Stingray City

I had yet another exciting adventure today. I went snorkeling with stingrays! It was an amazing experience. There were probably around 60 stingrays swimming all around. I even was able to hold and feed one. They have an incredibly interesting texture that I'm not sure how to describe. I think maybe if you imagine a wet mushroom or maybe a lot of wet noodles smoothed together. Nevertheless, really cool! Feeding them was also quite exciting as they suck their food up like a vacuum cleaner. They really have a lot of suction power and one tried to eat my foot, but once they realize you're not food they let go. Their teeth are very dull and they can't bite into humans. According to the guides they only sting when they're in the sand for self protection. It was still a bit creepy being surrounded by all these creatures with venomous tails brushing up against you. Their eyes are also pretty creepy and right above the eyes are slits that they use to filter water. If you ever get a chance to swim with stingrays I highly recommend it. If you're keeping notes, you now have to try land sailing and stingray swimming - we could have quite an impressive list by the end of my adventure!

Coconut Jelly

I had quite an event filled day in Barbados today. I met up with my friend Mark again and his wife, Nicole. We took a drive along the west coast of Barbados up to the very northern point. Along the way we stopped for rum punch at a beach and then pastries in Spice Town. I had a jam puff, which reminded me of a croissant. The drive took us through rural areas of Barbados where they even had bales of hay – a site I haven’t seen since leaving Colorado. There were also fields of sugar cane and loads of mango trees and bread fruit trees (more on those in a minute).

North Point was really impressive. There were massive waves slamming into the cliffs and creating lots of sea spray. I imagine it’s a bit similar to Big Sur and Carmel in California, but I’ve never actually been to those places so can’t say for sure. It was incredibly windy. I thought the wind was going to literally blow me over a few times – luckily it was blowing towards the land and not over the cliffs!

After North Point we went back to Bridgetown and stopped at a gas station for Tiger Malta (tastes a bit like molasses soda) and Bank’s Beer – the local Baygan (not sure if I’m spelling that correctly, but it’s the equivalent of saying Coloradan) brew. We also stopped at a little stand on the side of the road where a man was selling coconuts. They eat ‘green’ coconuts in Barbados or coconuts that aren’t ripe. The coconuts we get stateside are mature, that’s why they’re brown and the flesh has hardened. Here’s the process: The guy cuts a hole into the coconut with a machete like blade and hands you a straw. You slurp all the coconut water out which has a fain milky taste and is supposedly really good for your kidneys. You then hand the coconut back to the guy and he splits it open with the machete and cuts a scoop out of the outside of the coconut. You use the scoop to eat the coconut jelly which is the unripe flesh. I wasn’t a very big fan of the jelly as it had a texture similar to squid or octopus.

After this they took me back to the ship where I had to put in my half hour of work for the day. I then rounded up some of my shipmates and we went to meet Mark at somewhat of a boardwalk for dinner. Getting to the boardwalk was an interesting adventure. We ended up walking about half an hour from the port to catch a local taxi van. The local taxi vans are very cheap (.75 USD) and very local! It’s about the size of a mini-van, maybe a bit bigger and they cram in as many bodies as they can fit. It was probably the closest I’ll ever get to feeling like a sardine! They also drive with lead feet, so there’s a lot of getting to know your neighbor involved with corners.

When I say boardwalk, it’s more like an outdoor food court area along the beach. There are all sorts of different stands and a band stand in the middle where they had Karaoke. I had a fried flying fish plate which included flying fish, rice and peas, fried plantains, macaroni and cheese, green salad, potato salad, and bread fruit – all for $13 USD! Bread fruit grows on trees (as mentioned before) and has to be baked or grilled to eat it. I’d say the closest thing it tastes like is a sweet potato – it’s very starchy and dry. I enjoyed every last bite of my Baygan cuisine! We left around 9:00 p.m. to make it back on-board before sailing away at 10:30. Now I’m on my way to St. Lucia and sweet dreams!

Okay, so this is going to be a mega post since a day has passed and I have more to report from St. Lucia! It seems like the past 2 days have been my agricultural adventure days. I went on an excursion exploring the northern part of St. Lucia and saw where many of the foods we love to eat in the States come from.

I saw a cocoa tree and saw the orangish/purplish leaves that bear the pods that we ultimately get chocolate from. The locals dry the paste into sticks and then make chocolate tea out of them. I also saw a coffee plant and the red Arabica beans of the tree. These get harvested and roasted to brew the essential ingredient for many people’s morning wake-up. The most interesting tree I saw was a cashew tree. I now know why cashews are on of the most expensive nuts. Each fruit of the tree only produced one cashew. The fruit was about the size of a tennis ball and red and had a brown sprout poking out which is the cashew. The other fascinating stop we made was at a banana plantation. Banana trees are quite fascinating. The fruit starts in a purple pod and then a bunch of bananas begin to sprout out of that with a flower on the end. At just the right time of maturity the flowers must be cut off otherwise the birds will ruin the bananas. After the flower is cut off, a blue bag is placed around the growing bananas to protect them from the elements. Once the tree produces its bunch of bananas it dies – they have very short life cycles. Luckily the roots reproduce extremely well and as soon as the tree has died a new tree sprouts right back up. It just takes one banana tree to plant an entire plantation! There’s some food for thought the next time you go to peel a banana!

There’s not much else to report except we have a new bandmaster/trumpeter and drummer. They are both very nice and the drummer is a much more sensitive player, so I think my hearing will receive some relief!

Proud Uncle

On Friday, March 28, 2008 at 5:11 p.m. (MST) my sister gave birth to 8 ½ pound Anthony Mateo Escalera. She ended up having a c-section, and both she and Anthony are healthy. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet, but hopefully will today. I’m also eagerly awaiting pictures, because I hear Anthony has all of his uncle’s good looks!

Eye Opener

I can now officially say that I have been to South America. I visited Isla Margarita, Venezuela today, and it was quite an eye-opener. Through all my travels, I’ve devised two ways of telling how poor a country is: the amount of trash on the streets, and the amount and appearance of stray dogs. Using these criteria I have to say Venezuela is possibly the poorest country I have ever visited. There is garbage all along the roads and incredibly scraggly dogs roaming the streets. A lot of the people I passed seemed to have a longing in their eyes to find a better life, but on the other hand they seemed like the happiest people I have ever seen – more on that later. I also saw an amusing billboard that put things into perspective. Instead of the traditional ‘don’t drink and drive’ slogan, it said ’60 or 120 km/h? Your perception changes when you drink.’ That was it! It seemed to be more of a cautionary sign because they realize people will drink and drive no matter what.

The island is one of the more beautiful ones I’ve visited thus far. I took an open jeep safari tour to the top of one of the mountains that was densely covered with mango trees and banyan trees. I didn’t realize that banyan trees actually grow more trees from their branches to help support the main root system – that’s why so many of them bridge across one another. I also saw a red squirrel and hens with baby chicks, but unfortunately no monkeys! The tour guides and drivers then performed the Venezuelan National Anthem and a donkey dance that I took videos of and hopefully will get them up on youtube at some point along my trip.

After the mountain, we went to the main city in Margarita which is Ascuncion. We visited Simon Bolivar square and saw the 2nd oldest church in Venezuela. I didn’t realize how many countries in South America that Simon Bolivar helped liberate from the Spanish: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and I can’t remember the other ones. Oh, before I forget, I also noticed numerous communist organizations and signs honoring Che Guevara – nothing about Chavez though.

We then drove to Playa Paraguita which was a very beautiful beach that had a black and white sand mix. Made things very hot on the feet! The waves were actually quite large and I got some good body surfing in. I think good body surfing might be the most exhilarating thing in life. I love the feeling of cresting over the wave and riding down like a slide and then being slammed under water by the wave. My dad would have been in heaven today! After the beach we followed a dramatic coast line back to the ship.

The island is incredibly hot. I started sweating the minute I felt the sun and I can’t imagine what it’s like in July and August. Throughout the drive, I saw families and groups huddled on their porches or under trees or in whatever sliver of shade they could find. It seems that the poorest countries I visit have the strongest sense of community and family. It’s amazing what lack of luxuries and modern amenities will do for human relations. They may be poor, but they have human contact. Conversations aren’t conducted through computers, but with live human voices – what a novelty! It’s the community that makes me feel like the people are content, happy and blessed with what they have. I think I may change my plans of sailing the Virgin Islands to doing some service work in a third-world country. Thanks for making it through this lengthy post!

Okay, so as I was going to access the internet (I type my posts first and then paste them on-line later to save money!) I discovered that Hugo Chavez blocks all access to the internet outside of Venezuela. He also blocks our satellite, so we have no phones or television. Life under a dictator is swell!

Land Sailing

Whooopeeee!!!!! I had quite an exhilarating adventure this morning. I went land sailing in Bonaire. For those of you who don’t know what land sailing is (I was with you just a few hours ago) it’s one of the fastest growing eco-sports and is pretty much a wind powered go-kart. Bonaire gets lots of trade winds so makes the island an ideal spot for the sport. The blo-kart is a three wheeled vehicle with a sail attached. You have handlebar steering with one hand and then your other hand holds onto a rope that is attached to the sail. If you want to go faster, you tighten the sail and to go slower you release the sail. Bonaire doesn’t have any long stretch of beach so they’ve created a course made entirely of calcium sorbate (?) from the nearby salt fields. I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun!!!! It was brilliant (as the Brits would say)!

It’s incredibly windy today, so there would be gusts of wind that actually lifted the whole kart off the ground and I was quite often driving on one wheel. I did crash into the barriers on one turn and lost my sail on another, but luckily I didn’t flip over (which is actually quite common)! I now have a deeper appreciation for the wind and feel bad for all the times I’ve cursed it under my breath. In fact, it makes up for my snorkeling tour being cancelled yesterday due to the wind! I forgot my camera so unfortunately I have no pictures to document my experience but I’m sure you can google land sailing if you’re curious to see what the karts look like. I highly recommend blo-karting once in your life!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I think I attended quite possibly the strangest Easter Sunday service ever. Priests basically volunteer to give services on cruise ships in exchange for a free cruise – pretty good deal. The priest that gave the service this morning is currently at a parish in Juarez Mexico. The entire sermon was a chastisement of the Catholic Church and how the Bishops provide no outside funding for charities outside they’re diocese. He continued to rant about the ratio of priests to parishioners in Mexico, an extremely Catholic country, and the U.S. Apparently for every one priest in Mexico there are 5 in the U.S. He continued his sermon to question how the guests could consciously spend the money that they did on the cruise when he doesn’t even get a salary and basically begs to sustain a high school for the poor in Juarez. There was really no message of resurrection or new life conveyed for the Easter Sunday sermon!

I really missed Easter breakfast with my family. I’m sure they’re eating Easter Bread and frittata (well, maybe not the frittata) as I’m typing. There wasn’t anything special at breakfast except some dyed eggs and Happy Easter banners. Yogurt (notice no h!) and granola just quite doesn’t match my typical Easter fare.

Yesterday I had quite the adventure in Montego Bay. I ended up walking with my roommate, Steve, into town. Steve’s only real goal was to find beer – I’ve discovered that he’s pretty much an alcoholic, but that’s fairly typical for a ship musician. I’m definitely not getting sucked into their lifestyle and don’t see myself succumbing to it. So anyway we found a place called Jerky’s next to a Texaco and they had beer so Steve was happy. There was not much going on there so we decided to walk into the town center. We didn’t realize that there is a local downtown and a tourist downtown, and we happened to find the local downtown. We were the only white faces in probably a 3 mile radius. We got quite a few stares, but nobody heckled, threatened, or bothered us as many have warned about the Jamaicans. We did experience some racism as we sat down in a restaurant and received no service. After 10 minutes, we got the drift and left. We then saw the trombone player on the street and he pointed us towards the tourist area where we found a nice restaurant. I had jerk pork (yes, I purchased meat, but felt I needed to try the local specialty) with rice and peas and really good plantains. Very delicious meal and relatively cheap! We then walked about an hour back to the ship.

I don’t think I have too much more to report now, but I hope everybody has a wonderful day and finds some Easter Eggs for me!

Sea Legs

So I think I know fully understand what it means to have “sea legs”. Tonight has by far been the roughest sea yet. Basically having “sea legs” means you can stand up and walk in a somewhat straight line. I imagine it’s something of a cross between being in space with zero gravity and being inebriated! Going up and down stairs is the most fun part because some steps you feel like the heaviest person and then other steps you just float right up. I don’t know if I’m describing this in any coherent fashion, but hopefully you get the point. I still haven’t gotten sick (knock on wood!), but I did give my cabin steward some motion sickness pills because he wasn’t doing well at all. I think we’re having bad weather due to a hurricane or some storm. The captain made an announcement, but I couldn’t really hear it. We’re on our way to Grand Turk from St. Thomas.

Due to the bad weather, our shows for tonight were cancelled. They decided it would be unsafe for the dancers to be dancing which is perfectly understandable! Well, I think I’m going to stop typing now because I’m getting a headache from all the motion! (I just realized I should have said last night instead of tonight since I won’t be posting this until Thursday.)

Hodge Podge

I apologize in advance for the randomness that this post will probably entail, but bear with me!

Let’s start with my musical frustration. This is not exactly the most musically rewarding gig I have ever had (funny how it is the best paying with the most perks!). I just got done rehearsing with a duo from the U.K. that covers Beatles tunes, and they are wretched. Oh man, I don’t think I’ve heard such out of tune playing since High School! I expected a bit more quality on a ship, but I guess they get bad acts once and a while. Although as I typed that I realized that they’ve been on this ship before and the audience loved them – I guess the Beatles sell! My other complaint musically has been how loud all of the shows are. I’ve resorted to wearing ear plugs to tolerate things, but then I can’t hear for matching articulations and pitch. I hate playing with ear plugs it makes everything I play seem flat. Okay, enough of the rants!

Today I explored yet another gem of the Caribbean: Tortola which is in the British Virgin Islands. I actually explored more of the island of Virgin Gorda (supposedly named by Columbus because when he saw the island it looked like a fat virgin – go figure!). I went on another excursion which involved a boat ride down Sir Francis Drake Channel and pretty much all of the British Virgin Islands. For all you Pirates of the Caribbean fans (Heidi!), we went by Dead Man’s Island where the infamous Dead Man’s Chest is buried. We then went to the “Baths” of Virgin Gorda, which are giant rock outcroppings that form little pools of water from the sea. I did some good climbing and saw lots of crabs and took a video which hopefully I’ll be able to upload at some point. We then crawled through caves and walked wooden planks to arrive at another beach, Devil’s Bay. They were very nice beaches, but I think spring break must be starting because they were jam packed with a lot of obnoxious Americans – I forgot how obnoxious we can be when we amass in great force! The other down fall was that the weather today was not exactly beach weather. It’s the first day that there’s been sustained rain and lots of cloud cover, oh well, can’t ask for everything.

Before I forget, yesterday’s big news was that I received my first pay check – whoopee!! I almost forgot I was working and not on vacation, so holding all that cash was nice! I’m hoping my direct deposit will start in 2 pay periods as promised, if not I’ll have to figure out how to get money to my bank. The only other excitement of yesterday was that I found the fastest internet connection yet. There’s a bar on the water front in Antigua that has a super connection and it’s free!! It’s amazing how spoiled we’ve become with all of our modern day luxuries. I’m trying to remember if there’s anything else I was meaning to blog about, but I’m drawing a blank at the moment. Oh, Sir Francis Drake Channel has some of the best sailing in the world so the sea was speckled with all sorts of ships today. Quite a spectacular sight! Maybe I’ll buy a sail boat with all my earnings and sail between Grand Turk and the British Virgin Islands for the rest of my life!!

Dominica

Okay, I've discovered another gem of the Caribbean: Dominica! Oh, it's very nice hear. It's one of the more lush and tropical locales that we have been for a while. The town is very quiet today due to it being Sunday and it is just a wonderful, lazy Sunday day! I went for a walk to a beautiful park this morning with Kalya (Cambodia), Ramon (Mexico), and Gianfranco (Italy). We then continued into some of the smaller villages and met some very friendly locals who let us sample a very interesting root vegetable. I'm still not sure what the name of it was, but it looked like a very small potatoe and tasted somewhat like jicima, but also juicy like a coconut. I guess it takes on a very different taste when it is cooked. The local we met lived in Hawaii for a while and also spent some time in Aspen. Very friendly and a typical Rasta saying "Hey Man" every other phrase. After this I went back to the ship and changed into running clothes and went for a run along the coast. Big mistake! I highly recommend avoiding running in mid-afternoon tropical heat with 100% humidity! I think I made it maybe 2 1/2 miles before I couldn't take it anymore. Now, I'm at a cafe enjoying a local Dominican Beer, Kubuli, and pirating some internet! I added an image to my "Pinch Me" post so make sure to scroll down and check it out! Oh, and is it Palm Sunday? I noticed quite a few people hacking off palm fronds and headed for church. Is Easter really next Sunday?!!! Farewell for now man! Peace.

Familiar Face

So my exciting news to report for now is that I’ve been to South America. I didn’t actually set foot in Venezuela, but I did see it from the ship. Unfortunately I actually had to work the day we were in La Guaira and was going to get off the ship for an hour with my Spanish speaking friend Jumari, but when we went to get off the security wanted to know where our day passes were. Apparently we have to have a day pass to enter Venezuela and the passes were in our supervisor’s office. By the time we figured all of this out we only had about 20 minutes before we needed to be back on the boat, so I’ll have to wait until next time to see Caracas. From what I saw off La Guaira, it is a very poor area. The houses were in shambles practically falling off the mountains and there were garbage piles spilling over the mountain as well. I’ve tried posting pictures, but haven’t had success so far. I guess I’ll have to devote one of my days to finding better internet access instead of going to the beach – what would you do if you were me? Beach or internet?!!

Yesterday we were in Grenada and I enjoyed that island, but not as much as Grand Turk. The town was nice, but the minute I stepped of the ship I was bombarded with people wanting to show me around town or give me a taxi ride. I wandered up to Fort George, which I think was important during the U.S. invasion back in the 80’s, but I’m not positive. I did end up getting suckered to give money by a peddler at Fort George. He was a very nice man and had trinkets that he was selling, so I gave in and supported the local economy. After this I went to Grand Anse beach in a water taxi and enjoyed an afternoon in the sun. I did upset all the beach hawkers, because I refused a chair and drinks – everybody seems to want my money – go figure!

Today, I’m back in Barbados and gearing up for another lap around the Caribbean. We go to a few different islands than the last cruise so I’ll have some new experiences. Today was nice because I was able to catch up with a former co-worker from the CU Concerts Office. Mark, the graphic designer, now lives in Barbados and took me down to the beach and we had drinks and doubles. Doubles are a West Indies cuisine consisting of 2 flat bread stuffed with curried chickpeas and pepper sauce. Very tasty! Mark is going to take me to the east coast of Barbados the next time I’m in port – which is 2 weeks. It’s always nice to see a familiar face! Well, I’m off to finish my laundry and get some dinner. Tonight’s the bands night off, so I can rest from all the hard work I’ve put in the past few weeks. (Wink, wink!)

Bon Bini Bonaire

Bon Bini Bonaire!! Welcome to Bonaire! So today was another grueling day of life at sea! I went on another tour as an escort. This time it was snorkeling in Bonaire! I have to admit that I enjoyed yesterday’s tour more, but I’m not in any situation to be complaining.

The snorkeling was right off a beach that was near the airport, so not the nicest area, but there was some interesting sea life. I think my coolest find was an eel – they’re really fun to watch wriggle around and all the other fish seem to swarm towards it. I’m guessing this is because it kicks up so much sand and probably food for all the other parasites! The other really cool fish I saw was about 2 feet long and looked like a snake, but after staring at it for a good 5 minutes it definitely wasn’t a snake. The guides gave us some booklets on the fish, and I think maybe it was a trumpet fish, but I’m not positive. I also saw another really cool blue fish that was hiding in some coral and was very small but had all sorts of blue dots that seemed to glow in the dark. I also saw porcupine fish, stoplight parrot fish, spotted trunk fish, french angel fish, and possibly a midnight parrot fish, but again my species identification is not up to snuff! The water was actually surprisingly cold and I couldn’t stay in too long without starting to shiver – a problem when I have no insulation!

Speaking of insulation, I’ll be convinced that I have a tape worm if I don’t gain weight during the cruise! I’ve been gorging myself at the buffet. They give you such large plates and I always feel inclined to fill mine up. I’ve also been indulging my sweet tooth and had a delicious chocolate torte with vanilla ice cream and cherry sauce last night. I know, so much for my deadly two: high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. The cream puff pastries are just so tasty! Hopefully the novelty will wear off pretty soon and I’ll get sick of eating at the buffet. I think it’s starting to wear off already, as today for lunch I was longing for some variety. I’ll have to get over my frugality and indulge in the local cuisine of my ports of call.

Anyway, enough of that food diversion. The rest of the snorkeling was nice, although I did get slightly burned between my adventures yesterday and today. Don’t hate me too much, but on top of all this, I have tonight off. Absolutely no work today – all play! (I think I can hear all the groans and paper being thrown at the screen.) Tomorrow I’ll be in Venezuela, but unfortunately have safety inductions and rehearsals, so no chance to get off the ship. I guess I have to earn my keep somedays!

Ahhh,....Aruba

Ahhh, Aruba. I’ll warn you in advance that this post will probably cause more jealousy!!! We arrived in Aruba today which was a much needed respite from the 2 days at sea. I’m not sure what I’ll do on the crossing to Europe. It’s not too bad, but I just start feeling a bit trapped while on board. Anyway, Aruba is second on my list of islands. I still prefer Grand Turk because of all the unspoiled beauty, but Aruba is just as beautiful except mobbed with people!! It’s a bit like Venice Beach or beaches in Miami (I’ve never actually been to either of these, but I gather that’s what it’s like from descriptions!). The beaches are very glitzy and the malls are full of top designer brands.

So one of my added perks (I know as if I didn’t have enough!!) of the job is being able to go on tour excursions as an escort for free!!! So today, I had a wonderful tour of the island with Lisette and learned all about Aruba. One of the more fascinating parts was the language. I believe it was called papamiento (could be horribly wrong with this, so don’t hold me accountable) and is a mix of English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish – quite the jumble! I’ll teach you how to say thank you with phonetic spelling – mash donkey – that’s how it sounds! I also learned that the Aruban government provides the lower class affordable housing for 200 USD/month and after 15 years they own the house – pretty sweet deal. Aruba was also formed by a volcano and the eastern side is bordered by the Atlantic. There are tons of cacti and really electric blue lizards slithering around everywhere. The tour also went to a light house where we got on a boat for a ride along the coast. I was able to scope out all the nice beaches for my next visit in a few weeks! Another perk was the open bar on-board – life in the Caribbean is rough, real rough!

The coolest part of the tour was that on the boat ride we were actually able to see Venezuela!! I’ve now seen an entirely new continent. Aruba is very close to Venezuela and because it was such a clear day, we were able to see the mountains of Venezuela. I have trainings and rehearsals the day we’re at Caracas, so unfortunately I won’t be able to see much on this stop. Anyway, I have to actually go to rehearsal now (I do work a few hours a day!) so I hope all are well wherever they may be!

Ughhh....

I highly recommend avoiding being hung over and sailing on rough water – it’s a losing combination, trust me!! Ughhh. Today has not been a very enjoyable day at sea. We were supposed to dock at Grand Cayman which is a tender port. A tender port means that the ship can’t actually dock at the shore, but has to dock in the bay and then carry passengers back and forth on little boats. The winds were too strong to safely do this, so the captain decided to head for our next port, Aruba. The sea has been pretty rough the entire day with lots of strong winds and all the rocking really doesn’t help cure a hang over! I guess it’s a sign that I shouldn’t drink too much in the future! I can also hear the waves crashing against the ship in my cabin, although the rocking is sort of nice for sleeping – sort of like a water bed. Playing in these conditions will be exciting! I’ll let all of you know how it goes.

Would somebody please pinch me?!!!

Seriously! I think I must be dreaming. Yesterday we visited the most heavenly island I could have ever imagined. It’s the island that always comes to mind as you’re shoveling through feet of snow on a cold Colorado winter’s morning. Eight square miles of beautiful white sandy pristine beaches with deep velvet blue water dappled with patches of turquoise gems. Ahhh! Heaven! I seriously considered abandoning ship and staying there forever. I suppose you want to know the name of my newfound paradise, although I must admit I’m a bit hesitant to unleash a throng of tourists upon my sanctuary. Okay, it’s Grand Turk. Thus far it’s been hands down my most favorite Caribbean Island…take note all you travelers!

Allow me to cause more drooling with my day-in-the-life. I woke up around 10:00 a.m. (actually 11:00 a.m. from the time zone we were coming from!), and had a cup of coffee with yoghurt and fresh fruit and the vast ocean as my background. After breakfast I checked my e-mail and then took a leisurely stroll along the Promenade deck before practicing for about an hour. Then I went to my “private” gym as the ship pulled into port. I got off and went sunbathing in paradise and took a beautiful swim in the ocean. I used my goggles for makeshift snorkeling and saw a stunning grey fish with brilliant blue trim all along its body and also what I believe was a tiger fish. I strolled back along the shore admiring the myriad of conch shells speckling the beach and made it back to the ship just in time for a 4:30 rehearsal. We rehearsed for about an hour and then I had a light snack before the 7:15 show. After the show, I went up and dined on swiss chard with garlic, red cabbage with apple and broiled flounder before the 9:00 show. After the show, I practiced some more for my first big production number tonight and then drifted away to dream land.

Oh, and did I mention I didn’t even spend a dime, but made money?! Somebody pinch me!!

(I think I’ve gloated enough for one day!)

A Hard Day's Work!

So here is how my work day went yesterday. I woke up around 10:00 a.m. and got off the boat in St. Maarten. I walked to the main town and did some shopping and then sat on the beach for about an hour. I returned to the ship and had lunch, which surprisingly enough was already made for me! Then I practiced for about an hour and went to the gym. I had a half an hour rehearsal, ate dinner, had a beer, played a show for the comedian Dave Evans, had a between show snack, played another show and then went to watch my duo friends perform in a lounge. I'm telling you, life is rough in the Caribbean!

A Small World

So, it's a small world after all! I went to school with the trombone player in my band, Josh. He was at CU for the first 2 years while I was there. Pretty crazy how that works out.

I'm adjusting to ship life fairly well. I can know actually find my cabin and most parts of the ship without wandering around completely lost for hours upon hours. You'd be surprised at how confusing the corridors can get!

I have to admit that I'm starting to feel a little like a hostage. In order to go on and off the ship you need a security card and I just received my card today. However, today also happens to be my in port manning day, which means I have to stay on board in case there's an emergency.

Let's talk safety. I had an initial induction my first day on board and then yesterday had an extremely lengthy induction all about safety. And today, there was a crew safety drill. As you can tell, safety is a pretty big thing on the ship.

Besides being inducted with safety training, I've also been playing some music. We had a guest singer last night and had a pretty tense rehearsal. I was told that wasn't really the norm, but my band leader, Tom, and the singer had different ideas about rehearsing. The 2 shows that night went well, but the singer definitely shouldn't have been singing Time to Say Goodbye alla Andrea Boccelli!

There was also a Back to School Disco last night in the crew bar. There is quite an international contingent! I can now add South Africa and Mexico to the list of countries. The one bad thing about the crew bar is that it is very smoky - my throat is still sore this morning! Well, I can't really think of anything else at the moment. I'll be spending another day on board being taunted by the beautiful scenery - tomorrow I'll be exploring a port for sure - can't really remember where we'll be, but I'll let you know!

(Sorry for the randomness of this post!)

Ahoy Matey's

Greetings from Barbados! I have arrived and am on board the Sea Princess. The journey here went much smoother than anticipated! All my worries about luggage and carry-on were for not. If you act like you know what you're doing and keep on the DL, people pretty much let you do whatever.

I arrived in Barbados last night around 8:30 and was transported to my resort around 9:30. I learned a lot about the Caribbean's fastest and most sophisticated developing nation. There are 250,000 people on 166 square miles. What's more is that every one of those people owns at least one car! Traffic is a nightmare! They are also the only Caribbean nation to be colonized by only one nation - the U.K. They gained independence on November 30, 1966. The 2 top industries are tourism and sugar cane. Anyway, that's enough about the island.

I had a delicious meal of pan fried Flying fish and fresh island squashes and peppers - very tasty. Musicians get treated much better than crew as I had to report to the ship at 11:30 a.m. rather than 7:30 a.m.!

I arrived at the ship with 2 other musicians - a singing guitar duo from Australia. This is their 5th year working on ships and first contract with Princess. We were taken on a whirlwind tour of the ship then it was off to a safety induction. My main function is guiding people down an emergency stair at the aft (back) of the ship to the muster station. Not a single sole came by during the drill today. I also get to demonstrate proper life jacket wearing to passengers.

My band master is very laid back and a real nice guy. The band has the night off, but I'll be rehearsing and performing tomorrow. My roommate is the other sax player and hails from Canada. I'd say he's in his 50's, so it'll be interesting to see how things work out. It is quite an international scene. I've met people from U.K., Australia, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, India, Thailand, Brazil, and some others I can't recall right now.

The internet situation is a little less than desirable as I have to go to either the crew mess hall or bar to access the wireless. And to top that off, I'm not allowed on Skype. I'll have to see if I can rectify the situation. Anyway, I should probably go grab some food. We sail for St. Lucia tonight.