The Adriatica sets sail.

This boat is much smaller than the AmaReina, about a third of the size, and holds only 32 passengers. We were told to pack light as the staterooms were fairly small. As it turned out, our stateroom on the AmaReina was smaller. But, our room was on the first floor with two portholes… no balcony room on this boat. It was very comfortable and actually stays cooler because it is below deck.

We boarded mid-day but didn't set sail until the next morning, so we took time to settle in, take a nap, and become familiar with the boat. It was the hottest day of the week but there was a bit of a breeze so that made it a little more bare-able. We so wanted to just jump in the water, but this area is a no swimming area because of all the boat traffic. I seriously thought “but what if I just fall in".

Sure enough, 7:00 am sharp, we heard the engines start up. We jumped out of bed, dressed and headed upstairs to find we were just coming off the dock, heading out of the harbor. It was a cool morning but we knew that wouldn't last. We had a 3 hour trip out to the first island, so while motoring, we had breakfast. Then we all sat on the deck and chatted, getting to know each other and enjoyed the cruise. This guy was pretty happy (and I was too).

Just before our first stop, we ducked into a little cove and dropped anchor. Everyone jumped in and we swam for about 90 minutes. Oh, the water was amazing! I was the first one in so this picture is a bit deceiving as Keith was still up on deck. Within minutes, everyone was in the water and it was bliss.