Hello From The High Seas!

Hello LandLubbers!

Well, Week 1 is complete and we're sailing into Week 2 today. So far, everything is fantastic, we had a very busy first week and it went by really quickly. We had four days back-to-back of stops, and we Got Out There, as encouraged by Royal Caribbean.
I'm happy to say that we didn't get machetted to death by any restless Haitians. We swam around and feasted beachside on Jerk Chicken and Labadabadoozies.

The following day we went to Jamaica, where we took an excusion to Dunn's River Falls. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I agreed to do that, but apparently we had to climb a 960 ft. waterfall. I thought we were just going to look around a bit. Nope. We donned our watershoes, and despite my trepidition we climbed. And climbed. And panicked. And climbed. At the steepest point I had Peter the Guide pulling my ass up those rocks, but hey, whatever it took - I very proudly made it to the top. My big toes are still hurting from gripping those rocks so tightly. Kenny felt like Indiana Jones, and my German friends who came with us were also scared, but proud when it was complete.

On the way back from the falls (it was a 1 1/2 bus ride from Ocho Rios to Montego Bay), we happened to pass an Olympic Parade, honoring all the Jamaican's who participated this year. We were QUITE excited to see Hussian (however you spell it) Bolt - the fastest man on the planet!!! What are the chances of that?? Yet there he was, so Kenny and I were both very excited.

The next day (can't keep track of any days, so I don't even know when) we went to Grand Caymen, where we swam with the Stingrays. Boy, I thought Beth and Vera were both a bunch of fraidy cats, not liking the stingrays too much, but then I myself got rather apprehensive as I saw them swimming around. Didn't help with the tour guide said we're not allowed to feed them because the prior week one sucked someone's thumb off.......But I Got Out There with them anyway, and swam around with them for a while. I didn't try and feed any of them, I didn't want to end up with any part of my body as a snack....

What the heck did we do next.....?? Um. Oh! Cozumel, where we went to Passion Island for the day. A more apt name would be Mosquito Island!! It had rained the day before, as well as that morning (it was overcast the biggest part of the day) and the bugs were FEASTING. Kenny got the worst end of the bug bites, my sour self wasn't as appealing..The beach was really nice, however, and not more than 100 people were there with us. Very exclusive. We had the most fabulous lunch prepared by the Mayan's who live on the island - 12 of them to be exact. They are the only inhabitants (sorry about the poor spelling, I'm a little bit rumsoaked by now - can barely make a coherent sentence most of the time!). The mayan's had prepared the freshest Mahi Mahi and guacamole I've ever eaten.

Friday we cruised around, and here we are today back in Miami. As I'm getting charged by the minute, gonna leave it at this for now. Rob, THANKS FOR THE CAMERA!! It was the best thing I could have borrowed, it's the only one we use and came in great for the Dunn's River Falls as well as the Stingrays and beaches. We've got 1 more excursion booked for Tuesday, in St. Maarten, then that's it for that. We have not very exciting stops this week, Shithole San Juan and back to Haiti, so we're going to make the most of St. Maarten.

Okay, that's it - hope all is well back on the Mainland. See ya in another week!