March 29th
St. Lucia
Another tour today, however it was not one that I had originally requested. I like to go for the fun active ones, like bike riding, but supposedly those had all been filled and I was left with a run tasting tour…whatever – I’ll take it!
I left the ship early that morning and we made our way to a distillery where we were shown where and how the island makes their world famous rum. I didn’t really get a lot out of the how’s of the process, but I did try to take advantage of the sampling after the presentation, where they had 20 different types of rum products for us to try. I had their usual rum, along with a great peanut flavored rum, and a 160 proof rum! And in case you were unaware, 160 proof is equal to 80% alcohol…which trust me, is hard to swallow. So I “cultured” myself there for a while before returning to the bus to go to all our other destinations, which paled in comparison. There were some lookouts and art studios we went to, but I don’t think half the passengers could be bothered with it after the rum stop. It really wasn’t a strong tour, and the island doesn’t have a ton to offer, but I did get to try something new today. And just for the record, I did not get drunk…though I did need to lay down for a minute as soon as I got back to the ship…oops. And the show that night went fine, despite some of the passengers concerns for my playing as we left the distillery.
And that’s it for the day, 2 islands down, 3 to go, thanks!
Monday, April 19, 2010
St. Kitts
March 28th
St. Kitts
I was excited for today, not only because it was our first Caribbean port after a lot of sea days, but because I was signed up for a tour. I’d gotten on good terms with the tour people and was on the escorting list, and had been set up with a bike tour of the island today, which went really well!
The tour escorting works the same as all the other ships, I simply hang out with the tour and make sure nothing bad happens, and in return get to do expensive tours totally free. This was a mountain biking tour that covered about 12 miles over the course of 3-4 hours, which considering the age group of the passengers on the ship, I was curious to see who actually was brave enough to sign up, of which there were six, five of which were in good condition for a bike tour. I can’t say the same about the 60 year old obese man that tried to keep up.
The bikes we were given were proper mountain bikes, the nicest I’ve ever seen on this type of tour, which was a nice surprise. We rode around the island with a guide on a bike and a chase truck incase anything happened and to help control traffic at intersections. The highlights of the tour for me were probably the old sugar factories we saw and riding through the sugar cane fields. The guide was great at explaining the history of the island and how sugar cane was key in that role, and being able to bike from place to place was great (for the majority of us). The bigger gentleman was able to keep up, but at the slow pace we were going, it’d be hard not to. I was slightly worried about whether or not he’d actually be able to complete the tour, but the guide really didn’t take us up any terrible hills, except one...
We were given an option half way through the tour of either climbing a really steep, long hill on our bikes, or getting a ride in the truck to the top to see the lookout planned on the itinerary. 5 of the 6 people thought they could take on the hill despite the warnings from our guide. Maybe one of the 5 made it half way, and even myself, who’s been on an exercise routine this contract, failed to reach the top without getting off the bike (however, I did get within 50 yards, then my legs failed and I basically fell of the bike). But after a couple hours of excruciatingly slow bike riding, it was nice to get a challenge thrown at me, despite the hit to my pride at not making it all the way without dismounting once. The lookout was nice, and after a brief recovery period, the group rode back down the hill, which put into perspective what we’d just tried to accomplish, and we made our way to a beach where we were given local fruits, a guava drink, real sugar cane, and time to go swimming. The sugar cane was great, and being a cane, you simply crush the cane between your teeth and drink the juices without actually eating the cane. It was one of those local cultural things I really like about getting on a good tour. We hung out there for a while before riding back to the ship, where we were each given a beer by the tour guide, which was really nice after a hot day on the bikes.
All in all, it was a great tour, the overweight man somehow managed to not die and ruin my day as tour escort, and we all had a great time. I finished up the day in port by walking through the city and trying to find some internet, where I did manage to get a weak signal and attempt a skype call back into the states. Then it was back to the ship for the usual couple shows that night.
But it’s great to be back on land doing tours! I’m hoping for a few more great ones this cruise! Thanks for reading!
St. Kitts
I was excited for today, not only because it was our first Caribbean port after a lot of sea days, but because I was signed up for a tour. I’d gotten on good terms with the tour people and was on the escorting list, and had been set up with a bike tour of the island today, which went really well!
The tour escorting works the same as all the other ships, I simply hang out with the tour and make sure nothing bad happens, and in return get to do expensive tours totally free. This was a mountain biking tour that covered about 12 miles over the course of 3-4 hours, which considering the age group of the passengers on the ship, I was curious to see who actually was brave enough to sign up, of which there were six, five of which were in good condition for a bike tour. I can’t say the same about the 60 year old obese man that tried to keep up.
The bikes we were given were proper mountain bikes, the nicest I’ve ever seen on this type of tour, which was a nice surprise. We rode around the island with a guide on a bike and a chase truck incase anything happened and to help control traffic at intersections. The highlights of the tour for me were probably the old sugar factories we saw and riding through the sugar cane fields. The guide was great at explaining the history of the island and how sugar cane was key in that role, and being able to bike from place to place was great (for the majority of us). The bigger gentleman was able to keep up, but at the slow pace we were going, it’d be hard not to. I was slightly worried about whether or not he’d actually be able to complete the tour, but the guide really didn’t take us up any terrible hills, except one...
We were given an option half way through the tour of either climbing a really steep, long hill on our bikes, or getting a ride in the truck to the top to see the lookout planned on the itinerary. 5 of the 6 people thought they could take on the hill despite the warnings from our guide. Maybe one of the 5 made it half way, and even myself, who’s been on an exercise routine this contract, failed to reach the top without getting off the bike (however, I did get within 50 yards, then my legs failed and I basically fell of the bike). But after a couple hours of excruciatingly slow bike riding, it was nice to get a challenge thrown at me, despite the hit to my pride at not making it all the way without dismounting once. The lookout was nice, and after a brief recovery period, the group rode back down the hill, which put into perspective what we’d just tried to accomplish, and we made our way to a beach where we were given local fruits, a guava drink, real sugar cane, and time to go swimming. The sugar cane was great, and being a cane, you simply crush the cane between your teeth and drink the juices without actually eating the cane. It was one of those local cultural things I really like about getting on a good tour. We hung out there for a while before riding back to the ship, where we were each given a beer by the tour guide, which was really nice after a hot day on the bikes.
All in all, it was a great tour, the overweight man somehow managed to not die and ruin my day as tour escort, and we all had a great time. I finished up the day in port by walking through the city and trying to find some internet, where I did manage to get a weak signal and attempt a skype call back into the states. Then it was back to the ship for the usual couple shows that night.
But it’s great to be back on land doing tours! I’m hoping for a few more great ones this cruise! Thanks for reading!
At Sea
March 24th-27th
At Sea
Nothing to write home about, just four sea days where I spent the majority of my time practicing. The crossing couldn’t have been nicer, the ocean was as close to flat as anyone could expect for four consecutive days. Otherwise, I really don’t have anything else to write about, thanks!
At Sea
Nothing to write home about, just four sea days where I spent the majority of my time practicing. The crossing couldn’t have been nicer, the ocean was as close to flat as anyone could expect for four consecutive days. Otherwise, I really don’t have anything else to write about, thanks!
Ponta Delgada
March 23rd
Ponta Delgada
Don’t worry, I didn’t go swimming today. Instead, I got off the ship with the same group of photographers in the hopes of getting a cab to the top of a mountain, but we had a late arrival with a regular departure time, meaning I had 3 hours in port, not enough time to get where I wanted. Instead, I grabbed a quick lunch in town and then headed out with my group to a military fort that had a decent museum set up, granted all the displays were written in Portuguese, but it’s always cool to look at big guns and cannonballs, right? So I wandered around the museum for a while, making sure not to get myself in too much trouble because it was still an active base with military personnel doing whatever the Portuguese Military does.
That was followed by a trip to the supermarket where I bought some wine, some cheese I know nothing about, a strange circular hard bread thing, and two beautiful boxes of Oreos. I don’t even really eat Oreos, but it just seemed too good to pass up at the time.
I then came back to the ship to restock my refrigerator, rehearsal, gym, and shows. Now it’s 4 days to the sunny Caribbean – thanks for reading!
Ponta Delgada
Don’t worry, I didn’t go swimming today. Instead, I got off the ship with the same group of photographers in the hopes of getting a cab to the top of a mountain, but we had a late arrival with a regular departure time, meaning I had 3 hours in port, not enough time to get where I wanted. Instead, I grabbed a quick lunch in town and then headed out with my group to a military fort that had a decent museum set up, granted all the displays were written in Portuguese, but it’s always cool to look at big guns and cannonballs, right? So I wandered around the museum for a while, making sure not to get myself in too much trouble because it was still an active base with military personnel doing whatever the Portuguese Military does.
That was followed by a trip to the supermarket where I bought some wine, some cheese I know nothing about, a strange circular hard bread thing, and two beautiful boxes of Oreos. I don’t even really eat Oreos, but it just seemed too good to pass up at the time.
I then came back to the ship to restock my refrigerator, rehearsal, gym, and shows. Now it’s 4 days to the sunny Caribbean – thanks for reading!
At Sea
March 21st-22nd
At Sea
Nothing special for these couple days. New cruise, and this one has more kids than the last one, of which 0 isn’t hard to beat. But it’s a slightly younger cruise, still a high concentration of walkers and wheelchairs, but at least 50% of this cruise is comprised of people who can still walk. But that aside, it was just the usual sea days with a lot of practicing and reading. Seeya!
At Sea
Nothing special for these couple days. New cruise, and this one has more kids than the last one, of which 0 isn’t hard to beat. But it’s a slightly younger cruise, still a high concentration of walkers and wheelchairs, but at least 50% of this cruise is comprised of people who can still walk. But that aside, it was just the usual sea days with a lot of practicing and reading. Seeya!
Southampton
March 20th
Southampton
Today was my usual internet day in England. I got off the ship around noon, took a shuttle into the city, made a stop at the Apple Store, and then went to a café for my internet connection. A few hours later I had just about everything taken care of for another crossing of the Atlantic. I did, however, not clearly understand the shuttle bus directions correctly and missed the final shuttle, meaning I had to split a cab with some Indian guys from the ship who also didn’t know the shuttles stopped as soon as they did. Not exactly the best scenario in the world, missing your shuttle, but the port is small enough that a cab isn’t a huge problem. Regardless, I got back on the ship with just enough time to get set up for the welcome aboard drill.
And that’s about it for the day, aside from the usual welcome aboard show. We did get a new Cruise Director though, who seems nice, so we’ll see how that changes the entertainment. Now it’s two days to Ponta Delgada, and then another 4 to the Caribbean. Thanks!
Southampton
Today was my usual internet day in England. I got off the ship around noon, took a shuttle into the city, made a stop at the Apple Store, and then went to a café for my internet connection. A few hours later I had just about everything taken care of for another crossing of the Atlantic. I did, however, not clearly understand the shuttle bus directions correctly and missed the final shuttle, meaning I had to split a cab with some Indian guys from the ship who also didn’t know the shuttles stopped as soon as they did. Not exactly the best scenario in the world, missing your shuttle, but the port is small enough that a cab isn’t a huge problem. Regardless, I got back on the ship with just enough time to get set up for the welcome aboard drill.
And that’s about it for the day, aside from the usual welcome aboard show. We did get a new Cruise Director though, who seems nice, so we’ll see how that changes the entertainment. Now it’s two days to Ponta Delgada, and then another 4 to the Caribbean. Thanks!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sea Days
March 17th-19th
At Sea
As usual, not much to report. The weather has gotten cold, foggy, and always threatening of rain. The past three days have mostly consisted of me waking up in the morning, breakfast, computer/internet stuff, practice, rehearsal, gym, shows, bed. I have been sitting in with the jazz quartet though, so that’s been nice, unfortunately they sign off in Southampton, but I’ve been glad to take advantage of them while I could.
On the 19th I went to a talk that was given by a couple guest passengers on the cruise. The 3 people had actually been touring the world on their motorcycles, and their schedules lined up with our stop in Florida so that they worked out a way to get their bikes on the ship and get a ride back to England. They gave a 45 minute interview all about their trip, where they’d been over the past 7 months, and what all was involved. It was interesting to listen to and only encourages me with my seize the moment type arguably stupid ideas, but we’ll see if I ever organize a trip like that (but you can bet it’ll be on the blog if I do!). Anyway, it was great to listen to them and meet them afterward, and just cool that they were able to work this out with the cruise ship so that they didn’t have to air mail their bikes home.
That aside, this brings us to the end of the first cruise. As of the 20th, I’ll have 2 cruises left, or 29 days till I get home, meaning I’m a few days past the half way point. It was a long cruise, it was interesting and completely different from my other ships, but it’s been a lot of fun so far and I’m sure this final month will be over before I know it. As always, thanks so much for reading!!
At Sea
As usual, not much to report. The weather has gotten cold, foggy, and always threatening of rain. The past three days have mostly consisted of me waking up in the morning, breakfast, computer/internet stuff, practice, rehearsal, gym, shows, bed. I have been sitting in with the jazz quartet though, so that’s been nice, unfortunately they sign off in Southampton, but I’ve been glad to take advantage of them while I could.
On the 19th I went to a talk that was given by a couple guest passengers on the cruise. The 3 people had actually been touring the world on their motorcycles, and their schedules lined up with our stop in Florida so that they worked out a way to get their bikes on the ship and get a ride back to England. They gave a 45 minute interview all about their trip, where they’d been over the past 7 months, and what all was involved. It was interesting to listen to and only encourages me with my seize the moment type arguably stupid ideas, but we’ll see if I ever organize a trip like that (but you can bet it’ll be on the blog if I do!). Anyway, it was great to listen to them and meet them afterward, and just cool that they were able to work this out with the cruise ship so that they didn’t have to air mail their bikes home.
That aside, this brings us to the end of the first cruise. As of the 20th, I’ll have 2 cruises left, or 29 days till I get home, meaning I’m a few days past the half way point. It was a long cruise, it was interesting and completely different from my other ships, but it’s been a lot of fun so far and I’m sure this final month will be over before I know it. As always, thanks so much for reading!!
Ponta Delgada
March 16th
Ponta Delgada, Azores
Today was my first stop in the Azores, a group of islands I’ve been curious to visit for the past couple years. Ponta Delgada is the Capital City of the Azores (I think) and is on the biggest of the islands. But even though I’d never been there, I had a friend on the ship who had.
After a late arrival and some crew drills, I left the ship with John, a drummer in a different band, and a couple of photographers on the ship. John had been to the Azores a few times, and even spoke Portuguese, so I figured he’d be the best person to hang out with for the day. He usually likes getting a cab and going to some of the smaller cities on the island, which we ended up doing today. We had wanted to go up into the hills of the island, but it was cold and overcast outside, so we stayed near the shore where we knew we wouldn’t get stuck in tons of fog.
John, however, had his mind set on swimming today and I’d brought along my bathing suit to humor him. He knew of a municipal pool in the next town over, one that had naturally been formed by lava and cut out by the waves. The excitement of the place is that you’re essentially swimming in the ocean, but you have volcanic rocks all around you forming a sort of break-water, but ocean waves can still reach you depending on where you’re swimming. Technically, you could be in the wrong spot at the wrong time and have a wave throw you into a volcanic rock, but we don’t like to think about that.
Well, John had his heart set on swimming, and me, always desperate for a good story and taking advantage of the moment, decided we’d go for it. Mind you, it’s a completely overcast day, no sun, windy, about 60, and we’re on an island in the middle of the atlantic, and I don’t mean south Atlantic where it’s warm. I’m sure the water had to have been colder than the air temperature, but I don’t have an exact figure to give you.
We found ourselves a taxi and made a deal so that I’d jump with John only if he didn’t feel the water first. I figured that if I was jumping into the cold Atlantic, I wanted the full experience and full surprise. We soon arrived at the recreational building, which was closed, with a sign posted about swimming at your own risk and that they wouldn’t be responsible for your death, or so I gathered from the Portuguese. But the gate was open, and with them being closed down, that meant we didn’t have to pay the entrance fee, which was a good start. The pool area was really interesting though when you walked down to it. There were runs of volcanic rocks that surrounded the area and formed small pools, though you were never totally free of the waves coming in off the ocean. Had it been a nice day, this would have been an awesome place to hang out, but alas, it was far from a nice day. Well, I found myself an open changing room, put on my suit, and walked down to the water where I met John for the big plunge. I figured we’d make it a little more exciting by jumping off a 10 foot ledge into the water, which is slightly discerning when you can’t see what’s under the surface, but there was a sign that said it was ok, so why not? And as soon as we got the cameras out and had the two photographers get into position for the plunge, we counted down and jumped.
Water was cold…really cold. I popped up and just swam for shore. It wasn’t cold to the point where it was paralyzing, but it was cold to where the crashing sea waves and volcanic rock made you question your ability to combat the currents in such conditions. But we both made it out safely, John reentered one more time in a smaller pool, and I walked around half naked for a few more minutes till I eventually took a shower in the dressing room and changed into dry clothes. Stupid idea, check. Glad I did it, Check!
We left the pool area to find a restaurant John had experience at and highly recommended. It was a smaller, local place, just the type I like to look for, and we had some really nice food. They brought us a plate of cheese and bread, which was good, a huge carafe of wine, probably almost 2 bottles worth, which cost a total of 4 euro ($6), we had some small fried fish (great), and a bunch of desert cakes. Everything was great and everything was local, it’s one of those perfect types of meals that you hope you can find every so often. We didn’t eat a lot, it was mostly all appetizer type dishes, but it was perfect for making you feel like you were part of the culture.
Our cab driver met us at the restaurant at an already agreed upon time, and took us back to the ship where we were reintroduced to our real lives again. But it was a memorable day, something fun and stupid that you kind of just have to go for when the opportunity presents itself, and I’m glad I did. Next stop, England!
Ponta Delgada, Azores
Today was my first stop in the Azores, a group of islands I’ve been curious to visit for the past couple years. Ponta Delgada is the Capital City of the Azores (I think) and is on the biggest of the islands. But even though I’d never been there, I had a friend on the ship who had.
After a late arrival and some crew drills, I left the ship with John, a drummer in a different band, and a couple of photographers on the ship. John had been to the Azores a few times, and even spoke Portuguese, so I figured he’d be the best person to hang out with for the day. He usually likes getting a cab and going to some of the smaller cities on the island, which we ended up doing today. We had wanted to go up into the hills of the island, but it was cold and overcast outside, so we stayed near the shore where we knew we wouldn’t get stuck in tons of fog.
John, however, had his mind set on swimming today and I’d brought along my bathing suit to humor him. He knew of a municipal pool in the next town over, one that had naturally been formed by lava and cut out by the waves. The excitement of the place is that you’re essentially swimming in the ocean, but you have volcanic rocks all around you forming a sort of break-water, but ocean waves can still reach you depending on where you’re swimming. Technically, you could be in the wrong spot at the wrong time and have a wave throw you into a volcanic rock, but we don’t like to think about that.
Well, John had his heart set on swimming, and me, always desperate for a good story and taking advantage of the moment, decided we’d go for it. Mind you, it’s a completely overcast day, no sun, windy, about 60, and we’re on an island in the middle of the atlantic, and I don’t mean south Atlantic where it’s warm. I’m sure the water had to have been colder than the air temperature, but I don’t have an exact figure to give you.
We found ourselves a taxi and made a deal so that I’d jump with John only if he didn’t feel the water first. I figured that if I was jumping into the cold Atlantic, I wanted the full experience and full surprise. We soon arrived at the recreational building, which was closed, with a sign posted about swimming at your own risk and that they wouldn’t be responsible for your death, or so I gathered from the Portuguese. But the gate was open, and with them being closed down, that meant we didn’t have to pay the entrance fee, which was a good start. The pool area was really interesting though when you walked down to it. There were runs of volcanic rocks that surrounded the area and formed small pools, though you were never totally free of the waves coming in off the ocean. Had it been a nice day, this would have been an awesome place to hang out, but alas, it was far from a nice day. Well, I found myself an open changing room, put on my suit, and walked down to the water where I met John for the big plunge. I figured we’d make it a little more exciting by jumping off a 10 foot ledge into the water, which is slightly discerning when you can’t see what’s under the surface, but there was a sign that said it was ok, so why not? And as soon as we got the cameras out and had the two photographers get into position for the plunge, we counted down and jumped.
Water was cold…really cold. I popped up and just swam for shore. It wasn’t cold to the point where it was paralyzing, but it was cold to where the crashing sea waves and volcanic rock made you question your ability to combat the currents in such conditions. But we both made it out safely, John reentered one more time in a smaller pool, and I walked around half naked for a few more minutes till I eventually took a shower in the dressing room and changed into dry clothes. Stupid idea, check. Glad I did it, Check!
We left the pool area to find a restaurant John had experience at and highly recommended. It was a smaller, local place, just the type I like to look for, and we had some really nice food. They brought us a plate of cheese and bread, which was good, a huge carafe of wine, probably almost 2 bottles worth, which cost a total of 4 euro ($6), we had some small fried fish (great), and a bunch of desert cakes. Everything was great and everything was local, it’s one of those perfect types of meals that you hope you can find every so often. We didn’t eat a lot, it was mostly all appetizer type dishes, but it was perfect for making you feel like you were part of the culture.
Our cab driver met us at the restaurant at an already agreed upon time, and took us back to the ship where we were reintroduced to our real lives again. But it was a memorable day, something fun and stupid that you kind of just have to go for when the opportunity presents itself, and I’m glad I did. Next stop, England!
At Sea...forever
March 11th-15th
Sea Daysssssssssss
Nothing to report, a lot of water, everywhere. Fairly calm seas. I did a lot of practicing and was able to sit in with the jazz quartet the last few nights, which has been a nice change of pace. It’s great to be able to play some real jazz music here on the ship, and the band I play with are all 70-80 year old men, one plays vibes, and they’re all real old-school players so it’s nice to sit in with people who have played these standards for the past 40-50 years. As far as other excitement, some drunk passenger fell in front of the stage during a show and made a big scene, so that was interesting, but that was about it. The 16th is a stop in the Azores, which will be a welcome change and a new port for me. Seeya!
Sea Daysssssssssss
Nothing to report, a lot of water, everywhere. Fairly calm seas. I did a lot of practicing and was able to sit in with the jazz quartet the last few nights, which has been a nice change of pace. It’s great to be able to play some real jazz music here on the ship, and the band I play with are all 70-80 year old men, one plays vibes, and they’re all real old-school players so it’s nice to sit in with people who have played these standards for the past 40-50 years. As far as other excitement, some drunk passenger fell in front of the stage during a show and made a big scene, so that was interesting, but that was about it. The 16th is a stop in the Azores, which will be a welcome change and a new port for me. Seeya!
Half Moon Cay - Bahamas
March 9th-10th
At Sea/Half Moon Cay
I’m a week late on writing this post, so the sea day simply blends in with all the other sea days I just experienced crossing the Atlantic, so I’m going to jump ahead to Half Moon Cay.
Half Moon Cay is a private island owned by Holland America, a sister cruise line to P&O, and as far as Caribbean islands are concerned, this one had the most picture perfect, beautiful beach I’ve seen. We arrived on a perfect day, everything about the weather was just right to spend the day on the beach, which was about all the island was. The island itself was shaped like a crescent moon, hence the name, with the interior “moon” edge all perfectly groomed beach area. There was no trash, no debris, nothing but perfectly white sand and the most perfect blue water you can imagine. I left the ship with John, the other sax player, we walked along the beach for a ways till we had gotten out of the first 200 yards of passenger-packed beach area, and set up a few chairs where we were out of reach from 99% of the passengers. We then went for a run down the beach just to get warmed up and do something healthy, and swam after that, usual beach stuff.
I had been told that they rented sailboats on the island, which actually had me quite excited because I figured there’d be nothing better than renting a sailboat and doing my own boating for a while. It wasn’t hard to find the hut that was renting the gear, where they were offering hobbie-cats at about $50 an hour, way more than I wanted to pay. I told John we’d come back towards the end of the day, after we knew they hadn’t rented anything, with the hopes of working out a better price. We then did our beach thing I already mentioned, got some food at the BBQ, and then returned to the hut to see how my negotiation skills were developing. I again asked for the price, and was again told $50. This is at about 2:00, wherein everyone had to be back on the ship by around 3:30 (last tender departure). I asked for a crew discount…she said no, she doesn’t give discounts. I then offered $25 for the hour, she said no, and reiterated the discount policy. I reminded her she hadn’t rented a single boat all day and I was ready to give her money, she still said no after checking with her boss, a similarly large black woman who spoke in indecipherable mumbles. I then asked them if they liked making money and if they had any interest in making money at all that day…which was followed with no comment from the peanut gallery, and on that cue, my friends and I left for the bar. It was a disappointment, but there was no way the boat was worth what they wanted and they had no leverage in the situation, just sheer economic stupidity. Who knows, maybe they’re subsidized by the cruise ship and they get paid to sit there regardless of what rents, but my guess is no. Anyway, that was the biggest excitement of the day…woohoo…
We then went to the beach bar, my friends got some drinks and I borrowed someone’s goggles and flippers to further enjoy the perfect conditions. It was really odd swimming at this beach, simply because when you went under water and looked around, all you could see was a perfect blue ceiling and white sand that continued on forever. No weeds, no rocks, just the occasional silver fish, it was an underwater picture of perfection, a perfect way to say goodbye to the Caribbean and greet two Atlantic crossings (out of the next 19 days, 16 are sea days). As always, thanks for reading!
At Sea/Half Moon Cay
I’m a week late on writing this post, so the sea day simply blends in with all the other sea days I just experienced crossing the Atlantic, so I’m going to jump ahead to Half Moon Cay.
Half Moon Cay is a private island owned by Holland America, a sister cruise line to P&O, and as far as Caribbean islands are concerned, this one had the most picture perfect, beautiful beach I’ve seen. We arrived on a perfect day, everything about the weather was just right to spend the day on the beach, which was about all the island was. The island itself was shaped like a crescent moon, hence the name, with the interior “moon” edge all perfectly groomed beach area. There was no trash, no debris, nothing but perfectly white sand and the most perfect blue water you can imagine. I left the ship with John, the other sax player, we walked along the beach for a ways till we had gotten out of the first 200 yards of passenger-packed beach area, and set up a few chairs where we were out of reach from 99% of the passengers. We then went for a run down the beach just to get warmed up and do something healthy, and swam after that, usual beach stuff.
I had been told that they rented sailboats on the island, which actually had me quite excited because I figured there’d be nothing better than renting a sailboat and doing my own boating for a while. It wasn’t hard to find the hut that was renting the gear, where they were offering hobbie-cats at about $50 an hour, way more than I wanted to pay. I told John we’d come back towards the end of the day, after we knew they hadn’t rented anything, with the hopes of working out a better price. We then did our beach thing I already mentioned, got some food at the BBQ, and then returned to the hut to see how my negotiation skills were developing. I again asked for the price, and was again told $50. This is at about 2:00, wherein everyone had to be back on the ship by around 3:30 (last tender departure). I asked for a crew discount…she said no, she doesn’t give discounts. I then offered $25 for the hour, she said no, and reiterated the discount policy. I reminded her she hadn’t rented a single boat all day and I was ready to give her money, she still said no after checking with her boss, a similarly large black woman who spoke in indecipherable mumbles. I then asked them if they liked making money and if they had any interest in making money at all that day…which was followed with no comment from the peanut gallery, and on that cue, my friends and I left for the bar. It was a disappointment, but there was no way the boat was worth what they wanted and they had no leverage in the situation, just sheer economic stupidity. Who knows, maybe they’re subsidized by the cruise ship and they get paid to sit there regardless of what rents, but my guess is no. Anyway, that was the biggest excitement of the day…woohoo…
We then went to the beach bar, my friends got some drinks and I borrowed someone’s goggles and flippers to further enjoy the perfect conditions. It was really odd swimming at this beach, simply because when you went under water and looked around, all you could see was a perfect blue ceiling and white sand that continued on forever. No weeds, no rocks, just the occasional silver fish, it was an underwater picture of perfection, a perfect way to say goodbye to the Caribbean and greet two Atlantic crossings (out of the next 19 days, 16 are sea days). As always, thanks for reading!
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