I think I’ve reached that point in life where even though I carry around my Canon 30D nearly everywhere, I don’t take nearly as many photos unless I’m specifically going somewhere “to take photos”. Such was the case aboard the Carnival Liberty. We were there for vacation – to be on vacation, not to take photos. What photos we did take were “vacation photos”. Some of them were decent, the rest were absolute crap. If they’re crap now – they’ll be crap later. But you know what – we were on vacation. Instead of wrestling with a camera and lenses and exposure and … well, you get the idea, we were making memories – not photos.
Where did we go? Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Havensight, St. Thomas, USVI and Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos.
What did we do?
Half Moon Cay – BEACH DAY! I spent some time in the sun and then I spent some more time in the shade of the pine trees protecting my delicate complexion from the sun… since I’ve got that whole sunscreen allergy thing going on. I also enjoyed a strawberry daiquiri.
San Juan, Puerto Rico – horseback riding on Paso Fino horses, Apollo for Mr. Muse and Cinnamon for me, at a ranch in Carolina, PR. Conclusion? I don’t know what all the fuss is about with Paso Finos. I had an Arabian mare with an “eggbeater” gait who was infinitely more comfortable than the horse I rode in PR. Bonus – I didn’t end up in the hospital like the last time I rode horse, so thank you for that Cinnamon! Negative – forgot to zip on my pant legs to my hiking pants and ended up with major nylon rash on my right leg since they had to switch out my stirrup “leather” to a longer version. The mark hasn’t gone away completely yet.
Havensight, St. Thomas, USVI – Mr. Muse and I (and friends) boarded the Champagne Cat and headed to Honeymoon Beach at St. John for some snorkeling fun (and rum punch… a lot of rum punch)! Bonus – staring contest with three cuttlefish. Negative – there was no negative. It was like swimming in a fully-stocked saltwater aquarium! Brody, Kenny and Mickie were awesome captain and crew aboard the cat and they do a fine job on the rum punch.
Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos – Mr. Muse and I (and friends) went on a dune buggy tour of the island. We’d been there before and it looked much the same though we got to see more of the island than we had in the past. Bonus – I got to drive a dune buggy! FAST! I also got to see humpback whales break the surface of the water while eating jerk chicken and drinking adult beverages. Negative – I got to drive a “tourist” dune buggy (i.e. a dune buggy that had shitty suspension and felt like they installed a governor on the accelerator) and I wasn’t on the snorkel boats that were NEXT to the whales when they broke the water surface. Que sera sera.
All in all, Mr. Muse and I have cruised aboard Carnival ships on five occasions now. They are decent enough, but we have had our eyes opened to another line, Holland America, to be covered next week. Carnival – we’ve had a good run. We may even come back to see you again, but… we’re older now and we were never into the “party all the time” atmosphere to begin with. Don’t call us – we’ll call you.
Musings of the Amusing Muse 