I am currently sailing between Cuba and Haiti, towards Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where I will arrive in a day or so. I am using a wireless internet capacity, in an exclusive wooden library with Caribbean water lapping at the window. I flew first class to the New World, using New York City as my gateway city. I stayed in a an unsalubrious but exciting East Village house for a couple of days, and then stayed with cousin in Hell’s Kitchen, for a further couple of days. I ate pancakes in Puerto Rican breakfast cafes, sushi with Heebs in Greenwich Village, deli food with ya’akov below the gleaming Time Warner centre, and Korean deli bourbon chicken with my parents, on the way to Ground Zero. I went to a sixth form skit dressed up as a broadway hit, called Spamelot, and ate buffalo burger in a diner where Seinfeld was invented. I ate tasty chicken and rootbeer in Queens with Aunt Lindy, and ice cream in a diner near The Algonquin. Then I took a Jet Blue flight 9 days ago to Fort Lauderdale. It ran out of fuel after circling above a thunder storm, and had to tensely divert to West Palm Beach. I made them get a train down to Fort Lauderdale from there, where I stayed at a delux Marriot Beach Harbour resort for the night. In the morning I shared the beach with rather tryign New York J.A.Ps.
After meeting up with Trellises and Greanna, we cought the Caribbean Princess. After beef spare ribs, ginger beers, watermelons and pineapple by the mound, and cream cake after icecream sundae, I docked in
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Here I went to Coki beach, Drake’s Seat, and the second oldest synagogue in the Western hemisphere. I draped myself in a tallit that covered my shorts and tea shirt, and stood looking out of the open windows and doors into Charlotte Amalie, the capital, below me. I stood on sand in the prayer house, which makes it unique in the world. The sand represents Conversos arriving via the inquisition onto a tropical beach, or their necessary hiding in sandy cellars from continuign New World inquisitions. A thunder storm took place as I stood wrapped in my holy robes, and when the sun cleared, I made my way back to the ship, and then took a five mile run through Charlotte Amalie. I got back and went to the buffet for Afternoon Tea, rejoicing.
The next day I arrived in
St. Martin (French West Indies)/ Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles)
Here I went on a bike ride through the blazing heat along the shore line and through old tropical dairy farms. I fell off my bike twice going over rocks. The French side of the island is fecund and colourful. I then went to Friar’s Bay where I swam with a free glass of icy coca cola. In the afternoon I went to Maho Beach, on the Dutch side of the island. Here I waited with pater and Trellises for landing Jets coming in from America and Europe. As we arrived by taxi we saw that we had just missed an American Airlines jet from Miami, and some Air France Airbuses. We thought this would not be our day. We waited in the blazing heat on the beautiful beach that bordered the airport runway of Princess Julianna Airport, but nothing came. Other plane nerds paced around nervously. Then, like a hawk coming in over the blue ocean, I spotted something. pater put his camera on, sitting in the sand. A noise grew louder. Trellises and I sat on the beach under its flight path. Then we felt a huge energy coming towards us. An American Airlines 767 came hurtling towards us, casting a a huge shadow on the sea’s shore. We were blasted into the sand, and Mrs Trellis tried to run away as we lay plastered to the floor. Seemingly a few metres above us, this giant jet liner hurtled towards the ground. We smelled the engine and saw it slip over us, and land 20 metres later, over the fence from the beach, in the airport. We got a taxi back, marvelling at this experience, and, with a free sample of coconut smoothie in my hand given to me in the doch, I went on my way to the ship, rejoicing.
After another few days, we landed in
Princess Cays, on the southern tip of the Bahamian island of Eleuthera.
Here, I swam with a sting ray, survived, and had a free beach barbecue of burgers, Bratworst, sald and pickles, fruit, banana cake, and brownies.
I am now heading for
Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Then we will go to
Grand Cayman
And then
Cozumel, Mexico.
I am now off to the late night bistro.