I'm Back

So I had a bit of a trip eh?

From here to Florida, San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau back to Florida and then home.  What an amazing trip.  We ate great food, saw amazing things and met new friends!

I cannot advocate for traveling enough.  You see so many things and learn so many other things not only about the where you go but about your own home and how you interact with the people around you. On our first cruise we went to see the Mayan ruins of Altun-Ha.  It was a spectacular sight to be sure, walking among and on top of structures that had been built ages ago, you could feel it in the air, the energy of the place.  Our tour guide explained what happened at the site we were at all those ages ago an some one, an American, said "I hate learning about this stuff, why don't they tell us American history?" Or something of the like.  I was aghast at that.  How could someone book an excursion of this nature and not understand that what they were hearing about and seeing was amazing.

Thankfully on this trip we did not encounter that.  We did however find that the people of the Eastern Caribbean especially those that ran tours work whose work depended on tourists not only loved to have people come but also did their utmost to protect the areas they took tourists to.  A perfect example of this was Captain Jim whose took us on our Underwater Adventure excursion to Buck Island just a 30 minute boat ride away from St. Thomas.  He made it very clear that sure you can smoke, but if you flick a butt off the boat that he would exercise his right as Captain to flick a butt of his boat as well.  I thought that was fantastic.  He also made sure to mention about the reefs and fish and such to leave them be so that they would not be damaged.  This message was repeated by nearly every tour operator.

The sights of the trip were amazing and I encourage you to check out the photos on my facebook page if you have not already.  The views were awe inspiring and I can understand why so many people wish to travel to the area and stay.  But the best part was the local food.  Amazing to say the least.  If you ever get the chance to eat Mofongo, do it.  It is wonderful. Conch Fritters are also nice, as is Roti.  I'd LOVE to stay down there just for the food alone, I'd have to be at the gym whenever I was not eating though because I would want to eat soooooooooooooo much!

I cannot recommend a cruise enough.  For me it is perfect, I would be bored to tears at a single resort I think where you sit on the beach all day.  There was so much to do, so many people to meet and new places to explore each day and if you can somehow get around the flight to Florida the cruise itself is cheap!  Also there are tings to win on a cruise and we did win.  Six trophies in all we won over the course of the cruise, something considering that during all the trivia contests Amber and I were up against teams of 4 or 5 and most of the questions were geared towards Americans, is quite significant.  I bet we won more than any other team did.

I am glad to be home and ack! back to school.  I missed my kitties and my friends.  One day when I am a Billionaire I will vacation in the Caribbean once a month and take everyone with me.