The Adventures of Podge & Tubbs

Try as we might, neither of us couldn’t remember Bonaire until we actually got there. I still don’t understand why, because it really is a most beautiful wondrous location with the clearest of waters and, we had at least remembered that part. 

Having breakfasted with our fellow guests in the Epicurean we went ashore to explore shops and bars. The walk to town was only 10 minutes but on the way we spotted not one but two turtles right by the waters edge, a number of blue parrot fish (well blue fish), loads of crabs scurrying among the rocks and one huge lizard thing that The Duchess insists was an iguana and I’m not one to argue but I’m not convinced it was 😋. 

Having found a bar from which we could watch the world go by, we bought a drink, possibly more than 1 and sat back and just chilled. Eventually however we did strike up a conversation with a fellow passenger who said that Bonaire was currently threatened by an oil slick from a sunken boat. All seemed ok where we were and fingers crossed 🤞 that it can be contained before any lasting damage. After all,  Bonaire is the only certified Blue Destination in the world, Bonaire has been practicing radical ecological conservation since the 1960s. Though the two main human-inhabited nuclei, Kralendijk and Rincon, are rather minimalistic, they act as your gateway into unimaginable spectacles. From the pristine coral reefs to the clear-watered mangrove forests, from the pink lakes and white salt mountains to the desert cacti, you can hardly believe that such a place still exists. [words ‘stolen’ from our Port Guide by P&O]. 

Anyway, as we slowly returned to the ship, we both agreed we really did need to ease off on eating & drinking but there was to be a problem. We had been invited to a senior officers lunch & epicurean (fine dining) meal accompanied by much free flowing fizzy pop and wine the following day: Clearly, day 6 will be a tough day so we retired to the Crows Nest for a [quick] drink in the Crows Nest where we had a BAFTA Cocktail (yummy yummy and very strong). 

Eventually however, we retired to bed. Day 5 was yet another day where failed to go to bed the same day we got up. 💤

Step count – 8914 🥴