Hola de Espana!

Welp, I made it across the Atlantic Ocean!  It was quite the trip.  Luckily, we didn't hit any major storms and the seas were not too rocky.  But I did get a little tired of not seeing land for so long!

We found ways of entertaining our self, by going to the specialty restaurants, reading, and sleeping until noon!

Dinner at Silk Harvest the Asian restaurant with Matthew, Brook and Sanci and Tim (not pictured)

Cast Picture before Dinner at Tuscan Grill

Our first stop on land, after being at sea for 8 days was Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands.  I was lucky enough to be a tour escort on a Shore Excursion! We went to Taganana, a small fishing village. It was beautiful!

View from Mirador de Jardina, looking down on La Laguna

At Playa de las Teresitas, a beach made of sand imported from the Sahara Desert

Our next stop was Lisbon, Portugal.  I am officially a cultured woman, as I have been on European soil! I got to do another Excursion.  This one was called "Sintra and Cascais 4WD Safari".  Andrew would have loved it! We went in this Jeep-like vehicle called a UMM.  It is a Portugal-made car. 

We stopped in the fishing town of Cascais, Pico da Roca, which is the Western-most point in Europe and have the same latitude as the Statue of Liberty!  That was the closest that I will be to all of you in the USA until October!  We then went off-roading in the National Park.  It was awesome!

Cascais

Pico da Roca

Our final stop was the picturesque town of Sintra.  I got Euros out of the ATM for the first time.  They look like play Monopoly money and I bought some postcards.  Even with the rain and fog, it was an incredible day in Portugal!

Sintra

Yesterday we were in Cadiz, Spain.  I got to go on a tour to Seville!  I saw the Plaza de Espana, Real Alcazar and the Cathedral de Seville.  Real Alcazar was a fortified castle built in the eleventh century.  It was absolutely beautiful.  To think that this building has been around for so many years and still looks just as great as it did then is incredible.  The Cathedral de Seville is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world.  It was awe inspiring to walk in there and feel so small.  Inside the Cathedral is actually the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Seville is a beautiful city with over 3,000 years of history.  It is hard to imagine. 

Plaza de Espana

Real Alcazar Courtyard

In one of the gardens in Real Alcazar (this picture was actually taken by one of the guests on my tour who was born in Westbrook, Maine!)

The Cathedral de Sevilla

Cathedral de Cadiz

I am so honored to be able to be adventuring and exploring the world at this time in my life.  I wore one of the belts that I got from Grandma Cuffey around Seville yesterday and I know that she would be so proud of me.  She loved to travel the world and I know she is watching down on me from Heaven with a huge smile on her face.  My mom says that certain traits skip a generation.  I guess I got the adventurous gene from her.  I think we just need to convince my mom and dad to come cruise with me in the Mediterranean! I miss and think about my family and friends everyday and wish you were all here to share these amazing places with me.

Last Week in the Caribbean

Our last week in the Caribbean was so much fun!  First of all, I have the best family in the entire world. My “mailbox” was full this week and it really made my heart full of love.  Happy Easter!

We had three ports of call this week, San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.  It was my second time going to these places, so I knew my way around a little more than the first time.  In San Juan we went to the shopping mall and then to the same pizza place as two weeks ago.  I had a half mushroom, half pesto pizza and it was maybe the best pizza I have ever tasted!  After the pizza, I went to see one of the forts near the port of San Juan.  The fort was beautiful at night and provided a lovely nighttime view of the Solstice. 

We only had a few hours to get off the ship in St. Thomas, but I knew that I had to (especially since we are going to have 7 days at sea on the trans-Atlantic  next week), so a few of us went to the beach.  The water was so warm, clear and beautiful.  And St. Thomas is a US Virgin Island so I was able to call my mom and dad from my cell phone.  It was a lovely few hours spent with great friends before a show of PULSE. 

Thursday, our day off, we were in St. Maarten.  It just might be one of my favorite days so far.  A few of us rented ATV’s and drove all the way around the island.  Our first stop was a beautiful little beach where you could wade out to a small island.  It reminded me on Boy Scout Island so much and really made me miss home.  The ocean, rocky beach, wind, sea creatures and friends made it so wonderful.  I searched the tide pools, like any good New England girl, found a black sea urchin, and earned the nickname “Maritime Girl”!

Our next stop was lunch on the French side of the island at a delicious French restaurant. 

Our final stop was Airport Beach.  The airplanes literally take off and land right over your head while you are swimming in the water or relaxing on the beach.  It was awesome!  When a plane would take off, the exhaust would blow the sand so hard, down the beach a ways from where we were situated, that it blew peoples hats off and blew them right over.  I imagine it hurt pretty badly.  It was a really amazing last Caribbean port on the ship.

My time spent in the Caribbean has been full of sun, swimming and good times.  As we start our trans-Atlantic voyage, on the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, I am very happy to be where I am doing what I am doing, with the people I am with.  I am super excited to go to Europe for the first time and experience all the history and amazing places over there, but I know that I will miss the ease and comfort of the United States.  It is going to be a huge challenge for me, but I think that it will help me learn and I will grow as a person from these experiences.  Bon voyage for now! The next time I post, I will be across the Atlantic Ocean! I love you all very much. 

Settling in...

It has been a little while since my last post, but paying for internet really puts a damper on the amount of posts I can “post” J  But here we go.  I think the most exciting parts about the last two weeks have been the places that I have been able to see.  I have been able to get off the ship in five amazing ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Netherlands, Cozumel, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras.  So, here goes.

On March 27^th, we were in San Juan.  We went to this delicious pizza parlor.  This coming Tuesday when we are back in San Juan we are going to see one of the forts that are near the port.

March 28^th, we were in St. Thomas.  There really was nothing to do right at the port where we were docked.  You would have to take a cab or bus to a beach on the other side of the island.  We didn’t have enough time to do that, so a few of us just got off and sat on the land.  Right there on the rocks were these lizards.  There were tons of them, so of course I took a picture with them!

March 29^th was our full day off in St. Maarten.  We spent a relaxing day on the beach and in the clear blue water.  It was a lovely day. 

Cozumel, Mexico might be my favorite port so far.  We were there on Wednesday, April 4^th and I got to go scuba diving!  I was really excited, but once we had our lessons and actually got into the water I kind of started to panic.  I had a difficult time breathing out of my mouth.  I guess I am a nose breather (maybe that’s why I don’t mind the dentist!).  But after a little while I kind of got use to it and started to look at all the amazing sights around me.  I saw a whole school of fish, beautiful coral, and a trumpet fish.   I even touched a sea anemone that shrank back into itself when I touched it.  We went down about 30 feet and were underwater for about 45 minutes.  I am so glad that I was able to get over my fears and scuba dive for the first time.

In Cozumel, after scuba diving, we went to a crew hangout and jumped into the water. 

After jumping in the water we went to a grocery store called Mega.  It was crazy not being able to read any of the products or understand how much they cost because everything was in pesos.  But I bought some postcards and incredible donuts.  Aunt Cyndy, this picture is for you because I know how much you love to explore grocery stores.  Mega had a full fish just chilling right in the middle. 

April 5^th was our day off in Roatan, Honduras.  I went to Las Palmas-Pirate Bay with a few friends.  We had to take a bus to the beach, where they had a pirate ship, food, sun chairs, palm trees and a little private beach.  It was a beautiful day. 

Hope you enjoyed all of my pictures!  I am having an amazing time.  My friend, Owen, took pictures of Ghostlight, our Broadway show.  In one of my later posts I will post them because the show looks pretty awesome and I would love for you all to see them!