Week 18
Day 1
So I've learned that there's an small window of opportunity to get off the ship ridiculously early in San Juan. It's a price worth paying because it either costs me a cab ride to get into Old San Juan or an hour walk. By the time people normally get off the boat which around noon, that only gives me, minus the two hours walk there and back, two and a bit hours in Old San Juan. And that doesn't make it worth it at all.
So I decided to take my chances, sacrifice some sleep and get off the boat really early today. And it certainly paid off. I got into OSJ before some shops were even open at 9am. I headed straight with purpose and no distraction to that magical place called Starbucks where in the internet lives.
And I spent a record setting five and half hours in there with one cup of coffee. Very well worth it I believe. I think that's going to be my weekly thing every time we dock. Get off the boat early, head to Starbucks. Hey, everyone has their routines right?
Day 2
Today the island we're visiting is nothing. It's a sea day.
Something intriguing happened during tonight's show. It seems we have a group of deaf people on board the cruise. Which raises several questions, one of which I just thought about while writing this.
See, the deaf people were at the show last night and all throughout the show there was a lady signing the show to them. I mean, it's a musical dance show so sure there are a lot of theatrical things to see and costumes to admire, but you're getting the words from a signer? And if you're deaf, and please pardon my ignorance, does music even mean anything? Do they regard it as poetry? What about some really bad lyrics? We had 'Staying Alive' in there by the Bee Gees and the lyrics go 'ah ah ah ah staying alive, staying alive'. How the heck do you sign that?
I guess it's kind of like subtitles, but don't you lose a large amount of the entertainment value when you can't hear music? This is weird.
Also the second issue is, if these people are totally deaf, how do they hear what goes on during the cruise via the announcements? Do they have to have their signer with them at all times just in case an emergency happens? What if they are in the bathroom or something?
Now I'm curious about the comedian tomorrow night. Is there going to be a signer making the jokes? I'm going to go watch this and research.
Day 3
The island we're visiting today is Barbados.
Barbados is actually one of the bigger islands that we visit. And it is loaded with lots and lots of beach. I think I'm going to take the opportunity next time we're here to see how far I can get walking along the beach. St Croix had some fantastic beach to walk on in the sense that it was a pretty long stretch.
But all I did today was attempt to get some internet. There was free internet at the port, but sadly it was as slow and pitiful as ever. How disappointing.
Day 4
Today the island we're visiting is St Lucia.
Sadly today is the same day that we have a full schedule once again. But even so there was a small window of time during lunch for me to get off and explore the island but that was destroyed by an unnecessarily long boat drill. We had a 'ship to shore' drill today where all crew in muster stations had to get off the ship. I'm not entirely sure what for but from my perspective it seemed like an equipment check and to be sure that everyone assigned to those stations knew their job and what they needed to be holding in their hands. Not sure why we had to do this off the ship which is why I still don't quite understand why we did it.
With a longer drill came a late rehearsal which then caused a late lunch which ate up my small window of time to get off the boat. So I guess I won't be seeing St Lucia after all. Curses.
Day 5
Today the island we're visiting is Antigua.
After my last time in Antigua and the fiasco with second rate pianist and his drawn out and absurdly long and pointless rehearsals, my resolve to see the island this week was finally rewarded.
The town we docked in, St John, not to be confused with the island of St John, and the many other St places in this part of the world, was actually closer to that of Bridgetown than any other towns. It's a town, not a tourist shopping center, which I love. There are local people around doing local people things. Who knows, I might just be able to score some local street food the next time I'm here.
My walk eventually took me to the beach. Once again the beach was stunning. And I made two observations today.
Firstly, I've become quite a beach connoisseur after my expedition to several of the best beaches in the world. And I've decided, for myself, what defines a good beach. Firstly a good beach is a flat beach. Some beaches have really steep sands and so the stretch of walkable space is very narrow. But the long flat ones are the nicest because you have ample space to sit/lie/roll around in the sand without being attacked by water too soon. Also it actually makes the beach look that much more amazing when there are long sandy stretches before the water. Secondly a good beach must not be riddled with small outcroppings of corals and weeds. And there must not be too many leafy trees close by. This is so that there is very little debris along the beach. Sometimes we walk along the beach and see all those blackened twigs and seaweed washed up and while it is all natural, it looks like dirt and is very unappealing. Also it's not very nice to step on. Thirdly, a good beach must have fine sand. The finer the sand the better the beach. The rougher the sand the less comfy it is to walk on. A smooth sand beach is more appealing than a rough one regardless of the water condition. It's like a first impression. The first impression of a beach is the feeling of the sand beneath your feet.
I'll come up with more eventually.
My second observation is a scientific one. If you remember my post about the mysterious blue waters in St Maarten. Well I've realised what makes it so blue. It's because of the sand. If a beach has really really fine sand, it turns the shade of the water closest to the beach a slightly murkier shade of blue. The water is still crystal clear when you look into it but the colour is different because of the small sand particles swirling in it. But as I noticed the sand in St Maarten was really coarse, this meant that very little sand particles end up in the mix and so the water looks a lot bluer than others. This is just a hypothesis and an observation. If you're a scientist and have a proper explanation, do kindly keep it to yourself. Cheers.
Also today marks the day that I begin my exploration of the waters. So far, my visits to the caribbean have been solely dry expeditions - expeditions for sights and food. Now that I've settled in a little more, the time has come to start relaxing and simply enjoying the beach. And today I finally got my first taste of caribbean waters. It was very pleasant. It's been a very very long while since I've been swimming so it was very nice to finally get in the water again. I look forward to more beach excursions in the future.
Day 6
Today we're back in St Maarten. Apparently it's known as 'the friendly island'. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to attempt the bike trails at some point. My relentless idiocy will obviously say just do it but this time I'm having second thoughts because it's not a recreational day. I have to work that very night as I did tonight and I wonder if total exhaustion is a good state to be in for two hour long shows. Probably not.
At least there's a decent internet connection here.
I attempted to record the show tonight. I figure I should also show you guys what my job requires me to play. Good ol mac book doing recordings for me again. This faithful thing is about to self destruct. The battery is starting to deform and I don't think it'll live much longer. Also, software is starting to outrun me. I need an upgrade soon.
Day 7
Back in St Thomas today. Had to do some shopping for cleaning materials.
I like it when there are days where I basically have the entire day off the boat like a guest. Some days I have to be on the ship a fair amount of time before it actually sets sail because I have a rehearsal scheduled earlier or something. But today is one of those days that I only have a rehearsal at about the same time the boat begins to leave. It's cool. This means I can get off early during the day and spend the full amount of time off the boat in port.
And plant my butt down in some restaurant and hog the internet for 6 hours.
Yes life is good.
I will visit the beaches in St Thomas at some point. And there's a skyride here that takes me to the top of the hill and it has a great view of the island. I'll do that next time.
Cheers.
Thoughts from the week?
I think my roomie has no real clue what to do with himself whenever we have time on the ship. Strangely he rarely takes the time to get off the ship but I find that he really doesn't know what to do on the ship either. Which could explain his constant television watching. Sadly the shows that we get on the boat are either boring or constantly repeated. Yet he does find them constantly entertaining. And I think I don't help very much as his buddy because I've gotten so used to filling my time with stuff I do on my own I don't think I inspire him at all. So what ends up happening is me on my computer entertaining myself with stuff on my computer that I can do like writing, lego building, music, etc, while I observe him in the room being rather aimless. It's an interesting observation.
I think I made a wise and fantastic decision to join a cruise ship immediately after getting out of college and college living. It's actually a great transition because it's a step up from college living but a step down from comfortable living at home.
Let me explain.
You see, college life is probably the roughest period in life ever. I'm on my own, away from family and friends, with almost no money, having to do all my chores myself or pay directly and severely with the consequences, cook my own food, pay my own bills, little time for luxury, living with roommates which is always tough regardless of how nice they are, and so on and so on.
Living at home on the other hand is on the other end of the scale. Mooching off my parents for food and lodging, access to delicious local food, familiarity, easy commutes to endless locations for leisure, endless opportunity for said leisure, lots of luxury time, home cooked meals, no roomies to annoy or be annoyed by, and the company of loving people etc.
Being on the ship certainly lacks many of the luxuries of home but compared to college living it is a huge step up. I don't have to cook or clean, nor do any chores. Sure I live in what must be the smallest legal space one can provide that isn't a prison cell and the food isn't the best in the world (especially in the staff mess) but you see what I mean by it being a good and wise transitional choice?
Looking back now I'm glad I wasn't spoiled too much by my luxurious time back home before coming out here because if I did, I think I'd be a much unhappier and more bitter person on the ship. You can't complain about bad conditions as long as their better than the ones you were previously in. You can quote me on that.
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