When I decided to sign a contract for Royal Caribbean, I had absolutely no idea that this decision would lead to what has been the stuff that daydreams are made of. You know when you watch a movie, and the setting is so beautiful and the characters have such remarkable experiences, that you never imagine that such a life can exist (the Hawaiian paradise in "50 First Dates," and the resort setting in "Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie" spring to mind)? I have found that, if you have enough time and money to fund it, this exquisite life does exist. If you don't have the money for travel and accomodation, then working on a ship provides an easy answer: get paid to entertain the guests by night, and by day, use your wages to jump off cliffs in Capri, visit The Vatican in Rome, and swim with dolphins in Mexico (being sure to capture a shot of yourself beveling in each location).
Until visiting the island of Capri, I thought that it was a type of trousers and a Colbie Caillat song, which, having never paid attention to the lyrics, I had no idea was actually about the island. Upon entering Capri, we sat down for a tea and coffee, where the friendly restaurant manager told us that, if we wanted to hire a boat, he would sort it out for us at a "special rate." This rate sounded reasonable, and we took him up on the deal. We spent 3 hours being driven around the island on our own private boat by a local man who, though very quiet, answered all of our stupid tourist questions and spoke of interesting facts and sights. The highlight of the day was having the chance to jump off the cliffs into the sea. I am uncomfortable swimming in the sea for fear of scary marine life, and had to be coaxed out of the boat to swim to the cliffs. Once on the cliffs, there were 3 different heights at which one could jump. I watched a few of my friends jump from the highest point. I opted for jumping from the middle point as a warm-up for the top. After jumping and climbing back onto the cliffs, I looked over the top ledge and tried to convince myself that I could do it, but I was shaking and too afraid and yelled, "what if I have a heart attack on the way down???" My heart was racing so fast, I actually thought that it might stop on the way down. Having swam in the sea was one fear conquered that day, and my nerves got the best of me, so I jumped off from the middle point again, nonetheless happy to have jumped off a cliff in Capri. How many people in the world have had such a chance?
When in Rome, I suppose that one should visit The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, right? So, we did, and now I can say that I have. Would I ever do this again? Absolutely not. Though not a believer of organised religion, I still fancy myself to be more spiritually inclined that the average-Jane (I mean, having consultations with astrologers and psychics makes me pretty spiritual, right??). However, I found our visit to Vatican City to be absolutely lacking in any spiritual or religious inclination. It cannot be denied that the architecture is astounding. The disappointing fact that all the money spent on the buildings could feed a couple of 3rd world nations did not make it less astounding to me, but it did tarnish my faith in the "faithful." I felt the tourism factor to be as high as in Orlando, creating a further incongruence. This was especially highlighted when we went to see the Sistine Chapel, and waited on line for what felt like over an hour, because as you enter the museum, you are taken into a queue that is not unlike the waiting lines at Disneyworld, and it moves frustratingly slowly while it gets increasingly stuffy. By the time we saw Michelangelo's famous creation, we looked up for 30 seconds, said to each other, "that's it?" and huffed and puffed our way out of the museum. I would choose a day spent in the Louvre over a day spent at Vatican City in a heartbeat. At least we had the opportunity to go, and, for all the exasperation of the day, we still were glad to have witnessed this important slice of history. We then had slices of fresh and delectable pizza along the waterfront.
By the time Liberty of the Seas left the Mediterannean for the Caribbean, it was growing cold and grey, and we were more than ready for the promise of sun and sand. Having been in the Carribbean for two weeks, I proclaim myself as one of the luckiest people in the world. The Caribbean has given us some of the best experiences of our lives. And we didn't even have to pay airfare.
A trait (flaw?) of mine which my parents have never been able to understand, is how much I adore tackiness. Having opted not to live in the States for many years, they love the grace and charm of Europe. They would happily join my ship on a Mediterranean cruise, but I probably couldn't pay them to take a Caribbean cruise. As for me, the second I saw the port of Belize with all its gaudy, colorful buildings and cheap stalls, my excitement sky rocketed. We decided to take a snorkeling tour, which included a stop at a tiny island called Goff's Caye. During the boat ride to Goff's Caye (named after a British general), we were entertained by a couple of locals who fed us amusing tidbits about Belize (did you know that orange juice can be made of 98% Belize oranges and 2% Florida oranges, and still be marketed as Floridian orange juice?) and flirted with the ladies like dogs in heat. Goff's Caye was simply beautiful, and though there were other people on it, we still felt like we were on our own little private paradise. We spent an hour snorkeling. Unfortunately, the visibility was only about 70%, and we didn't see an abundance of sea life, but I was just grateful that there were no sharks to encounter. I'm suprised that I had as much fun as I did, considering my fear of swimming in the ocean. I'm even looking forward to snorkeling again. After oooohing and aaaaahing at the fish and coral, we went back to Goff's Caye where a man with a single barbeque prepared for us our choice of lobster or chicken. There was also complimentary rum punch flowing, and it was a funny sight watching our guides, who had made sure that we were all safely back on land, now tossing the rum punch back along with shots of the harder stuff.
Next up on our itnerary was the best yet: a day at Chankanaab National Park in Cozumel, Mexico, swimming with dolphins. Within two minutes of arriving at the park, I had a parrot on my head and a gigantic lizard (some sort of dragon??) in my arms. As my friends pulled out their cameras, we were told that it would be $5 per picture. We happily let ourselves be ripped off to document this hilarious encounter. We spent an hour with 2 female dolphins, Alexia, and America (Ryan, my colleague from Indiana, who is constantly proclaiming America as the best country in the world, was ecstatic that he got to kiss America). America's 7 month old calf was being trained in the arena that we were swimming in, so we also got to spend time with the baby, which was a very special treat. As it was the birthday of my colleague, Lucas, our trainer got America and Alexia to sing happy birthday for him, another lovely treat. After saying goodbye to our dolphin friends, we met 3 manatees, who are known as elephants of the sea. They are adorably ugly and gigantic, but the trainer told us that, regardless of their size, manatees are always gentle and never ever threatening. Due to this, they are an endangered species with only about 3000 left in the world. We got to feed one of the manatees, a male named Angel, carrot and papaya. Cue our own lunch time. We found the restaurant, where our waiter said that we could order lunch on the beach. Fantastic! So we ate our lunch in the comfort of big wooden beach chairs under the shade of huge umbrellas made of bark. The beach was nowhere near crowded, and it definitely beat the atmosphere of the over-populated beaches that I have been to in Florida. I took myself exploring and found a "spa," which consisted of an open hut on the edge of a lagoon with 4 massage tables. There are few things I enjoy more than getting a massage, so I treated myself to a 45 minute deep tissue massage. During the massage, I floated away feeling the breeze on my skin and hearing the birds chirping away. It started to rain and the sound of raindrops added to this most magical of experiences. With a couple of hours left before we had to leave, I spent the rest of the day drinking juice out of a coconut and sunbathing. I asked the bar tender to chop the coconut open when I finished the juice so that I could eat the meat, and it was delightful. I didn't want our perfect day at Chankanaab park to end.
Interspersed throughout our Caribbean cruises are port days in Ft. Lauderdale where running errands like depositing money at the bank and picking up bits and bobs at the mall are a real novelty. I cannot believe how good life is right now. Perhaps it is the Universe's gift to me after 2 years of anxiety and struggling in NYC. Would life be this good if I booked a Broadway show? I honestly am not sure how attractive the idea of returning to a city environment sounds right about now. There would be no beaches, no dolphins, no cliffs...
The point is, I am not sure what I want to do after this contract. It has certainly raised alot of questions that I am not yet ready to answer. Having beaches at my fingertips may turn into an addiction. However will I feed that addiction back in New York? Should I move to Hawaii? Spend a year living with my folks in Spain? Sign another ship contract? Return to the city to continue fighting for a place on Broadway? I hold onto the faith that answers will come to me in the way that they have always done: by pursuing the things that make me most happy. I am a most happy (and lucky) daydreamer in paradise.
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