Happy Colombia Independence Day!

Technically it was yesterday, but I hadn’t experienced all the wonderful Colombian Independence Day traditions yet.  There are only about 20 Colombians on board, but they put on a great party last night.  One of them is a chef for the Serenade, and they had the most delicious food for the party.  The empanadas and arepas were tasty, but my favorite was this fruit and cheese appetizer my roommate made.  I’m not sure how to spell the name of the fruit, but it was both sweet and savory-so good!! I’m going to ask Carol more about it.  They played some Colombian music, and the crew bar was filled with people.  It was also my friend, Doug’s, birthday, so a lot of the music/stage people came out as well.  I haven’t seen that many people out celebrating in a long time.

The day off on Tuesday was absolutely amazing.  Almost the whole band got off the ship at ten, and our director was able to find a cabbie who would only charge us $15 each for the whole day of driving-and it was over forty-five minutes each way.  We got to Crane Beach, and it took my breath away. So beautiful! To get down to the water you have to hop on these stepping stones that have been put on big rocks, and the beach itself is tucked around the side of a cliff.  At the top of the cliff the Crane Resort looks out over the water.  This beach is on the Atlantic side of Barbados, so the waves are huge! I found a new swimsuit at Old Navy last weekend for $12 and I loved having a place to wear it.  Actually, I love that I can use all the end of summer sales and enjoy summer weather until December.  We all played in the water the whole day.  Simon brought a frisbee, Brian brought a football and volleyball, and I’m pretty sure that it was one of my best days ever.  We all slept on the car ride back to the ship, and then we went to the Windjammer for dinner.  To top off the evening, Ariel and Bobbi wanted to start watching the Harry Potter movies from the beginning before they see the final movie, and I am always up for Harry Potter.

Yesterday was fun too! We just had the jazz singer set and then our open jazz set, but it didn’t start until 10, so the whole day was open.  We haven’t found much to do in St. Lucia though.  There’s a really good French restaurant, but it’s too expensive to go to often, and we haven’t done any excursions there yet.  Apparently there’s a tour of the Pitons rainforest, and I really want to do that sometime before I leave.  Yesterday we just walked to a hotel close to the ship.  It’s a bit sketchy getting there because you have to go through a hole in a chain-link fence and then walk along a little path through the woods, but the hotel is quite nice once you’re there.  I went to the gym again yesterday afternoon.  So far it’s been at least every other day, but sometimes I go every day for a few in a row. I definitely like working out better in the late afternoon rather than after shows.

Tonight we’re back to Vibeology-popular music from the fifties until Cher. I’m glad I had the days off, and I think I made the most of them.

One thing I’m working on: planning a trip to France/England for my vacation! Found tickets yesterday, now just have to work out what to do while I’m there! I am soooo excited.  And I just made my first loan payment! I know it’s weird to be excited for paying money, but I’m glad I can start getting them out of the way.  Hooray!!