"Cruisin' Together"

A few weeks ago I went on what seems to be my umpteenth cruise with the wifey... but somehow it felt a little different than cruises that I've taken before. Probably because this was our longest [10 days---dayuum!] boat trip ever. Everyone that we told about the length of this cruise thought that we were a lil' looney-tunes for wanting to be on a boat for that long but lemme tell you it was actually one of the most relaxing and fun vacations I've ever had. Initially I wanted to blog in "real time" from my Blackberry about the trip but I was too lazy to get my phone unlocked in time... We cruised to Aruba, Columbia, The Panama Canal, Costa rica, and Jamaica.

One thing that I should mention off the bat to anyone considering taking a cruise is that if you can swing it then you should definitely upgrade from a stateroom cabin to a room with a balcony.. what a difference that makes in the quality of the cruise especially on those "at sea" days. There have been many days & nights where I would just sit & sip some vino and look out at the vast ocean or at the stars... and well... meditate...it's such a calming feeling... and it adds so much to the quality of the time that you spend on the ship... Speaking of which for those that aren't aware; the boat is basically a resort on water which means there is sooooo muuuch food that it is highly recommended that if you are borderline overweight [like I am.. gotta keep it real...] then you might wanna drop some pounds before you hop on that boat because the food is nonstop 24-hours.. and I don't know about you but I found myself making multiple trips to the different food spots and restaurants on the boat at all times at nite [can we say 2AM trips to the pizza shop & cafeterias?... shame on me....lol]. I OD-ed sumthin' crazy!

We also did some crazy stuff this trip like zipping on harnesses thru the Costa Rican rain forest..... 150 RIDICULOUS FEET IN THE AIR!!!! Wifey & i were the youngest ones in the group that we toured with but I was the most shook... let's just say all the old folks there named me the "tree Hugger" about half-way through the tour... I didn't care though...LMBBAO!

We also drove thru Ocho Rios in Jamaica all day with this crazy, but absolutely hilarious cab driver that was chain smoking cigarettes & weed [yes, he was blazing up in the cab... while driving... at like.... 100 miles/ hour... zig ziggin' in the streets and cat-callin' e'rry female he saw....LOL!!]. His name is "Cool Richie". He took us to some really cool local spots... not the tourist-y places.. it was dope... but I was a little nervous [cant front] because you never know peoples intentions but he was "Cool--".

Man.. I could go on& on but I won't. But if you planning on taking a cruise just remember to get a balcony room if you can and check out some of the local tours and activities instead of the ones offered by your cruise ship because its usually a lot cheaper and they know their land better than any tourist organization [just be careful who you choose...] and don't be afraid of long boat trips... It might be just the right amount of time you need to relax, unwind & let your conscience be free..

Oh yeah: Flickr Pix link below...

Cruise 2007: The Flickr Pix