For the past 14 days, I've been floating on a giant ship in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean, soaking up 85° sun and stuffing my face with food.  Hey, somebody has to do it.  As such, the next several posts will be loosely related to this experience. 

First off, some quick facts: 
  • Countries visited:  7
  • Last time I wore socks, before yesterday:  October 31
  • Pounds gained:  -4 (somehow, magically, I lost weight -- thanks for the genes, mom!)
  • Books read:  3.5
  • Movies watched:  11
  • Days of sunburn:  1 (not bad for a pale person, eh?)
  • Number of times I said, "No thanks, I don't want a taxi ride":  35,489
The Norwegian Dawn sailed out of New York City on November 1, visited a bunch of islands in the Caribbean, then sailed back into Miami on November 15.  It's called a repositioning cruise when it ends up in a different port than the one it started in.  That means we had to fly back home, but flights from Miami to Newark are plentiful and cheap.  A couple we met were taking a train home, while another, older couple were simply spending the winter in Florida.  Must be nice to be retired.  Before my recap gets out of hand, here's a run-down of where we stopped and what we did: 

Day 1-3 - At sea - Food, books, movies, pool. 
Day 4 - Samana, Dominican Republic - Took a boat ride to a tiny private island called Cayo Levantado, then laid on the beach and snorkeled. 
Day 5 - Havensight, St. Thomas - Took a cab to Red Hook, then took the ferry to Cruz Bay, St. John, where we hiked to the top of a mountain, then hiked down and swam at a gorgeous little beach. 
Day 6 - St John's, Antigua - Walked around the poor, dirty town, then went back to the ship and laid around the pool. 
Day 7 - Roseau, Dominica - Walked around the slightly less dirty, poor town, then snorkeled at Champagne. 
Day 8 - Bridgetown, Barbados - Walked around the closed-down town (it was Sunday) while being hassled by taxi drivers, finally getting a ride to Brighton Beach where we laid around and swam. 
Day 9 - Castries, St. Lucia - Took a bus tour of the west side of the island, stopping at a few small fishing villages and mountain overlooks before reaching a mildly active volcano, at which point we took a boat tour back to the cruise ship, stopping off at a little beach to snorkel and swim. 
Day 10 - At sea - Food, books, movies, pool. 
Day 11 - Willemstad, Curacao - Walked around the clean, European-esque town, then walked to a nearby hotel's beach and snorkeled. 
Day 12 - Oranjestad, Aruba - Walked around town, then took a bus to Boca Catalina Beach and snorkeled. 
Day 13-14 - At sea - Food, books, movies, pool. 
Day 15 - Miami, FL - Took a bus to the Everglades for an airboat tour and alligator park. 

Pictures:

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