We're Back From the Caribbean

We're back from our honeymoon and we had such a wonderful time! At long last... here are the details of our honeymoon. Well, most of them.

Justin and I left the day after Thanksgiving to fly down and catch the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship out of the Port of Miami for 9 days in the Caribbean. The weather was a perfect 81-84 with a light breeze all 9 days and we thoroughly enjoyed soaking up the sun. Our first day was spent at sea where… well, honestly, I slept a lot. It was really windy so laying out in the sun wasn't an option b/c we were too cold and the boat had this great rythmic rocking that made me want to just curl up and nap. On day #2 we pulled into Samana which is on the SE tip of the Dominican Republic. NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) is the only cruise line that goes there and they've only been going there for 3 years… so it's extremely remote w/ not much to do BUT there's this great private island, Cayo Levantado. You have to catch a tender boat to the island and the very first thing they did once all of us were aboard the tender was start passing out life vests. Not very reassuring. Justin and I spent the day on the beach there and he was able to get some snorkeling in... He even brought me a sand dollar which I plan on turning into a Christmas ornament. After getting a very mild sunburn we caught the tender boat back to the ship. Day #3 we pulled into Tortolla (part of the British Virgin Islands) and went on a dolphin encounter where we got to climb in the tank w/ 3 dolphins and rub them as they swim by, kiss them and dance w/ them. The trainer would tell us "Now kiss him! Now shake your body!"… so this is the quote that has become notorious with that island. We also wandered the streets a little and found this fabulous bakery where culinary students sell their assignments. I hear they fail the course if we die.

Day #4 we pulled into Antigua. By this point in the cruise our sunburns weren't bad but did need a little mercy so we just shopped around. Antigua wasn't as pretty as the other islands but my judgement might be slightly skewed since we didn't do any shore excursions. Day #5 we were in Barbados which was our favorite island in the overall category. We went into town that morning to do some shopping... which was an adventure. They have little minivan buses down there that in the States would only seat 12 but in Barbados they "easily" seat 16. There are no rules of the road down there... anarchy reigns. Two beeps of the horn is sufficient notice to all other drivers on the road to yield because you're coming over. We definitely enjoyed the whole experience. In the afternoon we went on a snorkel trip. The first stop was an area where sea turtles hang out and they would swim right up to you. We pretty much did the prone float (floating face down in the water) but we did have those life vests from the airplanes... you know, the ones you blow into the little tube to inflate) and snorkel gear. From there we went to a 100 year old shipwreck which was fascinating. It was my first time snorkeling but I really enjoyed it.

Finally, Day #6 we spent in St. Lucia. We went on a beach excursions in the morning and after 3 hours of baking in the sun (may I point out that I have a GORGEOUS tan right now that is wasting away under coats), we went back to town and wandered through stores and stuff for a little while. Finally we got back on the ship around 1400 and at 1500 a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck. The epicenter was Martinique, just 100 miles away and since the pier was moving and we were tied to the pier… the ship was basically beat like a cymbal. The total duration was about 2 minutes and we thought it was maybe the coolest part of our entire trip. The ship started moving and we heard this really loud noise. Since we weren't suppose to get underway for 3 more hours we were wondering what was going on and the noise made us think something was wrong. We went out on the balcony and this 10 story building with mirrored windows was doing the wave. Talk about shock and awe! Totally couldn't believe that had happened! The unharmonious frequency of collision between the ship and pier actually broke a pane of glass on the 13th deck. Yet another first we've experienced together… our first earthquake! I guess it's safe to go visit all my family in Cali now!

Our departure from St. Lucia meant the start of the 2 day trip back to Miami. During that time we enjoyed pool time, board games, night entertainment (in the theatre... get your mind out of the gutter!), incredible food and the gym (to work off the incredible food). The trip was such a wonderful time for us to relax BUT I have to say… based on how "quaint" those staterooms are, I'm actually glad we didn't go on our honeymoon right after we got married.

Pictures to follow... just as soon as the computer stops back-talking me.