Another day at sea as we head from Puerto Limón, Costa Rica, toward Georgetown in Grand Cayman. Late in the day, we finally break out of the depressing, four-day overcast and back into sunshine. It’s another day of rest for us, though. Ilse has a headache bug of some kind but we don’t know if it’s the Norovirus, the flu, or just a head cold. We will head into Georgetown the first thing after we dock tomorrow morning and find a pharmacy.
It was thirty-two years ago when we sailed into the Cayman Islands on the Norwegian Cruise Line’s MS Seaward. We were here, way back in the last century, with our friends Bill and Ingrid, on our third cruise. That was a seven-day cruise where we took advantage of as many local excursions as possible, and as a result, we spent the entire day ashore in Grand Cayman. We looked forward to visiting once again to relive some fond memories.
The facilities at Georgetown do not allow the huge cruise ships to dock, there simply aren’t any docks that large. Instead, the ships anchor just offshore and a flotilla of tenders chug back and forth all day long hauling passengers from the ships to a small landing on shore. We had to laugh when we stepped off the tender onto the concrete gateway, it looked exactly as it did thirty-two years ago. I don’t think it has even been painted. The only difference was the addition of a rope to separate those returning to their ships from the seaside entrance. The crowds were different back then because our little ship of fifteen hundred or so was by itself. We were the only ship there all day.
Today we shared the anchorage with two other huge, top-heavy – yes, look it up – cruise ships, the Carnival Horizon, and the other ship with us at Cartagena, The Virgin Cruise’s Brilliant Lady. That’s a lot of people to funnel through the reception area about the size and charm of a round, Interstate rest stop.
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| Somehow, the exotic TV ads for cruising just do not conjure up this image... |
Ilse and I crossed the first street amid the throng, and then separated from them and looked for a police officer. We approached a trim, and prim, officer, standing on a corner, his hands behind his back, watching the tourists pour ashore. He didn’t have a clue where the closest pharmacy was, in fact, if we had followed his advice, we still might be walking. So we headed toward the post office. Yessiree, you young whipper-snappers, back when the only way to find out what was happening back home was a telephone. No, not the Internet. Land lines and undersea cables. Everything connected by, ugh, cables. Can’t even walk around, bummer!
We used the Post Office pay phones to call home back then, an International call meant having access to both telephones and money. They are also experts on where everything is.
We waited in line behind the only customer, and when the young man behind the counter finally asked if he could help us, he broke out in a broad smile when he heard our accent. We asked him where the closest pharmacy was, and he graciously gave us detailed instruction how to traverse the block and a half without any possibility of getting lost. I bought a Christmas card to send to an elementary school class in Greensboro, Georgia, that was collecting cards from around the US and the world, and we headed toward the pharmacy. It turned out to be in a small mall just around the corner from where we had chatted with the police officer. One reason we may have missed it was because we would never assume a rooster would be pecking on the glass door.
We shooed the rooster from in front of the door and entered the small drugstore. The older woman behind the counter asked us not to let him in, she said he was just being impatient. He kept pecking on the glass door while she rang up the Coricidin cold medicine. He would peck, then pause, cock his head to one side and watch to see if she had heard him. She finally reached under the counter and pulled out a bag of crackers and crumbs. She went to the door and tossed several crackers on the sidewalk. The rooster was immediately joined by several hens and within a few seconds, the sidewalk was again clean. They watched us as we walked away, but we had nothing to offer.
We walked around Georgetown, amazed at both the changes, and the similarities, to our first visit many years ago. New, tall bank buildings have sprouted up, but many of the old businesses are still just as they were. The difference was the crowd. The impact of three huge cruise ships here at once is stifling.
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| The new, above... and the old below. |
We visited several spots we remembered from before, but soon tired and decided to head back to the ship.
We laughed and joked about sitting on the same concrete benches as before at the dock, then stood and joined the line behind the thin rope that acted as crowd control. The line was very slow - the first time on this cruise - and when we finally reached the ramp, we found a single officer meticulously checking passports. He read mine, glanced up at me, then reread it again. He finally smiled and said, “OK!” The only passport control we’ve had on the entire cruise.
The boat ride back to the ship was a nostalgic event as it reenacted the first time almost perfectly. The bow of the ship dominating the horizon brought back memories, even if there were two ships in the distance this time.
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