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!
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!
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