Jan 11th, 2020 Cruise Day 8 of 128

This morning we awoke to still be on our approach to Devil’s Island in French Guiana.  We were not supposed to anchor till noon so we all went and had breakfast together this morning.  As I had mentioned before having children on this voyage is not normal and we are still bombarded with questions every time we meet someone new. They want to know where we are from, how is it that the girls can be away from school for so long, how does my husband feel about us being away…  It felt invasive at first, but I am getting used to it.  It was also hard talking about Don every single day and having to share his story over and over, but it is all a part of our life story and how it is that we have come to where we are right at this very moment in time. So around noon we boarded our tender boats for the short trip over to the pier on Ile Royal.  Which is the main island of the three islands that make up the Devil’s Island prison.  There were the remains of many buildings still on the island.  

I was shocked to learn that is actually even a working hotel if you wanted to come here and spend more time exploring.  It was reminiscent of Alcatraz to me.  Only I know that the people who were imprisoned here were not treated very well at all.  

We walked the entire island, in very hot heat and high humidity.  We had lots of water with us but it was still really hot.  Towards the end of our time on the island we came across a tree filled with a family on monkeys just minding their own business and living life.  It was a lot of fun watching them play.  We were back on the ship around 3:30 in time to grab a bite to eat.  The girls went off to swim with their friends and mom and I went back to our cabins to shower.  The last event of our day was to head to the “sports” bar, really just an area on the ship with two large screen t.v.’s so we could watch the 49er game. It was standing room only.  A good mix of Vikings and Niners fans were all there cheering on their teams.  It was a fun environment to be in and even better because our team won.  The game started here at 6:30pm and I believe our next game is a late game in California so that is going to make for a really late game here.  We’ll have to see how that one is going to work.  I owe you an explanation of chocolate surprise:  at 10:15 the servers came out and served every one at the Gala all things Chocolate. Chocolate drink, chocolate cookies, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate dipped marshmallows, and various other chocolate Appetizers.  It was a lot of fun for the girls to be served desserts so late at night, nothing like amping them up on sugar right before bedtime.  Tomorrow is a sea day and our first crossing of the Equator.  Later on in the cruise there is a ceremony/party when we cross back. Sweet dreams to you all as we float south on our way to our next port in Belem, Brazil.  Love and Hugs!  Debra