MITSUGIRLY decides to CONQUEST new ports-complete pictorial review

[mitsugirly]

This was one of the most frustrating things ever!! Not the fault of ProExcursions or Seavis Tours but definitely one of the worst organized taxi companies I've ever encountered!!! Ugh!!

 

I agree! I don't think I have ever experienced something like this and if we ever return here, I will be inquiring if this is the "norm" and make other arrangements.

 

 

OMG, you have no idea how grateful I am to you for showing me the settings on this godforsaken camera! I have missed so many wonderful picturesque opportunities in the past because I didn't know how to really utilize an Olympus TG camera's settings. Thank you!!

 

LOL, I LOVE this pic of us. I am stealing it for my shutterfly photo album (if you are ok with that?) because it shows my desperation to make this dune buggy tour that my munchkins were so looking forward to! My photo albums are much like your reviews, with minute by minute commentary so even though its far from the most flattering pic (in my own defense, we were told to wear clothes that we wouldn't mind throwing away afterward because of the mud and river water that dune buggies kick up), I'd love to include it?

 

 

You are very welcome for the settings info. You can absolutely steal the picture. I'll email the original w/o the stamp on it and not resized (makes for a better pic). I only wish that Xander would have been in the pic too but by the time he was in it, you were out of it. Boo!

 

I just love these Cards. Used them for my last cruise and they had to send me a Check for the Credit Balance on my account.

 

They are wonderful aren't they? I'm so happy I discovered them!

[mitsugirly]

So back to the review...

 

As we slowly pulled up to the island, we stopped and was given instructions for the day. "This is our beach, this is where you sit, the other side is for other tour companies, this is where you snorkel, this is a pier that was destroyed by the hurricane over here and you can snorkel there as well. I wouldn't suggest getting the massage because there's not much time here and it's not worth it. It's an open bar the entire time you are here so enjoy. It is now 11:10 and lunch will be served at 11:30"...wait what? He went on to say what time we would gather to leave on the boat and head over to see the starfish (which I thought he said 12:30, but not sure), but I was still stuck on lunch in 20 minutes. How the heck am I gonna have time to snorkel, swim, and enjoy the island AND get tons of pictures? Seriously? I suppose this might be partially "our" fault because of the delay in us getting there...but seriously? 20 minutes? Debbie Downer entered my thoughts at this point and I knew it would be a race to get everything accomplished. The only problem is, I forgot to train for the Marathon this year...or last...or ever. I'm huffing and puffing just sitting here thinking about the "rushed" time frame we would have.

 

 

 

 

The pier that was destroyed by the hurricane and never rebuilt.

 

 

I swear I can not get a straight face out of this man to save my life. He's so goofy!

 

 

 

Where the boats parked was on one side and we had to track it over to the other side. It made me wonder why they don't just park on "their" side because there were some smaller boats there. Maybe it's just not deep enough? (Although we didn't get out on a dock or anything and had to climb over the end of the boat and into the shallow water).

 

Up and over the small sand hill we went and onto "our" portion of the beach.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We headed to grab a set of chairs and I picked one's that were basically right beside the "lunch" buffet-style line. Up to the line first, eat fast, try to make up for some of the lost day.

 

After putting our things down, I immediately set out to take as many pictures as I could.

 

 

 

The buffet table (and you can see the blue chair toward the bottom of the picture, which are our chairs:

 

 

 

There was plenty of picnic tables to eat at, other table and chairs, plenty of regular wooden chairs.

 

 

This is where they were doing the cooking. BBQ style out on that deck.

 

 

 

Of course, immediately this happened...

 

 

I told the hubby..."She's all yours, I'm off to take pics"

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

When I think of a "beautiful Caribbean beach", this is what I picture...somewhat. I love the beaches that have the soft powdery sand and palm trees spread out all over the beach for natural shade. I like the type of palm trees that have the leaves close to the ground, like in the pictures, with several bigger palms around them. It's just a beautiful site.

 

 

 

Everyone was pretty spread out. I liked that as well. You could be in groups and not be sitting right next to someone. There was plenty of room. However, if you are a (if you are critical of food, you are a foodie right? What are you if you are critical of a chair?....chair-ie snob?)...yea, if you are a chair-ie snob, then you might not like this beach. Those are wooden chairs you sit in. Use your beach towel for a little cushion, or be more like me and not have time to sit down and wander around seeing the beautiful scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[eh24fan]

OMG, you have no idea how grateful I am to you for showing me the settings on this godforsaken camera! I have missed so many wonderful picturesque opportunities in the past because I didn't know how to really utilize an Olympus TG camera's settings. Thank you!!

 

LOL, I LOVE this pic of us. I am stealing it for my shutterfly photo album (if you are ok with that?) because it shows my desperation to make this dune buggy tour that my munchkins were so looking forward to! My photo albums are much like your reviews, with minute by minute commentary so even though its far from the most flattering pic (in my own defense, we were told to wear clothes that we wouldn't mind throwing away afterward because of the mud and river water that dune buggies kick up), I'd love to include it?

 

Replying just to say that I live near you! LOL We live in Milford...small world!! And you are now BFF's with Mitsugirly, so you are famous now...LOL

[mitsugirly]

As you can tell by the pictures, it wasn't the most picturesque day out. No sun peeking out of the clouds, dreary, and this just doesn't make for awesome pictures. But, I tried my best. I have seen plenty of sunny-day pictures and know this is a beautiful beach/area.

 

 

 

Sakari and daddy checking out the water. It was really rough and a bit of a drop off instantly because of the waves. I was very unsure about her being able to use a mermaid tail and even less sure about her getting in the water.

 

 

 

She begged and pleaded and ended up getting in without her fin while we supervised...for about 2 minutes...then...

 

 

 

...I looked back at our chairs and everyone was already lined up for lunch. Gasp! So much for trying to be first in line and getting lunch over with to enjoy the rest of the day we had there. We were now last.

 

I signaled Sakari to come out of the water and she pulled her normal "I can't see you for some reason" glance-away look, as she turned her head. It's like pulling teeth to get her to come out of the water. It's even a bigger chore to get her to eat if it means coming out of the water. Threats are usually made "eat or no swim". That usually works.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

This would be the prepared lunch for us...

 

 

Of course my first thoughts were "we just had spaghetti last night oh my", but once again we would have some spaghetti and it was pretty good. Actually everything I had was good (which I tried a little of everything except the pork chops because I'm not a big red meat eater unless it's hamburgers) and here I didn't even think I was hungry to begin with.

 

 

 

 

Even Sakari ate and ended up taking a piece of my chicken.

 

Finally she managed to convince us that the mermaid tail was a good idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

This is the other side of the beach (that wasn't for us) and where the boats were pulling in at. I still kind of question why they park there instead of their side. This is the snorkeling area and I see nothing but potential problems with getting hit by boats coming in (which several boats came in as we were there).

 

 

 

I went back and talked Sakari in to getting out of the water and coming over to the "snorkeling spot" with me. At 12 noon we headed into the water...but it must have taken me a good 5 minutes or longer to try to actually get IN the water. First of all it was cold, but the main reason was there was nothing but rocks in the entrance...everywhere. You couldn't step anywhere without twisting an ankle. Then top it off with the huge waves coming in...this had the potential to end up disastrous for me. Sakari was over there like "just lay down and float in"...um girlfriend, momma's not skinny and little like you, if I lay down, I'm going to be beached like a whale, stuck on a rock".

 

I slowly but surely made my way out as the hubby looked on and I wasn't sure if he was hiding back his laughter or had to go potty.

 

 

Sakari made it out a little ways and I summoned her for a report. "Do you see anything?" Her reply was "Just a little". I was deep down inside hoping she would give me a report of "nope, nothing to see here" so that I could just turn around and crawl out of this mess...but then I got a reply "I think I see some fish on the bottom"...wait... "What do you mean you THINK you see fish". She finally confirmed that it was just too cloudy to see anything and the waves were making it impossible. Of course this confirmation came AFTER I had finally made it in the water. Sigh

 

Welp, here's your snorkeling picture for this trip....

 

 

 

There were several people that actually adventured out a little ways to the "missing pier", but at that point, I had decided I was done. I know the further you get out, the less stirred up things usually are, but it just wasn't fun at this point and now my mind was completely focused on just how I was going to manage to get out of here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

A few more pictures to snap before I tackle how I'm going to get back out of this water without breaking something...

 

Oh look, birds!

 

 

 

 

 

I decided that I would cross over (toward the new pier) the boats and anchors (which I had no idea where the anchors lied in the sand due to no visibility) and try to hope for better results over there. Slowly but surely I made my way over, only managing to trip over one of the boat lines and making it look like I meant to take a dip under water because walking on rocks is a work out (true story I kid you not), and then over to the beach. There's a certain way to do this that makes it a little more elegant than looking like you are walking a tightrope. I'm sure you have all tried it in the past, whether walking on rocks, or walking on sand...you look down and pick your next stepping spot, you wait for the wave to come and that's your nudge to move up (with a little help from the water). Inch by inch, foot by foot, you do this, acting as if you are just enjoying a leisurely stroll coming in from the ocean. The goal is to not take baby steps forward and giant steps backwards when the waves return back out to the sea and pushes you backwards.

 

I'm pretty sure the hubby is no longer laughing at this point...but instead cheering me on "You can do it!!!" Sigh.

 

I finally made it out, in one piece, no scrapes, no bruises, no falls this time around.

 

 

 

The hubby..."Are you o....k" wait, puppies! Then off he went.

 

 

 

I figured I would have better luck walking something that is more my style and this would do it...

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Ok, truth be known, that wore me out. It's a good excuse to sit on the pier and act like I'm only doing that because I'm taking these perfect pier shots that might some day appear in a Ocean Life magazine.

 

 

 

See, you lay down on a pier to catch your breath and hold your camera up and others just think you a taking pictures and nobody has to know you are resting. (A trick I learned a long time ago when I started getting fluffy...truth is out, now you all can use my tidbits, tips and tricks to elegant resting).

 

 

 

Well whattaya know, the sun came out for a split second and I managed to get a shot, from the pier, of a mermaid down on the beach.

 

 

 

I approached one of the other cruisers, that was on the tour with us, and ask her what time they said we were leaving. Obviously I was not the only one shocked by the short time frame we would be here because she hadn't heard that tidbit of information either. Oh well, I guess when I start to see people heading toward the boat, I'd know.

 

Walking back toward "our side":

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention...I have a new "friend" I am going to be taking with me on cruises. I found this mentioned on a scuba social media site and I just knew I had to have one! A lego scuba diver that's holding a camera!!! YES!

 

I looked them up on ebay and about had sticker shock when I seen prices ranging up to $25 for a scuba lego person! Really?

 

I did manage to find one a tad bit cheaper...actually a lot cheaper ($4 plus delivery) and I immediately ordered it for this cruise. When it arrived, I was equally shocked to find that it was smaller in size than half my finger! Wow. Not at all what I expected. But, I have a macro function on my camera and I knew I would be using this to take pictures of the scuba photographer. The only issue is, you have to put it together and it comes apart easily...especially the fins and mask. I really meant to super glue it together, prior to leaving, but never got around to it. So...I was extra careful when handling it and prayed that it didn't get washed away by the water on some of the shots I had planned on taking.

 

So here we go....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I totally forgot to take pictures of it in Grand Turk the previous day and was completely kicking myself for it. I could have managed to get some great shots with the huge stingrays in the water behind it and also a few cute ideas come to mind using all those conch shells. Oh well. It's new to me and hopefully I'll start to remember each time.

 

Sakari made new friends and spent time photographing them.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

We were told these are just "island dogs" and they run free and it's believed that they are brother and sister.

 

At 12:30, they started telling everyone to pack up and get on the boat. I was so sad. I guess I'm grateful that it was not a beautiful sunny day because if it had been, I wouldn't have wanted to leave at all. We were there approximately almost 1 hour and a half. Just not enough time in my book and I hate when tours are like this. It almost feels like wasted money. But, I'm glad I had the experience.

 

This time Sakari decided she would sit with daddy on the ride back. Since she was on the opposite side as me, she managed to get a great shot of the birds as we pulled out.

 

 

They stopped at some point to tell us about the mangroves.

 

 

Then within 8 minutes, we were at our sandbar location for the starfish. Well that was quick!

 

We all piled out of the boat...and here is Sakari with her life jacket on still...you know, the child that refuses to wear them when swimming or snorkeling! One of the tour operators said "Hey, the water is just over your ankles, I don't think you'll need that life jackets". LOL

 

 

We immediately went on a starfish "hunt". Everyone was going in different directions and then we hear the tour guide yell "Hey, stay together. Come back over here". Ugh, I hate when tour guides do this and don't want you to go more than 5 feet from them.

 

But, I guess he already managed to round up 2 starfish for everyone to see.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Meanwhile, hubby is telling me to "take my picture...like the picture we took at that one place, on that one ship, in that one port awhile back that made me look like I was out in the ocean standing on the water".

 

He was referring to Nohoch Kay, the Breeze, and Costa Maya back in 2013.

 

Here is the picture I took of him back then:

 

 

That was a zoomed in pic. Here is how far I really was from him at the time:

 

 

 

Here is the picture he was asking me to take this time and how close I was to him:

 

 

 

Noooot quite the same effect. With our limited 5' range from the tour guide, I'm pretty sure this would be the best we would get for the day. No more walking on water for you sir!

 

As people went over and sat in a circle around the tour guide in amazement of the starfish he had captured, along come Sakari with her own she had found! (Of course...that's my daughter...starfish wrangler).

 

 

People don't know us on these tours, they have no idea just how cruise/ocean educated my child already is. It's not her first rodeo, or second, or even 15th. But of course they have no idea and I wouldn't expect them to. But one thing they would learn quickly is she finds her own to share as if she was the instructor... and has been known to do some education to groups as well.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Yep, she gets to sit right up front with the guide during the "demonstration"...as if she's part of it. This is that grin I get from her when she thinks she's the center of attention.

 

 

STARFISH EDUCATION:

 

*There are several thousands of different starfish

*Most have 5 arms, but some species can have 10, 20 and even 40 arms.

*Their hard bony skin protects them from most predators.

*They have suction cup feet, which allow them to open clams, oysters and food.

*Average life span in the wild is up to 35 years

*They can grow up to 4.7-9.4 inches

*They can weigh up to 11 pounds

*They have no brains or blood. They have a nervous system.

*Their mouth is located on in the middle on the bottom.

*They can reproduce sexually or asexually.

*Most can regenerate lost arms and they can also shed arms in defense or if scared.

 

The guide told us not to allow the starfish to sit on the palm of your hand...he said if they suction, you can't get them off. Um...ok. They have suctioned to us plenty of times and they come off.

 

We were told to keep them in water, only bringing them up for 5 seconds at a time to get pictures, then putting them back in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers with our rum and non-diet coke

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know who Sakari passed her camera to, but she managed to get pictures of herself with the starfish on her camera.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

A few practice shots with the macro on the camera. I'm still learning this part of the camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

One of the other guides managed to bring a sea cucumber over. Once again, we encounter these everywhere we go and have many pictures with them. But the guide said "This is a sea urchin" ...um, no it's not. Now I'm pretty sure he knows what it actually is and mistakenly call it by the wrong name. But in his defense, he was just telling people to watch where they walk because sea urchins can be hiding in the sea grass. So, I'm sure he just said it by mistake.

 

 

Sea Cucumber facts:

 

*A typical sea cucumber is around 3.9-11.8 inches

*One end contains the mouth with the other end containing the anus

*Sea Cucumbers also have no brain or eyes and does have nerves.

*Most eat debris and plankton

*Their defense is their skin and can change from liquid to solid. They can squeeze into small places and harden again.

*Another defense mechanism is when they are removed from their habitat, they will PEE, which removes all the water out of their system and they can harden like a rock.

*Last but not least, if they are really scared, they can spit out their guts...including respiratory, intestines, gonads...all of it. They can self generate these organs if they are able to get to safety.

 

So...our guide would bring the sea cucumber out of the water several times and we would watch it "pee".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We stayed here, at the starfish sandbar, for 42 minutes. Then we piled back in the boats, sipped up the last bit of booze, and we were off for the interesting ride back.

 

 

 

Sakari's picture of the water caves

 

 

On our hilarious ride back, we discovered that 4 people and 2 munchkins were also from Ohio. Actually all but one live about 10 minutes away from us in a little town we used to live in. These guys were HILARIOUS! Like seriously. We talked and talked and they got to know the hubby...of course business talk commenced after that. But the jokes flew and there was a lot of laughter from that bunch.

 

Also, I forgot to mention, when we were at Sanoa Island, it was time to pack up and leave and I was approached by some women asking if I was "Mitsugirly". I was spotted again. Was that anyone on here reading this review? I wish I would have gotten to know this group better as well because the jokes were flying up there with the Ohio people in the back. Super hilarious with tales of things going on back at the ship. (Bathroom......only they will get this). I think I over heard someone say the name Christine. But, I'm not sure if that was the persons name or not.

 

Anyhow, it was a very fun ride back to Bayahibe to say the least.

 

When we arrived and we all piled out of the boat, the hubs was still talking to one of the guys and one of the locals come running up and started pouring water out of a water bottle all over his feet. It startled him because he was mid conversation with my hubby and looking the other direction. He jumped..."um, what are you doing dude?" The guy continued to pour water on his feet. We kept walking the entire time then the guy starts yelling "give me a dollar"..."I want a dollar". He looked at him and said "I didn't tell you to pour water on my feet and I don't have any cash". The guy was highly upset. So you get off of a boat, walking down the beach, guy pours water on your feet for WHAT reason?? Because if he thinks he's cleaning your feet, you feet were already clean and dry after the boat ride and now you have gotten them all wet and the sand will now be sticking to them as you walk down the beach back to the office. Made no sense to me.

 

 

When we originally pulled up, we were given a cab number and told that the cab we caught here would be the cab we returned to the port in and we needed to remember our cab number.

 

I believe that our cab was probably the only cab that wasn't there waiting on us when we returned.

 

Sakari was impatient waiting on the cab, and must be related to the guy pouring water on peoples feet, because she ran toward the water stating she needed to rinse her feet off...only to walk back on the sand and get them all sandy again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Once again, she managed to find animals...

 

 

 

Our cab arrived around 2:10pm and we got in. I secretly had hoped that Thrilled would have been in the cab catching her ride back too and I could catch up with how thrilling her day was. But...I opened the van door and peeked in and ...we were the only one's in the van this time around. It would be a long boring ride back to the port in mostly silence from the short but long day.

 

This happened immediately.

 

 

Me attempting to get pictures along the way

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

I was very happy to see the port when we pulled up and 2:34.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

If you look in this picture, you will see a guy dressed up in what appears to be Michael Jackson? I'm not sure what he was doing. On our way out of the port, I did see him standing on a stage or box or something (I can't remember exactly) and people were taking pictures with him. This time he was just standing there and had a tip box in front of him. I don't know if he was acting like the one's that you see in Cozumel that stand real still and you don't know if they are real or not and then they jump and scare you???

 

 

There's shopping to be had inside there...and we're off.

 

 

 

 

I was on a hunt for a tee shirt and magnet and Sakari was on a hunt for a parrot that she would later convince us that she couldn't live without.

 

 

 

She won the parrot battle of course. She's the proud new owner of this parrot, which is now hanging in her living room in the basement and watches over her.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

It was really hard to find a wide variety of tees in this port. The one's that I did find, the price was non-negotiable (and expensive). I walked away several times (not because I was trying to haggle the price, but because it was all that I had left after buying Sakari's parrot and my magnet). They were just unwilling to budge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cute magnet I ended up with:

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

The last shopping building before heading back to the ship....I finally found the tee I was wanting and for the price I still had left in my pocket.

 

Then is was time to head back to the ship.

 

We took pictures along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

The sand I had collected from Sanoa Island

 

 

Back on the ship and here was our towel animal for the DAY.

 

 

After a quick shower and change, we decided to head to the Build A Bear workshop.

 

Now in the past, this was held in Camp Carnival and you pick out your animal, you get a box that has the stuffing in it and the kids stuff their own animal. It took awhile and killed some time. However, this time it was different. It was more like the real BAB and you picked out your bear and then took it to the employee (kids club staff) and they put it up to the machine and filled it with stuffing. Then you take it to the staff that "sews" it together.

 

So...back track a few steps.

 

 

 

When you walk in, a staff member was asking for your room number. Then you were told to "Have a seat and listen for them to call your room number. Meanwhile, enjoy some refreshments".

We walked over to the refreshments, since we were skipping food when we got back on the ship, and they had some cute bear cookies.

 

 

The hubby didn't want cookies, he wanted chips. However, the bags were not opened yet. I told him "open them if you want chips". But, he wouldn't do it. Momma bear had to go over and be the first to open the bags of chips so that everyone could have some. After I opened it, everyone started coming up to get chips. Really? No one was brave enough to open chips? LOL I mean they said help yourself...I helped myself.