If you are ever looking for paradise, I think I found it. It lies somewhere in the Caribbean between the turquoise water and the lush islands that seem to appear out of nowhere. The scenery was absolutely spectacular, but the company was even better. I had the privilege of spending the week with members of my extended family for my cousin's Bat Mitzvah at the Synagogue in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Wow. It is difficult to put into words how I am feeling right now. Lets go back a week in time so I can recap the whole journey. Last Sunday morning I took an early morning flight from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale with my brother and sister in law. There we met my father and other brother and headed for the cruise ship. This was my first time on a cruise and my first time going to the Caribbean. Firsts in travel are always so exciting for me because there is so much beauty in discovering something for the first time. There is a different appreciation that returning to a place you have already been. After boarding the ship and finding my room, the first thing I did was wander around the ship trying to get oriented. It was such a big boat and there was so much to discover. Once on deck, up by the pools, I started bumping into different family members who boarded earlier than I did. That was the moment it all started to feel so real. I was going on this boat for 7 days and my family was all there to share it with me. Such an incredible opportunity (especially since they are usually sitting down and listening or reading about my adventures). I was also treated to a hot stone massage which was a nice way to start off my vacation. It really got me relaxed and as the boat drifted farther and farther away from Florida my mind relaxed until I thought of nothing else besides the ship. It helped a lot that I had no access to phone or internet. If I had wanted there was an internet cafe on one of the decks, but it was nice to unplug for a while.
The first night of the cruise was uneventful. Since my family had ordered kosher meals we had to wait a while until we received or dinner. If any of you reading have ever ordered kosher meals on a cruise, you will know that you get a menu of frozen dinners they have stored and they microwave for you. On the first night there seemed to be so many options, but by day 3 I think we were all growing sick of the frozen meals. Nevertheless we were seated by a window that first night and enjoyed a nice view of the ocean as we waiting for them to prepare our food. I have to say though we had a fantastic experience with the gentleman who took care of our specialty meals. He made sure we were taken care of the entire trip and organized a platter of freshly cut vegetables to start off the meal and a fresh fruit platter for dessert!
Monday morning our ship anchored just off of Princess Cays, Bahamas and we needed to take a tender to the Island. What was great about this island is that it is owned by the cruise line so we didn't need to bring any cash. Everything could be purchased on our cruise cards. very convenient. There wasn't much to do on the island so mostly we relaxed on the beach, went swimming in the turquoise water, and enjoyed some island drinks. It was a great first stop, and I was thoroughly exhausted by bed time. I was lucky Tuesday was an at sea day! Tuesday started off with a bang. I was so excited to see in the daily newsletter that they had a Zumba dance class. I started Zumba a month and a half ago and I am addicted. Starting my day off with a fun exercise class was awesome. Totally energized me for a day of lounging by the pool. Tuesday night my grandparents hosted a lovely party in one of the nicer restaurants. It also happened to be formal night, so we all got dressed up and had a blast.
Wednesday morning we arrived St. Maarten. We ported on the dutch side in the capital of Philipsburg, and I never made it to the French side. The morning I wandered around the city in and out of the duty free shops lined along front street. It was a nice way to explore the island a little. After I had an excursion booked with my brother, brother and sister in law. We were all going helmet diving which I had never done before. I have scuba dived before but helmet diving was very different. Instead of having the mouth piece and oxygen tank, they place a space looking helmet over your head that is attached to oxygen above water. You breathe normally in the helmet and you can focus more on what you see underwater this way. It is great for beginners who are apprehensive about scuba diving. Once under water there was a ramp with a railing to hold onto as you walk around looking at the beautiful coral and colourful fish. It helped that I went down with an underwater camera and we bought pictures from the underwater photographer. Always a good buy, since they see things and capture moments in a different way than the average tourist going down. In the end we have many fantastic pictures to remember this amazing experience.
Thursday was the day we had been all waiting for, the bat Mitzvah, which was the reason we all came on this cruise in the first place. After disembarking from the ship we all took cabs to the Synagogue. Walking into the synagogue for the first time took my breath away. Some back story on the Synagogue.
"Saint Thomas Synagogue, built in 1833, is the second-oldest synagogue (building) and longest in continuous use now under the American flag. The synagogue, fourth on its site, was built to house a congregation founded in 1796 by Sephardic Jews who had come to the Caribbean Basin to finance trade between Europe and the New World. The congregation reached its zenith in the mid-19th century, declined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the fortunes of the Danish Virgin Islands, and grew again in the late 20th century." (taken from wikipedia) The Synagogue has white sand floors and has a sense of history hanging in the air. One of the Torah scrolls held by the Synagogue is one Hitler was planning on using in a proposed museum of the "extinguished race". To know that scroll is housed in such a historic place which is still used today for services is so momentous. Truly incredible to witness. The service itself was beautiful and probably my favorite Bat Mitzvah I have ever attended. Definitely the most interesting. After services and a beautiful brunch, we had a little bit of time left to explore the island. We found a taxi driver, named Mr. Two Pedal, who drove some of us around the island up to a mountain top with one of the most exquisite views I have ever seen. I think it was there that I realized I truly have found paradise on this trip.
Friday was our last port day and I was so excited to enjoy the few hours we had in Grand Turk. Turks and Caicos are known for their clear turquoise waters and spectacular snorkeling. Because of shabbat, we had to be back on the boat early, so we were limited in the excursions that could plan. We ended up finding a snorkel and hike excursion that would get us back to the boat an hr before shabbat which was perfect. The snorkeling really was the best compared to the other islands. The water was so clear and we had a great view of the coral and fish. After snorkeling for a while we swam to a little island for our hike. I was surprised to find a 16th century Spanish fort! It seems that wherever I go I seem to find archaeology. Even though our time was limited, it was an amazing way to spend our last stop on the cruise.
Shabbat on the boat was interesting only because it proposed a whole new set of questions and limitations. Friday night we ate earlier than the rest of the family so we could eat food that was somewhat hot since it could not be warmed up once shabbat started. Shabbat day (Saturday) we had cold turkey schnitzel because it seemed to be the only item on the menu that would be decent cold. Another one of the issues we faced was getting in and out of our rooms since the doors are all electronic and they had no real key they could give us. Our steward said he would open the door for us if he saw us in the hall but he was off duty for the last few hours of Saturday when we would likely be going in and out of our room. Instead, he advised us to take a business card and place it at the edge of the door where the lock pops out so the door appears to be shut but open enough that we could just push the door and it would open. So this was our solution. It ended up being an enjoyable day at sea. In the afternoon my father and brother and I played a great game of monopoly that we had taken out of the library. Next thing we knew we were witnessing the nicest sunset we had seen on the trip. Saturday night, after shabbat was over, we quickly packed our bags and headed to our last dinner with the whole family (all 48 of us who came for the Bat Mitzvah). We managed to get all our goodbyes in. It was sad because not only were we marking the end of a wonderful vacation, but also the end of a unique opportunity to spend so much time with friends and family when everyone was on vacation. It was truly a moment to appreciate how lucky we all were.
If you though my adventures ended with the conclusion of the cruise, you don't know me very well. After the cruise I got to spend 2 days in Miami having a vacation from the vacation and spending time with the other side of my family. Sunday night dinner consisted of 13 of us: My father, brother and sister in law, brother, grandparents, great uncle, aunt and uncle, and a cousin and her husband. My aunt and uncle live in Los Angeles and we got lucky they were visiting Miami the same time as us so we could catch in a quick visit. Also my cousin and her husband live in NYC and we don't see them as often as we would like. Today I spent my last day of the vacation walking up and down Miami Beach and the boardwalk with a friend I haven't seen in a while. It all ends now as I write this post in Fort Lauderdale Airport waiting to board my flight. This trip ranks as one of my best adventures. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures as much as I enjoyed experiencing them. I cannot wait to see where my adventures take me next!
