Cruising

By popular demand, some details about Caribbean odyssey 2008 …

This Christmas break was the longest, best holiday in recent memory. The first time in years that I was able to completely relax, without thesis work brewing in the back of my mind. (Wow — I am soOooooo glad that flippin' phd gig is 100% behind me! woOT!)

First there was a stint in Toronto to touch base with family there. Spent a couple days at Jane’s and then in Markham. Was fantastic to catch up, and to squeeze in visits with some dear pals. (Bummer that I couldn't incorporate Manitoulin into the holidays sched :( — my Kagawong crew could really use a cheery visit these days... I'll be searching for a window to make the voyage!)

For a couple years, Derek and I have tossed around the idea of a brother-sister trip, to treat ourselves and celebrate some big accomplishments at work and in life. Basically, to spend some time together (now that we live five provinces apart) and to toast being fully functional adults, family and friends! ;) So we finally did it over Christmas.

We booked a week-long cruise in the Western Caribbean with Carnival. After the family gig (Derek was there too, after travelling from his home in Alberta), I flew from Toronto to Miami, and he did the same route a few hours later. We were so lucky to squeak out, with all the snow storms that wreaked havoc on people's holiday travel. Spent 2 nights in a hipster boutique hotel in South Beach. That was super cool — jogging along the ocean, fab people watching (the cutest range of dogs!), tasty food was eaten, and many fruity drinks were downed =D

All in balmy sunshine, perfect shorts-and-tshirt weather. Awesome.

Strolling in the Art Deco district.

Our taxi ride to the port of Miami was surreal. All of a sudden we arrived near the water and there was a string of giant cruise ships, floating amid swanky condos. We couldn’t believe we were actually about to get on one! (Derek coined the catch-phrase that we used ad-nauseum, leading up to and during the trip, including when we pulled up in the cab: “toot-f*-toot!!!”, in imitation of a ship's horn).

We said goodbye to our bags as a porter whisked them away (doh, cross your fingers for those wine bottles) and went through the boarding process. A short wait later, we walked the gangway and entered the Carnival Valor. A vessel with so many floors (14) it felt like a floating building. String music, drinks and lunch up on the deck were nice welcoming touches while we waited for the rooms to be ready. (I admit to snorting several times during all of this, finding it hard to process being among a few thousand Griswolds for a Caribbean Christmas Vacation. But what the hell!)

Port of Miami - first moments on the ship

Two hours later we could access the room and were totally blown away. Larger than I'd imagined; a big window when we only paid for an interior room; really nice furnishings with a tv; and a cute bathroom and lots of storage space. It really was a hotel on the sea. Toot-f*-toot! (Oh in case you’re wondering, yes, Love Boat jokes were frequent and encouraged: “Where’s Julie? I wonder what’s happening on the Lido Deck? Hey, ask Isaac to make me a margarita will ya. I hope Scott Baio is the guest star this week!”, etc. Wokka-wokka…)

I could continue to write pages of boring descriptions of our week on the boat. Of course we had an amazing time, and I’ll try stick to the highlights…

• The food was incredible, way beyond what I expected. Almost every night we ate in the formal dining room, delicious menus, but there were also so many other options: a sushi counter, a seafood bar, midnight buffets, a 24hr pizza kitchen, ice cream fountain, on and on. (We got into some dangerous routines, like pizza at midnight, yum)

• To balance this out and not become fat sows, we hit the awesome gym several times. Also took advantage of the spa, bars, library, casino, my new travel Scrabble board, so much to do! The only dud was a “30s meet and greet” in a piano bar… it was so lame we had to walk out, cracking up, while some dude played Billy Joel songs. (Apparently the social convener was 30-something in about 1975. Yikes).

• Grand Cayman Island — our first port-of-call. Instead of forking out cash for a day trip, or following all the other tourists (as in, from 5 ships at once!) like sheep, we asked a local to recommend a nearby beach. We walked to a little cove and it was perfect: rugged black coral and rock formations, a short swim in gorgeous salt water, glimpses of colourful tropical fish, lunch on the beach, and we got completely soaked walking back to the port in a flash storm. But it was free and the rain was warm, yahoo!

• Roatan Island, Honduras — again we freestyled it... jumped in a cab and asked for a local tour. Super exciting to be in Central America and suddenly have to draw on my very rudimentary spanish (I think Derek was impressed!). We visited an iguana farm, took in the stunning forest and ocean views, and drank some local beer by the water. There were also some strange moments that Christmas Eve day: I witnessed a bizarre fist-fight at the boat's customer service desk, and a large fire engulfed a home on the shore as we prepared to set sail.

Honduras

• Belize City, Belize — I joined a sight-seeing trip to visit the ruins of an ancient Mayan city, Altun Ha, one of the highlights of the week for me. It was a relatively small community of about 10,000 people (~600BC to 900 AD) but thought to be affluent and important as a trading and ceremonial centre. The site is also famous for the discovery of the largest known Mayan jade carving... a nice coincidence for me is that the archaeologist who found it back in the 1960s was from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. This jade head is apparently one of Belize's national treasures (and locked up tight somewhere!). Then we returned to the ocean via river speed boat (after arriving by bus). Saw many crocodiles, colourful birds and plants as we whizzed by...

Altun Ha Mayan site, Belize

• Cozumel, Mexico — might as well finish off the trip with a lazy beach day, eh? Not much to say here beyond what you'd expect: warm sun, sand, swimming in the sea. Flippin' sweet.

Yes you like Pina Coladas...

During the week I was generally blown away by my brother's social abilities, having forgotten how easily he can make friends. Example: he introduces himself to a nice 50'ish dude in the lounger next to us. I head to the room to grab hats for the strong sun. I return 20 minutes later to find him in the pool, smiling and chatting with Butch and his family. When I go to pass over the hat, the entire pool erupts into chanting "Derek! Derek!". Utterly hilarious! Seriously, the man commands a crowd :)

Hey, it's all about the Baby Jesus after all (Cozumel)

So that about sums ‘er up. Hard to believe the trip is already in the past, after so much dreaming and planning. For two siblings who really like each other but have very different interests, a cruise was the perfect way to travel together. Don't know if I'd do another one, 'cause I generally prefer the backpacking approach, but we had a blast. The only crappy thing was missing home… because, happily, I really had something to miss. Someone, in fact! But that is a story for another time, heh heh...