Me, Myself, & I
I recently took a solo trip and I wanted to report to you all on my findings. It was pretty awesome. I was on my own time, did the activities that I wanted to do, and saw some truly beautiful sights. There were the occasional questions about if I was alone, why I was alone which was usually accompanied by either an “awww” (middle-aged women) or “I wish I could do that,” (middle-aged men). It was definitely an adventure and a learning experience. I had a lot of time alone to think, evaluate my life and myself, and just truly relax. It was good for the soul, and I’ve definitely come back with a pep in my step and excited to take on the world. My trip was 8 days long. I stayed inFort Lauderdale to spend a daywith my grandmotherthen boarded a cruise to Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico.
Labadee, Haiti
This was our first stop after a day at sea. It was an interesting place. Labadee is entirely leased by Royal Caribbean until 2050, and is a total tourist destination. There is a beautiful beach with an enormous zip line, gorgeous water and a small make shift town, but it also has large fences that seemingly keep out the real Haiti. This is a country where 2/3 of the population do not have formal jobs and ¾ of the people live on $2 a day or less. So, they don’t want to show you that. I did an on-land excursion where they took us to a mock Haitian village. This was interesting, but didn’t lift the curtain on thereal Haiti. We saw women churning peanuts for peanut butter, churning coffee beans, and grating yucca for flatbread. The people here were not employed by Royal Caribbean and any money spent on art or products would go into the Haitian economy. I got a few nice pieces of carved wood art which Haiti is somewhat know for. We then spent some time on a beautiful beach where I learned to play a conchlike a horn which was really fun. Overall,it was a fantastic excursion but lacked the real culture and adventure I was looking for. We were then off to Jamaica.
Falmouth, Jamaica
We arrived here the next morning around 10:30am, and the port itself was very much like Labadee so it was very touristy. It was vibrant with people playing steel drums and selling anything and everything, but it certainly wasn’t really Jamaica. Luckily, I booked an excursion for Bob Marley’s house in Nine Mile (because it’s nine miles from the closest town). To get there,we had to take a 2-hour van ride through Jamaica, and with our tour guide teaching us as we drove we got to see a lot of the country. She taught us some Patois (which is so awesome;it’s English-based, but with the influences of the different people of Jamaica) and pointed out many different sights and areas. As we drove on the left side of the road, winding on small mountain roads, which could barely fit two cars, it felt like a roller coaster. I enjoyed it, but the older passengers were freaking out. Their screams added to my enjoyment of the ride J. We finally arrived at Bob’s house and overall it was pretty cool. I mean it certainly is what you would call a tourist trap, but to see the way he is venerated and how he came from such a small area to have his memory and voice echo for eternity is truly remarkable. There are people selling joints at the gates, and full bars trying to get you to drink their rum punch. Nobody in my group indulged, but there were many others there that did. You get to see his childhood bedroom, his mothers grave, as well as he and his youngest brother’sgraves. You see his mediation rock and can imagine the lofty dreams he had as he sat there creating his music. It was cool to envision Bob there growing up. We then took our van back, and stopped at a small roadside eatery for jerk chicken/pork, rice and beans, which wereallamazing. I sat with a couple from Jerusalem who gave me their number and asked me to visit (so maybe that’s a future trip). We then made the last 30-minute ride back to our port just in time to catch our ship. Our next stop was inCozumel, Mexico after another day at sea.
Cozumel, Mexico
This was probably the biggest tourist location of all, as Cozumel doesn’t really produce anything and their economy is based 100% off of their tourism. So, as we left the ship we were bombarded with stores and people selling merchandise. I was taking an excursion on what they called a Jaguar Bus (a bus that was open air), to an ecological reserve. I met up with two older couples I had met poolside and had donethe initial excursion with in Haiti. They were great and treated me like their son, which was funny and nice. The reserve includedsome ancient Mayan buildings as well as thehighest point in Cozumel, their lighthouse. From the light (since Cozumel is completely flat) you could see everything, and the views were amazing. Water and beaches as far as the eyes could see. Then we went back down, and got on bikes that were attached to the back of our bus, and we took a 3-mile bike ride to a secluded beach. As we rode through the reserve, we saw alligators, iguana, and plenty of vegetation. Then with our group of about 16 we arrived at the beach to lay out, paddle board, and walk around as we were prepared some Mexican food. They served us cheese quesadillas, pork tacos, chips and guacamole, and watermelon. The watermelon they sprinkled with some type of pepper, which I initially was opposed to, but it complemented the sweetness very well. I have no idea what it was, but they told me that’s how Mexican children eat their watermelon. Anybody know about this? If I can figure out what it was I’ll definitely be doing it in the future. Finally, we boarded our bus back to the shops to walk around until our ship was leaving to go back to Fort Lauderdale.
Would I do it again?
I’d absolutely do it again, and I certainly plan on it. If we are being completely honest though, it would be nice to have a partner in crime. I definitely missed that at points, particularly eating dinners as a party of one in restaurants - not to mention I enjoy experiencing things with other people,getting their viewpoints and their impressions of what we saw. I missed my former girlfriend at times, but that’ssomething I’m sure I’ll struggle with for some time. That being said,I still had an unbelievable vacation that did a lot for my psyche, motivation, and helped put into perspective many of my goals. I’ll eventually find another travel partner, but for right now Me, Myself, and I ain’t that bad. Have an awesome day, and if you’re thinking about a solo trip, just get up and GO!!!