The Innocent Voyage: Part 6 - Tortola and Haiti

Sorry to all the 12 people who read this blog, as it has been awhile since I posted anything.

But I'm back now. I know, I know, your life is complete!

I guess I'll finish up with the trip, or what I remember of it. Don't worry, I just make stuff up when I can't remember.

So, the next stop on our trip was Tortola, an island part of the British Virgin Islands. However, as soon as we got off the ship we were herded to a bus, which took us to another pier and another ferry boat. We were going to another island, Virgin Gorda (Fat Virgin) to take an excursion to the Baths. The weather was drizzly but I sat up on deck with a couple other people and sat with a towel wrapped around me as the boat passed in and out of rain. By the time we arrived to the island the sky had cleared up.

The Baths were neat, they are these giant boulders sticking out of the sand and you can crawl through the caves and the tidal pools. The only problem was there was a lot of people because that is the main attraction in that area. We were lucky that we arrived in the morning because as we were climbing back up (there is one small trail that you have to walk in single file) there were gobs of tourists up at the top of the cliff waiting to go down. So if you ever go, go EARLY.

The last stop was Labadee, Haiti. Which isn't REALLY Haiti. When I think of Haiti I think of crushing poverty and voodoo dolls. Yeah, an interesting combination. What Labadee is though is a private beach owned by the Royal Caribbean Corporation, so there are chairs and hammocks and bathrooms and little stores that they built there. For all the people that go to shore they even provide a buffet lunch at noon so you don't have to go back to the boat. It was really nice but it made me feel a little weird. Across the bay was Haiti and its crushing poverty and here we were frolicking on the beach, there but not really there, removed from the reality of the country and put on this Disney like fantasy place with waiters to bring you pina coladas.

I just felt weird. And maybe a little ashamed. So I spent most of my time walking on the beach and looking for shells.

We spent the last day at sea, farting around on the boat. And I drank A LOT of pina coladas. Matt won $400 dollars playing blackjack...

Then he lost it playing Texas Hold'em.

"When you ever gonna listen to Kenny?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"You gotta know when to walk away. And when to run."

Run! Dammit, Run!