Wow, it's been quite a bit of time since my last entry hasn�t it? I apologize for the delay in updating, especially since the conclusion to my vacation blog has been long overdue. There really is no excuse other then I've been busy as fuck since I started the fall quarter and most especially since it's been really hectic at work. I guess you don't really know how precious a commodity time is until you constantly start running out of it. Even sitting down and typing out an entry becomes a luxury. Anyway, I'll get more into that and perhaps some other things nagging at my life in another entry. Right now I'm here to deliver the conclusion to blog about my cruise, as promised.

It's been a while, so my memories are kind of fuzzy at this point and the constant drinking didn't help much in that respect either. Still, I think it was Day 3 out of 5 when we landed in the port of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. From sea, Jamaica appeared to be very hilly with lots of lush green tropical foliage. In fact, there didn't appear to be much in the way of flat landed areas on the island at all, lending to the island's exotic tropical mystique. Although there are beautiful sights to be seen in Ocho Rios, once you are in port you get the almost unmistakable feeling that you are indeed in a third world country. Although the natives are Black instead of Asian, I couldn't help but be reminded of the country of my own ethnic origin, the Philippines.

The people and the culture are so different. As our semi-tour-guide in our bus-like taxi mentioned, "in Jamaica everybody drives fast, but everything else is slow." And talking to some Jamaicans, you definitely got that impression because with them it's always "No Problem", "It's all irie�", "Everyt'ing is Chriss mon�". You almost can't help but feel the same way. Although I'm not typically attracted to Black females, with some notable exceptions, of course, for some reason I was overwhelmingly attracted to Jamaican females. I guess it's a combination of factors, the exotic location, the almost flawless dark skin and all the beautiful well-rounded curves that you know were created by nature and not some plastic surgeon's scalpel, because being a third world country you knew only the tiniest fraction of the population could afford it. Oh and the accent, is just too fucking sexy.

The day we landed just happened to be the Jamaican Independence Day. It was rather early in the morning, but quite a few natives were out in the popular attractions anyway. We went to the Dunn's River Falls, a rocky, but climbable series of waterfalls flowing down a slope of a mountain. I was totally unprepared for that day. I should have worn my trunks and a t-shirt instead of my khaki shorts and dress shirt since we were actually in the falls climbing up the slopes. A waterproof camera would have been handy too. Live and learn I guess. Although it was a warm and tropically humid day the water was cool and refreshing and the tall trees overhead provided plenty of shade. The trek up the falls was strenuous, but not exhausting.

When we were done, my mom�s boyfriend�s son went to get his hair braided Jamaican style. While we were waiting I took the opportunity to sample some of the local cuisine. There was a roadside bar and food stand. The main entrees were Jerk chicken, pork and BBQ rib tips. Although there were some tourists abound, you can tell this was a local hangout. Unfortunately they did not have any pork that day, so I ordered up some chicken and ribs and got a side of rice w/ beans. The chicken was OK, the pork would have probably been better. Too bad they didn�t have any. The BBQ ribs had a nice somewhat sweet sauce. The highlight was the spicy Jerk sauce on the side that you could season your food with. My mouth was on fire and I loved it.

After the hair braiding thing and the food, we went through a round of shopping in the tourist areas. I found it interesting that that majority of the shop owners were not native Jamaican, but East Indian, but I guess you see quite a bit of that in third-world countries. Foreign investors come in, set up shop and make money while the poor continue to stay poor. We were buying up souvenirs for friends and family members and because of an oversight on my part, I had to do something I really hated doing, borrowing money from my mom. You see, in a rush of last-minute packing and getting all my things together before the trip, I left my pocket money at home, abut $300.00 for incidental expenses. It didn�t really affect me until I hit the port because everything, on board the ship at least, was charged through the Sea Pass card.

My mom didn�t have too much of a problem with the inexpensive souvenirs. I think she even enjoyed haggling with the shop owners to get a mini bulk discount. I even got her to buy me a Cuban cigar. In fact the first shop I strolled into had an abundance of Cuban Cigars. It was a bit of a culture shock actually, because of the long-standing trade embargo the US still has with Cuba, all the cigar and tobacconist shops have cigars from almost every tobacco growing country except Cuba. Now, here in this little souvenir shop, they have nothing but Cubans, I mean they don�t even have Dominican cigars, which are touted (in US shops at least) to be just as good if not better than Cuban Cigars. Cohiba and some of the of the major Cuban cigar brands even extended their brand to the Dominican Republic, using originally Cuban seed, the tobacco is now separately grown and manufactured in the Dominican Republic so they can export their product legally to the US.

I was tempted to sneak a box of Cuban Cigars back into the US, but I didn�t want to have to go through my mom to advance me money and I didn�t want to subsequently risk losing my Cuban cigar �investment� to US Customs. Though if I packed it well enough in my luggage I�m sure I could have snuck it though. Anyway, several shops later I saw a Jamaican soccer jersey, that I really wanted to have. It was made from the �breathable� material that is used in certain athletic apparel such as said jersey and it would have been perfect for the hot humid days of the cruise, plus it looked pretty cool. Unfortunately, it wasn�t priced like the 3 for $10 souvenir rack T-Shirts since it was an actual athletic jersey, so it ran for $60, which my mom thought was way too expensive for a �t-shirt� and wouldn�t front the money.

The shop owner wouldn�t budge more than $1 or $2 off on the price either, so my mom got into it about how much I�ve been spending on the trip thus far, which to me at the time was a non-issue since I agreed ahead of time that I would pay for all the extra expenses that I would incur during the trip and since I work for a living earning almost as much salary as her, it wasn�t like I couldn�t afford all of it. I think it was more of a principle thing with her more than anything else, because she is the frugal type that always spends her money carefully and I wanting to indulgently splurge at every available opportunity flew right in the face of her economic philosophy.

I ultimately backed off, because I didn�t really want to cause a scene and part of it was my fault for leaving my cash in the first place. Still, I was kind of pissed at the fact that I couldn�t get the cool looking Jamaican soccer team jersey and I was still kicking myself over the fact that I fucked up for not bringing my cash, I mean I couldn�t even gamble at the on-board casino because of it and I love playing the tables especially during vacation-time.

So we passed by a few more shops, one of them had a walk-in cigar humidor, with an even wider selection of Cuban cigars. It was a beautiful sight with the almost intoxicating scent of aged Cuban tobacco and racks with boxes full of Cuban cigars of all sizes. There was also a jewelry shop that sold Omega watches, priced of course well beyond my range of affordability, around $1,500.00 to $5,000.00 depending on the model. I knew that this is one of the reasons I�m working hard at my job and at trying to complete my master�s so I can make enough money that I don�t need to blink twice to buy stuff like that.

The time for us to return to port was approaching. The shops were within walking distance of the port so we made out way on foot back to the ship. This was definitely unique experience. Jamaica is one of those places where you don�t have to look for drugs. The drugs actually find its way to you, I mean even the street vendor selling bootlegged Reggae music on CD�s was willing to throw in a free CD with the purchase of a few sticks of �Ganja�, the local term for marijuana. I must have been stopped at least 2 or 3 times on the way back to port with similar. �Hey mon, how are you liking you vacation mon? I got somet�ing to relax you mon�� At this point I was probably good I didn�t have any cash because I could have used a big fat joint.

Another thing that really brought me down was the level of poverty that I was seeing with my own eyes. All the way down the street on the way back to the ship were panhandlers with their outstretched hands, not verbally asking for any money, but seeing the look in their eyes you knew that they needed whatever little bit you could give them. Now I started feeling really bad, because now I wanted to give something to them and I had absolutely no hard currency on my person. As I kept walking down the road towards the port, I kept seeing scores of tourists including my own family acting like they were invisible. What really got to me was an amputee who had some medieval looking iron wire contraption wrapped around his torso, which were somehow connected to two thick wooden sticks, which served as some makeshift prosthetic limbs. So there he was propped up on his two wooden, leaning is body against a tree.

With each step I took away from the amputee beggar, towards the luxury of the cruise my heart grew heavier. I tried to justify myself walking away because I didn�t have any cash in my pocket, but then I began cursing myself because I forgot and it�s my own damn fault. I was also slightly dumbfounded because I know my mom has given money to panhandlers in the past, but for some reason she just flew right by the beggar with no legs. The closer I got to the ship the more guilty I was feeling, not only because I didn�t have money to give to those in need, but maybe because my mom had a point back there in the shop when we were arguing about money. Maybe she was right, maybe I was spending a little too much. Actually I was charging up on my Sea Pass account like there was no tomorrow.

We were almost at the first gate to the port. My sister had to check out one of the last stop shops before we boarded. At that point my soul was burning from the inside, I had to do something, to help cleanse both the almost overwhelming feeling of guilt I was feeling for not only having money and not being able to share it with those in need, but being overindulgent with it. I also felt bad to see that kind of suffering and not being able to do something about it.

So I humbled myself and went to my mom again to ask her for money. I was have preparing my mind for her to say no to me because of the argument we previously had about money and for the fact that she past up the chance to give the beggar money just like everyone else. But before I could even begin asking the tears started flowing from my eyes and I wept. My dark sunglasses couldn�t hide the fact that I was crying and at that moment I put myself in the place of the beggar and asked my mom if I could please to give to the man with no legs. Seeing the pain in my face and the tears flowing from my eyes, she didn�t hesitate in giving me the money to give to the beggar. I took the money and headed back to where the beggar with no legs was standing. There were a few beggars on the way back to the amputee, I kind of wanted to help them out too, but the man with no legs just looked like he needed it more so I gave it all to him and in doing so I felt the heaviness in my heart lifting from me.

So I headed back to the port and eventually came back onto the cruise ship a different person. Somehow, I knew that I couldn�t continue my life in the way I had allowed it progress after that experience. Suddenly I was made aware of how fortunate I truly am and the things that I felt I was being deprived of, relative to what I had witnessed in Ocho Rios were really not that important. I�m not starving (especially with the abundance of food on the cruise), I don�t have to beg for money for my survival and I�m in relatively good health.

It was time for me to appreciate the things that I had and not worry so much about the things I didn�t have and just enjoy the rest of the cruise without the breakneck spending that I have been doing in the trip thus far. So I went back to the state room, rested up, had dinner and headed back to the Cigar lounge to enjoy the Cuban cigar I purchased in Jamaica. There was another group of people there, younger, like around my age. I ordered some warmed XO cognac and asked if I can sit with the new group. By the way the cognac, especially the XO variety really does taste better warmed. If it gets too cool you can use your hand to warm the snifter glass to bring out the fragrance.

Honestly, this new group wasn�t as nice as the first couple I met the last night. It�s a shame really, because they seemed like really good people. They were a handful of guys smoking petit cigars with their girlfriends/fianc�s at their sides. They seemed like the kind of people who liked to talk about other people, but since I knew nothing of whom or what they were talking about I stayed quiet and retreated to the enjoyment of my Cohiba and my cognac. What really left a bad taste in my mouth was the fact that one of them matter-of-factly commented on the beggar with no legs, like �Did you guys see the guy with no legs?� I just said something like �yeah, that was crazy, I kind of felt bad��

I had the feeling that these were not the kind of people to share my recent profound experience with so I continued to silently enjoy my cigar and drink. One of the guys broke my silence and asked what kind of cigar I was smoking, so I showed the cigar container �Cohiba Siglo IV � Limited Edition � Havana, Cuba�. He commented on how good Cuban cigars were. I agreed and said I might as well smoke them while I�m out here because they are hard to come by in the US. Then one of the girls asked my name so I introduced myself to everyone and exchanged pleasantries like �who are you here with, how do you like the trip so far, etc?� Actually, on this trip at least I�ve gotten much more sociable than I normally would be in the �real world�. I guess things are just easier all around when you are on a cruise. I�m relaxed, everyone around me is relaxed and we were all there to have a good time.

What was kind of throwing me off was the girl who asked my name. She was a brunette with long curly hair, possibly permed. Her face looked really young with this cute �girl next door� look, but she dressed more like a chic thirty-something professional. It looked like she might have been with the guy she was sitting next to, but almost every time I looked up from my drink or my smoke, I caught her looking at me, almost staring. I may have mentioned this before in one of my last entries, but I�m not really used to female attention. I usually walk around feeling like I�m the invisible guy, but when it does happen it feels almost blatantly obvious.

Since it seemed obvious that girl already had a boyfriend however, other than exchange glances with each other, which was more or less unavoidable, I didn�t really make an effort to flirt. I saw her a few more times on the ship, mostly in the nightclub and she looked at me, each and every time the same way. I also later noticed that she had an engagement ring, with a rock easily larger than 1 carat, so I added her to self-imposed, forever-increasing list of girls who are off-limits to me. Still, I could not help but be bewildered at the predicament because if it weren�t for the engagement bling and the fianc�, I could have easily pictured myself in some secluded corner of the ship, totally making out with her. You can�t be looking that sexy, staring at me like you want me and having me not wanting you back. But I did what I had to and I resisted the temptation.

I ran into her maybe a couple more times once near the dance floor. She was dancing with her friend and handed me an empty glass asking me for some tonic water. I was on the other side across the rail and by that time the bartender knew me by name. So I had her glass filled with tonic and ice and returned it to her post-haste. She smiled at me and said thank you. Towards the end of the night I saw her again, I was coming back up the stairs from the bathroom and she and her friend was leaving for the night. She was obviously still buzzed, but she stopped, gave me a hug and thanked me for the tonic I gave her earlier. If only all women were this easy to please, maybe Derrick wouldn�t be such a loner. I told her to have a good night and �to drive home safely�. Although we were on a cruise ship with no vehicles, somehow coming out of the club drunk every night, that joke never seemed to have gotten old.

The next port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. The island was different than Jamaica in many ways. One of them was the topography, the Island was much less mountainous and hilly. From the top of the ship you could almost see clear across the island. There also wasn�t any port deep enough to accommodate the cruise ship, so the ship had to drop anchor some distance away from the island and they used a �Tender� and some actual lifeboats from the ship to ferry passengers to and from this island. For a half a mile away from shore the depth doesn�t drop lower than 15 feet, then there�s a 6,000 ft drop off. You can see the difference in depth from the surface when the color turns from aquamarine to deep blue.

Unlike Jamaica, this time I was prepared in dress with my swim trunks, polo shirt and plenty of sunblock. We headed out to one of the beaches. I believe the one we went to was called �Sea Grape� a beautiful white sand beach. The shoreline in contrast to the soft white sand, had sharp and rocky sand due to a nearby coral reef. Most of the shells and coral pieces near that beach appeared to be eroded to a smooth texture thanks to the rough sandpaper like shore. It kind of hurt to walk in the water, but it was the only relief from the hot, humid air.

My sister, my mom�s boyfriend�s son and I went over to the rental area where they had a parasailing boat and got a little parasailing in before we left the beach. The view from the parasail was amazing. You could practically see the entire island from up there. It was about a 10 minute ride then the winch started pulling the parasail back to the boat. The driver slowed the boat down just enough that I got dunked in the ocean before I was reeled all the way in.

After the beach we shopped around the island a little more. I found one of my credit cards I brought along for �emergencies� so this time, money wasn�t as big of an issue, I was able to grab a few more souvenirs and yet another Cuban Cohiba Cigar. I didn�t go off on a spending spree like I wanted to in Jamaica, instead I just got a few mementos for the trip, and aside from the Cuban, which I probably won�t get to experience until my next vacation, whenever that may be I charged my card in moderation.

The rest of the trip was more or less anti-climactic. We had the rest of the night on the ship after Grand Cayman and one more night at sea before we returned to the main Royal Caribbean port in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We had about 7 hours or so before the flight back to Chicago so we did a tour of the Everglades and spotted a few Gators in the wild on the airboat. Finally we got back to the airport, which consequently was the same day they caught terrorists in London who were planning to detonate a �liquid� bomb on an international flight disguised as an everyday liquid. So basically, all liquids, gels, etc. were banned as carry on items for all flights. If you had any type of bottles you wanted to keep you had to either empty them out or place any liquids you wanted to keep in your check-in luggage.

It took me the entire weekend to get my �land legs� back and to recover from the trip. For some reason I kept feeling the swaying of the ocean even though I was no longer on the ship. Interesting sensation to say the least and that for the most part was my 5 day vacation cruise. I have a few pictures here and there which I may post at some later time. I also have a few more things since the trip that I�ve been meaning to blog about, but I just haven�t had the time, so I�ll just have to save all that for another entry since its quitting time here at work and I have to head over to my night class. Until next time�