SORRY FOR LATE UPDATE. DID NOT GET INTERNETZ in SAN JUAN.
Week 16
Welcome to the caribbean!
Day 1
I continue from last week's post in San Juan. There were some things that I didn't mention.
I was complaining in Quebec that everything was in French. Now I have a similar problem. In San Juan, everything is in Spanish. I knew I should've picked up some spanish while I was in Los Angeles. Guess it's too late now.
Also, something fantastic happened today. I was standing outside, minding my own business when suddenly a bird shat on my hat.
That's the end of that story.
Day 2
It's the one and only sea day on this 7 day cruise run. We're in port every other day but today is a sea day.
Today also I received a terrifying reminder that second rate pianist is back. And he's back for 3 whole weeks. Which means playing his show a grand total of 9 times. 1 rehearsal, 2 shows every single week. This is going to be quite discomforting.
Talked at length with the Band master today (who's actually filling in for the previous guy who is now on vacation) about his experiences on ships. Gotta say, there's quite a lot of bullshit that goes on in a corporate business like this. But then again, there's bullshit going on in every corporate business. Makes me wonder if I'll do this for very long.
Day 3
Today it's the wonderful magical island of Barbados. Bridgetown isn't far from where we docked so I decided to walk around and catch the magic of the caribbean.
Gotta say, I love the vibe of Bridgetown. It's one of those places that don't patronize tourists as much as other places. When I was in Quebec, I mentioned that the whole port town is a tourist town. It's clean, nobody actually lives there, all the food is overpriced and every shop sells souvenirs.
Bridgetown on the other hand is just a town. It's a place where people live. Barbados happens in Bridgetown. There's markets selling fresh produce, there's hawkers selling pirated DVDs, there's bustling families going about their daily business, there's kids going to school, there's insane traffic - all of which point toward a town that's really just a town, not a pretentious tourist destination.
And I like that.
Barbados has also a huge Christian influence. There's a large number of Christian book stores around, you can hear Christian music playing from some stores, and there are a great big number of churches around.
Oh and the Soca. Gotta love the soca. Everywhere you go there's Soca versions of music. Soca and calypso. I've just heard a medley of ridiculous Soca hymns and while it makes me happy, I do get the feeling that I will soon die from Soca poisoning. Those of you who have no idea what Soca is or how it sounds like, do yourselves a favour and go listen to some. And enter my world which is now the Caribbean Islands.
There are some gorgeous beaches here as well. Not as stunning as some I've seen in Bermuda, but stunning nonetheless. Any beach that isn't riddled with specks of material in any colour but 'sand' captures the eye immediately. It's just a white canvas that meets the blue canvas. It's delightful. Walked along the beach today and finished up with a local Rum drink which was delicious. The Bartender would not tell me what he put in it. The cheeky bugger.
And today is Halloween. Unfortunately for my American and European friends, I have already decided to not partake in the festivities. I want to get up bright and early tomorrow to explore my next caribbean island. And quite frankly after my Los Angeles experience of Halloween, I'm not sure I want to be associated with this incomprehensible holiday.
Day 4
Ok so I lied. I didn't join the ridiculous party but I was up pretty late.
Never have a large dose of coffee right before a show and/or rehearsal. I think it's the most accurate way to measure the affects of caffeine on the body. I had a metronome going in my ear and after that decidedly big cup of coffee everything in my ear felt slow to me. My system wanted to play everything faster than usual.
Perhaps a metronome is the best way to tell how much caffeine you've ingested and how much of it is actually affecting you. Sometimes the effects are so small that you don't realise it until you measure it with a metronome.
It's nice to know that on the day you choose to not go off the ship it rains heavily outside. It's nice to know that I didn't force myself off the boat especially being really exhausted after last night only to plant myself smack in the middle of a rain storm. St Lucia will have to wait till next week.
Tomorrow is going to be a bad day. We're in Antigua but I think there's not going to be time to explore it because second rate pianist needs his rehearsal at 1pm. And then we're doing a set in after that. So that takes away the entire afternoon. Not sure I'm willing to get up that early to explore Antigua. I guess she'll have to wait till next week too.
Day 5
ANTIGUA!
I know nothing about the place.
I set my alarm early enough to explore the place but I decided against it because it was going to be a long day and I wasn't going to show up exhausted from walking around the entire day.
So it wasn't as bad a day as I thought. Second rate pianist was his usual weird and anal self and rehearsal stretched out, expectedly. The strange thing is that once I know to expect this from him, it doesn't seem so bad anymore. I actually found myself laughing at his little quirks and complaints all throughout rehearsal. This is going to be a mood I will adopt in future because SRP is going to be here for the next two cruises as well.
His show is actually really stupid and easy. It's just the rehearsals that are annoying. Oh well, what can you do. I guess this serves only to build my professionalism.
Antigua next week. I hope.
Day 6
Today we get to the gorgeous St Maarten. It's yet another caribbean island. So that means more beach.
Before I get to that, I shall chronicle my journey.
We docked in the island right next to another ship - a ship from the mother company, Royal Caribbean, called the Allure of the Seas.
OH MY BEANS IS IT MASSIVE.
I thought the ship I was on was pretty darn big already, but this thing is HUMONGOUS. It's REDONKULOUSly big. It's almost twice the width of the Summit. I got off and was immediately stunned by the monstrosity parked beside us.
And solely because of that, I've made a mental note that if I ever decide to take up another contract after my first two, I will request for nothing short of a monstrous ship like that one. My goodness it is humongous. HUMONGOUS. HOMONGUDICULOUS!
Ok moving on.
I walked into the town of Phillipsburg (not 100% sure of the spelling here) today. I pretty much explored the entire town. FIrstly the beach right at the town, called Great Bay, isn't very great. It's actually quite bad in comparison with the other ones I've been to so far. Well, Bermuda and Barbados I guess. Those two were such beautiful beaches with long extensive beaches that stretched out into the sea and sand so fine it blew up as dust in the wind. The beach here was horrible. The sand was rough and coarse, the beach was short and steep and some of it wasn't even very clean. It reminded me of some of the poorly maintained beaches back home. Fortunately I do have many other options to choose from, being in the caribbean and all. The only redeeming factor of the beach here is that the water is gorgeous. It's got this really light blue in colour that I cannot explain. The waters in Bermuda were three different shades of blue depending on the depth and the coral reefs, but this place is probably shallow and totally coral free for miles and miles because the light blue stretches on as far as the eye can see. It's so light that it matches the colour of the sky.
Secondly, THIS TOWN IS SHOPPING MADNESS.
Yes. Shopping. Jewelry, cameras, clothes, shoes, watches, liquor, cigars, phones, electronics...everything you could dream of. It's a shoppers paradise. I have seen nothing in comparison even in shopaholic countries. Well, I haven't been to the mecca of shopaholics but man this place is insane. The entire town of Phillipsburg is devoted to one thing and one thing alone - getting money from tourists.
But it's also a regular ol' caribbean town like Bridgetown because right smack in the middle of the tourist flytrap are schools and churches and residential homes. It's kind of weird.
I had a local type of rum here called the Guavaberry Rum. I didn't care too much for it. It's a little bit too fruity and sweet for my tastes. I'll stick to the ordinary Bacardi thanks.
I did discover one fantastic thing to do while I'm here. There are some really gorgeous mountain biking trails to do. The problem is that they are pretty far from where we dock and there are quite some hills to traverse. I guess I'll be hitting the gym on the bike machines every day now until we return to this place so that I can get the full experience of the mountain biking trail. It looks amazing and I think it's going to be an absolutely fantastic way to experience St Maarten. I hope the next time I'm here, my schedule frees me enough to do these trails. And I hope I'm fit enough to do them. But people who know me and my relentless idiocy (like climbing Yosemite, biking from Hollywood to Santa Monica pier) will know that my lack of fitness is not going to stop me. The only thing that will is my lack of time due to my lack of fitness. We shall see.
Day 7
Back in St Thomas.
One of my missions around the caribbean is to eat local food. And I got my chance today.
The adventurous foodie in me decided to try the taste of conch today. Yes it's that wonderful shell that everyone loves, but I decided to eat the beast that resides within. It is unlike any seafood I've ever eaten. It's very robust and meaty in texture, tougher than scallops or lobster. But the taste is closer to that of clams. But not as strong as some of the smaller clams or cockles. It's incredible. Now I can say that I've had true local caribbean food. You ain't getting conch anywhere else in the world. Also served together with it was a local fungi mashed into my potatoes. Didn't care for it too much. Not that big of a taste.
The restaurant was called Gladys' and they made their own hot sauce. It is supposedly the number 1 hot sauce in the world. And I agree. That stuff is amazing.
Next up is shark. I wonder where I can find some.
Day 8
Docked in San Juan today but I didn't get off the ship. With all the delays it was past noon before anyone got off. And with the journey I have to town it wasn't worth it going out there. I guess this means that my usual weekly update is delayed this week. See you in some other caribbean island. This whole business of getting in late at the home port is quite irritating. Apparently there's a window where you can get off at 7:45am. I think I'll have to do that next time.
Thoughts from the week?
I am already disliking the hot weather. I love walking around as a means to exploring new places, but walking around in this weather simply means lots and lots of sweaty clothes. Which means bigger and more regular laundry loads. The repercussions are extraordinary.
It reminds me of home. And I for one have never enjoyed the weather at home.
Some time during the week, I forget when, one of the Acapella singers on board joined me for coffee in the mess and produced a pile of Christmas music. And from what I've heard, Christmas on a boat begins as soon as the retail season. Which is soon. Christmas on a cruise is starting to sound both interesting and terrifying. Perhaps interesting and fun at first - I love the Christmas season and all as some of you might now from my previous endeavours in Hollywood - but then terrifying when I think about how long I will be playing the same Christmas music. It's almost two months of Christmas carols, and some Christmas shows I presume from guest entertainers.
Missing friends and family for Christmas for a third year in a row. When I get home perhaps we will have a delayed celebration just for me. Hey if the drinks and food are on me, who's to decline my invitation?
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