Goodbye to Central America! Helloo...winter break!

Greetings to you all from...Calgary, AB!  Yes, that’s right.  I am home.  And have been for two weeks now.  HAHA I guess when I got home, I was so caught up in seeing my family and friends that I have been separated from for so long that I didn’t really have time to write a blog post.  Plus, I had to do all of my Christmas shopping!  I know this post is REALLY late, but I had to write about my last two weeks on the cruise ship because my Mom and our friend, Gwen joined me and we had a really wonderful time. We did A LOT so I am going to put a lot of this in bullet point form (otherwise you’ll be reading until New Years and nobody wants that). 

Mom and Gwen's welcome aboard package!

When they first arrived, Gwen and Mom were surprised with a fruit plate and champagne!  The housekeeping department really went above and beyond to make them feel welcome which I am so grateful for!  We had one sea day before our first port which was a formal night.  Not only did we get some pictures together, but I also spent quite a while dancing with a German man named Spatz who was about 80 years old and 5 feet tall.  It was a first dance that led to many more dances throughout the cruise. 

Mom and I's first formal night together

Spatz and I sharing our first dance together :)

Our first stop was Cabo.  Mumsie and I went on a beach getaway excursion (tough, right?) and Gwen went on a snorkeling adventure.  It was great to catch up a bit with Mum and tell her about life on the ship in PERSON. 

Part of the hotel we spent the day at

Our beach escape!

Puerto Vallarta was one of our few ports where we did not do an excursion.  Instead, we met up with a friend of my Mom and Gwen’s. Sherry Toffin.  She is also from Calgary, but spends about 6 weeks in Puerto Vallarta each year.  We had a nice lunch together, and then we did some shopping.  That night in the dining room, we were able to listen to a Mariachi band and see some Mexican women dancing in their traditional dress.  It was a lovely dinner and after being in two ports, the ladies were excited for some relaxing sea days.

Gwen, Mumsie, and Sherry

Traditional Mexican Dress

Dinner

Over the next few days, we met some great people either due to my piano playing, or of course, my mother.  She really can talk to ANYONE and made some great friends on the cruise.  Don, Vin & Kathy, Darryl & Dominic, Elaine & Bob were just some of them.  All of these people I just listed came to my sets all the time.  Some of them even missed the show every night to come hear me play and I had a wonderful time getting to know them.  We are still in touch and I hope that I will meet up with them once again whether it’s in New Mexico, New Zealand or St. Louis.

Our next port was Antigua, Guatemala.  Antigua is a 90 min. drive from the port so I have never been able to get out there, but we were able to swing it this time so I was very excited to go!  The big stop of the day was the Jade Museum/store.  We learned about the “World’s Most Valuable Gemstone” and met the woman who discovered jade in Guatemala, one of two countries that has real, authentic jade.  We got to see some of the factory where they make the jade into jewelry pieces, carve it to make other things etc.  It was very cool and I had a great time walking around the store buying necklaces for myself and my sisters. 

On our way!

The napkin says, "Divas in Guatemala" in case you didn't know.  DBJ.

Great view of the volcano on the way to Antigua!

Touching a giant chunk of jade

Gwen in Antigua

Excited for my jade!

On the way home

Guatemalan locals

The rest of the day was mostly just walking around, looking in shops, getting a feel for the Guatemalan culture and enjoying a coffee in a nice cafe to end the day.  It was a long bus ride back and I was looking forward to taking a nap on the bus, but our guide insisted we listened to marimba music the whole way back (which was nice for 15 min. and then I got irritated).  Great day, though!

Two cuties!!

Costa Rica was a very, very full day.  We were on a 9 hour tour that included a bus ride, a boat tour, walking tour, and aerial tram.  I get tired just thinking about it.  I have never had a chance to do anything in Costa Rica because we usually have boat drill, but I was able to get excused this one time.  We saw lots of wildlife on the boat tour.  We saw a lot of birds and lizards, but also crocodiles!  It was very cool to see everything in its natural habitat and our tour guide was great so I learned a lot.

Excited to be a tour escort...again...!

On the boat tour!

Giant Crocodile!

Birdies

Locals chilling out

One of the cool flowers we got to see

The aerial tram was great and again, we were able to see a lot of wildlife in the rainforest as well as some great flowers and enjoy the stunning views from the tram.  We finished off the tour with a walk through the garden where we saw lots of neat flowers, interesting fruits, herbs, and even snakes!  We learned how to decipher whether a snake was poisonous or not (though I don’t think I would have time to figure it out if a snake fell on top of me).  The bus ride back was long and I was able to fall asleep, but as soon as I got back on the ship, I had to work so like I said, it was a long day, but a great one.

View from the aerial tram

In Panama, Mum and I went on a tour of Panama city (about an hour away from Colon where the ship dock is) and it was awesome!  We not only did a bus tour, but we also did a walking tour that was really hot, but interesting!  There was lots of cool architecture in the city and it was much cleaner than Colon was so that was a pleasant surprise.  Our guide was so awesome and seemed to know EVERYTHING so I was happy I finally got to see Panama City after stopping in so many times.

Panama City Skyline!

Mumsie and Me

One of the coolest buildings I have seen!

Enjoying our walking tour in the heat

In Colombia, Alex and I met Gwen at the hard rock cafe and enjoyed some nachos (and free wifi) and then did some shopping.  I exchanged the dress that I had already exchanged for ANOTHER dress and settled on a white blouse.  I am no longer experiencing buyer’s remorse (though I guess I can’t really experience that because there is no possible way that I can ever return it being that I am no longer in South America or going back any time soon).  Mum went to the Crocs store (would NOT give up on that) so she was happy.  It was a great way to spend our last day in port!

The next sea day was fairly busy for me, but I was excited because the next day was MY BIRTHDAY!!!! I was turning 22 and I couldn’t believe it!  Things didn’t go the way I had planned exactly, but I still had a wonderful day.  It started off in the spa on board where I got a manicure and pedicure with Mum.  Then, we had cake (again, I love the housekeeping department who delivered it to fit my schedule).  It was so thoughtful of my Mum to go to all the trouble of getting a cake (and champagne!) and I am so thankful that she really made me feel like it was my birthday even though I didn’t have the rest of my family/friends around.  We also did presents!  Mum got me a bracelet to commemorate my first cruise ship contract (see picture) and Gwen gave me some charms to add to it.  It was a very sweet gift and I was so thankful!

I still had to work that day, but I was still happy because my last set was full of people who had come to nearly all of my sets.  They even sang me “Happy Birthday” after my last song!  I cried.  Obviously. 

One of my biggest "fans" on the ship, Don

Darryl & Dominic

Spatz and I were able to get a final picture together

Loving my new bracelet

Enjoying some champagne to celebrate!

Anyway, that night we celebrated my birthday at the specialty restaurant onboard, “Qsine”.  It is a restaurant that is very unordinary!  We were taken on a culinary adventure around the world and had some amazing dishes!  My favourite were the sushi lollipops and the crab lava cake!  Mmmm....it was so good! 

Enjoying my chocolate covered strawberry treat!

Gwen and I

Sushi lollipops! Mmm....

Sliders!

The end to a great night!

The waiters remembered it was my birthday and brought me a cake while singing.  I could barely eat any of it because I was already so full!  Diego, our waiter (who knows me and knows I love dessert) said I had to try one of the restaurant’s dessert, so I had some amazing gelato that was served in a rocket ship dish.  It was amazing!  It was a wonderful night and a wonderful way to celebrate my 22^nd birthday.  Though the rest of the night was a little stressful with all the packing I had to do, it ended up being a pretty great day.

Looking back, I am so thankful for everyone that I met while on the cruise ship.  Here are a few pictures of some of the amazing people I will never forget:

The first acapella boys to take me under their wing and show me the ropes!

My dear friend, Shane, a dancer from the production cast (and a fellow Beyonce fan!!)

My buddy, Seth, who always loved to cuddle with me...NOT.

The men of the "Leal Quartet" who I got to jam with from time to time

My older brothers for the past three months!! Love you all.

These are just SOME of the amazing people that I have met and have brought so much joy into my life.  Not only did they make my contract a great one, but you all reading right now made my time away much more enjoyable.  Thank you for your e-mails, for reading, or (as some of you admit to me) just looking at the pictures.  It is always nice to know that people at home haven’t forgotten about me and are interested in what I am doing!

I am enjoying spending time with my family now while at the same time preparing for my next trip which starts Jan. 11^th when I will be heading off to ASIA!  I will be there for 9 weeks seeing Thailand, Singapore, Japan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam.  I am so looking forward to it and can’t wait for the next adventure!  Still, there really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!  I will start posting again in January when I land in Asia (same blog address).   

I hope that all of you have a joyful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

All my love,

The Diva