Holly Doyne

The dock for this stop is located in Road Town. This particular island (Tortola) is part of the British Virgin Islands and is still under British Control. Or call it part of the British Empire so they don’t have to admit that their influence really ends at Northern Ireland on one side and the Chanel on the other…

It was an early, very early arrival and we will have an early departure. The day is bright, clear, warm with blue skies and seas. I waited till a reasonable time to get off the ship, then went for a walk along a couple of the roads. Yes, it is another left hand drive location. It was also easy to see who was local and not by how they wandered down the sidewalks.

Early enough and there was some traffic, but with enough breaks that it was possible to cross roads.  Looking on the map – there are three “museums” in town – 1) Prison Museum – no, not wanting that 2) Hurricane related museum – maybe and

3) Old Government House. Now this has historical interest for me. As it turned out – it opened at 0900 in the morning so I had time to walk through a public garden across the street, see our ship across the inlet, not exactly hiding behind the Radisson Ship that arrived shortly after us.

This particular museum had lovely staff. They would take american currency (cash, credit, debit card). Both were natives but had lived in a number of other locations (countries, islands, etc). They were well versed on the history of the house, the individuals who had lived there. It is no longer the appointed governor’s house.  That is located on the same hill. There was also extensive damage to the second floor during the 2017 hurricane season so that portion of the house is no longer available to the public. 

It was an enjoyable stop not just because of the history but also because of the items of normal history, extensive maps, and the gardens.

We had an early departure. Part of my evening wound up being a “meal with an officer.” It was definitely not impressive. Table in the back of one of the smaller standard restaurants with the regular menu….

Back to stitching….

I have been here several times before. Today, similar to other times, there were five ships in port. There were our three in a row, one that was doing the “tender thing” and then there was the Icon of the Seas out at a slightly more remote location. It is one that I think I have docked at before. And that leads me to think that perhaps that particular dock has been built and funded by RCCL.

I spent some time contemplating whether or not I was really interested in getting off. There was a new funicular that went up the one large hill fairly near by. (Turns out the line was well over an hour for tickets and travel up).  My final decision was to take pictures from my balcony and not stress about going anywhere. There has obviously been a lot of construction since the last time I was here.

Looking out from my balcony –

which,  on closer inspection –

is this – leading to

(reported by people who went up as including .. more shopping and spuveniers…

I went back to my current project

since bad puns always help…

We docked today in the Dominican Republic. For everyone who has forgotten their history or is vague on geography, the country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. This is the Spanish speaking eastern side of the island. If you visit the island, the dock is is Puerto Plata which looks to be on the very northeastern end of the island. I think I have been here once before – the area near the single ship dock is decked out in fancy walkways and shops catering to tourists. Those shops are all the usual suspects one expects to find – generic pretty much for any of the Caribbean Islands.

If you want to learn details of the island and its history without being here – I refer to the usual WIKI link.  If you are one to wander on your own – well there is a small but excellent museum within 10 minutes walk of leaving the port. It is less than 50 meters from the Amber Museum (which was closed). I found a link to it (Spanish only) after getting back to the Ship. But the “La Confluencia Galería Etnográfica”  is well worth the visit.

The exits are clear and start with the first arrivals of humanity in the western hemisphere followed by all the waves of people following on. The signage is in both Spanish & English. The exhibits are well thought out and there are docents available to walk you through the museum if you are so inclined.

(click to embiggen and read)

I found the clear tracing of history, the addition of population after population (the original Taino followed by the Spanish followed by the importation of sugar cane with the subsequent requirement of  cheap labor -> slave trade, complicated by religious differences, Spanish vs French conflicts all extremely interesting.

The city itself seems to be both tourism and commercial shipping oriented. The reported population is about 160,000 of the 11 million total of the Dominican Republic. Walking first along the outer road between city and beach , it was noticeable for being clean. There are few traffic lights, but a lot of painted pedestrian crossings. Mopeds galore, few wearing helmets. I also noticed that just about all the streets seemed to be one way. No signage, so you obviously have to know your way around.

This is a relatively short day in port.  If I get back here – I will figure out how to get out to the tram in order to go up for a wider view. But 0700-1430 is just short enough that I wanted to limit at least some of my wandering. Plus, it was pretty warm out for a transplant to Northern California….

This is just a short – seven days. Around a small bit of the Eastern Caribbean before returning to Miami then changing cabins to go through the Panama Canal.

More to follow