Saturday 5 April. Bridgetown, Barbados. This coral island was an English settlement 1625-1966 when it became independent. There is evidence of the slave trade in the chattel houses which were made of interlocking timber boards and placed on stone or brick pillars and were portable. As slaves moved from one plantation to another the house was disassembled and moved on a cart in pieces to be reassembled. They were added to as families grew and needs changed and after emancipation were often the only item owned by a slave family. Bridgetown has many colourful chattel houses and in recent times there has been a real effort to preserve these.

Neil and I took different tours today but visited similar areas of the island in our buses. My tour took me to Hunte's Garden - a tropical oasis planted by an eccentric Englishman in a massive sink hole that occurred several thousand years ago. He poured rum punch with a shaky hand and I felt I was on a film set with Geoffrey Rush - there was a dinstinct likeness. The story of slavery was writ large all around this island. We passed a church consecrated in 1799 that allowed slaves to enter for the first time and heard that following emanciapation slaves were sold land to settle their house on but the price extracted by the previous slave owner cost a years work sometimes. The chattel houses were colourful and charming but desperately small for a family. In contrast we saw Stephen Spielberg's beautiful home on the beach and the penthouse apartment at #1 Sandy Lane for which Rhiana, a Barbadian girl, recently paid US$22 million. I was able to purchase a book on the chattel houses which is well written and beautifully painted.

The island is nearly all made of coral and it makes for untidy properties unless a massive amount of soil is brought in. Bathsheba on the north side was an attractive bayside area with grassy picnic areas and green blue water and Scotland an area located on the high point of the island from where there was a spectacular view of the east coast. There was a rum shack on nearly every major corner, run by women but used by men. If you can gauge the health of the people by the look of their dogs - Barbados is doing OK. But looks can deceive. As their only crop is sugar and world sugar prices are in the toilet then the island is suffering

Hi, Neil here. I saw many of the same things as E did on her tour. However saw the Everton Weeks cricket ground, the Frank Worrell roundabout and the Gary Sobers statue outside the Bridgetown Barbados Cricket Ground.

Back on board we had a show by local Barbadian artists including two incredible stilt dancers who were on stilts about 8 foot high. There was an outdoor Caribbean Barbeque on deck followed by dancing and a real party atmosphere.

Sunday 6 April. Castries, St Lucia. Pop: 280,000. Early start on a full day tour on this island of French and English heritage. The sun is shining although there are a few drops of rain early but what do you expect when rain forest comprises nearly 70% of the island..

A drive through tour of the town shows us a Catholic church filled with 2,000 people and it is only 1 of 3 services that morning to accommodate the parishoners. In a country of few people there have been two awarded the Nobel prize and parks and schools bear their names. Lewis won for Economics in 1977 and Walcott for Literature in 1992, coincindently they share a common birth date and were born in the same parish!

This island is all hills and volcanic mountains in contrast to flat Curacao and mildly hilly Barbados. Almost immediately our bus is pointed up hill and we continue up past 1,000 feet. The views are stunning and the roads poor and we are pleased it is only a small sized bus as we negotiate the curves. The main export is bananas and each Monday shipments are sent to Britain. Adjacent to the 70 acres of bananas there is a heavy oil installation. Strangely, oil arrives from the Middle East and is sent to Venezuela for refining and then returned. In Curacao oil from Venezuela is refined and then returned. The shipping companies must do well.

We look down over Marigot Bay where the original movie of "Dr Doolittle" was filmed and hotel rooms cost US$1000- $5000 per night but the houses we see along the road side are often old timber constructions of only two or three rooms and many are suspended over steep cliffs due to the terrain and lack of flat ground. There is a plentiful array of wooden cabins selling rum but it is usually only the men drinking. At every photo stop people are selling trinkets and home made bamboo goods. The rain forest extends over 20,000 acres and is spectacular and we pass through steep slopes covered in small ferns, spindly tall tree ferns, bamboos of great height, orchids, mahogony and cedar trees and assorted other trees and plants; at times the clouds obscures a deep valley. Goats and pretty chickens are seen in many houses and two Boa Constrictors are on (temporary) display as we pass. Cows over 18 months are tethered to trees but calves can wander.

We reach the hills above Soufriere and see the spectacular twin volcanic peaks "Les Pitons". The descent into the town is steep, perhaps 1:4 in most places and there are many health spas off the main road advertising mineral baths and more. Soufriere is a fishing port and buildings less than 100 years old are rare. It seems the locals generally live in humble timber dwellings of one or two rooms and they use a communal laundry near where our bus parks. I meet Sonny who offers me a selection of leather embossed key rings and he reminds me of our grandson Hamish. He is polite and a little uncertain about the price and steers me towards his mum who has a table with a few tourist items for sale in case I would like to buy a t-shirt or carved cup or painted glass; she is thin and proud. Later I wish I had bought more key rings.

Next stop is the caldera of the one of the volcanos and we have a specialist guide to explain what we see before us. The steam is coming off the bubbling pools but it is not as dramatic as Rotorua and Neil and I relax and decline the walk down and around the site. We then head for the Botanic Gardens and enjoy a stroll through luxurious greenery that starts at ground level and finishes about 150 feet above. Amongst the green there are splashes of colour in red, pink and yellow and there are begonia bushes with profuse white flowers. Little black and red Hummingbirds dart about - previously I have only seen them in yellow and black. There is an intrigueing waterfall that delivers both hot and cold water, one from a river and one from the subterranean volcanic spring. The combined water contained copper, sulphur and iron and resulted in a milky stream flowing through the gardens. It was possible to enjoy a warm mineral bath at several pools.

Lunch was typical of the island and included many of the tropical fruits and vegetables and the converted sugar mill gave a lovely ambience to the restaurant. Last delight of this tour was a couple of hours on a large catamaran complete with rum punch, loud Rastafarian and Caribbean music and dancing. Some people read the fine print and brought their togs and enjoyed a swim in a bay. Great day.

Monday 7 April. St John's, Antigua. Pop: 85,000. Moored at 8.00am and the sunshine and the steel kettle band were in full swing by 9.30am. As we came into the small harbour there were the typical beach side shacks but also some multi storied houses on the higher points. It has been some days and several ports since we saw such overt evidence of wealth. Our plan was to see our friends Jenny and Soumi but we were unable to connect so plan two was to find the Archives Office and try to get some proof of my ggrandfather's birth in the 1830s, in Antigua.

The Tourist office sent us to the High Court and we had an interesting 30 min walk through the town and out the other side. At the information desk I was informed that as I did not comply with the dress code (my shoulder straps were too thin) they could not assist me. They then relented and gave me a slip of paper to take to the Archives building down the road (we had missed the sign as we were watching our footing on broken concrete and uneven ground). After the third door we gained entry but were told by the archivist that with no stamp from the High Court they could not help me. She took pity and then explained that no birth certificates exist before 1856 and asked me to wait. After so many negatives I could not believe it when this lovely lady appeared with his baptismal record for 1836 and details of his father's regiment. No photocopying allowed but I at least had some tangible facts to support the family story.

Across the road was the cricket ground and Neil was given access to view the Richie Richardson, Viv Richards and Andy Roberts stands but Sir Viv's signage was missing today.

Antigua has many wooden French Colonial buildings that appear to date back to the mid 1800s and as we walked down the back roads we saw many still in use and others disintegrating. We found the museum and the details and records of the slave trade and the abuse of slaves, evident in Antiguan history, made me (and everyone else) feel sick. The profits in the sugar and rum trade came at a terrible cost in human lives.

Further on we passed through a simple market and I spied some post cards of churches on one stand and located the church where ggrandfather Alexander was baptised. Amazing.

Lunch of lobster salad, Key lime pie and beer in one of the old buildings with French shutters in Redcliffe Quay. It is very sticky even with temperatures about 30 degrees and we welcome the natural air conditioning as breezes flow through the verandah upstairs. There was plenty of action on the street below; cars with left or right drive and although drivers should stick to the left side more often it was the middle of the road, pavements poor if any exist so many people walking on the road, cute black babies with their Mums and Dads and some seriously Big Mamas out and about. Not many kids on bikes but plenty on the streets and it always feels like Carnival here with music everywhere.

During the Ice Age, the volcanic Caribbean Islands were 300 feet above sea level and formed a solid ring connecting South, North and Central America. Antigua is now the largest of the islands and St John's one of the oldest trading ports in the area. The island is divided into "saintly" areas and Saints John, George, Philip, Peter, Paul and Mary are all represented. Antigua and Barbuda are part of the Leeward Islands and Antigua has 365 beaches!

Tuesday 8 April. Philipsburg, St Maarten and it is a busy port with four cruise liners moored by 8.00am including the mega Disney boat "Fantasy". Two ships have water slides, giant swings, trampolines, basketball courts and more on their top deck and there are plenty of children on board.

We call home and wish our Sophie a happy 3rd birthday and there is much giggling in the back ground.

St Maarten was discovered by Chris Colombus in 1493, is half French (54 sq kms) and half Dutch (41 sq kms) and probably is the most boring stop on our cruise.

Peter Stuyvesant was the last governor of New Netherland, now New York, from 1644 to 1664. Previously he joined the Dutch West India Corporation in 1638 and was sent to Curacao. In 1644 he was ordered to recapture St Maarten from the Spanish who had taken it from the Dutch in 1633.

With a fleet of 13 ships he landed at Cay Bay on March 20 1644 and defeated the Spanish. He was severely wounded in the left leg and had a wooden leg from then on. He became known as "Peg leg Pete."

We presume the only reason ships come here is that the island is tax free. There are only a few decent beaches and not much else apart from shops. There is a duplication of all services: postal, gas, electricity, car registration & desalination plants. The currency is different, the language different and it is an international call across the island but a local call if you ring France. Bizarre.

Now at sea for 6 days heading for the Azores so don't expect much for about a week.