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.