smooth_sailin

For the waterfall, you'd need a bathing suit. It looks like it would be an amazing picture under the falls but I couldn't risk it with no change of clothes.

 

 

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We took a tour with Spencer a couple of years back. For anyone who plans to visit this falls, be forewarned: the water is FREEZING COLD. But Spencer and the tour were great. My sister and I got sloshed on the rum punch he served in the van on the way back to the ship. Les Pitons were breathtakingly beautiful.

Dena

Excellent report - thanks for sharing!

That advice is spot-on. I can only add that areas around shopping centers and the beaches - areas where there is a large concentration of people - also draws the attention of pigeons and doves. In the Caribbean there can be several lifers in that flock, so don't dismiss them all as Mourning Doves. More likely the modos are Scaly-naped Pigeons, and the tiny ones are Common Ground Doves.

D. Temple

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

I agree with what both of you are saying. Major cruise lines virtually ignore the hobby of birding, when it could be a significant opportunity for them to a) introduce laypeople to the wonders of nature, especially in tropical destinations; b) increase revenue through alternative excursions; and c) look eco-friendly (or at least eco-aware).

On an 11/05 cruise to the western Caribbean on RCL we booked an excursion through Merritt Island NWR while in Port Canaveral. Our tourguide was woefully ignorant about birds, although it was booked as a birding trip. We spent most of the trip in the Visitors Center at Merritt Island (with gift shop, of course). By the time we hit the trails in the refuge it was getting dark; we didn't see many birds at all. The highlight was looking at a baby 'gator by flashlight. Whoopee. Our guide also mis-identified easy birds like Snowy Egret and Glossy Ibis and missed most birds altogether.

A year earlier we booked a kayak tour on the Indian River, also in Port Canaveral. Again our tourguide mis-identified Ospreys and egrets with startling regularity, and could not identify trees beyond cypress. Forget about herps.

The tourguides are usually nice, retired sorts looking to make a few extra bucks by leading a tour. But surely there are QUALIFIED people willing to do this, too -- right???!?

I wonder if any of the cruise lines would let we naturalists sail for free, if we agreed to lead bird walks and field trips in port? I can't imagine there would be a shortage of qualified leaders under those circumstances.

D. Temple

NJ