Day 515 - Grenada

You know, every time I come to Grenada, I find someone who is going to pray for me. No wonder I like this island! I went into a shop in the terminal & they remembered me from the last cruise. We got to chatting &, as usual, they remembered my hair. I explained why it was the way it was & they asked me if I’d taken saffron or turmeric. They said they would pray for me - one bloke & 3 women. It was so kind of them.

I stopped in one of the jewelry stores to window shop. I saw some men’s bands – Jaco has misplaced his (for a long time now) – and I thought I saw a price tag of $130. Not bad! Maybe the Caribbean is a good deal after all. I asked to have a closer look. Wrong. Try $1300! Yikes! Guess I’ll keep looking!

I picked up a few souvenir stickers – Dive Naked: Show Us Your Harpoon. It made me laugh! I then sat outside the shop & caught a free wireless signal. I managed to skype with Jenn for an hour. Thankfully she was online & after I sorted out my microphone, we were able to have a great visit. I’m so excited for her! She is going raw! Yay! It is inspiration for me to keep going! I won’t give in! I’m no angel, but I’m trying! I was so happy to see Harrison & Heidi on the webcam too. Heidi is growing so big! And Harrison is such a little gentleman! I loved the kisses being blown my way from both of the kids! Be still my heart!

I was again, one of the last people onboard & as I walked away from the terminal security personnel, one of our staff came running in asking for bandages, gauze, etc. A passenger from the Thomson ship we were docked with had fallen & cut his head. I jogged down the pier & went on the Thomson ship to ask them to send a medic & a wheelchair for the injured passenger.

When I walked out of the Thomson ship, three of the officers from the Sea Princess were standing there with puzzled looks on their faces. Which ship was I going to sail with?! Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was cute.

I made Thai Noodles for dinner tonight. Jaco ate a whole big bowlful & actually enjoyed them! I was impressed! I’m happy when he eats a lot. I’m happier when he eats a lot of healthy food! That said, he was already complaining about his belly & that he wasn’t going to eat that much tomorrow night. He did the dishes for me after dinner. What a sweetheart.

He watched a bit of telly, while I went to the mess to get an Internet card. On my way back, I stopped by the photo lab to chat with Carla. We had a wonderful visit – in fact, I think I was there for a good hour! Her fiancé called her to come for a bite to eat & only then did I leave! Whoops!

I returned to the cabin to find Jaco sleeping peacefully. I did my best to keep quiet & at one point he woke up. I asked him a question, but when I saw his eyes continuously rolling into the back of his head, I knew it was fruitless to take any answer he might mumble to me.

Sweet dreams to you…

xxxxMaria

Day 490 - Bonaire

This morning M&D2 went on a snorkeling tour to Klein Bonaire. I, however, did not join them. I went scuba diving this afternoon with the Nurses – Bronwyn & Nik, and the Doctor – Leana. We went with Wannadive & it was brilliant! We did a drift dive down the coast starting at Bari Reef.

We saw angelfish, tarpon, sea cucumbers, parrotfish, flounder, blue tangs & plenty of other fish I don’t know the names of! I had a few mask issues, so when I surfaced, all the water that had sat in my nostrils & mask for the duration of the dive, led to a little draining of the sinuses – to say the least! I don’t remember the last time I had to blow & blow & blow my nose that much! Yeesh! Thankfully I was with a bunch of Medics & they are used to bodily fluids!!

On our way back to the ship, we walked to the road & were picked up, unexpectedly, by friends of Leana’s that used to work on ships & are now opening a club in Bonaire! Leana was quite excited to see them!

Once back at the ship, the Medics went to work & I walked around town a little. I found an ice cream shop I remembered from last year – they still had Rainbow Sherbet! I also found a pretty little ring I quite fancy… Sigh. A girl’s got to have a few things on the wish list!

Back on board, I went upstairs for sailaway & just after we’d set sail, I found M&D2 on deck 7. They were going to go upstairs for dinner tonight, so I joined them & had a nice salad. Dad2 is thoroughly enjoying the dessert section of the buffet. The cookies are a favourite. Hmm… where have I seen this before!?

They are so cute. They are tired of early morning tours already. It makes me giggle. They get up at 0500 every day & now that they have to get up at 0800 for a tour, they are exhausted! I understand completely, as the sun & heat are intense, but when will they be here again? I convinced them to keep going & not cancel their tours. I know they’ll thank me later! And they have a few days to sleep in – sea days!

On that note, I’m off to bed. Tomorrow morning is another tour!

xxxxMaria

Leana, Bronwyn & Nick

Yours truly

Tanks, tanks alot

Divers Paradise Indeed!

Loading up the truck

Into the water we go!

Spotted eel

A-O-K

Nick - lovin' every minute of it!

Hmm - a pretty fish!

Coral

Yellow Snapper?

Tarpon - big fish. 4-5'

A-O-K - for Dr. Daly! Sans Bleomycin & a great dive it was!

Leana waving hello!

Unda da sea! Darlin' it's better down where it's wetta - take it from me!

Tarpon again

Divers in the deep blue

Wheee!

Here fishy, fishy!

Oh the mystery of it all...

Hello!

School of fish

Ooooh la la!

Hello little friend!

Hello again!

Parrot fish & snapper & ??

Cool blue colour, eh?

Flat fish that changes colour wherever it lands

Almost done the dive

Hiding under the rocks

Whee!

Where to go next?

Apres dive

Wannadive - great dive co.!

Nick! Watch out!

Ta-da!

Hitched a ride with some of Leana's friends

Just another day in paradise

Leana & Charlene & Doh! I forgot his name!

Sailaway

A rare silent & empty moment in Horizon Court

Little sailboats

Day 430 - Bushed.

Today I recuperated from yesterday's aggressive packing session. Tomorrow I am going to the city to spend a few days with Mom2 for their family Christmas. They have been waiting for Jordan's girlfriend to come back from Mexico before they open their gifts together & I'm going to try & help with turkey dinner.

I did my best to pack a bag for a few days, get the girls ready & make my friend, Jenn, & Mom2's last Christmas presents. I bought some stamps & silver blanks a long time ago. This is my first attempt at making a gift. I think they are a little crude, but they were made with love. What do you think?

Jenn is doing a mission to Brasil for 10 days. It will be her first mission trip & there will be a lot of healing & miracles happening. I'm very excited for her! If you have the desire to help, she is collecting donations & would appreciate your participation! $5, 10, 20, 50, 100... No amount is too big or too small! You can do a PayPal donation through her blog: My Romance The PayPal is in the top left section of the page. I can't wait for her to go! Life changing! I tell you!

So... for Jenn's gift, it is in Portuguese. I hope that Google Translate didn't lead me astray, as it is supposed to read: 'The Way, The Truth, The Light'.

Mom2's gift has 2 Angel wings, as she loves Angels. Hers reads, 'Apart maybe in distance, but never in heart.'

I finished late, but I'm ready for Christmas now! What do you mean, I'm too late?!? Ha ha.

xxxxMVO&A

Day 401 - Rawxy Rocks the Raw Kitchen

What a write off. I'm getting pretty fed up with this sleep habit/pattern thing. I went to bed at 1000 this morning. Got outta bed at 1800 when Roxy showed up. I had tossed & turned a little, but never really had a deep sleep. I'm starting to worry, as I know my body only heals when it gets the rest it needs. Here's hoping it gets straightened out soon!

I skyped with Jaco briefly, as our connection wasn't great. (What else is new?!) He's safely in Barbados & enjoying his beachfront hotel room before he has to join the ship tomorrow. I'm anxiously awaiting the day I can join him. He brought it to my attention that I officially have one month of chemo left! Yay!!! Bring it on!!! Let's get this show on the road!!!

Roxy came down to do Mom's books & also to show me a few things about raw food. I'm pretty excited! We did breakfast dishes (at 2000!) but it was really neat! We made almond mylk & raw granola, followed by a shilajit chaga latté. The mylk & latté were blended long enough that they actually heated up, so it wasn't a cold meal! I was amazed at how full I was after a small bowl of granola & the drink. I felt full, but not bloated & uncomfortable. It was (r)awesome!

Roxy has taken classes over the past year or so & has learned a lot about raw food. I'm anxious to learn from her & start a new path of healthy eating. She has some incredible knowledge on how to prepare food & what is good for you & why... Oh & we even used young coconut water in the almond mylk. It was delicious! Although I think I need a sharper knife if I'm going to hack into them!

Roxy worked on the books while I made a DVD of some information I'd recently found on raw food. I think she knows most of it already, but in case she doesn't, she'll have some new stuff.

We chit chatted about funny stories from our 'younger days' & enjoyed a cup of tea. She was pretty exhausted from 2 busy days, so she told me to get to bed, as she herself was falling asleep standing up!

I went to bed & typed a few emails & managed to turn the light out at 0300-ish & actually slept for 2 hours! The earliest I've slept in over 2 weeks! Unfortunately I woke up at 0530 & couldn't get back to sleep. Roxy had told me to count down from 300 in multiples of 3's in order to fall asleep. It didn't work. But I got good at my numbers! I read 35 pages in a book & I still wasn't tired, so I decided to get up. It was 0700 by then. I had a necklace my Grandma had given me to repair for her - I think it's nearing a year ago that she gave it to me! So I decided to fix it. I put matching spacer beads & an easier clasp to close on it. I also made her a pair of matching earrings to go with it. Hopefully that will make up for the wait! I then realized that I had 2 other necklaces belonging to Collet & her Mom. I've fixed the one for Peggy & only have Collet's left to repair.

My back is starting to ache, so I'll try to sleep again. (It's 0920 the following day!) Sigh.

xxxxMV&O

Meet Florence (from Florence & the Machine)

Rawxy'z whippin' up a storm of UNcooking

Raw granola, almond nut mylk, along with goji berries, banana & bee pollen - Yummy stuff!!!