So here are the Top Ten Caribbean Beaches for Snorkeling:

1. Anse de Colombier – St. Barts

White sand, blue water and no roads. That means less tourists. You may see parrotfish, angelfish, morays and sea stars are some of the things you’ll see. There are also coral reefs and sea turtles.

2. Cane Bay – St. Croix, USVI

Cane Bay has a 7 mile coral wall, however it is also one of the most popular beaches in St. Croix, so be prepared to battle crowds.The coral starts around 15 yards from shore and includes much to see, including “Lots of turtles, eels, octopuses, lobster, flamingo tongues, seahorses; we even have an ancient Dutch anchor.” That sounds great, I love to see old ships and relics.

3. 18 Palms – Bonaire

Rays, squid and octopuses are among the marine life you’ll see in 18 Palms. Known more for its reefs than its beaches, Bonaire is one of the best places for snorkeling.

4. Lighthouse Point – Eleuthera

This sounds like the place for me, no development. That means no tourists and very few people in general. You can find grouper, lobster, parrotfish and most everything else in the corals in Eleuthera.

5. Playa Kalki – Curacao

In the reef at Playa Kalki, there are mushroom shaped corals, giving it the name of Alice in Wonderland by divers. If you want to see dolphins, this may be the place to go. “You will find all manner of sea life – fish, eels, turtles – by swimming to the right, along the cliffs. We’ve also been seeing lots of dolphin, with large pods coming through; our snorkelers and divers have the chance to encounter them underwater.”

6. Playa De La Chiva – Vieques

Playa de la Chiva is also known as Blue Beach. The rock formations of the island create canyons for the fish to live in, and the best snorkeling is at Isla Chiva. There is a lot of marine life, “such as reef fish, small turtles, octopuses, eels and conch.”

7. Smith’s Cove – Grand Cayman

Two miles outside of Georgetown, Smith’s Cove, is what the magazine calls a ‘well-known “secret” beach’. I have no idea what a well known secret is, but it doesn’t sound too private. There is some great snorkeling up close to the shore (parrotfish, peacock flounder, angelfish and surgeonfish), or you can go out further for some bigger marine life (stingrays, hawksbill turtles, and maybe a nurse shark).

8. The Baths – Virgin Gorda

I have talked about The Baths at Virgin Gorda before. It is a very popular beach, and for good reason. Actually made up of three strips of beach, and full of rocks and boulders, there are plenty of places to snorkel, and plenty of fish to see. They do recommend to not snorkel between 11 AM and 3 PM because of the crowds.

9. Trunk Bay – St John, USVI

White sand beaches, surrounded by palms and sea grape trees, that sound like paradise to me. Trunk Bay is part of the Virgin Islands National Park, so it will be relatively unspoiled. There is a marked snorkeling trail  for those who are new to snorkeling, and for those who just want to know where to go. Trunk Bay is great for beginners and experienced because it has a great snorkeling in the bay, but more experienced snorkelers can go all the way around Trunk Cay, the actual island.

10. West Bay Beach – Roatan, Honduras

Half a mile of sand, and 40 miles of coral reef. That’s a good bit of snorkeling. You can find many species here, including “eels, turtles, grouper and conch.” Eels are very plentiful here and you can see dozens of them at Mandy’s Eel Garden.

Have you found great snorkeling before? Let everyone know where you’ve been and how it was in the comments.

“If you wouldn’t mind, we would like to put you in a room on the canal side. There is a problem with your room.” An Upgrade! Sure!

We were to dial 9 for assistance to move our things. We packed fast. Two assistants came and one said, “Ah. Veery nice room on canal.” It is pretty, blue damask on the walls. All rooms have a chandelier. A tub! The view is down on the sidewalk and across the canal. A nice perk.

Later noticed our former wing was closed off with a drape.  I never heard what the problem was but we were upgraded, “for our trouble to have to move.”

As we packed I saw a card that had been covered by our things. It had internet information for a cable hookup. The concierge had told me we had to go to the internet café. I guess I didn’t specifically say I had a computer. So I took my computer down and asked about the cord. It’s RIGHT UNDER THE TV ALL THIS TIME. Now, my sons would have known that but I have never used a computer in any hotel room at home. How would I know? DUH!

This is one of the dumb things I did on this trip. But there was one dumber. More about that later.

I thought a nice hotel like this should have access. We learn something new every hour. So Aub is on line now. She is happy, happy.

We bought internet access by the hour, but in retrospect an hour goes by quickly. In the end it would have been cheaper for us to purchase by the 24 hour period.

Wednesday, April 21

People are still walking around with wheeled carry-ons. Some have quite a bit of luggage dragging behind. So many displaced persons. Almost everyone has a pragmatic, “Well, what can we do? Just make the best of it,” attitude.

I keep asking people what they are doing. Keep calling the airport. Delta was so very patient and professional in all my calls. They tell me I’ve done the right thing by keeping our Thursday VCE to Amsterdam flight.

News tonight: Ash clouds lighter-more lava. London, Amsterdam and some others may fly tomorrow. Airlines are testing flights. Take your time-we don’t want to be a test flight.

Heard Milan airport is still closed. Rome is open.

I asked the concierge about checking out tonight and going over to the airport to be there for our early flight. He said, “Where will you sleep, outside? They close the airport at night and you can’t stay there.”

Under the circumstances of volcanic ash crises I suspect that might not be the case but better not take the chance. And always the safety of my granddaughter is a deciding factor.

Concierge: “First bus 5:00. We will fix special breakfast for you. Bus arrive Marco Polo airport 5:30. You will have time for 7:00 flight.” OK

I went for coffee and talked quite awhile with Jeanette and her husband. Just found out he is not in the best of health and she would have done more exploring but he tires easily. Had I known that, we would have invited her to Verona and the symphony. They are off to Berkley via Rome, Tel Aviv, and LA this a.m.

Jeanette and I seem to be the only “group”. When I went down for coffee she said, “Here, sit here,” and motioned me to her table. She left me a note and a coupon at the desk before they left.

Aub and I ate a late breakfast and left to walk to Piazza San Marco where we had taken the water bus to hear Vivaldi. Tonight is La Traviata. We would like to go but we need to get up so early in the morning – still deciding. The walk over to the Square is about an hour but if you stop to take pictures, look through stores, have cappuccino and tiramisu at a side walk café, it could be 2 hours.

There are shops all around the perimeter of the Square.We walked through some artsy stores with beautiful glass sculpture and Murano glass. Some stores are like walking through an art museum. What a feast for the eyes.

There are mask stores all over the place. From street vendors to upscale shops. Masks are made of paper mache, glass, ceramic, feathers or beads.

On the way back we bought a mask. You just can’t leave Venice without one when you see so many. Got red raspberries from a street fruit stand. We found a grocery! There was one on Lido Island and in our wanderings we found another, a BILLA store. We bought bananas and water. If we don’t get out of here tomorrow we can buy sandwich meat, bread and fruit here.

The afternoon was getting pretty warm. I had to walk on the shade side of the street. I think I’m getting a blister on my little toe. It was good to get back to the room and cool off. We had seen someone with a Hard Rock Café- Venetia shirt. So I told Aub to search to see where it is. Yep. You guessed it. Back at the Square.

After Aub was done with the computer I tried to check in with Delta. I couldn’t check in with Delta because they had gotten our 1st leg with KLM. KLM hadn’t sent me a confirmation number. I called and they said to check in at the airport. I’m not liking this. I’m thinking things are not running smoothly with airports being closed since last Thursday.

Today was the 1st day for any flights. Tomorrow is supposed to be back to 80% flights leaving. If you booked last Thursday or Friday to leave Monday or Tuesday you are now cancelled again and go to the back of the line. Because we booked later we are now at the front! Last Sunday, Thursday seemed so far away. No one could know that Thursday would be the 1st big fly day and we were in the best position we could be.

I was recuperating from our 1st time over when Aub said, “Well, ready to walk back?” We could have taken the Water Bus but all we had was time at this point and we were anxious about tomorrow. Walking was good. Stopped for some souvenirs and snacks. Got dinner. Had to use up our Euros, right? We explored side streets. I don’t think we came or went exactly the same way any time even when we tried.

We had taken the Gondola ride the 1st day we were there with the rest of our family. It was great. They take you through the Grand Canal and then through side canals and waterways. It is so picturesque.

I think we may be the only tourists who walked from Ferrovia Station to PSM twice in the same day. I have a good blister now. We stopped for pizza and ice cream on the way back.

Time to pack. Aub is Facebooking her mom and is allowed to get ice cream one more time. I’m in the shower and she wants to go by herself. I’m pretty sure now she would be all right, but I can’t let her out of my sight. “Wait! I’ll throw on a towel and go with you!”

I get dressed and we go out the hotel entrance, walk right about a block along the canal and cross the bridge to the left. Over the bridge we snake along the Tourist Street to the right till we get to our favorite deli. It is dark now and the ever moving boat traffic on the canal is slowing down. But still there are Water Busses and taxis. Still people out on this warm evening.

We are on a diet now. We nixed the cone calories for ice cream in a cup! Actually the ice cream flavor is better when not competing with the cone.

We stroll back slowly knowing this is our last look at this exotic city that we have called home for 5 days.

In back of the deli under an open roof there are seats and tables. But most people walk and eat. Sit down restaurants with cover charge, bottle of water and pizza for both of us could add up to 29E or about $40US. The rate was $1.4US to 1E. I think I said that right. If you take the Euro price and multiplied it by 1.4, it gave us the US equivalent we were paying. We are learning so much.

At the train station we watched people getting their tickets from automated screens. Aub saw other kiosks and thought we should try them to get to Verona. She was right. The people who invited us to go with them had large tickets. The 1^st kiosks had small ones. We found one that people were using in English and watched them, then asked questions. When it was our turn we were almost finished and a lady behind us helped us finish up. “We all have to help each other,” she said. AMEN

We had devotions this am. Read from I Cor. 13, the love passage. We prayed for those at home who are probably more worried than we are. We listed the things we are thankful for.

I told Aubrey, this experience is going to test our problem solving skills, our patience, our intelligence and our faith. Sure enough, it has. She is a great problem solver: observant, keeps a cool head, goes with the flow. Her dad was very observant. Earl could show him something when working and Chris could anticipate which tool next. I see this same trait in Aubrey. But, life IS just a series of problem solving, isn’t it?

I’m using lots of pages I see. I hope we get home before the pages run out! Aub says we will.

We were ready to walk over to St Mark’s Square but our hotel adapter popped and blew the room lights. While waiting for the technician I decided to work the phones again. There are no changes for Thursday. Tuesday’s flights cancelled for sure and probably Wednesday’s.

We are hoping as airspace opens up, more flights will be put on.

It is too late now to walk to PSM. We will take the waterbus. It is 6.50E one way. Had we known, we could have bought a 3 day pass for 18E and “hop on-hop off” anywhere during that time.

The concert was great.  The room is the same dimensions as the room in which Vivaldi composed. The acoustics were outstanding.

Piazza San Marco is beautiful. Every sight is a picture. Venice night life seems to be around the Square. After the concert we moseyed back through the huge square. It is after dark now, but there are huge outdoor restaurants, each with its own little orchestra. People sit only if they are ordering. The square is surrounded by stunning architecture and so is a concert hall sound. People are sitting, strolling, dancing, eating ice cream…

When we got back to the waterbus the ticket counter was closed. The ticket stamper machine was out of order – so we just got on. No one checked tickets. The bus was full. We are learning their sign system. There is WaterBus 1 and WaterBus 2. They go to different places and stops, so you need to know which one to get on. We weren’t sure but I saw Ferrovia. I had seen that name near our hotel but didn’t know what it meant. It is the stop at the train station which is across the canal from our hotel. The FS stands for Ferrovia Station. As we pulled into our stop with the hotel in view, Aub looked at me, smiled and said, “We did it!”

Our two heads together must give us an IQ off the charts. We are doing more things together than we probably would risk alone.

Tuesday April 20

We stayed at breakfast a little too long and miscalculated the time to walk to the station for the 8:58 train. We must have missed by only a few minutes. (Trains and buses run ON TIME) So we went back to the hotel to finish breakfast and pick more brains of Americans. Jeanette from Berkley and I have coffee together nearly every morning, now, until her husband and Aub come down.
We tried the 10:00 train to Verona – got on. No one looked at our ticket, so I guess it is ok.

The country side is very flat. Houses are colors of faded yellow, pink, orange or tan, mostly tile roofs. Farmers are plowing fields. The climate here is pretty close to late May in Ohio. We’ve had sunny days, each day getting a little warmer. Today is our 1st day without sweaters.

I see hills to the right now. It looks like snow on the tops. Could that be the Alps?

Some are traveling with babies or young children. I have a teenager with me. She will be 15 in August. I have not heard a “Whatever”, or “I’m bored.” No sighs or eye-rolling. She has been a delightful traveling companion. The only comment she made when we got back to Venice, not knowing for how long, was, “What will we do all day”. I have forgotten, though, how much teenagers eat!

Arrived Verona, 12:30 after 21/2 hour train ride. We, of course, now did not have our traveling friends we thought we would and had not researched Verona. We couldn’t find maps or what to do. Found out later that you need to take a tour bus to see most of the city. But here we are. We walked around a park and national monument. Verona is apparently where Shakespeare wrote or was the setting for “Romeo and Juliet”.

Found a McDonald’s and got a sandwich and coffee ‘take away’ American style.

We had a late start from missing the 1st train. We walked for about 1-1/2 hours. It was nearing 3:00 when I thought we’d better get our tickets to go back. We had on recommendation gotten only 1 way because of not knowing how long we would be there.

Aub is great on these self serve ticket machines. She punches faster than I can read it, then I stick in my credit card. We make a good team.

We learned to look for Bin1, Bin2 or Bin3 to get the right platform. We got our ticket. When we asked someone to head us in the right direction he said, “Bin4”. We were early for the time on our ticket. A train was there, so we hopped on. “Wow, It’s early!” But, great, we are headed back.

After a few minutes I felt I needed to check. I asked a young lady across from us and showed her the ticket, “Venice, Venezia?”  She couldn’t speak English, but said, “No, no Milano!”

Milan!   Oops!

The lady spoke in Italian to others on the train and found a guy who could speak both languages. She explained our situation. When we got to the next station he recommended getting off (my thoughts exactly) and buying another ticket to avoid fines and fees. Evidently you DO have to have the ticket for the specific train you are on. We could have been fined for using our ticket this morning for a later trip. Tickets were 46E each way for 2.

When we realized our mistake Aub said “It’s OK, Grandma. We’ll get there”.

So here we are waiting in Peschiera Del Garda station for the 16:13(4:13pm) train back to Verona and points east – Venice specifically. There are yellow boxes near the trains to stamp and validate your ticket. If not stamped we are subject to fines and fees. So far no one has looked. I have heard that many places are understaffed because workers are stranded as a result of the ash cloud. So maybe there are just not enough people to check everything.

We are on a different kind of train going back to Venice. We asked 3 different people if this was the correct one. They just announced our stops so I know it has to be. But the other one had no announcements. You had to watch station signs. This one had way fewer stops and returned in 1-1/2 hours.

Oops! Aub thinks we are in 1st class. We just figured out the number system. We were to be in car 9. The train is not full so we just sat down. The regional ones aren’t. It’s air conditioned and there are little tables for computers. Aub has decided she wants pizza and ice cream for dinner.

We are almost there and no one has challenged our seats. If anyone did we were going to say, “Sorry, sorry, Scuzi, (scoozi), scuzi”, and move on. I said “Maybe we look like we belong here, not like riff raff.”
Aub said, “Not yet, but we will.” It’s been a long hot day.

I’ve been awake since 6:15. Decided to do my hair and makeup. I’ve looked like a wreck for 2 days now. I’m brushing my teeth when I’m pretty sure I hear a plane. The windows are open. The sky is clear blue. It’s been mostly cloudy since we have been here. I couldn’t see anything. But, yes definitely a plane. That gives me hope.

I talked to our travel agent today and she couldn’t do anything to help us. She doesn’t deal with airlines she said. She said we could do as much if we got our own reservations. The one thing she did tell me was that we could order refundable tickets that we would have as backup if we did not get out on Thursday. I called and ordered refundable tickets for Tuesday, April 27, the earliest I could get. Aub’s mother was beside herself to get her daughter back.

VENICE – You can only ride a boat or walk. One would expect a night life here. But Aub and I were at a ‘tourist’ restaurant last night. We got the 12E special actually advertised on their sign “Tourist Menu”. It was a three course menu: lasagna, chicken and fries or salad. I was not sure about eating fresh uncooked food because of intestinal stuff we may not be used to. In the end we ate salads and fruit with no problems. We needed a balanced meal, too. No matter how good the pizza, Italian sandwiches and ice cream were, we knew we needed better.

Here they are in no hurry to turn tables. Our 1^st night last week the waiter said, ”Slow down, enjoy. Americans in too much hurry.” So they eat leisurely meals here. They take their time getting your order, bringing it and bringing the bill. Jodi taught us to ask for “still water” otherwise you get seltzer water, and that they don’t bring you the bill automatically. You can sit forever – then you signal the waiter when you are ready. Also, the printout for credit card does not have a place to add the tip. It is customary to leave it separate on the table. In all the credit card (table cloth) restaurants there was a cover charge of 1€ per person.

So, when we finally got out of the restaurant it was dusk. The busy crowded streets had cleared and only a few people here and there were out. As we walked back to the hotel there were two here-one there-till none by our hotel. (I learned later that we were up on the train station, bus station side away from tourist areas. A lady told me they were down by San Marco Piazza and it was so noisy all night they asked to be put to the back of the hotel away from the canal side.

The city is beautiful. It is old with wonderful architecture. Every view is a picture. I have heard the city smells. Maybe this is true in the heat of summer but in the cool April air there was only the scent of briny sea water.

I am writing this at the hotel breakfast having coffee and apricot croissant.

Aub asked, “Do I have to get up?”

We’ve had some tense days. She can sleep in today. And with the hotel adapter we’ll be able to do her hair. Me, too. Clean styled hair and makeup and I feel better PLUS hearing a plane take off. (Heard it was a small one -not international.)

It was so quiet. With the windows open – if you wake up in the night you hear nothing. Earl and I have been in other international cities and you hear traffic, people, horns or construction all night. I woke about 6:15 and heard nothing. After a while a few birds and then about 7:00, church bells.

I just looked back in my notes and noticed my large relaxed handwriting compared to this quick pinched scribble. That could explain my constant low grade headache. I am working on relaxing.

Anyway, back to Venice. Our hotel is on the Grand Canal which curves in a large backwards “S” around Venice. The main tourist streets are marked on the hotel map in yellow. The concierge said;

“You can get lost in Venice. But…that is the best way to see the city.”

So we always carry our hotel map with us.

During the day the streets are very busy with people walking. So many different languages, everyone eating ice cream (gelato). The ice cream in the many shops is more decorative than our shops. It is piped into pans in mounds then sprinkled or drizzled with chocolate or fruit. There are colors of lime, lemon, pink berry or white yogurt. The chocolate is very dark, not milk chocolate as we are used to.

We would like to go to a concert or opera but would get back so late that I would prefer to go with a group. My main concern is always the safety of Aubrey. She has been such a trouper through all of this. When I asked the costumed girl handing out handbills for the Vivaldi symphony if it is safe to walk back at night she looked surprised and said, “This is Venice!”

I am sitting by the sign we made:

U.S.Citizens Meeting

9:00 am in breakfast area

Let’s help each other

Judy and Aubrey

But so far we haven’t met anyone else. The sign is difficult to see. Aub had the best idea. Lay it on the floor of the elevator! It is 9:10 am. I will get Aub up so we can go to the internet café. Then we will follow the “Yellow Brick Road” to Piazza San Marco. Aub met me as I was going up so we are having breakfast and I heard American English. I talked to an older couple from Berkley who was on another cruise. It is good to make connections with other U.S. citizens in the same predicament.

The lady from Berkley stopped by our table again and said she was a graduate of Oberlin – did we have any connection there? Have heard of it but not familiar.

I checked again on Delta – no change. Our flight is connecting in Amsterdam: Amsterdam to Minneapolis to Akron/Canton.

We found an Internet Café, finally. Look down a narrow alley for the little square yellow sign with a cursive red “a”. Who knew? We stood in line about 30 minutes. There are still lines to everything. People are still trying to make connections. We are listening to English/British accent in front of us. A lady behind us is from the U.S. She is going to Vivaldi concert in Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark’s Square) tonight. We wanted to do that, too. We decided to start our walk there this afternoon instead of this a.m. and just go once since it is about an hours walk.

I finally asked the people in front of us if they knew, ”Do you have to use their computers if you want wireless on your own?” She shooed me to the front to ask the “chap”. They ushered us right to a side room and we waited a few minutes for a password. Aub is my techy-she is in charge here. Yea, she got on facebook!

Before we left the hotel, I was waiting to drop off our laundry at the desk and a family from Connecticut was making some kind of adjoining room arrangements. They are scheduled to fly out on Wednesday. I was talking to their 2 children who seemed to be a girl – 20 and a boy – 15?16? Very friendly. All of a sudden the father started YELLING at the guys at the desk. I’m not sure what the issue was but father yelled, “I’M PAYING YOU A LOT OF MONEY! I SHOULD GET BETTER SERVICE!”

The mother was like, “Come on Dear. Let’s go. Forget it.” But he kept yelling. Aub was upstairs getting our sweaters. I had wanted to introduce her to my new friends. There were few kids her age. Spring break was over for most. He was yelling as he went out the door. And the desk clerk in his Italian accented English, said under his breath, “Thank you, sir. Today I weel keel myself.”

The guy heard it and ran back in yelling, “I WANT AN APOLOGY! I WANT AN APOLOGY! I WANT YOUR NAME!”

I turned around and an elderly lady and I exchanged raised eyebrow glances. I think I spoke Italian with my face.

I met and lost friends all in 2 minutes.

Aubrey asked me why I talked to so many people. I told her each time we talk to someone we get a bit more information how to navigate this place. At breakfast she said it was, “like we are in a video game.” I said, “I think we just made another level.”

We went to a bank to buy Euros but they don’t exchange money. Met an Australian. He was stranded in Milan where the airport was still closed, and he wanted to see Venice for the day.

The bank pointed us in the right direction.

You have to go to an Exchange along the tourist route. The hotel will exchange only cash, but we weren’t home yet and I didn’t want to give up my U.S. dollars. We had seen the exchange but didn’t know if they were legitimate.

We bought 135E for $200. I guess it is like a cash advance which we never in our life have done. Next time it would be worth a trip to the airport to exchange money. Live and learn.

[Hotels have some of the worst exchange rates. See my post on Exchange Rates.]

Sally will try to contact Affordable Tours and our agent to see about a southern flight to Miami or Texas as a possibility. It’s the weekend and no agents are in. Sally wants us to go to Milan for a possible flight Monday. I tried to get the hotel here to get us to Milan but train and buses are full and “besides it’s Sunday. There are no travel agents available,” she said.

I called the number the Delta agent had given me. The earliest flight is Thursday,April 22, KLM to Amsterdam. (Lufthansa was booking May 5 at the earliest. Transcontinental ships booking June1) I took it. But many were skeptical we would get out then. We went out to eat dinner, walk for a while before dark and wait for Jodi. It was getting evening and she had not shown up yet. I taught Aub to play Flinch to take our minds off our situation. I’m beginning to realize Jodi must have made other arrangements. We are on our own! I’m starting to think of a plan B.

I can’t go to Milan without hotel reservations and I don’t want to make hotel reservations without knowing I have plane reservations. If trains and buses are booked how will we get there even if we have reservations? All this is swimming around my head and I couldn’t sleep. By this time I’m sure Jodi is not coming. I am having heart palpitations. What calms me is the thought that we will just go back to Venice where our agent had us stay the 1^st night before our cruise.

Sunday April 18

Jodi didn’t show. Even after my son Matt got international calling put on my cell phone Jodi and I were never able to contact each other even though we found out later we both had tried multiple times. Still don’t know why our phones weren’t compatible. My phone bill at the Helvetia was 66 E. We had called home several times and I had been on hold with Delta for 20 minutes. Some, according to CNN, were on hold 40-50 minutes to get an agent.

I called the Carlton on the Grand Canal and Yahoo! They had rooms available. We ate breakfast and the desk called the water taxi but they couldn’t come until noon. So we checked out, left luggage in the lobby and walked to the beach. It was a nice clean beach. I read later that years ago it was filthy but it was an open beach and seemed a nice place to bring families. It was too cold to swim but there was one couple in the surf who had come out of a small tent and appeared to have camped overnight. The beach is long and flat and waves are small.

The water taxi took us back to Venice and dropped us right in front of the Carlton on the Grand Canal (140E a night). I felt relieved in a way to be back here where we started. When the guy handed me the key to our room I started to cry. I can take stress when I need to but when it is over that’s when I lose it. He pointed to the back of the lobby. ”Washrooms back here, Madame.’’ I went back and pulled myself together.

There are other hotels for more reasonable prices back along side canals. If we would have had to stay longer I might have looked around. I know Jodi’s 1^st night before our cruise was 80E, I think. (Just in case anyone is planning a trip to Venice and wants to know.)

The concierge said there were people from cruises here at the hotel.

Aub and I made a sign to hang on the kiosk in the lobby to try to get USA people together to help each other out. The kiosk was crowded with stuff and hard to read so we weren’t successful at that.

Whenever I heard someone speaking English I asked where they were from and how they were coping. We met a family from Utah. They booked a flight through London to get them from Venice to JFK on Thursday. They gave me the number. (I tried it later and it was the same number I had!) No one can guarantee that flights will even go Thursday – we try not to think about it.

People who knew about the ash and cancellations early on, and made reservations right away for the 1^st of the week, were already being canceled and now were getting flight dates later than ours. Monday flights, and possibly Tuesday’s, are now canceled.

We tried to get on the internet and are having problems. I asked at the hotel about computer and wireless. They said ‘No we don’t have business computers.”

He sent us outside to find an internet café.

The Utah couple we met is going to Verona Tuesday on the train and invited us to go with them. They told us how to go to the train station to get a ticket on the regional train. The lines outside the train station have been looong with people and luggage. This is the 1^st day that they are not clear out to the canal. We were using the regional train (Trenitalia) and they told us how to use the automated kiosk to get tickets.

I am watching the streets to see if by chance Jodi is still around. I finally called Earl to email Jodi’s husband in England to see if he could let us know where she was. Jodi got the message and called us at the Carlton. She thought we had gotten out. She remembered that whenever military is in trouble you go to the nearest base. So she was at a Best Western near an air base about 40 miles from Venice. The military was going to bus them and other families to England, about a 36 hour ride. They did not know which day they would leave, Tuesday or Wednesday, or we would have gone over there with them. Jodi was going to try to come over to Venice for the day if they could before they left.

We had pizza lunch. The pizzas are dinner plate size and very thin crust. You can get them with meat which looks like sliced sausage.

At dinner we met US citizens who live in Germany. They offered that we could stay with them if only we and they could get to Germany.

We have been doing a lot of walking and eating gelato, 1.20E for one scoop. Our favorite place is “QB” Quanto Basta, 148 Cannaregio, on the main tourist road snaking around the Grand Canal. It is a kind of deli for pizza, gyros, falafel and ice cream. Aub found what she has determined is the BEST ice cream, the yogurt flavor. We will go back there.

We washed out some of our clothes. There is a heated towel rack in the bathroom that helped dry them. We will send some out since we had laundry from the cruise. There is no self laundry, only laundry service. I threw away some of my underwear and jettisoned small bottles of toiletries to make as much room as possible for souvenirs. So now I have to wash out the few I have. The room is nice though and a clean tiled bathroom.

Called and talked to everyone at home. Some tears with Aub and mom and dad. But she is doing really well. Earl said that we should just relax and enjoy Venice: whatever it takes. Glad I have a credit card and the money to back it up. We will need to find Euros. Mine are running out.

I began to gather a care package for Jodi, Lorinda and the kids. I gave them our last trail mix and a couple apples. Lorinda took the kids back to their stateroom to get them to bed. It was now about 10:00 pm. Jodi stopped by our room to tell us that Matt found a room in a hotel on Lido Island, Venice. I was so happy for her. I told her I had been praying for her. I felt so helpless because there was nothing I could do for her. We were leaving and they were stuck.

Saturday, April 17

Aubrey and I were among the 1^st group to leave the ship. Buses took us to the airport. When we got off the bus a rep met with each family. “You are one of the lucky ones,” she said. “Delta flight to NYC is one of the only ones still flying today.”

Whoa! We were smiling as we strutted into the airport.

We got to the counter and no one was there.

At the counter there were only 3 ladies ahead of us. One said, “The flight is canceled.” Someone from Delta was to talk to us at 9 am. As people piled up behind us, finally a lady came and announced, “No flights. Maybe tomorrow; maybe Monday.” Neither Delta nor Royal Caribbean was taking responsibility for any other accommodations because of the sheer number of people needing food or housing. They told us we would have a better chance of finding something in small groups. Are they kidding? There are no buses, trains or hotels!

Aub had a few tears. She was ready to be home and wanted to see mom and dad and go to church tomorrow morning to see her friends and tell them about the cruise. We waited in line for a rep to talk to each of us only to say the same thing. “We don’t know. But here is a # to call for information.”

I looked away and had a few tears myself, now, but looked back and told Aub “We are going to get through this. It will be OK.” I guess if it was just me I may have camped out in the airport with the others who were already staking out their spaces. I don’t know. I had a young girl with me and didn’t feel it was an appropriate place for who knows how long. I scoped out the facilities: bathrooms, water fountains, snack foods, people and luggage all over the place.

Just before Jodi left our room last night, as an after thought, she said, “Oh, just in case – here is where we are staying.” And I wrote the address in my notebook. Thank you, Lord.

Before we left the counter we asked about transportation to Lido Island. All I could think about was getting to our family who was still somewhere near Venice. Jodi was savvier about travel in Europe and I felt I needed her. If we could get together we would be alright. The rep told us to check the ALILAGUNA, public transportation to Lido. When we found the counter for the waterbus the lady said, “That will be 50E for two. No, we do not take credit cards. Only Euros.”  And definitely no US dollars. I had 30E left from our vacation that I had bought from Jodi.

I had Aub watch the luggage while I tried to find a bank or money exchange. (Jodi taught us that when traveling in Europe you use an ATM with your debit card (no credit cards at ATM’s). I don’t use ATM’s or debit cards. My son also told me (later) that if I read his blog I would have known that the best rate of money exchange is at airports. We had been on a cruise, after all, where one doesn’t have to think about anything. Suddenly we were thrust into a country where we had done no preparation or research.)

On my tour around the airport I found a Water Taxi, 190E for two, round trip. BUT they did take credit cards.

I bought tickets for us to take the water taxi to Lido Island. We had to drag all our luggage about a 10 minute walk, paved, over to the pier where the taxi was waiting for us. On the way over in the taxi I think we went through part of Venice. It was about a 25 minute ride through a bay.

But, I became more and more nervous as to how we were going to get our luggage to a hotel – we didn’t know where or how far after we landed. Our driver didn’t speak much English but I was planning on how I was going to question him. No need. When we boarded the taxi I had shown him the address Jodi had given me. Lido is a long thin island with many water bus and taxi piers. He dropped us off one block from the street the hotel was on.

When we got to the corner I asked a lady who was selling flowers which direction Hotel Helvetia was. (The taxi driver had indicated left.)

After an animated discussion in Italian with another woman-left? or right?-she pointed right and I could see it down the street.

Hotel Helvetia on Gran Viale S Maria Elisa, Lido, Venice, is a clean little hotel.  They had rooms for 85E a night. I went without a reservation knowing that hotel rooms were mostly booked. I was going to beg to sleep on the floor in Jodi’s room.

What happened is that because of the volcanic ash people were not only unable to get out but flights were not able to get in. So when they said hotels were all booked they did not consider the ones who did not show up. Rooms WERE available and many keys were still hanging in their spaces the next morning.

We are on Floor 1, room 12. I inquire about Jodi and her family. “Yes, yes, but they are not come yet.” I know that because they weren’t leaving the ship until 1:00 pm. We left a note for Jodi at the desk. The clerk pointed us to a “bar”, what we would call a café, and we had an Italian bread sandwich. I expect Jodi about 3 pm. It is 10:30 now, seems later. Will try to call home later – it must be 3:30 am at home. We are exhausted probably from stress. We both lie down and doze.

We see on CNN that the ash is getting heavier. It occurs to me for the 1^st time that we are living through a disaster. We are very fortunate to have a room and food. (Hotels and what I came to call “Table Cloth Restaurants” take credit cards.) It doesn’t seem disastrous except that we are so far from everyone at home.

I asked her to write some information on what to do when you are stuck in Venice. Here is a little about it.

Does Venice have a beach? Venice is a maze of canals but there is no apparent beach. We were stuck in Venice on our way home from a Greek Island cruise. The ash from Iceland’s active volcano in April 2010, extended our stay in Venice 5 days. The first day there were no available rooms (little did the hotels know that travelers with reservations could not get to their destinations). The only place we could find a room that first night was Hotel Helvetia on Lido Island. Viola! Lido is the location of Venice’s beach! We walked up Gran Viale from our hotel to the public beach on the Gulf of Venice.

April is a little too cool for me to swim, the water and 70 degree air not being warmed by the sun yet. A couple had camped overnight on the beach and the woman was swimming. Someone recently told me that years ago they were on that beach and it was filthy. But it is clean and inviting, now. The wide sand beach is very flat, gradually spreading out into the water giving the appearance of gradual depth. The surf was calm under overcast morning skies. We wanted to stay longer but had to hurry back for our transportation back to Venice.

• Carlton Grand Canal Hotel in Venice -140E a day
• Hotel Helvetia on Lido-85E
• Venice-Lido is 15 minute public waterbus ride from Venice

Add Beach Bum Paradise to your feed to see the next few stories from Venice and the Greek Islands.

Sweet Spice was a small little local restaurant with nothing fancy. Not usually the place to see any tourists. In fact, there were no others until right before we left. It was full of local Jamaicans, which is always a good sign when the locals are there.

Our meal started off with a fish tea, which may sound strange, but it was very good. It was basically a fish stock. Then I ordered the fish, conch and shrimp platter, and my wife got the lobster, conch and shrimp dish. Both of them were excellent. Neither of us had ever eaten conch before, and we were both very happy that we tried it. One of the great things about vacation is trying new things and new foods.

Some people on travel review sites have said that the service at Sweet Spice was poor if you weren’t a local, but sometimes you just have to expect that; you aren’t that important everywhere you go. Also, in the US, we have definite issues with speed, we want everything as soon as possible, and it is just not the same in other countries.

I definitely would recommend going to Sweet Spice for lunch or dinner, and don’t be afraid to eat something completely new and different than what you are used to.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach.

You can see the rest of our Vacation to Jamaica.

These listing are based on the Tripadvisor reviews from people who actually stayed at the hotels. I’ve included some of the reviews for you.

Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco, CA

“…when I stood in the shower and felt water drip on my head. From the shower head? No, from a crack in the ceiling where water was pouring out from the shower above. In the duration of staying there, one of my teammates almost got in a fight with a hooker, we were nearly accosted by a pimp, referred to as Wood Grain, and met a lovely group of heroin addicts at the continental breakfast.”

“…I found a small bed bug in my bed and noticed some bites on my arm. Little did I know just how many times I had I been bitten until I returned to Beijing. I eventually needed to go to the emergency Room two days after my return because I had been bitten over 100 times!!!”

Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, MI

“All kinds of nastiness smeared on walls; All species of dried substances on the carpets – some of it dried body fluids! A stench that would make a homeless guy who hadn`t washed in a decade GAG! … If you have a mother-in-law you HATE, then buy her a weeks stay at this [--]!

“Should of stayed in the car. So dirty I used a couple of tissues over my hand to touch light switches, faucets, clock radio, remote… Slept in regular clothes, didn’t bother to bring in suitcases. Didn’t want them touching the floor. Used a blanket from car on top of the bed to sleep on,was sure to remove the bedspread (yuck!) and place blanket on top of the sheets and then threw it out later. We left at 4 in the morning just to get out of the place.”

Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, VA

“Dirty, smelly, noisy,,, it’s got it all…If you’ve ever been to a spring break hotel where alcohol, puke, and BO are the primary smells you’ll have an idea as to what to expect here.”

“A member of the staff is a peeping tom! When we checked in, the Manager offered us a free upgrade to the “Honeymoon Suite”. It was a set up. The “Honeymoon Suite” had a vacant room next door that was “under construction”. I was undressed to get into my swimsuit and heard breathing. I felt someone staring at me. I looked under the big gap under the adjoining room door. I saw eyes looking back at me!”

Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach, VA

“The room smelled, the sheets looked used, even though the bed had been made, the carpet was disgusting, and I used the bathroom wastebasket to smash an enormous cockroach that was climbing the wall when I woke up.”

“Here is the progression of our stay: Check in, go to room, leave room, go to front desk, get money back, find the Sea Gull Motel across the street. Yeah..it was that bad.”

Quality Inn, Stroudsburg, PA

“One comforter had BLOOD stains….the other had “fluid” stains of some sort. We examined the mattresses and found them to be pretty new. My husband went to wash his face and dry it–only to find pubic hair in the towel!!”

“I will tell you that when we found a used rubber in the corner of the room that was it .”

New York Inn, New York City, NY

“This was a place that the neighborhood residents tried to have shut down for years. It was a hangout for crack users, cheap hookers, and scum of every kind.”

“The problem with thin walls is the [prostitute] issue, I could hear people having sex all night long. Kind of funny, but if I was with a spouse, this would have really creeped her out.”

Parisian Hotel & Suites, Miami Beach, FL

“The carpet made my feet black. The rooms set up looked worse than a poor single college guys dorm room… The towels were small and thin scraggly things you’d probably use to wash your car with… The place was over run with … people who were constantly yelling and screaming, making noise, banging on doors, running up and down the hall ways at all hours of the night. Some were even hanging out in the hall ways sitting on the floor.”

“Old, shower didn’t work right, dirty, bed was old and dippy, sink 6 inches into the mattress. Only five channels on the tv, one sports, one spanish.”

Capistrano Seaside Inn, Capistrano Beach, CA

“The first thing we were hit with was the smell — musty with an underlying odor of pet urine. (We found pet stains in the corner a few minutes later.) … The bathroom was disgusting — black mold/mildew in the shower, sink and toilet and ratty old towels that looked as if they’d been there for years. The same was true with the bedding, except they had other unknown stains and were threadbare. The carpet was so dirty we couldn’t determine the color and the thought of walking on it barefoot was out of the question.”

“This place is a total dump! Filthy, filthy, filthy! I will be reporting this place to the Department of Health and every other agency I can think of. Not to code either, no emergency exit plan posted on the door. Grime built up on towel racks, door, wall.”

Desert Lodge, Palm Springs, CA

“The temp. was around 112 that day, and the air conditioning did not work. I am surprised that motels of this nature can even remain in business.”

“If you have an enemy, buy them a room here. If you want to show your in-laws that you don’t like or care about them, have them stay here. If you want to see what it feels like to live in hell, stay here for one night.”

Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach, FL

“The chairs in the room were all stained brown, I hope to hell it was from coffee. The carpets were dirty and duct taped where they were torn.”

“…vending machines had signs out of order during the day, to force you to buy out of the restaurant at much higher prices. However once the restaurant closed the signs were taken off the vending machines.”

Those are some nasty places. Have you had an experience with a dirty hotel? Let us know about it in the comments.

Dr. Beach (Dr. Stephen Leatherman) is the Director of the Laboratory Coastal Research at the Florida International University. He takes into account the water and sand quality, plus safety, facilities and environmental management when he settles on the Top Ten American Beaches each year.

This year, the Top 10 Beaches are:

Hanalei Bay – Kauai, Hawaii

With a sandy beach in front of mountains and cliffs, Hanalei Bay is one of the most beautiful spots in Hawaii.

Siesta Beach – Sarasota, Florida

White sand beaches are what set Siesta beach apart from many others. The subtropical climate doesn’t hurt either.

Coopers Beach – Southampton, New York

Southampton is one of the oldest settlements in NY, so you will be sure to also have some history along with your beach.

Coronado Beach – San Diego, California

A beach in Southern California. Do I need to say more?

Hamoa Beach – Maui, Hawaii

Another beach from Hawaii, but from Maui. Hamoa Beach is surrounded by cliffs and thick vegetation. Also there is an island just off shore (Alau island) with coconuts growing on it.

Main Beach – East Hampton, New York

Located at the end of Long Island, you are sure to enjoy both the beach and the Village of East Hampton.

Cape Hatteras – Outer Banks of North Carolina

The Outer Banks are a great place to get away from a lot of the commercialized beaches that you find in other parts of North Carolina.

Cape Florida State Park – Key Biscayne,Florida

You can do most anything at Key Biscayne, Florida; swimming, snorkeling, walking, fishing, anything you can think of (within reason).

Coast Guard Beach – Cape Cod, Massachusetts

One of the favorite tourist beaches in Cape Cod, Coastguard beach has no parking. You have to take a shuttle from a parking lot.

Beachwalker Park – Kiawah Island, South Carolina

With 11 miles of beach located on a barrier island, you will be sure to enjoy Beachwalker Beach in South Carolina.

These beaches have all been on the Top Ten list before, but in different orders. Do you have any comments about beaches on this list, or ones that you think should have been? Let us know in the comments.

Here are some more Top 10 Beaches;

• A Cheap Beach Vacation Top 10
• Top 10 Most Exotic Beaches in the World
• The Top 10 Beaches in America