St. Lucia, Barbados, and Dominica

The past three days have been magical, I really don't know how else to describe them.

At St. Lucia, I spent the day traversing the island in the back of a 4x4 vehicle. We drove all over the island, and finally ended the day at a secluded beach that was completely devoid of human life, other than the few other people who were in the three 4x4 vehicles on this tour. It was such an amazing day. I was invited by two new friends to join them for dinner, and it ended up being the three of us and a hysterical couple from London. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, enjoying each others' company!

Then the following day we arrived in Barbados. I had had a bit to drink the night before, and it wasn't until about 3pm that I actually discovered we were in Barbados (and not the Dominican Republic, as I thought). I decided to do my own thing today in Barbados, because I was just scheduled to go to the beach, and since I had done that the day before, I decided to walk around the town instead, taking in the old churches and colonial architecture. It was a nice relaxing day, that was broken up with our first rainfall. But even the rain couldn't put a damper on things because once it stopped, we were greeted with one of the most magnificent rainbows I have ever witnessed. That evening a different couple invited me to dinner, and we went to the Cirque du Soliel-esque evening show on board which was very entertaining. I then met up with the Aussie guys and another gay couple for karaoke, where we made friends with another large group and again stayed up late drinking, laughing, and enjoying the company!

This morning we arrived in Dominica, and every morning I think that there is no way that this day could top the previous, but today took the cake. The Aussies and I were on the same tour, which started in town, and we drove through a large portion of the island (which is so lush and green and not very crowded at all) to Lyou River, where we went tubing down the river. The river carved its way through the rainforest and at times large limestone cliffs surrounded us on either side. I had never been tubing on a river with rapids (just a lazy stream) and it was a blast!!! Highly recommended! Then we went to the Emerald Pool, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We hiked through the rainforest and came to a large pool fed by a magnificent waterfall. We went swimming in the cool water, and I sat at the base of the waterfall and let the torrent wash away all my troubles. This was such a cathartic day and everything bad I had been feeling the last week or so just was washed away: like a purification ritual of old. It was empowering and truly a spiritual moment. It's hard to describe, but it was such a powerful experience. I do not think tomorrow can possibly compete with today. But then again, I've said that at the end of each day and have been pleasantly surprised that each day has surpassed the last. We shall see what tomorrow brings in Virgin Gorda, B.V.I.!

Gustavia, St. Barths

This morning, we arrived at gorgeous St. Barths. We passed by St. Maarten on the way. We were tendered onto shore this morning, and loaded onto a catamaran that could easily have held 25 people. There were 10 of us on board, including the captain. I was with two new friends of mine, who happen to be gay. We enjoyed the relaxing sail to a nearby beach. The ride was extremely nice: I sat in the sun, letting it kiss my white-but-now-slightly-turning-a-deeper-shade-of-golden-tan skin. I normally don't get tan on my stomach or back due to the fact that I'm normally too self-conscious to take my shirt off. Since losing almost 25 pounds the last two months, I've gotten over that.

The ride was so peaceful and calm, and the weather was so amazing, I was almost sad when we arrived at the beach, until I got the chance to take in where we were: the white sand ran into a green bank of bushes and vegetation, and then trees lined the hills/mountains behind. There was this one house made almost entirely of glass along the ridge of the mountain that had a private pathway to the beach and what had to be one of the most incredible views of any house anywhere... I privately wondered if it was for sale... I went snorkeling along the rocky side of the bay and surfaced on the beach, where I walked from one end to the other and back, enjoying the feel of the warm sand under my bare feet and the view.

I then swam back to the catamaran and we reluctantly sailed back to town. The conversation was lively, as out captain had poured us iced rum punches, which were spiced and delicious! It was early afternoon by the time we got back to town, so I decided to head back to the ship to grab some lunch. I met up with some other new friends by the pool, had a quick bite, sunbathed awhile, then headed back to my cabin because it was time for massage #2 (of 5!). I then headed to the spa where I had a steam, shower, and then a divine 90-minute deep tissue massage that felt absolutely heavenly after the long swim this morning.

I could not have planned a more perfectly relaxing and enjoyable day! We are now sailing from St. Barths to St. Lucia, where we are planning to arrive tomorrow morning! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!

Turks and Caicos and Puerto Rico!

So, I embarked my latest sea voyage on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and have been extremely happy with how it's been so far. I settled into my comfortable stateroom, unpacked, and then began getting reacquainted with the ship. This is the second time I've been on this particular vessel, and it's like stepping back home, although all the people on this cruise are different than the last. Different staff, different cruise director, different people to hang out with. I made a bunch of great friends the last time I was onboard, and haven't been disappointed this go-round either. There is a large group of gay guys from Australia traveling together, ages ranging from 20-45/50 or so, and we have been having a splendid time enjoying the sundeck, the pool, the whirlpools, and most definitely the open bars!

We had a sea day on Monday, which was a great chance to hang out, read, do some thinking about what's been going on in my life the last few weeks, and I was able to have some quality alone time, to figure out where I'm heading from here. For the past few months, I've had the urge to slow down with the travel and settle down somewhere, although I wasn't sure where I wanted to settle. I wanted to feel connected to a community and people, instead of being constantly on the go by myself, making friends with the groups I travel with only to leave them at the end of the trip. But as I have been traveling again after four weeks of self-imposed solitude in Shreveport, LA, I have begun to realize that travel is what I love more than anything. It is exciting and promises adventure, whereas people simply cannot be depended on, and in the end leave you disappointed. So I spent Monday thinking, and as I came to the conclusion that I would continue my world explorations, I began to get very excited about the prospect of the year to come. Let the travel planning begin!!!

On Tuesday, we arrived early to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, and I went scuba diving. I was worried that there were going to be tons of people on the ship who signed up to go, but was extremely pleasantly surprised to learn that there were only three of us! The water was gorgeous, the weather was warm, it was sunny with amazing visibility! We saw sharks, tons of schooling fish, some very healthy reef, and a stunning array of sponges, sea fans, etc. An amazing morning! After diving I had a few hours before we had to set sail, so I took a long walk on the beach, again giving me time to reflect on what I had been thinking about the previous day, and standing alone on that gorgeous, deserted, white sand beach, the warm waves lapping over my bare, sandy feet, it suddenly was quite clear that I made the right decision to continue traveling. Back on the ship, I met up with my Aussie friends who had spent the morning swimming with stingrays (which after what happened to Steve Irwin, you would have thought they would have known better...), and we spent most of the lazy late afternoon by the pool. That evening I got stuffed on fine French food! MmmMmmGood!

Today (Wednesday) we arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico just before noon. My tour was of the Bicardi Rum Distillery and of the Old Town of San Juan. Since rum is my favorite alcoholic beverage, I found the tour very interesting, and the free drinks we get don't hurt, either! After a few hours of checking out how rum is made and learning more about the history of my favorite rum, we headed to the Old Town of San Juan and explored some forts that had been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. I wish we had had more time to explore more, but alas, we had to get back to the ship... Another fun evening awaits! Tomorrow morning, we arrive at Gustavia, St. Barths!