of the landscape and the incredible heat – it was 107F when we turned up! Jeff and Nelly along with their great friends and neighbours, Marcello and Lola … had found a beach to anchor for the evening and were intent on having a barbque when we rolled up to join them. I was quite speechless … the light, warmth, deligthful company and delicious food were all amazing … and I so wanted to share it all … with Bob – ah. Maybe next time?

The next few days rolled by with lightening speed. Sue flew into Las vegas a couple of nights later and joined us for the weekend which was just wonderful.

They've all been here before and had perfect weather for boating … flat calm, glass-like waters … but this time, there were some mighty blustery winds which made for some bumpy rides. This only added to the excitement for me but I neither had to steer a boat nor keep children happy and content. It was also blisteringly hot on a couple of days; I loved being able to just drop into the cool waters of the lake. We even swam near the great Hoover Dam!

One particularly blustery day we decided to give the lake a miss and drove nto the local town – Boulder City, to check out other boats and keep out of the wind for a few hours but once we'd seen all there was to see and figured the worst was over, we thought we'd all go out together on Mike and Sue's boat for a little ride. On our way back from said ride, Mike noticed a funny noise coming from his engine, so he steered towards the nearest marina and just as we nudged inside the tyre barrier, the engine conked out completely! There was a moment of silence followed by a few minutes of hilarious laughter … followed by many more minutes of trying to call for help via the radio set onboard … but no one would answer us!

Lake Mead I from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Eventually a lovely couple on their way back from a day on the lake, sailed up to help us and towed the boat – with us all still onboard - to the petrol pump which by this time was closed! What followed was a 4 hour farce of great fun and frollicks which left myself, Sue, Nelly and her 2 delightful daughters, Hanah and Danni, playing silly games on board our stranded boat, while Mike and Jeff endeavoured to get back to a car, drive to the marina we were starnded at and bring us all back to the hotel! Turned out we'd simply run out of petrol and Mike and Jeff returned to get Mike's boat very early the following morning … filled up and came back to home port so-to-speak ready for our last day of fun on the lake. Never a dull moment!

Lake Mead II from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

And that was only the beginning of my trip! We drove back to Santa Clarita on Aug 9^th and on August 10^th Sue dropped me off at the apartment Bob and I had rented for the summer, in Santa Monica. I loved this little flat in it's perfect location.

There were many more adventures over the summer but briefly here's what it consisted of: meeting friends from far off times, going to Yogaworks on Main Street to get thoroughly immersed in Kundalni Yoga with Kia Miller (she's simply amazing!), meeting up with new babys who are now my surrogate nephews – well only one baby and his name is Avery Richmond Pleeter and he is absolutely gorgeous! Having various repastes with such luminaries as: Tracy Strann, Sam Epstein, Gary stewart, Helene Muddiman, Kelly Ann Ford, Richard Thompson and Nigel Rush … walking along the beach between Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach and … driving back up to Las vegas to be with Bob and to catch a couple of CBR shows this time in a double bill with Nora Jones no less. Experiencing the absolutely amazing Cirque De Soleil Beatles show “Love” wow … and erm ... writing several songs along the way … mostly on my own but on occasion in the company of Mike Slamer or Helen Muddiman this time round ... plus a couple of days out in the desert at Palm Springs with Bob for a little R&R after the CBR tour ... Phew! I feel quite dizzy just thinking about it.

Palm Springs and things to celebrate from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

At the very end of our trip we drove up to the Sonoma Valley wine region to be with our lovely friends Jon and Diane who had THE most gorgeous wedding at the prestious BR Cohn Vineyard. It was a truly inspiring event and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. We stayed at a wonderfully eccentric B&B –Relais Du Soleil - complete with fabulous wild artwork by sort after artist Bryan Tedrick. We made fast friends with our delightful host Tim who was endlessly kind and generous and made us several delicious breakfasts … we'll definitely be back in fact I want to do a gig there … it's a magical place!

This is where my original Blog attempt ended but there's one other little event I'd like to share with you here and that's Dave Armstrong's 50th birthday celebrations. Lucky for us it all took place a week after the tour and so we were on the Island to make the most of the weekend. Dave - bless him, hadn't a clue! Christy D did an absolutely brilliant job of organising it all and amazingly kept it from Dave ... her advice to anyone thinking of having a surprise party for someone? DON'T DO IT! It was a weekend of wonderful friendship, frivolity and fun ... when can we do it again?!

Dave's BIG day! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

My Caribbean adventures will be Blogged over the next few weeks/months ... I'll try to keep them to bite-sized, easily digestible and tasty morsels. I can but try.

Take care and thanks as ever for stopping by to peruse my musings.

Much love

Christine XX ;-)