Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

It was so nice to be in San Juan, Puerto Rico with cell phone service so I could Facetime with my family back home to celebrate today :D It’s always hard to be away from my loved ones around the holiday seasons; but thanks to technology, I was able to see the warm smiles and hear the loving voices of those I miss most! So today, I am thankful for the internet and cell phone service that allowed me to speak to my family and friends! :D 

These past two weeks I’ve been spending most of my days on the beach with the exception of Roatan, Honduras. Joce, Lucky, Ian (our friend from the broadcast department), and I hopped in a taxi to tour the downtown and get some food. It reminded me a lot of my time I spent in Brazil. The atmosphere was relaxed, everyone was on island time! 

Labadee, Haiti is one of Royal Caribbean’s private islands, a beautiful secluded paradise. They have a roller coaster, zip-line, and jet skiing that I have added to my “to do list” for this port. We will be there every week so I will be able to do a lot of activities, including lazily reading on the beach :)

On November 20th we were docked in Cozumel, my first time in Mexico!!!!! Joce, Lucky, Ian, LeConte and I went scuba diving and it was UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! We were 50 feet beneath the surface, swimming among the fish and skimming the sand at the bottom of the ocean floor. I saw the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen in my life! I also saw beautiful coral, a stingray, giant crabs, hundreds of fish varying in color and size, even a barracuda! The best part was getting close enough to touch a large sea turtle as he was munching on his meal. He was curious about us but I couldn’t believe how he allowed us to approach him and take pictures! It’s a completely different world down there, and I can’t wait to explore more!!!!! I feel like Ariel, the Little Mermaid!!!! :D 

November 25th we were ported in St. Maarten again. We dock on the Dutch side, so Joe (piano bar player), Sarah and I took a taxi to the French side. We spent some time downtown, devouring divine French cuisine. I had a savory crepe with vegetables and eggs, and a chocolate croissant :) After brunch, we took the local bus towards the beach. This, was an adventure! There were some hilarious teenagers who spoke very little English, and thought we were equally amusing. They would repeat any word we said that they hadn’t heard before, laughing hysterically. The “bus” itself was a run down car, torn seats and no seat belts. I had a seat that folded up and I had to keep standing to let people off as we came to their “stop”. I put this in quotations because there’s no assigned stops, you just yell to the driver to stop. Joe had been to the Orient Beach before so he knew when to yell! Once we were dropped off, we said “au revoir” to our French friends, one named Loompa (I’m not sure if they were playing a joke on us but I said I liked his name and would name my dog Loompa in honor of him. HAHA). We walked for about 15 mins down a windy hill surrounded by gorgeous beach homes and resorts. I was reminded of my time in LA when my roommates and I would drive thru Beverly Hills or somewhere we knew the wealthy lived and marvel at the mansions. It was a peaceful walk and the beach was lovely. I enjoyed reading beneath the trees and laying in the warm sand. Next St. Maarten we plan on returning to the French side, perhaps by renting jeeps so we can find a private beach! 

So far my time in the Caribbean has been fun and memorable. I have my snorkel to discover sea treasures and I can’t wait to start working towards my scuba certification!