Islands visited: 4 (Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel) New animals touched during trip: about 6 Crushes formed during trip: 1 Fantasies about crush formed during trip: about 47 Fantasies about Johnny Depp during trip: about 30 (v. low for one week) Sexual advances denied during trip: 2 (v. good) Number of Bridget Jones novels read during trip that account for this blatantly plagaristic beginning to entry: 1 Day 1: From PA to FL and Check In. There really isn't too much to tell about the first day of the cruise. It was mostly travel in the morning from Philadelphia to Miami by plane (argh!) then about four series of long lines to get through security and check-in on the ship. Once we got on the ship, Becca and I immediately headed to our rooms, where no sooner than five minutes after moving in all of our luggage, we were greeted by a short (about 5'1, I was taller than he, fast-talking bald man from Costa Rica named McKenzie (last name, not first). He told us he'd be our cabin attendant and gave us the basic rundown of how to get his services. If you've ever traveled by cruise on Royal Carribean International, you will know that not one employee of the ship is from the United States. This, in my opinion was the best part of the cruise, because here in Nowhere, PA, that kind of diversity just doesn't exist, and I love meeting people from other parts of the world. We then took a basic tour around the ship and were disappointed to discover that the "mall" on the ship was actually juist a bunch of stores selling jewelry and alcohol. Next, we went to dinner for the first night and met our waiter Kenroy, from St. Vincent (island by Barbados), our assistant waitress Dina, from Romania, and our head waiter Rajiv (we just called him Raj), from India. This was the crush I spoke of in the introduction. Oh boy. He had these beautiful eyes that made me literally swoon. I'd get twitchy-like just looking at him for a while. And he was the nicest guy as well, which just added to the whole mixture. For example, every paycheck, he sends half of his earnings home to his father in India, whom he's excited about returning to see in two years, when he's done working here. Day 2: A "Fun" Day at Sea. On the way to our first destination of Hispaniola, Haiti, we pretty much did nothing the whole day. My parents and their friends, Frank and Peg, who'd come with us, went up and sat by the pool, as did Becca. I read my books and slept and that was the extent of the day. Started to feel a bit seasick too. They say you can't feel the movement of the boat because of its size, but thats a lie. Day 3: Labadee, Hispaniola, Haiti. What a Scam. On the way to Labadee Beach in Haiti, we learn that the Beach is owned by Royal Carribean, so its not geniunely Hatian territory. Thus, we saw no natives, which really detracts from the whole experience. A bit angered by this fact, I proceeded to go through the day laying out under the sun on the beach and practicing snorkeling for Mexico. Saw some schools of fish and squid, but nothing too exciting. Ended up with massive sunburn, as I never applied lotion before going out and was lily white. As a result, I'm still lily white because my skin, burned to a crisp, is currently peeling, and stripping itself of it's tan. Boo to that. Dad says I look "like a leper". Thanks, Dad. Day 4: Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Get Me Out Of Here. The beginning part of Jamaica was the best: early in the morning, we swam with the dolphins. This really wasn't swimming, it was more like interacting. We danced with our dolphin, Misty, had her sing for us, had her kiss us, and got to pet her/"hold" her for a short period of time. Dad ended up holding her in the wrong area and had to be scolded by the dolphin trainer for touching her genetalia, to which our dolphin guide Jose remarked, "Look, she's really smilin' now!" Next my parents, Frank and Peg, and I, minus Becca who had been conned into getting her hair braided like the locals and thus transformed into a total wigger, took a walk through the "jungle" where I got to hold a boa constrictor, a macaw, and an iguana. Next, we went to Dunn's River Falls, which is this 600 foot waterfall that you climb on foot. It was one of the single most chaotic experiences of our lives. At every turn, there were about fifty Jamaicans, pushing us out of the way, then getting pissed if we fell on them, which Frank unfortunately did. Angry Jamaicans combined with slippery rocks was not a good thing. Then some guy started following my sister around, whistling "Pretty, pretty" areound her, so we decided it was time to go back to the ship. However on the way out of the falls, we were tailed by a man trying to hawk his goods to "rich Americans", who followed us all the way out of the park and hurled insults such as "Racists!" at us when we refused to buy what he wanted. Basically, we were glad to just leave, and my images of Jamaica as a beautiful, harmonious place were destroyed. Dinner this night was especially fun. We had a sort of "dance party" where we did the Macarena and other things. Frank danced with Kenroy and Dina, and Dad tried to get Raj, who wasn't dancing, into it but all Raj could do was laugh at Dad's crazy large white guy moves. Day 5: Grand Cayman Islands. Stingrays! The day I was waiting for, where we got to swim with the stingrays out on the sandbar at Stingray City, was just as wonderful as I'd imagined. It took one stingray gliding over your foot to get used to the sensation. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous at first, but then it became great. I fed them some squid from a bucket (you have to do this at some point in your life, feeling a stingray suck on your hand or leg is very interesting) and got to hold some of them by sticking my hands out when I saw one coming. They're really very friendly things; they'll swim right up on you if you invite them to. Day 6: Cozumel, Mexico. My Favorite. I never expected that I'd like Mexico the best of all the stops on our trip, but I did. We went snorkeling in the morning, which was cool, but the current was terrible, then did other things in Mexico. While Mom, Peg, and Becca went shopping at the tourist mall the ship left us at, Dad, Frank, and I rented a red vintage Volkswagen convertible and drove around Cozumel. We stopped at a Bob Marley rasta cafe by the shore and drank cheap sodas and beers while reclining in hammocks, reggae music blasting, and watching the absolutely beautiful beaches of Cozumel. Seriously. They were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life...competing with Raj, of course ;-). Then we went shopping, but on the back roads of Cozumel, where I bought a huge black and white Mexican blanket with a picture of an Indian man carrying a woman on it. Its awesome. While my sister was a bit of an attraction to the locals in Jamaica, it was my turn in Mexico. At the place where I bought my blanket (the PeePee Stop, hehe), the two girls at the counter (one about my age, one about seven or eight) kept staring and pointing and whispering at my mouth because of my braces. Next, when we went to a store in downtown Cozumel, I had a twenty-something Mexican guy try to pick me up. When I answered "Si" to his question of "Hablas espanol?" he proceeded to ask me..in Spanish of course, my name and whether or not I had a "hot boyfriend" back home. When I gave him the respective answers, he said that I was "bonita" and asked why couldn't he be my boyfriend? I said, "Yo no se" and left. Day 7: Farewell. Another "fun" day at sea, but mostly for packing. Leaving is never fun, and this was easily the worst part of the trip, competing with Jamaica. Dinner was the worst part, saying goodbye to Kenroy and Raj (Dina got sick so we never had the chance to say bye to her). But it was nice. As we shook hands with each of them before leaving, I guess my eyes showed sadness or something, because Raj put both of his hands on mine and said, "Smile for me" and when I did, he said, "That's my girl!" and smiled back. Yay. Although it was a sad day, there was one funny thing. Peg, whose normally very reserved and shy around people she doesn't know, ordered a Sex on the Beach from the bar and as a result, got pretty smashed. We all had streamers around our necks from the show at the theater we'd just seen, and as we were waiting in line for dinner, she kept lassoing it over her head and going "Wheeeeeeeeeeew!" pretty loudly. It was highly amusing to see a 42 year old drunk woman do this. So, now that I'm home, it's pretty obvious that PA is craptacular compared to thoe beautiful islands. Despite the horror of having to fly to and from, I'd love to be back there, with those wonderful people on the ship. Sigh.