South American Tour at Sea, Bridgetown, Barbados, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Friday, March 5th 1965 to Wednesday, March 10th 1965 at Sea

We will have six full days at sea to rest, relax, eat, sleep and to catch up with our correspondence. The weather is marvelous with a bright sun and a cool breeze. Today the air temperature is 84° and the sea 82°. At noon, the ship is 9°46' south of the equator - slightly less than 600 nautical miles. A nautical mile is one and one-seventh land miles. It is also equivalent to one minute of latitude. 

Saturday night, the Captain entertained first with cocktails. The Steward came in to the lounge and told the passengers that they would be a slight delay on the dinner hour as the cook was drunk. We were all astonished as he was such a nice person, the cook that is. We were called at 6:30 instead of 6:00 and all the passengers paraded to the dining room and found it bare. The dinner was served on the after deck complete with red and white wines and beer and liqueurs for after dinner drunks. It was a most delightful evening. The cook was sober!

On Sunday, March 7 the ship recrossed the equator with out incident or ceremony at 12:25 pm there was a nice breeze so it wasn't even hot. At noon the air temperature was 82°. In the afternoon, Millie and I; and some of the other passengers, took a swim in the ship's pool. It was the third day in a row that we went in the pool, something I haven't done that often since I was a kid.

Monday and Tuesday it was quite rough. At 10 PM Wednesday we came into Bridgetown, capital of Barbados Island. As we approached the dock we knew we were out of South America. The workspace was large, the storage sheds attractive and everything was neat, clean and tidy. Bea Finnerty, Millie and I went to town in agent's car. Not a thing was open so he brought us back.

Thursday, March 11 1965 Bridgetown, Barbados

There wasn't cargo to be handled here so we were told the ship might sail at six. With the Finnertys we hired a taxi for the day for $20 US and toured the island population 114,000. I don't believe there is 500 whites on the island. It is 21 miles long and 14 miles across a it's widest point. It would be a member of the Federation of West Indies but they can't decide who gets the Capital, so a deep freeze is on. We drove around the island of Barbados. It is very charming. Their main crop is sugar cane. The ship left at 6 PM and headed for Port of Spain on the island of Trinidad.

Friday, March 12 1965 Port of Spain, Trinidad

The ship arrived in the Gulf of Paria at 6 am and docked at the Capital city at 7 am. The island is about 50 miles long and 30 miles wide and has a population of 850,000 of which 47% are Africans, 36% East Indian, 3% Europeans 2% Chinese and the rest mixed. More than 200,000 tourists visit the island from December to April of each year. There are Muslim Mosques, Hindu Temples and bazaars. There are wonderful roads, beautiful scenery and fine bathing beaches. The climate is a splendid and the nights are cool. The island altho in the West Indies is only seven miles from Venezuela.

English efficiency exists everywhere. The town and the island are neat and clean. It is stil a British territory and is combined with Tobago an island 18 miles to the north for administrative purposes. Port of Spain has a population of 95,000. We took a tour of the town and then the island. Our driver was a Hindu who spoke excellent English as do most of the inhabitants - with a British accent. We returned at 5 pm noting a 9 pm departure. We could have gone to a local nite club they put on early shows for departing tourists but we were too exhausted to be seeking culture.

Trinidad Dollar