Arriving in Europe

On the 28^th of May we arrives at Ponta Delgada, Azores, where we took a crew tour of a few of the islands features. First we visited the botanical gardens, with huge trees that were shipped in from all over the world, and hand made stone towers and tunnels that added a very pleasing aesthetic affect to the garden. Then we headed to the pineapple plantation, complete with 12 or so green houses full of pineapple plants. These varied in size from smaller then my fist to the actual size you get in a grocery store. After sampling some pineapple liquor and authentic juice we headed to the top of the island to see if the clouds would clear from a view of the fire lakes. As we rode up to the top we drove through streets so tiny, our bus barely made it through without taking down a few shudders. The island has been updated with very modernized apartment buildings and structures, but these are then surrounded by miles and miles of farmland and cows. Unfortunately for us the clouds and fog did not dissipate, and so we were unable to see the lakes, but it was still nice to get out of the bus and off the ship for a while.

On the 31^st we stopped in Cadiz, Spain, and adorable town and our first stop in Europe. After being left a map from a few members of our cast, my roommate and I proceeded to navigate our way to the beach in a town speaking no English at all. After a decent amount of time we made it to the beach by following street signs and butchering the little Spanish we knew to ask for directions. Upon heading back to the ship we both realized that before the next time we left the ship we needed Euros, and someone who had been to wherever we were.

Yesterday we visited Malaga, Spain, where most of our time was spent in a McDonalds with free wifi. Normally I would object to visiting an American food chain in a foreign country, but it was important that I accessed the world outside of cruise ship internet for at least a day. I was able to video chat with my mother, father and little brother, which was wonderful. It was good to see their faces and to see my house, but it made the difference in worlds a little more real then it has felt so far. It is gradually becoming stranger and stranger to me that I am across the world from what I call home. Here the sun doesn’t go down until sometime around 9:30, and that’s with the time change. I am some 6 hours ahead of the East coast, so every time I wonder what my family or friends are doing back home I have to consider the time and remember that they are probably not even awake yet as I eat my lunch.

Tomorrow we port in Barcelona, our homeport for the next 5 months. I am very excited to see what will become the spot in which we change over every 12 days. I am also very eager to get into the flow of our 12-day cruises, as we have been doing 5, 7, or even 14-day cruises at this point and have yet to experience the type that we will be doing to longest. From here until my last cruise on this contract, we will be doing 12-day cruises, with another transatlantic 14-day crossing before I sign off in Miami.

This whole thing is very surreal to me, stepping on the ship and having to remind myself that I am in Europe and walking on foreign soil that some people may never see in their lifetime. Most of the time I feel like I am in a movie or walking on a movie set, it all almost doesn’t feel real.

In terms of dancing, the shows have all become second nature and so have the costumes and makeup. Along with the dance classes, Diego and I have put together a Tango that we perform I various shows throughout the cruise. It is authentic to Argentina, about 3 minutes or so, and when performed full out it’s pretty hard. Ballroom dancing is something I have never really gotten the chance to explore so I welcome the challenge and relish in the opportunity at the same time. We have also started to perform with Natalie in her variety show, and back up dancing is also very fun. I have been fortunate enough to be able to find ‘background’ work very fulfilling, as I am able to recognize that I am part of a picture of something rather then in the middle of it, or even the only thing in the frame. As long as I am dancing, it’s pretty hard to make me unhappy.

My sea legs have finally set in, I got off the bike this evening in the gym and didn’t even flinch when the ship swayed and I took a step to the side to stabilize myself. As annoying as it is, I am getting the hang of dressing up in the morning to be able to go into passenger areas, and dressing down has become something that I look forward to each day. Last night before our shows I went up to deck 7 (the crew deck, which is located at the very front of the ship), and the sun was just about to set over the empty horizon as we sailed away from one part of Spain to the next. The ocean was completely still, and the orangy pink sunset reflected on it like a perfect glass mirror. I closed my eyes and thought of my friends and my family that I miss, and then opened them again to the postcard that lay in front of me. This gig ain’t bad for now.