tedwords

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

A little sad today, as our trip is winding down, but I still smile when I look back at the past cruise (although what happened took place yesterday definitely did not make me smile, but more on that in another post). There were so many memories and places during our week on Rhapsody of the Seas that I can't really mention everything and I know I will never have the endurance for seven separate posts, so I will try and condense it all into a photo a day, if possible.

Day one was our boarding the ship day, so here is a view of our balcony, which was located at the back of the boat. I know, its not too exciting, but get to overhear a fascinating fight while we were in our cabin involving the couple next door. The wife was drunk and upset because her husband hasn't had sex with her in three years and was carrying on a secret double life with some guy named Nigel, who he kept texting. It was actually kind of heartbreaking and sad, but just imagine Corb and I with our ears to the wall, listening attentively to every juicy detail.

Day Two, Tobago

I really thought this was going to be the highlight of the trip, but it turned out to be just the start. Day one was spent traveling to Argyle Falls, with a short hike to Tobago’s highest waterfall. Corb wasn't feeling that comfortable with his swimming skills at this point, but I had to swim in the natural rock pools and make my way to to the bottom of the 54 meter waterfall. The water felt terrific! It was cold at first but I quickly grew accustomed.

One thing that was different this time around was the amount of swimming we did all week long. I don't think I have ever been on excursion where we had so many opportunities to swim, and I took advantage of each and every one of them.

Day Three, Trinidad

I wasn't much impressed with Trinidad, to be honest...our guide Renee had warned us about not wandering around there (so maybe I was given a bad impression to begin with), but I will say that we missed our original excursion and ended up going to Maracas Beach, which turned out to be the best decision we made that day. The afternoon spent resting on the beach and body surfing in the waves was amazing, and this was the point where Corb started to feel really comfortable with the water, so we spent at least an hour catching the waves. It was a bit hectic at first, as you can only rent an umbrella with cash, but the Shark and Bake restaurant added some cash to our bill so we could claim our space. We had some Shark Bake in the afternoon, and it was delicious.

Day Four, Dominica

Dominica was another waterfall day, as we traveled to Morne Trois Pitons National Park, which is named after its highest mountain, Morne Trois Pitons, meaning mountain of three peaks. It also has a huge waterfall and a swimming hole, and this time, Corn joined me (I think the swimming yesterday helped). This watering space wasn't as big or deep as the first day, which also helped, I think, although we did spy a large crab on the rocks which made the Corbster extremely nervous.

Day Five, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

I may post two photos here, because this definitely was a highlight. Corb was brave and agreed to go snorkling with me in Moonhole, but he quickly realized once he got in that the undertow was way too strong for him and he starting freaking out and drifting away from the boat. A bit anxiety producing, but I helped him back to the boat and then did some snorkling on my own. The view of Moonhole was breathtaking.

The rest of the day was more peaceful, as we made our way to a nearby beach for a lunch and then two hours of body surfing. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that and didn't want to get out of the water.

Day Six, Grenada

I personally think that Grenada is one of the most beautiful of the islands, but our tour was cancelled and honestly? We were tired by this point! So, this was really the only photo we took of Grenada. Instead, we spent the day swimming in the Solarium and sunning ourselves by the pools and it turned out to be a really relaxed, low key day. Also, we were preparing ourselves for...

Day Seven, St. Lucia

Mud baths in St. Lucia! We saved the best for last. What an amazing experience this was, and something I had to find off excursion, as Royal Caribbean didn't offer anything like it. That off excursion did come with a kind of price: our driver Mr. Isaac starting drinking at ten in the morning (and the roads in St. Lucia are super windy!) and his daughter, who he called the boss, had to meet us to take over the tour (at one point her forgot to put the car in park and it started rolling down a hill with us in it). She was great and the day was lovely, with the hot mud baths and then another waterfall, another botanical garden, and then, she dropped us off at a party cruise, where we did some more body surfing and bopped around to Take on Me and YMCA. And then, the boat dropped us off at our boat. It was phenomenal.

This lady was insane.

And now, it's over! And we are holed up in Barbados until tomorrow, when we have to take a 12 hour flight to Canada, then home, instead of our intended trip to Miami. But that's an awful story for another day...

Today, I celebrate the gifts I've been given, and give thanks to seven days of wonderful memories.