Summer Adventures Part 2: The Cruise

Visit  a Country I've Never Been To 

Check! Of course I added this to the list having already made plans to travel to another country. Ronnie and I took a cruise with his family on Carnival Liberty. In fact, according to this list of the world's countries (of which there are 195), I actually visited FOUR new countries: Bahamas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos. All in one action-packed week.

Here is a brief summary of each. Keep in mind I spent less than a day there.

Bahamas:

If you picture "the Caribbean" you are probably actually picturing the Bahamas without even knowing it. We visited Half Moon Cay and it was literally the most picturesque place I have ever been. White sand, palm trees, crystal clear water.

We probably would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so ungodly hot. The only time we left the water was to order another piña colada. 

U.S. Virgin Islands:

We only visited St. Thomas, but it was BY FAR our favorite island of the four. Something about the combination of tree-covered mountains, steep cliffs, and the classic blue water was mesmerizing.

We went snorkeling that day, off of a catamaran, to an underwater shipwreck, with unlimited free rum punch afterwards. So yeah, best day ever. Even though I couldn't figure out how to secure my snorkeling vest and wound up doing exactly what they told me NOT to do- letting it ride up over my shoulders so that I looked, in official snorkeling lingo, "like Spongebob Squarepants."

Also all the crew on our boat were American expats who clearly loved their lives. They filled us in on the pros and cons of living in paradise; for example rum costs $2 a bottle, but milk costs $9.

Puerto Rico:

I was actually most excited to visit Puerto Rico, and I did enjoy it in a different kind of way. We visited the Bacardi Distillery while we were there, and that was a lot of fun. Not only because they gave us two free drinks, and Ronnie was feeling dehydrated so I had to drink his free drinks, too. Also we found out that a rum and Bacardi is officially called a "Cuba Libre" which is fun to say (Koo-ba Li-bray).

The compound was really beautiful, as was the city of San Juan itself. It was a city and not a beach, but it was a good way to break up the other days.

We made the mistake (okay who am I kidding it was the best decision ever) of stopping at Señor Frog's on the way back to the ship, where perhaps a language barrier caused us to accidentally order our drinks in a size known as a "yard." 

Meanwhile we only had 20 minutes to get back to the ship. So that was a challenge. But it did make our day in Puerto Rico all the more memorable.

Turks and Caicos: 

If only I had known what the beach at Grand Turk was going to be like; I never would have left the Bahamas. The sand was pebbly and the water was rocky, it was crowded, and we got caught in a monsoon.

I mean, paradise is paradise. Maybe I was just "beached out" but this point.
A cruise is also all about the food, and I did get a chance to try 3 new things while I was there. Unfortunately I was having too much of a good time to take any pictures of the food, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Shark:
While I had my concerns about the sustainability of this product, I was assured that the only inhumane thing to each was shark fin soup. Nevertheless, I only had a bite of Ronnie's shark, in the form of a shark fritter. It tasted like any other seafood fritter- fried, and fishy.

Escargot:
This came in a garlic butter sauce with dipping bread. My first impression was that it looked like mushrooms. My second impression was that it tasted like mushrooms, but maybe that was biased from my first impression. It wasn't as slimy or as chewy as I always imagined, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Frog's Legs:
This was probably the most adventurous item because it came in leg form; there was no disguising what you were eating. Everyone says they taste like chicken, but Julie and I thought- stay with me here- they were exactly between the taste and texture of chicken and fish. So, good all in all.

The cruise was definitely a unique experience that everyone would probably enjoy trying at least once. However, it is more of an adventure vacation than a relaxing vacation. Good for the stories, and the pictures. And the tan. But one of those vacations that you need a vacation afterwards to recover from.

Really I'm just relieved that we didn't wind up stranded in the middle of the ocean.