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Originally uploaded by silverlantern

So I’m back! After a whole week away bobbing on the Pacific. Well, I’m sorta back. I’m currently away on a business trip…. but will be back for reals real soon.

In short, the cruise was Awesome. Awesome with a capital A. Actually it really should be AWEsome. This feeling of giddiness came mostly from one aspect of the cruise. One which involved dolphins. Yes, I kissed a dolphin, got kissed by one, hugged one, had two push me for a ride from my feet, got pulled along by their fins, danced and sang and twirled with them. The dolphins and I were best of buds for a brief moment that shall remain etched in my mind forever.

As for the rest of the cruise… it was, nice. The boat wasn’t as pretty or as big as the Royal Caribbean one we were on a few yrs back. The entertainment left a bit to be desired. The food was good. The ports of call…hot and humid. But the dolphins, awesome!

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Originally uploaded by silverlantern

I’ve seen quite a few dolphin shows in my lifetime. But nothing, and I repeat, nothing beats hanging out with them in the water. We were too late to book the dolphin experience during our first cruise, so this time we were determined to get a spot. On the first day we could register, we signed up. Two please for the Dolphins.

I must say, it was worth every penny. We were divided into groups of 6 participants, 1 trainer, 1 photographer, 1 videographer, and 2 dolphins. It was very intimate.

The most thrilling was the foot push. Out to the middle of the pool, we allow our feet to drift up to the surface of the water. Soon, two dolphins swim up from behind, put their beaks to the bottom of each foot and pushed us forward. At some point I was half way out of the water to my waist.

The rest of the time during the Dolphin excursion was spent hanging around the water park. It wasn’t Raging Waters, but it was fun because there were only about 50 of us running around the park. Jae had a blast since he had never been to a water park. We tried pretty much all of the slides. Jae even had discussions with some of the little kids over which slide was more exciting and which to try next.

I think I must have gotten more chicken as I got older. As I looked down the first slide I wanted to back out. Really, at my age, do I want to be hurtling down a slide at break neck speedand then unexpectedly get dumped into a pool? Sighing, I dug around and reached for whatever was left in my courage bucket, got in the inner tube and prayed I don’t end up up-side-down. Of course, 2 seconds after I entered the slide, my tube turned and I went down the entire slide backwards and freaked out.

I had to seriously scrape the bottom of my courage bucket for the last one. A long twisty tube that instead of ending straight into the water, ended in a funnel. A huge funnel where I did two complete circles around it before I lost all momentum and dropped, in a fetal position, head first, a good 4 feet into the water. Jae appropriately calls it the toilet bowl. After I came down, I stood by and had a hilarious time watching 2 kids and Jae drop from the funnel.

I shall never flush another spider down the toilet… maybe.

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Originally uploaded by silverlantern

The water off of Cabo San Lucas was comfortably warm. Not as cold as Hawaii, but cooler than the Barrier Reef. Visibility was eh, clear enough but nothing to see. This picture here is staged. Our guide brought some banana peel with him and hundreds of fish appeared out of nowhere when he started to scatter pieces about. One lady in our group started panicking and screaming her head off after seeing the swarming fish. Don’t worry lady, the fish don’t want to touch you anymore than you want to touch them. Heck, you couldn’t touch them even if you tried.

The snorkeling stared out well; we climbed off the pirate ship and into the water. Yes, pirate ship, as in a real original black pirate ship. Well, most of it was original except for the motor, nylon sails, refurbished pieces…but it looked like a good old fashioned pirate ship that would have any sailing merchant that saw it shaking in his boots. I may have been more awed by the historicalness if there had been some wind so that we could actually use the sails and if the captain didn’t play Enya during our time onboard. I like Enya and all, but not while sailing on a historical pirate ship. Anyhow, we were swimming to get a closer look at El Arco when I felt a sharp sting on my ankle.

Ya! 2007 will not be a vacationless year! We will be going on a luxurious 7 day Mexico cruise for our 10 yr anniversary. Cruises are the easiest trips to plan. Got credit card? Ok, you’re done. We’ll be leaving from here, so there is no other travel time, or costs. 

I usually try to alternate between vacations and trips. Vacations are when we just go out there, lounge, eat and basically do nothing. One comes back from vacation well rested and wishing that it was longer. Trips involve doing major trekking across cities, eating at hole-in-the-wall places that are highly recommended by Frommers, and staying in dodgy rooms that may or may not have it’s own bathroom but most certainly has a hidden camera. One comes back from a trip glad that it’s over and wishing that there was more time to recover before going back to work.

Trips or vacations taken when young and there are no kids something everyone should do. Some don’t want to travel unless it is with a significant other, but not everyone is lucky to have found such a person. I’d recommend going either alone or with a buddy. Life is too short to wait for the right person to come along to travel with. In fact, it could also help a person out since those that have traveled often come back with stories to tell. I know of at least 2 people that got hooked up into a long term soon after they returned from a multi-week trek through Europe. 

Some have asked, well what’s so great about traveling, you could easily watch the travel channel or browse the web for pictures. True, very true. Many times, it’s actually better on the travel channel. Yes, you could experience many things through pictures, videos, and text, but you’re experiencing it through another person, the photographer, cameraman, writer. It’s not your experience. You can’t smell the place, experience the people, touch the buildings, eat the food. 

I can understand that to many nontravelers, it’s not a big deal to personally experience a landmark or eat the food. I’m not too big on going to the museum, looking at landmarks, or trying the local deli myself. I like taking pictures of the tourist traps, but I could just as easily do without and buy a coffee table book. For me personally, I see it as a scouting trip, scouting for places that I’d want to live, retire, escape to. Places to go when life sucks, when I’m just tired of who I am, what I do, and where I’m going. Life is not the same everywhere. Lifestyle, pace, and people’s outlook on life’s goals and values are different in different parts of the world. 

I also scout for signs of happiness. We all know that past the basic life necessities, it’s not the money or the material things you acquire that makes happiness, it is the mentality and approach one has towards living. What makes different people happy, and what is it in their environment that helps them achieve it. On the flip side, what is it that makes people unhappy. 

The fact that I was mildly upset that I couldn’t find a single paper cup in Italy shows just how different we Americans live. What a concept; cups… don’t go with you. They stay at the restaurant, cafe, kiosk. You drink your coffee, tea, hot chocolate and you leave your cup. Yes. You actually have to stay, either sitting or standing if you’re in a hurry, and finish your drink. In the end, I was envious that they didn’t have paper cups. As much as I love starbucks… I also wish they never existed. No matter how brief your stay or how touristy the location, the local vibe is there and sneaks into your subconscious.

The world is like a glass shop, with millions of pieces in different color, shapes and sizes scattered all around, traveling allows one to look for that perfect piece to build one’s personal mosaic.