We've been on several cruises in the past, but never (for some off reason) combined geocaching and cruising. Well, why not? Seems others are doing it, so it can't be that hard, right? Well, right! It was just as easy as at home, and in some ways, even easier because people just think you are a silly tourist and ignore you. We also took this trip to complete our first virtual caches as well. So, a trip of many firsts for us.
At our first stop, St. Maarten, we actually skipped the caching and went on an ATV tour. A great adventure and I really do recommend this if you get the chance - you see parts of the island you wouldn't on a normal bus tour and it was a great change in pace to what we're used to.
In St. Thomas, we got off the boat specifically to find a cache and walk around the surrounding area. The cache, honestly, was a let down. You go to a new place and you want something new and exciting, and instead it was the same, stupid light post find that I'm tired of finding at home, too. And it was on the pier, so super busy. After finding the cache, we walked around a bit and considered riding the tram up the side of one of the hills, but instead were talked into a tour. It was well worth it - got better views than could have been expected on the tram, and had the best banana daquari ever.
We had no particular plans in the Bahamas, so we just got off of the boat and made our way through the crowds at the pier. Walked toward Parliament Square and were pleased to see that there was a cache nearby. This would be my first virtual cache, as well. It was nice area, and a short walk from there are two other caches - Queen's Staircase and Water Tower. So, we headed that way. At the Water Tower, there were also some nice shops and we got a few gifts for the nieces and nephews back home - embroidered with their name, too. A little cheesy, but I'm sure they will like them, so I guess that is what really matters anyways :-) While talking with the vendor, she recommended going to the top of the nearby fort, Fort Fincastle, before heading to the staircase, so we did. What an amazing view of the pier and the island in general. A short walk to the staircase, then headed back to the pier. A GREAT visit to the island, very recommended.
Then, sadly, we had to head back to the US. Instead of going straight from the boat to the airport (our flight didn't leave for Dallas until after 6pm), we decided to go for a tour of the Everglades. It was very cold, but otherwise beautiful. There were a lot of gators around, and I want to go back and visit Miami again in the future. After the tour, we had some time before the boat headed to the airport, so we checked for nearby caches. 182 feet away? Well, how fantastic was that? So, another virtual cache for us. Admittedly, we didn't have all the tools needed to answer the questions, but we can guess lengths with piece of paper. Hope that is close enough...
Caches for this trip:
Parliament Square
The Water Tower
Everglades Safari Park
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