Rejecting "all things Carnival" we decided to go it alone and hire a cab for a private tour.

We found "Livingston" and his Mercedes right when we exited the ship terminal. We arranged for a tour of the northern two-thirds of the island - the only thing we would miss would be Crane Beach but we'll come back another time for that. Our tour began by driving up the "Gold Coast" - the Caribbean side of the island with pristine beaches with turquoise water and palm trees. I was fascinated by the mahogany boats - painted with bright colors and handmade on the island. Passed several gorgeous scenes before feeling comfortable enough to tell Livingston to pull over for a photo opportunity.

We drove through several northern towns before heading to Cherry Tree Hill - a high point between the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts - quite a view of the Atlantic side from there and it might as well be another island. Crashing waves of dark blue water - lots of windswept trees - breathtaking. We continued down the Atlantic coast through Bathsheba, and Martin's Bay :) - then drove up to St. James church (wow what a view) before crisscrossing back to the Caribbean side past Gun Hill (which had a great view of Bridgetown and the ships).

Livingston dropped us in Bridgetown, where we found an internet cafe and grabbed some lunch. He told us about a beach within walking distance, but we needed a break from the sun, so we bought a watercolor (boat scene) and walked back to the boat (this is where we learned that the phrase "oh yeah - you can walk back from here" isn't always true).

Formal night was bearable - they came around and took pictures at dinner. We were trying to figure out a was to tactfully take pictures of the table mates - voila! We were also joined by the missing fifth couple. They were from St. Croix, very quiet, and arrived a half hour late (which we thought was a big no-no). Andy and I were playing a little game, trying to predict what the table mates would complain about, or at what stage they would produce the days itinerary, complete with highlighted schedule of activities. Tonight's towel creature was a crab - topped off with Andy's sunglasses!

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