How walking people enjoy a cruise

Sunset in dock at Freeport

The best thing about a cruise vacation is that each person on the same boat can enjoy himself differently.  There is the party and drinking crowd, the casino crowd, the families swimming and playing putt-putt crowd, and the relaxing with nooks and kindles on the deck crowd.  My husband and I don’t really fit into any of those categories.           

            We enjoyed  looking out over the ocean on a shaded deck back of the boat.  We loved exploring and walking each deck and walkway of the boat. One day we started on the lowest deck, walked the entire circumference of the boat, climbed the staircase one deck and walked again.  We walked the entire boat this way, one level at a time.  This was interesting, as we noticed the different layouts of each level, and we found lots of little spots to relax and read.  We walked the running track on days when the wind wasn't too high and that deck wasn't closed.  Like many people we enjoyed the food, and we had opportunities to try new things.  My favorite dessert now is Crème brûlée. 

            When cruise ships dock the passengers have the option of purchasing shore excursions or just exploring on their own.  We chose to just explore.  Our first stop was Nassau, Bahamas.  Once we had fought our way past the multitude of ship photographers, taxi drivers, tour guides, hair braiders, and passengers that randomly stop as if they were in Walmart isles, we enjoyed strolling along the city streets.    Nassau is an old town with crumbling buildings and junk cars, as well as a tourist town with modern shops.  

With a map we walked along the main shopping street, quickly left the crowds and found the turn we were searching for.  We began to walk uphill, past old city buildings and parks.  We passed the hospital, crossed a parking lot and arrived at our first destination, The Queen’s Staircase.  This staircase was carved out of limestone in 1793-1794 by slave labor as a back exit from a nearby fort.  Later Queen Victoria freed the slaves, and the staircase was renamed in her honor.  There are 65 steps, and she reigned 65 years.   We walked in a narrow canyon whose walls were covered in ferns and exotic plants.  We climbed the stairs to the top in time to hear a local man in a wheel chair tell the history of the stairs to one of the tours.

The Queen's Staircase         

   We walked on uphill to Fort Fincastle, one of the highest points on the island.  Turning around we enjoyed views of the entire area.   Crowds moved through the fort, herded to the little shops set up along the walkways, then back to their vans to be driven to the next attraction.  We leisurely wandered off, following a narrow path that wound down the hill, through a residential area and back on the busy shopping streets of town.  It was a long walk through the crowds until we reached a small beach area.  We walked out onto a concrete jetty and dangled our feet over the pale blue water.  After a rest we continued on, our goal was Fort Charlotte.  

Beach and clear water in Nassau

Again we climbed a steep winding road, this time passing a soccer field.  One of the shore excursion options was to participate in a Segway tour of the town.  We stopped climbing to watch the Segway riders practice on the soccer field.  Although the scooter looked like fun zipping around the large field I had a hard time imagining a herd of segway tourists plowing through the crowded streets.

Fort Fincastle, it looks like a ship 

View from the top of the hill and the fort.  Notice the cruise ships at port

Door at Fort Charlotte

Segway riding tourist on soccer field        

    We finally reached the top of the hill, hot and sweaty, and began exploring the fort.  Fort Charlotte was much larger than Fort Fincastle and much less crowded.  We spent nearly an hour in this fort, underground and above ground and even walking along the perimeter.  Finally, very hot and tired, we headed back.

            Back in town we stopped to taste conch fritters and frozen yogurt and to rest our feet.  I have no idea how far we walked but I know we were tired. 

            That evening we heard people talking about their visits to the town.  Almost everyone chose to shop, and nothing else.  Nassau has a straw market that everyone visited.  It was a large market crammed full of booths, filled with purses, bags, key chains, toys and t shirts and wood carvings.  We entered the market, became claustrophobic and quickly left.  I cannot imagine an entire vacation centered around a flea market, no matter how exotic.

            A comedian on the ship ribbed a member of the audience one evening saying, “You just went shopping?  What a way to delve into the culture, sir.  Very exciting.”

            Freeport was our next stop.  This time we rented a moped and scooted rapidly across the island.  The scariest part was driving on what for us is the wrong side of the road.  We had the freedom to explore neighborhoods, country roads and the less visited parks.  We loved Freeport.

            We stopped at the Rand Nature Center, much to the surprise of the caretakers.  This nature center was created to save the natural state of the island before the development took over, and we were able to walk among the old Bahamas flora and fauna.  We saw wild coffee bushes, tamarind trees, maderia or mahogany trees, and Caribbean pine to name a few of the many plants.   Inside we saw exhibits on the native Indians, the baskets woven by early settlers, and on the shells and corals of the water.  We learned how to tell if a conch shell is mature enough to remove from the water or if it hasn’t had time to reproduce yet.  When people cut out the conch to eat and then toss the empty shell back into the water a chemical is released, warning all the other conchs to leave.  This tour was my favorite visit of both days.

Walkway of Caribbean Pine trees, the way the Bahamas used to look

This Conch shell is too young to harvest.  You can tell by how thin the edge is

 Bahama crafts display at Nature Center

Orchids growing on a tree

            We took the moped through town, through neighborhoods, and along quiet palm lined streets before returning to the ship.  After these two days of exploring we were happy to just relax on the ship and watch the water as we returned home.

           

            

Cruising from Charleston

My husband and I in Nassau at Fort Fincastle

Several months ago my parents and I walked along Waterfront Park in Charleston, enjoying the views of the harbor and the historic homes.  Children played in and by the water fountains.  We walked towards the dock, planning to sit on the swings to enjoy the view and to visit.  For the first time since moving here, the Carnival Cruise Ship was in port.  With its bright colors and red fin smokestack it looked glaringly out of place.  The ship was larger than I expected.  I had seen the billboards debating the effect of the cruise ships on the area but I had not seen the ship in port before.

            My parents and I complained and grumbled a little about the giant colorful ship docked alongside the historical city, then I remembered I had a scheduled vacation on that ship in a few months.  I fell silent.  A large tanker sailed into harbor and deeper along the river, loaded with crates to offload.  Charleston is a port city and many ships pass through the harbor daily, bringing in goods from all over the world.   These tankers dock deeper down the river.  The cruise ship docks in the middle of the tourist area of the city, just down from the City Market.  I visited downtown several times before and after that day without seeing any cruise ships in port.

            Months later my husband and I arrived at port early in the morning, ready for our cruise.  Embarking early, we found the process easy.  In almost no time we were sitting on a back deck, nearly alone, sipping lemonade and enjoying the view of the Ravenel Bridge.  We were able to walk around the ship, enjoying views of Sullivan’s Island, the ocean and the skyline of the city with all the church steeples reaching into the clouds.  Just before launch time we moved to the front of the ship, leaning on a rail.  A few people were waiting on the city dock to see us off.  It was a chilly day, but sunny.  At 5:00, departure time, the ship blew its horn once.  It was so loud I ducked, nearly diving to the floor to the amusement of everyone around me.  The ship slowly pulled from the dock, backed up along the shore until it was lined up with the deeper channel, we turned and headed out to sea.  The passengers were festive, but the wind was brisk and cold.  Quickly we entered a fog and lost sight of land before we had pulled away.  Most passengers quickly tired of the cold wind and moved back inside, but my husband and I enjoyed the thrill of the wind in our faces as we sailed off. 

A quiet place to enjoy our meals,  in Charleston and during the cruise

            Our cruise had begun, and we enjoyed a wonderful 5 days, docking twice in the Bahamas.  We walked around Nassau and rode a moped around Freeport.  Our last day we woke in our homeport and quickly found our favorite deck for coffee and our last moments to enjoy the views.  The sun was barely up.  The fog was thick and all we could see of the Ravenel Bridge was the light at the very top triangle.   As the sun rose and brightened the fog burned off.  The water was golden in the morning sun.  Sea birds skimmed just above the sea, their wings dragging golden ripples across the smooth water.  Dolphins surfaced and dove.  The harbor was breathtaking.  The trip had been great, the ports beautiful, but how wonderful that it was our home port that took my breath away!

Last night, leaving Freeport

            The cruise ship held 2200 passengers during our trip.  The ship had 10 levels, and we were able to explore all but the bottom 3.  Our room was small, with no window, but it was very comfortable.  The only times we felt crowded were when we walked along the promenade deck during the evening.  This was the deck with the casinos and bars, and everyone seemed to be there at night.  We usually hung out on our favorite back deck, looking at the stars and the ocean.  Truly each person on the ship had a different vacation, from the dancing, drinking and gambling group to the families eating and shopping, those that visited the spa and gym, and then us.  We walked the ship during the day, sat and enjoyed views, toured on our own at the ports and enjoyed the excellent dining.  I am glad we went.

 Getting around town on a moped gave us freedom to explore away from crowds

Nature preserve, this is how the Bahamas looked before development        

    As to the controversy about the ships docking in Charleston, I am unsure.  In Nassau the dock was full of giant floating hotels, and these ships could be seen from all scenic spots.  In Freeport the ships docked in an industrial area, and tourists had to take taxis or rent mopeds, as we did.  The effect on the town seemed less obvious.  The water was clear and beautiful in both ports.  There is a lot to read about the cruise ships and I have just started.  Some people are concerned about the black smoke that comes from the generators when the ship is in port.  I can understand that.  Some people do not want the type of tourist they think cruise ships bring into town.  At a City Council meeting this type of tourist was described as “Heavy-drinking, balloon hat, flip flop, fanny pack wearers.”  Is this a cultural judgment on certain types of people?  Many of the tourists on the ship only made it to the shops in each of the ports.  As sad as that is from a travel point of view, they spent money in the port, good for the local economy.  And for every fanny pack wearer shopping, there were others that explored the restaurants, beaches and other attractions.  Travelers are a diverse group, even those on cruise ships.

Quote is from A Look at Charleston’s Cruise Ship Controversy, by Paul Motter.  Fox News.  Nov 1, 2011.

First walk of the New Year

My walking buddy!

For my first walk of 2014 I dreamed of walking along the beach or exploring one of our great county parks, but in the end I walked from my house, around town and through several older neighborhoods.  In a way this was a perfect walk for the start of a year of walking.  I am, after all, not crossing America, or backpacking Europe or South America, but enjoying local adventure and discovering simple close to home beauty.  Adventure and discovery is as much a mindset as an action.  One of the themes of this blog is that you don’t have to wait for big travel to have adventure. 

            Today I took my dog on the walk.  She has to stop and sniff every mailbox, and nearly every blade of grass.  At first I am patient, but over time I begin to urge her on.  I do wish I had the ability to smell and learn about an area the way she does.  I could know every critter that passed, and probably I would be able to understand way more information that I ever would want.  We circled around town, passing through one older neighborhood to another.  The larger yards and older trees seem to encourage more birds, and today we saw plenty, especially Cardinals.

            It was a chilly day.  I passed a man burning wood scraps in his yard, and the combination of cool air and wood smoke made me think of camping.  I smiled, enjoying the memories.  Walking the neighborhoods almost felt like walking through campgrounds, smelling smoke and bacon cooking, and anticipating the enjoyment of sitting around our own campfire.

            Last week was New Years, and in South Carolina that means fireworks.  I passed many spent canisters left behind in yards and beside roads.  My dog sniffed them as if she didn’t care, as if they were not the source of absolute terror for her.  For the last week she spent every evening cowering in corners and shaking pitifully.  I hope this peaceful walk helped her.  My dog is part Wheaton Terrier and she needs walks.  She is calmer, better behaved and less neurotic after a walk.  As we returned home we passed two kids riding their bikes, and I realized they were the first kids I had seen out playing on this Saturday morning.  Where were the other children?

            I believe we are all like my dog; we need to run and play under the sky.  We need to run off excess energy, and we are then able to handle the stresses of life, whether work, or school, or fireworks.  Today we walked our first miles of 2014, all 3.31 of them.  I wonder how many more I have to go, and what I will see and enjoy before the year is over.

A year of Walking! 2014 without the blues! by Shelley Hopkins

My favorite place in SC, on a nature trail behind our old apartments.

This is not an article about depression but about the remedy, my remedy.  Yet it starts with sadness, ends in joy.  Yesterday I woke up depressed.  I did not wake up sad, or down, I woke up thoroughly depressed.  I had two choices, wallow in those horrible feelings or fight back.  Yesterday was the last day of 2013, a year that was characterized by me fighting depression.  I have decided to write about it, to admit it, because so many other people deal with the same thing.  It is hard to admit because I feel like I have a good life, and therefore I am just whining and being petty when I am depressed, but I have learned too that depression is a chemical thing, not always in our control. 

2014 is a new year; it will be a new year!  Walking is, for me, excellent mood therapy, and I have decided to make 2014 a walking year.  I will walk the blues away, striding across the months and miles, cheerful and active.  I plan to walk a lot in 2014, and to record my miles.  I want to map how far I travel by foot, and I want to walk as many different paths as I can find here in SC.  I may not be able to hike the Appalachian Trail or cross the USA by foot like other great adventurers, but I will love a local life of exploration in 2014. 

So, what did I do to deal with my depression on the last day of a long year?  I ran upstairs to my bedroom and shut the door.  I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and put on my tennis shoes.  I didn’t want my dog to know what I was doing because these were signals of a walk to her, and I wanted to go alone.  I slipped out of the house with no real plans, no ID, no money or snacks, only my phone.  I only knew I was going to walk until I felt better.  I left my neighborhood and followed the main road past my daughter’s high school.  First I turned left, then changed my mind and turned right.  I walked along the sidewalk, a few cars driving by, and came to an intersection with a light.  I turned left, and followed a road without a sidewalk for a few feet.  Many cars passed.  This busy road is lined with old brick ranch homes and well maintained yards.  I had to walk along the edge of the road, avoiding mailboxes and small palmetto trees, as well as the cars.  This is not a fast road, but it is busy.  At the first opportunity I turned left into a neighborhood, Dominion Hills.

Palmetto tree in a yard along the walk

This neighborhood runs parallel to the busy road, but it is an older quiet area, and the houses on the left back up to the Cooper River.  The car sounds fell away, bird songs surrounded me, and I felt at peace.  I began to enjoy the walk, looking up at birds and around at the yards and Christmas decorations.  The river was visible between the houses, and I could see off into the distance, grey water and marsh and trees.  I felt my spirit soar as only nature can cause, but I knew I needed to keep walking.

At the end of the neighborhood I had to return to the main road, and quickly I came to a busy intersection.  My 2-lane road dead-ended into a 4-lane road, and at this point I figured out where I was heading.  We used to live in a set of apartments that had a nature trail behind it, and that was my destination.  Unfortunately to get there I had to walk along the side of a busy 4-lane road, across a bridge and on until I reached the entrance to the development that included the apartments and my beloved trail.  I had seen people walking along this road many times, and I felt it was safe.  There was a car wide shoulder along the road.  At the red light a man yelled to me, did I need a ride?  No, I answered, I was walking for fun.  He gave me a strange look, shrugged and drove off.  I began to see myself as the other drivers saw me, a lone woman walking along a busy road.  Certainly my car must have broken down somewhere.  I didn’t look like a person that had to walk to get to work, so I must be in trouble.  As I walked, cars whizzing past, I began to feel very exposed, not in an unsafe way, but in a very visible, doing things differently sort of way.  I watched the cars drive by, every single person looked at me, glared at me, or stared oddly at me.  One driver looked so hard he lost control of his direction and swerved out of his lane for a moment.  Since when did a person out for a walk become a traffic hazard?

I love to read travel books, and one of the first ones was by Peter Jenkins, who walked across America.  I had wanted to do that as well, as soon as I read those pages.  Now I knew what it was like to walk along America’s busy roads with trucks and cars speeding by, everyone looking and wondering what kind of crazy person I was.  There are still in our country many people without cars who have to walk to get anywhere, to the grocery, the doctor, work, or at least to the bus stop.  Our roadways are not designed for them.  Every day we see these folks crossing busy streets, walking along the sidewalks with children following, carrying grocery bags or pushing metal carts.  What they do every day to survive is dangerous, and we as drivers need to be alert to them, and patient.  Not everyone lives in a car dependent society, even here.

View from the bridge.  I had always wanted to take this picture but couldn't from a car.

The walk along the road was long.  I crossed the bridge that I usually drive over, and now I had time to look out at the river and enjoy the view.  Along the river were many docks.  The water reflected the sky, and rippled beside the boats tied to the docks.  At times traffic would die down, and then the walk was wonderful, but somewhere a stoplight would turn green and a flood of cars would roar past, again.  I kept walking.  Drivers kept looking.  At this point I began to wonder if this was a good idea.  I loved the walk, and crossing the river, but the traffic and the amazed faces began to wear on me.  I felt odd and naked.  For the first time I realized I would have to return this way, I would have to come back along the busy road again.

Driving back, this was the busy road.  Now, where are the cars?

I walked.  I had never realized how long this section of road was.  When we lived in the apartments I would often take my daughter to school, and the traffic here would inch along slowly, that is how I felt.  I was walking at the same speed I always walk, but I was inching along.  Off the bridge I was able to move down to a grassy bank, away from the traffic and closer to trees.  This was nicer, but I had to watch for large ant piles, and broken bottles, beer cans, banana peels and other trash.  Drivers think throwing out bananas is OK because they are food and biodegradable, but for the peels that is not true.  I passed many black and not decomposed banana peels along this portion of the walk.  The cars were further away now, but just as loud.  Finally I reached the entrance to the development and I turned away from the 4-lane.  Cars still passed me as I walked along the parkway that leads to the apartments and several developments.  I wondered if anyone I knew was driving by, looking at me with curiosity.  Again I looked at the faces of the drivers, they all glanced at me and then looked away.  Were they afraid I was asking for help, or a ride?  I walked on. 

As soon as I entered the nature trail I felt something change, my body relaxed, my face smiled, and my spirit wanted to sing.  Instead of cars I could hear birds, crickets and frogs.  The huge oaks waved in the breeze above and around me, the path was gentle on my feet.  I knew then the walk was worth it, even with the highway portion I had to endure.  Actually, walking along the road made the nature trail all the sweeter, and more peaceful.  I turned a corner and heard at least 4 or 5 different birds calling.  I saw a huge woodpecker fly by, and between trees I could see the river.  The wind moved through the leaves, the air felt fresh and clean.  I walked along the path until I reached a picnic table by the river, where I stopped to rest.  With my phone I had measured the mileage, and I had walked 5.6 miles.  My feet and legs ached a little, but I felt great.  There is nothing better than a walk to clear the mind and mood.  But I knew I did not want to return by the busy road, so with my cell phone I called my son and had him pick me up.  This was perhaps a strange ending to a therapy walk, but for me it was the right ending.  I was hungry and tired, but mostly unable to face all those drivers, their looks and the noise once again.  I have to find good walks that are a tad bit more private, but for this year of exploration, perhaps that is the point.  Where can we walk in our traffic-focused society?  I hope to find out.  If this did not bore you, stay tuned for more of these discoveries, and please share your own walking adventures.  Let’s see how far we can go in 2014!

My final destination, worth every difficulty!