Destinations

Hello everybody. I am not able to use the internet on my laptop everyday, so I have been writing down what I have been doing. Today I am in Noumea, New Caledonia and can get free wireless if I sit outside on deck 7. Thanks for reading and writing posts!

July 24, 2008

Port: Vila, Vanuatu

Woke up this morning for the crew drill at 9:30. Had to go and stand around for a while, wait for the Cruise Director Zoltina to ask me a safety question which I received less than perfect marks, and then head to my muster station. Finished the drill and met up with Tom, Joel, Brad, Christina, and Dwayne and went and got some lunch. Mexicano Buffet! Got off the ship at around noon. Destination: Waterfalls! There is a market/shopping center right off the boat. A place to buy souvenirs. At the end of this market is where all the vehicle-owning-Vanuatans come when the ship comes in. Everyone wants to give you a ride. Today, Tom, Joel, and I were able to get a cab ride to and from the boat to the waterfall for $40 (AUD). Not bad considering the first offer we got was for $80. I've ridden in cars in Vila a few times now, and they are usually the scariest car rides I've ever been in. There aren't any lane markings, so it's kind of a free-for-all. There aren't any police around to monitor traffic. Our driver was passing people on the left and right. On hills and curves. We got to the waterfalls, and they were beautiful. You have to start at the bottom, and walk along the creek until you get to the waterfall. The water very clear. It was a 20 minute hike up, with plenty of pools to swim in.

July 25, 2008

Port: Mystery Island

Woke up a little late. Had to wait for about half an hour to get a tender over to the island. I went over with T.J., the trumpet player who's girlfriend is a dancer aboard the same ship Holly is on. The cruise ship world is a small world. The island is really small. You could probably walk around the whole island in 30-45 minutes. No one lives there. It is a small island off of a bigger island, which is inhabited. I walked around for a bit, found a coconut that had just fallen, and devoted a good portion of my afternoon trying to get it open. It took a good hour. I had given up hope, left the coconut by my stuff, and went to go snorkeling. On my walk to get in the water, I saw some guys who were also attempting to get some coconuts open. I talked to them for a moment, and they said that they had already gotten one open. They revived my interest in the coconut. I went snorkeling for a bit, then came back. I got it open within 15 minutes. I broke it open, drank as much of the juice as I could before it ran out, then ate the inside. Several people had seen me and my attempts, and thought I should give it up. I couldn't, and wouldn't. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery this day, so no pictures.



July 27, 2008

Port: Savu Savu, Fiji

Tom and I rented bicycles today and rode around Savu Savu. We rode along a rocky, dirt road, singing Hank Williams tunes, for a couple of hours. The road that we were on followed the shore. We stopped at the Hot Springs, where two Fijian girls, Grace and ?, were cooking bread fruit, and eggs and sausage in the spring. The water was boiling as it came out. We rode a long way down until we reached a private resort, and the road ended. It was very warm and humid. We turned around and stopped at a little resort called the Daku resort, and went for a swim, ate, and then enjoyed a Premium Fiji brew. We rode back to the Hot Springs and sampled the bread fruit (which is a starchy like a potato) and talked to Grace for a few more minutes. Then we returned the bikes. We headed the other way towards the town. Walked around in a few shops. Tom bought 9 pirated DVD's for $13. Tom then went back to the boat, and I decided to continue wandering around. I walked through the rest of the town, and saw a road heading up a big hill. I wanted to get a big scenic overlook of Fiji. On my way up, I ran into some locals, who were all very friendly. A woman yelled at me from her house and told me to come in for some juice. I obliged, it being a very hot day and all. I don't think she thought I was going to come over. She was acting kind of saucy. Crossed the street and she pulled up a bench for me under their porch. There were three women total, and 3 children. I talked to them for about ten minutes. They all spoke English. The woman brought me some mango juice. She was really giggly, and I was slightly hesitant to drink it, thinking that she might have spiked my drink. She hadn't, and I drank it. They asked me if I was married. I told them that my girlfriend had recently broken up with me. They were sympathetic. The saucy lady made a comment that her husband had recently broken up with her, too. She was clearly lying, and just trying to seduce me. They were all married. I asked them where their husbands were. At work. I took their picture, and we excanged addresses. They told me that I could come back whenever I was in Savu Savu. I continued my trek up the big hill. Didn't quite get a big overlook, but it was all very beautiful.

Life at Sea

Hey everybody! I have made it to Australia and have successfully completed two cruises. I am in Sydney right now.

For those of you who don't know, some suckers from Australia have decided to pay me to play trombone for them. I am aboard the Pacific Dawn which is a ship owned by the P&O Cruise Co. which is owned by Carnival, I believe. I am in the "Pacific Dawn International Show Band." Actually, most of the band is from the U.S.A. Only the drummer, who is also my roommate, is not from the U.S. He is from the Ukraine. Well, the saxophonist is technically from the L.A. but is of Italian descent and now resides in Italy. In all, there are 7 of us in the showband. All of the musicians are pretty cool, and fun to hang out with.
The showband plays for all of the productions on the ship. There are 3-4 shows that are performed aboard the ship on every cruise, plus guest entertainers that we back up. There is a motown show, a country/western show, a variety show, a welcome aboard show, and a recently added pirate themed show.
This past cruise was a little crazy, but so far life aboard the ship is pretty good. Lots of free time to read, practice the trombone, learn spanish, eat food, and lounge around. On a typical day, i only have 3-4 hours of work. There is usually a sound check/rehearsal at 5 p.m. and then we do two shows a night. The shows are typically only 1 hour long.
So far, I've been to Vila, Vanuatu, Noumea New Caledonia, and the Isle of Pines, which is a small island off of New Caledonia's main land. So far, the Isle of Pines has been the best stop. I was able to snorkel around coral! It was incredible.

Well, this is all for now. I have to get back on the boat. Hope everyone is doing well. I would love to hear from everyone. I will try to post every week. G'day!

Jon