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MITSUGIRLY lets the BREEZE flow through her hair-Spring Break Review/Pictorial


mitsugirly
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Sakari always brings a few boxes of dry cereal with her to munch on in port. She decided that she wanted to feed the donkey some cereal. Of course by the time she decided this, the donkey had lost interest in her after deciding she did not come bearing food and was walking away.

 

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Once the donkeys ran off into the bushes, we decided to head on out and see if we could find the beach. We left at 9:21am

 

Along the way...

 

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Since the donkeys didn't get to eat the cereal, Sakari decided she needed a snack.

 

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Speed bumps..like the road didn't already have enough of those to begin with. Whoever felt the need to put these things in to slow people down didn't really think this thing through. The entire road is nothing but a pot hole speed bump and you couldn't possibly gather up enough speed to get anywhere quickly.

 

 

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Shortly after this speed bump, Sakari would lose her Fruit Loops on a bump and I would wear my pop on that same bump. She lets out a squeal like she just lost her best friend and I let out a squeal like I had just been dunked at a dunking machine at a carnival. The golf cart comes to a halt and we both jump out. I run back to pick up the box of cereal, huffing and puffing out of breath...in my defense, it was a ways down the street, I reach down to pick the remains of it up, turn around, and the hubby and the golf cart are right there. WAIT A MINUTE...you have reverse? And I just ran all the way back here when you could have just put it in reverse and backed up? Remember how you're a Carnival newbie? Well, I'm putting that to full use when we get back on the ship! He laughs of course.

 

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Edited by mitsugirly
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Thanks for posting pictures of the zip line. New since we were there last. Looks chinchy to me. :eek: Wondered why or how anyone could have a zip line on an island as flat as GT. If you get a chance, maybe post these on the GT board so others can see what it looks like.:(

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Remember how the hubby had a hankering for going off road? Well, I guess he decided since we already made it to the Lighthouse, it was time.

 

Well that looks like an interesting road to go down. Oh help me please!

 

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Looking back...is it too late to turn back?

 

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Well I see some beautiful water. I guess that's a good sign.

 

I wouldn't go much further though. I remember reading on here that someone had went "off road" and ended up stuck in the sand. "Awww, it'll be alright" the hubby replies.

 

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Wham! We came to a stop.

 

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We hit sand and that was all she wrote. The hubby gave it gas and the wheels were spinning. Oh just great. Didn't I tell you to listen to me? We are now stuck! Well, we might as well make the best of it and go check out the place.

 

 

We walked down the rest of the way and came to this...

 

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It's not really the type of place I had in mind. It's not a place that you could swim at, pretty, but not really usable.

 

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Ok, I have had enough. I'm worried about getting this golf cart unstuck that it's really hard to concentrate on the beauty around me. Hey, at least we had hours before we had to be back to the ship.

 

 

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There was cactus (or is that cacti?) everywhere. I hope you don't have to use the potty. LOL

 

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The entire time we were there, there was a helicopter flying above us. At first I'm thinking we are on private property and someone was pissed. They kept circling around and around. I, of course, played it off like we are just fine and checking out the place. Then I notice it's a tour helicopter. I can only imagine what the pilot is saying "And here you have idiots that decided to go off roading in a golf cart...resulting in them being stuck. Should we hang out for awhile for entertainment and watch them sweat-it on how they are going to get unstuck?" How embarrassing. The one place we get stuck and an entire tour is watching from above with the best seats in the house.

 

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It's it funny? She kept giving him that "simmer down, you haven't won yet" look. :D

 

LOL

 

 

Sakari decided that her animals were unable to get along and they must be split up. That meant she needed to construct bunk beds for them to sleep in. She would steal my chair and this would be her creation for the night...complete with towels as their blanket. (Sorry for the blurry picture, I was trying to be inconspicuous when I took the picture).

 

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That's really cute :)

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We struggled, we pushed, we were like the little engine that could(n't). Meanwhile the helicopter was still circling and I just wanted to crawl up in a ball and hide. The more we pushed the more it slid sideways. We continued to struggle, but it was finally able to grasp onto a small piece of concrete buried under the sand where the road had ended. We had to make a quick decision to try to turn it around or just go up backwards. Backwards it was until we got to better solid ground.

 

Whew, we made it and the hubby was going to live after all. We piled back into the golf cart and up the hill we went. It was a pretty steep hill and with the go cart being so slow, I wondered if it would even have the power to make it. But, it did.

 

I was never so happy to see the pot holed road again! It's a never ending journey with us...

 

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And back on our journey to try to reach the beach...

 

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I am totally sick to my stomach and feel like I could puke now! I was working on uploading all of my pictures for the following day (Grand Turk) and was trying to remember how to make a "folder" within my gallery and deleted THE ENTIRE FOLDER NAMED BREEZE...with all the days and pictures I have posted so far. All completely gone!

 

I have contacted Smugmug to see if it can be recovered. I don't know what the process is or if it can be done. I'm seriously sick to my stomach now.

 

When folders are deleted, usually the pictures used around the net become invalid or don't show up. I'm not sure if they get the folder back if it will still have the same url or not.

 

Like I'm seriously sick now. This entire review could become null and void if they can't get it back. :mad:

:(

 

Holy crap!!!!!:eek:

 

No recycle bin on Smugmug, but they do have a "Hero" contact that can restore it for you within a certain amount of time...thank goodness! :)

 

I am sooo happy for you that you were able to get your pics back. I would have been devastated.

 

(I never erase my SD cards after downloading them. I'm always afraid I would do something like this by mistake. I take lots of pics too so I have a ton of SD cards, but for me, it's worth it to keep buying more.)

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We knew we were getting close when we started seeing more houses together and the salt ponds.

 

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It was just a matter of heading over toward the water, but there are so many roads that wind around these salt ponds.

 

At one point we stopped to ask a lady walking in the street if we were heading in the right direction to go to BOHIO or the beach. She acted confused and ask if we needed to wash, while rubbing her arms up and down. We kept saying "beach" and "BOHIO". She said "to wash?" Um ok...yea to wash I guess. She said "yes, go that way to end of road". I chalked it up to miscommunication and we just kept going. This leads me to wonder if some of the residents go to the beach to wash? Like bathe? Anyone know? I thought it was interesting.

 

We circled another salt pond and obviously another resident was watching and he laughed and pointed in the other direction. I gave him the thumbs up and we turned around. They must get a lot of confused cruisers on the island.

 

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Well, I just uploaded a ton of pictures to my Smugmug and since it's busy downloading...I will head off to work for now. I will return in a few shorts hours to continue. :)

 

 

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I am glad you got your pics back. i was starting to feel sick too.....:cool:

 

Me too. If I had to start this entire review over...I would need another vacation first. :eek:

 

Thanks for posting pictures of the zip line. New since we were there last. Looks chinchy to me. :eek: Wondered why or how anyone could have a zip line on an island as flat as GT. If you get a chance, maybe post these on the GT board so others can see what it looks like.:(

 

 

You're very welcome. It's definitely nothing that would ever excite me and I would never waste my money on that one. I will definitely post over on the GT board.

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LOL

 

 

 

That's really cute :)

 

She has quite the imagination.

 

Holy crap!!!!!:eek:

 

 

 

I am sooo happy for you that you were able to get your pics back. I would have been devastated.

 

(I never erase my SD cards after downloading them. I'm always afraid I would do something like this by mistake. I take lots of pics too so I have a ton of SD cards, but for me, it's worth it to keep buying more.)

 

Yea, my pictures are usually still on the cards when I take my next cruise and I'll end up deleting them all at that point. I figure if I haven't needed them by now, I shouldn't at all. :p

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Heyyyy tcwoah! We're on the same sailing! Cant wait! :) :)

 

Awesome! I feel like time is dragging. We cannot wait either. It will be our son and nephews first cruise and is a complete surprise. We have a 12 hour drive to Galveston and don't plan on telling them until we see the ships!

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We are the same way about eating late and understand your frustration because we felt the same way on our last Carnival cruise. We are not MDR people. Some more choices would make it a lot better for us. It bothered us so much that we are thinking about not going back to Carnival and your comments solidify that feeling. We were hoping it would be better on the newer ships but evidently not. :( Enjoying the review!

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Love the rear view mirror image :)

 

I know right? I noticed that after I uploaded the pictures too. :D

 

Awesome! I feel like time is dragging. We cannot wait either. It will be our son and nephews first cruise and is a complete surprise. We have a 12 hour drive to Galveston and don't plan on telling them until we see the ships!

 

Oh how cool to surprise him with a cruise. We have done that twice with Sakari now. She's starting to catch on though. LOL :p

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We are the same way about eating late and understand your frustration because we felt the same way on our last Carnival cruise. We are not MDR people. Some more choices would make it a lot better for us. It bothered us so much that we are thinking about not going back to Carnival and your comments solidify that feeling. We were hoping it would be better on the newer ships but evidently not. :( Enjoying the review!

 

 

Yea, it was definitely a frustration for us. In order for it to work out right, we would have to pick up our daughter from the kids club around 9pm instead of 10pm, which limits our time to do non-kid related things. :( I know many say to just go to specialty restaurants, but I have an issue paying even more to go eat some place that I can already get all the free food that's included with the price I paid for my cruise. I just can't see paying extra unless it's a special occasion or the rest of my family is there with me and we all decide to go. :cool:

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We managed to finally find BOHIO and the street we were on pretty much dead ended into it, so not too hard to find, once you are on the right side of the salt pond.

 

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Once we drove up to the property, I started seeing all these "private property" signs. I really didn't know if that meant people that were not staying there or a day pass or what. So, I had the hubby turn around and park over on the side of the parking lot in hopes that we would be able to spend the day there and still come out to a golf cart sitting in the parking lot.

 

We gathered our things and headed out toward the water entrance from the side street.

 

The water and sand looked amazing!

 

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The beach was really pretty and just as I expected. I had done my research and had googled pictures of the place and it looked just like what I had found on the internet.

 

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This sand was so soft and fluffy, but I have to admit it reminded me of the sand I encountered at Nachi Cocom in Cozumel that everyone loves. Beautiful place, but the sinking-as-you-walk-in-the-sand will wear your legs out! Not fat girl friendly for me at all.

 

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Up there would be the place you go to purchase you lawn chairs for the day. You better get moving because it might take you awhile in this sand. The price of the lawn chairs are $10 each I believe...or at least that's what I had in my notes. We got two of them, even though I know that I never stay put in one for long because I spend most of my time out in the water.

 

 

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We found a spot on the beach with some shade, thanks to a huge tree behind us, and we planted ourselves.

 

Sakari found a crab walking up the sand and away from the water. Such an animal lover...even if it can hurt you, she loves them. That girl has no fear.

 

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It wasn't long before Sakari would morph into a mermaid for everyone to see. From here to eternity, the girl will never have tan legs again while cruising. Sigh

 

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Well, I guess she must have forgotten all about the burn/rub marks from the water park yesterday. WhatdItellya! Nothing is about to stop this little mermaid from getting in the salt water at the beach.

 

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"Hey dude, did you know I was a real mermaid? Hey, hey you, are you listening to me? You are swimming next to a mermaid."

 

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Not too much longer she would be bringing me her "find of the day", a heart sea urchin (or spatangoida).

 

 

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Pretty cool seeing how I have never even spotted one of these when snorkeling before. Great job Sakari...now I have my picture, go put it back in the water so it will survive...and off she went.

 

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After that exciting find, I knew I had to get in the water and take a look around.

 

Once I entered the water and headed to any "darker" areas, the only thing I would see would be the "wrong" kind of sea urchins that you really don't want to run in to.

 

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These things were everywhere. It kinda made me think twice about getting in the water. There were so many unsuspecting people bopping around in the water that could step on them. I watched people on paddle boards looking oh-so slightly wobbly and I just held my breath hoping they didn't lose their balance and plummet into the water and land on one of these. Yikes.

 

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A little tid-bit on sea urchins. The above sea urchins are not poisonous (like the black/red sea urchins I normally encounter). People actually eat these kind. The part that you eat is actually the sea urchins "parts" (wink wink) and it's considered a delicacy, just like caviar. People say it taste salty and sweet as well, but would all depend on what the sea urchin had to eat that day too.

 

 

There were a lot of itty bitty fish swimming around, but nothing to write home about. I had always heard that this place is "the" place to go for snorkeling and diving. I mean it's one of the dive shops here on the island, so it had to be good right? Well, maybe you need to do a boat tour to get there or something because I found nuttin! So don't get your hopes up high if you think you are going to do any snorkeling from the shore...unless maybe it was really out there far and this fat girl isn't into swimming out too far these days.

 

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Another thing they said about this place is you could sometimes sit on the beach and watch the whales go by. For any of you that want to whale watch, Grand Turk is a great place to be during the months of January to April. Humpback whales come to Grand Turk during these winter months for mating and birthing and they pass by the island quite frequently. You will also see many whale spotting tours being offered during this "season". We were here last year just the first part of April and didn't manage to see a thing.

 

Well what have we here??? The hubby decided to actually come out and play in the water? This must be a special occasion because this usually doesn't happen too often these days. He's been practicing sitting on the beach in a chair over the last several years (since I usually have Sakari or Kendra to swim with) and he's been perfecting it pretty well I might say.

 

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I guess since he managed to come into the water, I would have to take a break from this "wonderful" snorkeling for a bit.

 

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Meanwhile we have a beached mermaid instead of a whale.

 

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I ran out of the water and plopped down and the hubby grabbed my camera and took this picture. Give the guy a camera and he thinks he's an instant photographer.

 

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A few pictures of the area:

 

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As the sun moved, so did we. We kept having to pull our chairs up more toward the tree instead of the direction of the water...darnit.

 

More of the area:

 

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The bathrooms

 

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Beside the restroom, they had a pool. It looked like they had dug it out a bit and built a deck around it and it appeared to be an above ground pool. I didn't see anyone in it, but I'm sure it was reserved for guest as well.

 

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Area's around the place were reserved for "guest"

 

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The patio was super nice and I believe this is the area that I have seen in pictures stating that you can see the whales from here if you watch.

 

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Since the sun continued to move and so did our chairs, we decided we would not be staying much longer. We were starting to infringe on the people behind us that were directly under the tree and...well you all know that "closeness" is not my thing while eating in the MDR and neither is it when sitting on the beach.

 

I informed my hubby that the next place we were going to would not have any place to eat or get drinks. If he was even the slightest hungry, he should probably get something here.

 

He went up and ordered food and came back with 1 plate. This plate of food cost $20!!!!! Wow, that's just crazy and such a rip off. I have to say that it wasn't very good either. The chicken nuggets had a fishy taste, so I assume that they cooked it in the same oil as they do fish. The cole slaw was decent and the fries "ok". I just couldn't get over the price of this platter and there were 3 of us that had to share it!

 

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After eating, we gathered our things and headed for the entrance.

 

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It was a beautiful place, nicely landscaped and laid out (although it's off limits to for the most part due to being for "guest only") and the beach was beautiful, just hard to walk in, but I would honestly not come back to this place. It's good to experience it once and once was enough for me. The outrageous price for the 1 platter of food threw me into shock, the lack of snorkeling right from the beach, the over run sea urchins, the hard to walk in sand...just all something that would not have me screaming "Gosh darnit I love this place so much that I HAVE to return next time". But definitely a beautiful beach and water!!!

 

On our way out and more of the grounds:

 

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We arrived here at BOHIO at 9:53am and we were pulling out at 12:12pm. Plenty of time left and right on schedule.

 

 

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Now all we had to do is keep heading in the direction that we knew the ship was and hope that we would be able to find the turn off to go to Governors Beach. When looking at google earth prior to the cruise, I could tell that you had to turn off some place along the way and I just hoped that I wouldn't miss it or that there would be a sign telling you where to turn.

 

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To be honest, I didn't really notice an area that was too "poverty-struck" in GT. Maybe I missed it or just wasn't looking, but compared to a lot of the places in the Caribbean, I'm assuming that GT is not one of those that have a lot of poverty....which still leads me to wonder why the lady ask me if I wanted to go to the ocean to wash???

 

 

Ah ha, I could see the ship and knew we were getting close.

 

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Attorney General Chambers

 

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We made it to the airport and knew we were getting close. John Glenn Drive. It's kinda neat to see all this dedication to him here on the island. Even neater knowing he's actually from my state here in Ohio.

 

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GOVERNORS BEACH

 

 

 

 

We found the sign! For those that are looking for this place, it's marked well.

 

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It's a short drive down the road and you are there. Plenty of parking spaces and we found a spot in the shade.

 

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I immediately spotted the ship wreck I had seen in pictures.

 

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To anyone going here, the place is gorgeous. However, everything is closed down. There are bathrooms here and there is plenty of places to wash the sand off you. You just won't be able to eat or drink here, so you'd have to bring your own.

 

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Edited by mitsugirly
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