Touchdown

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos is a British Overseas Territory. The currency is the US dollar. The population is about 60,000. According to Wikipedia, in 2024, the Turks and Caicos Islands had the highest murder rate per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Territory consists of two chains of islands - the Turks Islands and the Caicos Islands. The Turks Islands are named after the Turk’s cap cactus, which is thought to resemble a fez. 

Turk’s Cap cacti, photo: Gardenia.net

 The Turks Islands include two inhabited islands, Grand Turk and Salt Cay. The population of the Turks is about 10,000.

In 1962, John H. Glenn, Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth. After circling the Earth three times, he splashed down near Grand Turk. A replica of Glenn’s capsule, Friendship 7, can be seen next to the shops at the end of the dock.

I was amazed by how tiny the capsule is.

The entry/exit hatch (on top in this picture) is impossibly small.

I did a little geocaching, completing a virtual cache and an earthcache about salt.

There was a geocache in the vicinity of this whale sculpture

Then we went to the beach for a few hours. It was a very nice beach, but not as nice as the one at Half Moon Cay. But, ever so convenient.

In the evening we went to see a comedian called Rikki Jay. He wasn’t my favorite comedian. His routine was mostly shouting at us. A man we had dinner with, who is a retired high school choral director, said the comedian had ruined his voice by shouting so much.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Amber Cove, Dominican Republic 

The Dominican Republic is green and mountainous. It shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. The population is 11.4 million. DR has had a tumultuous history of colonialism, civil wars, failed invasions by Haiti, dictatorship, and a coup. Christopher Columbus landed here on his first voyage, in 1492.

We signed up for a “deluxe” sail and snorkel tour on a catamaran. It was not “deluxe,” IMO. We started off with a 45-minute bus ride to the catamaran. We have done several catamaran trips, and they always start at a dock close to the ship. The catamaran was a little small for the number of people on the tour. We did get to see some flying fish, but that was about it.

The second highest mountain in DR

Snorkelers in the water

Statue of Neptune on an islet

After the catamaran tour, I did a little geocaching in the mall at the end of the dock. We were in a region called “the Amber Coast.”  There were a number of exhibits about the local amber. I learned that there is a rare kind of blue amber that is only found in DR. I also learned that amber floats, and feels warm to the touch.  You can use the float test to see if a piece of amber is real.

Tonight the Zuiderdam celebrated its Dutch roots with an Orange Party. This HAL tradition promises a fun evening with most passengers dressing in orange, orange decorations, orange beverages, and more. By the time we had finished dinner, the Orange Party was very loud and very crowded so we decided not to go to it.

The highlight of the day was a memorable dinner at Morimoto by Sea, a pop-up restaurant that is only available once per cruise segment. I selected a cucumber margarita and Ken went with a sake flight.

For our starter we both ordered the sushi plate. It was interesting, beautiful, and delicious.

For our main courses, I had Ishiyaki Buri Bop - fresh yellowtail cooked tableside in a hot stone bowl. Ken had Shrimp Three Ways. We also ordered steamed vegetables with tofu.

For dessert, I chose White Chocolate Lime Ganache, while Ken picked the Dark Chocolate Sphere, a dynamic dessert which demands to be captured on video.

What a dinner! To quote Neil Diamond: “So good, so good, so good.”

The evening ended with a performance by the ship’s quartet of singers. It was called “Sing!” The name was uninspired, but it turned out to be a very entertaining show, with lots of boomer music. 

Today’s fabric is the Turkish towel. Turkish towels are flat-woven cotton towels, often with fringed edges.  They are valued for their softness and their quick-drying properties.

Turkish cotton peshtemal towels, by TheAnatolian for Etsy