It's My Life ...& Welcome To It.: Where In The World Is Matt Lauer, er Weinstein? PART II

Monday morning greeted us with blue skies and warm - very warm - temperatures. We were in The Bahamas but this had nothing to do with Bahamians or towns on the islands. In fact, it was Royal Caribbean’s own private little island – Coco Cay - complete with pristine beaches, a few little shops (duh!) and food stands. There were also water sports of all sorts, available for an extra fee for those so inclined: kayaks and ski-doos to rent, snorkeling, scuba diving and para-sailing. Of course, you could just laze around on the beautiful beach and take in the incredible views while getting baked by a blazing sun. What little shade there was had been taken by the hoards who descended ashore first thing in the morning (we weren’t part of that).
The ship was too large to dock on the small facilities of this little island so tenders were used to ferry passengers back and forth between the Mariner and the island. Mort stayed on board to while away the time. Stacey, Sallie and I ventured ashore for a few hours on shore.

The next morning we arrived at the ship line's private island in The Bahamas: Coco Cay. Stacey, Sallie and I boarded a tender that took us ashore. The ship is too large and stays offshore.

The ship towers overhead as the tender is loaded to take us ashore.

And here's the view that greeted us when we debarked at Coco Cay.

Sallie displays some local seaweed. Stacey just smiles.

Our ship floats a half-mile off shore at Coco Cay.

Impossible beauty - a blue Atlantic and white sandy beaches.

Stacey peruses a beautiful sight.

After lunch, Sallie headed back to the ship. Stacey and I strolled down the beach which was much less crowded compared to the area where the ship docked - that figured - people take the first place they come to. We found a nature trail that took us through a volcanic passage wending its way through heavy tropical growth. In a moment, we came across a peahen and her babies who led us along the path. Here and there chickens were running freely through the dense flora. We made our way out and found ourselves way down the beach where we were almost alone but for another couple.
It was getting late, so we walked up the beach and back to the tender to make our way back home. Tonight was one of two formal evenings - that meant dressing up in gown and suit or tux - not something I really looked forward to. We stsopped at The Promenade Café for an espresso at Seattle’s Best, went upstairs to our stateroom to shower and dress for dinner.

The sky is reflected in a mirror-like sea.

Stacey looks out to our ship waiting for us in the harbor.

Espresso on The Promenade. Our barista does his bottle thing.

Meet Winston - our super friendly cabin attendant. Winston is from the Phillipines. The international staff was like the United Nations - comprised of very hard working folks from many different lands.

On our way to dinner, which is at 6pm (a later seating is at 8:30), I snapped this picture of a charming couple we met on the stairway.

Our table in The Sound of Music dining room on level five. And here's Juan, our waiter. Juan hails from Honduras.

Sallie and Mort at dinner.

Stacey and Sallie strike a pose.

The other folks at our dinner table - the Henry / Edmonds family. Left to right: Elizabeth and her daughter Samantha with her husband Al and their daughter, Meaghan. We became fast friends over a few days.