Congratulations to all the gang on Ventura USA & Caribbean Tour! Here are the wonderful smiles just before for our performance on the BIG stage.
Departing Southampton on 11th February was exciting - the whole adventure was in front of us. The tour was a real mix of traditional Caribbean Islands and some surprisingly colourful mainland USA ports..with a little visit into Europe first, to La Coruna as our first port in northwest Spain
Back onboard for 6 sea days. Now we could really get to know each other in ukulele class. Ukulele love growing with elementary and intermediate sessions. 52 ukers!! On day one we could not fit everyone in the room!!
I was also delighted to deliver my first lecture on this trip with my "North, South, East or West" talk on popular American music. You can never have too much Country or Soul music:)
After a few rough sea days we arrived in Bermuda - a real jewel in the North Atlantic Ocean. A "must" here is the Rum Swizzle served at The Bone fish Bar and Grill (bonefishbermuda.com) You can even purchase the glass! ( I now have 2!). After a sunny stop in Freeport Bahamas, it was then straight to one of the "highlight ports" of this trip in my opinion: New Orleans. Even the day after Mardi Gras - it was still all beads and bling!
After Jambalaya, Beignets and Gumbo, Florida brought sun sea and conch fritters. First we visited Key West (amazing Key Lime pie on a stick!!), then the rare and precious buildings of the Art Deco area of Miami. They didn't disappoint with their elegant lines and colour.
Boy, did we need a rest!! In between these colourful ports we still managed our ukulele love with more or less 100% attendance at all sessions. Perfecting strumming patterns and soothing sore fingers with Gin had us all in giggles! More fun when I delivered my next lecture about 'How to Conduct an Orchestra" The room was filled with guests waving their arms around trying to be the next Andre Previn.
The respite came in the form of four Caribbean Islands. First we visited Puerto Rico. Interestingly, this Caribbean island is a territory of the United States. But what is more interesting is that this stunning Island is the home of the Pina Colada!! :)
We enjoyed lunch at the bar in Old San Juan where the drink was created. "Barrachina bar and Restaurant" barrachina.com Book if you want to visit !!
After enjoying the beach life in St Kitts (Island tour then beach), Dominica (River Tubing - I was the tour escort ha ha!) and Barbados (Holetown Beach) it was back to work on the waves for our final performance.
A popular activity on board is to build a ship on a ship!! This was hilarious ...and one cheeky shipbuilder decided to put me as the figurehead!!!
Sadly, due to the challenges of Coronavirus we were unable to visit Ponta Delgada in the Azores...I must admit, I was a wee bit sorry at missing out on my Pastel de Nata (a wee custard tart). In my opinion, no one makes them like the Portuguese.
Our Ukulele performance was a huge success with all performers really getting into the spirit with fun and music. We had a special Afternoon Tea party to celebrate not only our musical journey, but our newly formed friendships...To quote Nelson Mandela...
Music is a great blessing. It has the power to elevate and liberate us. It sets people free to dream. It can unite us to sing with one voice. Such is the value of music. (Nelson Mandela)
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