Haiti

Went to Labadee, Haiti today. I heard there was supplies and aid workers on board that we were leaving there. I looked around and actually got off the boat today!

Woke up early to get a tan, I’m now burned to the colour of a stop sign. Once on Haiti my roommate Alberto and I went over to the market area. Apparently it’s really improved since last time which is a miracle as it was a run-down shanty down when I got there. Poor people selling stuff they made by hand for tons of money sitting in groups leering at people coming in. I clutched my pearls and ran for my life. Every time we saw someone who looked hungry or poor I crossed the street. On the bright side everyone spoke French so I had fun talking to them in French. Well, at least I think they spoke French. Come to think of it, no one ever actually responded. Oh, well, the important thing is I had fun. “Bonne journée!”

I’m writing this now at 6 pm waiting for the ice show to start at 7. There are two main options tonight, the family friendly ice show or the family friendly “Once Upon a Time” show, which I saw last year, where they have little red riding hood and when the wolf comes out, he sings the song “Hungry Like The Wolf”. It’s a pile of crap so I’m sitting that out.

Will post photos later, internet is 55 cents a minute and very slow, so a photo may take 5 minutes to load. I’m not paying $2.50 US per photo, thank you.

I was thinking before when I was here how different it would be to live and work on board, say in the dance crew or something. But at 55 cents a minute for internet and $7 a minute for a phone call, it would also be a weird experience having no modern technology. I don’t think I could do it. You’d have to write letters with a pen for a start.

Anyway, so on Haiti I found a hammock and sat in it all afternoon. Those things are incredibly comfortable. I took a photo of the view from my hammock, that was really the life. I plan to make it my screensaver at work so I can always look up and see the ocean and relax on the hammock again.

I’m very glad I came, I was a bit nervous before coming, as I am on every trip I go on. The great thing is the crowd seems to be just a little bit older this year, maybe it’s the recession? I don’t feel like I’m constantly trying to fit in all the time like I remember feeling last year. I can do myself up and go to a nice dinner and talk to guys and turn it on, or I can pop downstairs for a smoke in a t-shirt and not worry. One thing I said last year that I’m really feeling again is that this cruise is what you make it. If you want to dance all night till dawn in a Speedo, you can. Last night I went to drag karaoke, then a lounge singer, then a uniform party where I wore my Boy Scout shirt. Oh and a comedy showcase and a bunch of other stuff. An art auction where topless boys serve free champagne, you know normal stuff like that.

Gotta go get ready for dinner and the show. Having an amazing time.

I’m hearing rumours that the ship didn’t sell out this year and they may be combining the January cruise next year with a similar one in March. I can’t go in March because of my job. I was thinking of booking the February 2011 Australia cruise instead, which ends in Sydney for Mardi Gras. How cool would that be? I’ll see what they’re offering at the end of the week. You save $100 if you book while you’re still on the ship.