Diosa De Cancion

Greetings all, as promised, I now bring you part 2 of the POTC June 10-18 Fan Trip. Once we arrive in Nassau Sunday evening, we will be doing what many do - go to The Pirates Museum. But we will be doing it differently. First, for those of you who don't know the museum... it's a complete immersion experience. Your adventure begins on a moonlit dock amidst the smells of sea salt and tar in the year 1716. A women sweeping the dock sets the scene for your adventure as she talks about a captain with a collection of ears " as long as your arm. " The we all board a replica of the pirate ship Revenge " and enter the world of cutlass wielding, bloodthirsty pirates. Here are a few pics to give you a feel for the inside of the museum. The museum itself is quite an experience. But instead of seeing it with other groups of tourists - imagine taking over the museum. That is what will be happening for our trip. The folks at Beyond Boundaries have us arriving at the museum after it closes to the general public. It will be all ours, and we will wrap up our evening there, at a pirate themed dinner -something other visitors cannot do. Monday morning has us at a few sites in Nassau Among them. The Woods-Rogers home. For those of you who don't know, Captain Woods Rogers was named first Royal Governor of the Bahama Islands. He also was not very friendly to our kind. He is the one who restored order to the islands, which means the pirates who had been using the area as a base, were homeless or hanging. Also, a planned visit to Fort Charlotte It was constructed from 1787 to 1789. It is on top of a hill, so you wanna talk about nice views! The fort iself, has old cannons, dungeon-like rooms that are underground, a moat, a drawbridge, etc. More sightseeing after that, a bit of shopping, and then we will hop a flight to Kingston, Jamaica more to come....

I won't tell

This particular ship is not... ALTHOUGH, the ship Jeannie is looking at using for a future Pirate themed trip (which will be in europe) is completely wheelchair accessible! Just as a note... this is never the same trip twice. Every themed trip they run is differently, with new exclusive events. That is why they tend to get lots of repeat travelers.

As a matter of fact, Florida DOES have a law against smoking in dining establishments. Bars are one thing... but if more than 10 percent of their business is in food, they cannot allow smoking. So you will not have a problem in eateries. As for the bar situation you can always do what many of us do and go to more open air bars. Schooners Wharf is actually all outside, and a great place. the smoke is quickly dispursed... places like Sloppy Joes are also eating establishments, so there is no smoking.... etc etc.... Hope this helps

Alright Pyrates.... It it time for Part 1 of the POTC Fan trip planned for June 10-18th 2005. As some of you know, I recently went on a sail on the Legacy(The ship that will be used for the first part of the trip) and during my sail, I was given the 'inside' of what will be happening throughout the trip! Here's some of what I learned. The trip will begin in Miami. You won't have a problem finding your ship, it will be the one with the skull and crossbones flying! The ship is 294 feet long, and about 40 feet wide. It holds 43 crew members, and about 100-120 passengers. It's nice and quaint and everyone can get to know thier fellow travelers. Unlike other trips, you are not just given a name tag and an itinerary. On this trip, once your step aboard the ship, you will get a name tag, but that tag will let you know which pirate crewe you are on. The passengers will be divided evenly among various pirate crewes. Those crewes will be in competition against one another for doubloons and special prizes. In true pirate fashion, on day one, all the members of each crewe will be brought together for a meet-up, those who wish to be Captain will have a chance to petition for the job, and the democratic voting take place. I am not going to divulge too many details of what all will be involved with being a part of the crewe, but frankly, from what I know, I have a feeling it will be a blast! There will be typical ship activities as well as some specialized ones for this trip... one hint..you will find more than just fresh towels in your room every day... Also on the first evening in addition to having a dinner with the Legacy's Captain Brent, he has agreed to join everyone on the upper deck for some astronomical navigation. I can honestly say, the best part of my sail was laying on the deck and looking at the sky above the rigging - truly amazing!!!!! I also heard tell, there could be a pirate movie shown on the upper deck as we sail through the evening. Imagine - watching a pirate movie, out in the open air, as you sail as a pirate would have on the ocean!! Day two will have us arriving on a deserted island. We will have almost a full day on the island, which will be comprised of regular treasure hunts, archaeological treasure hunts, snorkel/dive opportunities and a couple of other surprises (for one, think the POTC scene early in the movie where Will and Jack are trying to take the ship from the harbor) and the evening will be capped with (weather permitting) a bonfire during which we can dance around the singing "Pirates life for me" while waving our rum bottles. There will also be educational sessions during the day on knot tying (nothing like knowing how to tie a handcuff knot), coins of various ships/time periods, the Captain may teach a wee bit of celestial navigation with the sexton just before sunset, and more. Day Three will offer pirates a chance to have sticky buns(Fresh made in the galley every morning) on the beach to watch the sunrise from our island, and then we'll set sail early in the day to get to Nassau by dinner. There will be more activities during the day, including culinary lessons(nothing like making a big bunch of hardtack and a costume contest to prepare for the evening pirate feast. The contest will have a number of awards from funny, to original, to historical accuracy, and a few more fun things (let's just say it would pay to brush up on your pirate movies and books) The ship will arrive in Nassau just in time for dinner.... which I will tell more about in a later chronicle.... Diosa PS. Some had asked about seasickness. I am a scuba diver, but I rarely dive because I have to take a small boat out to dive sites, and that usually leads to me getting very sick. For those of you who don't know, I am also a reporter. I have the rare honor of being able to say that on a dive for the media to a newly sunken ship, I hurled for both CNN and National Geographic. With that said, I only experienced 1-2 slightly 'off' moments in 6 days aboard the ship. I took my dramamine religiously. The first night I felt a little 'off-balance' but as soon as I walked out into the fresh air, I was fine. We also had at least one really really rough day, but I was surprisingly ok!

As a 1/2 Belizean... let me chime in... What you say is true...except for Belize City. The crime rate is much higher in the city...and generally everyone has to go through there when ariving by plane and usually by ship. Frankly, the major problem came as more ships were able to dock at Belize city... that opened the area up for more drug trade and such... and the drug rates and drug crimes that followed went up substantially. Frankly my advise to all going to Belize... is consider Belize city as a place to fly in/out of, and there is a great grocery store at the edge of town where you can provision, then take off and enjoy the rest of the magnificent country with ruins,caves,rainforests, mountains, scuba diving, etc...!! By the way, Ambergris Caye, where the timeshare your friend bought is located, is also the place where they filmed the Temptation Island Reality TV show a few years back...

Greetings all... I am back on dry land.... and off that lovely vessel But I come bearing info!! lots and lots of info!!! I will try to answer questions in order... 1. Accommodations - The Tour operator (Jeannie at Beyond Boundaries) was very picky on the ship. She wanted sails, and the pyratical sailing feeling, but also wanted to make sure eveyone would be comfy in their rooms. For that reason, each room has it's own bath. The rooms range from singles to doubles.... to some that can sleep 4-6. Keep in mind this is a ship, so any rooms with more than one bed will have one above the other(space constraints being what they are) but they were pretty nice. Besides, if you're like me you don't spend too much time in a room. But it is nice to have the space where you can lay out your stuff. 2. Siren, they are good at pairing people up for roommates if you need one. What will happen, is you have to put your deposit down on the trip, tell them you are looking for a rommmate, and then you will be given access to a chatroom they set up for all the folks going on the cruise. Up until just a little before the trip you will be able to chat with all the other individual travelers and try to find someone you want to room with, then you just tell the folks at Beyond Boundaries.. and they'll take care of pairing you up in the room. So, you don't have to have that all sorted out ahead of time. 3. Capt Morgan.... if you're trying to convince..... try this photo... :) This was pretty much the daily evening view...also Capt we will be spending a whole day on a deserted island for meals, fun and our own 'bonfire scene' like that from POTC and some other activities that would be great for a barefoot on the beach wedding renewal! I am still unpacking and such, but I will get back here with more details of the summer trip ASAP. Diosa

Day 2 aboard the Legacy..... we set sail in the alate afternoon, after a day of provisioning on the island... as we pulled out of port, we noted a massive British ship headed our way(The Queen Mary 2). Despite the fact that she was many hundred times our size, the Captain pulled up along side her and began broadsides. He fired three times at her, the blast echoing off the other ship was nearly deafening. There was no return fire from the other vessel. We considered this a victory, and there were extra radions of rum and freshly acquired fruit for all aboard. As more rum was consumed, the ship turned into a party atmosphere. There was music all about, dancing and singing. After a few hours of revelry, I found myself called up to the poop beck to admire the sky once again. As I spotted my celestial pal, Orion, a shooting star flew from his shoulder into the north sky. I consider this an omen that the remaning travels will be favorable. More to come

Greetings all!!! I am beginning a sail that will be on the same ship that will be used for the summer POTC trip. It's wonderful!!! My fist impression - The upper decks are open, airy and last night while it was a wee bit breezy and cool(for the islands at least), the breeze caused the rigging to play a very soothing song as it shifted and clanked in the wind. I can easily see how one could fall into a blissful sleep beaneath the stars, lulled by the sounds of the vessel. Later today we take part in hoisting the sails and setting out to sea!

Excuse me??? I have been keeping up to my duties, and introducing new crewe each time a new member comes aboard, as well as explaining how much of a task you are to keep up with.... in just keeping you out of trouble along, I am sure I am far surpassing the workload of the average person.

You don't have to tell me I already know. Thanks for the greetin! Maeven Tis true... the majority of the boys in the crewe are that way... much like you would expect wenches to be... like to toy with the other gender... Even as the Conscience, I can't keep them in line... takes about all I got to keep the Capt outta trouble....

Ahoy all!!! Yet another introduction to the crewe... ready?? Girls...this one is NOT for you :) Welcome aboard Maevous O'Connell, who will henceforth be known as Maeven(because the captain tried and tried to spit out the full name, stumbled over the words, cussed a lot...and then decided she should be called Maeven) . She hails from the waters near the Port of Tampa, and is a right tough pirate. I've heard tell that the last ship she was on, she served as First Mate.... One evening while having too much rum the Capt of that ship loaded the cannon's backside with too much power and the recoil was so much that it crushed her legs! The Capt then made the unfortunate mistake of laughing at her agony and injuries. I hear Maeven was so outraged at his response, that crushed legs and all she pulled the captain down by the coat, clocked him in the back of the head with her cutlass, shoved his topside in the barrel of the cannon, powdered it up and lit it off... and Let's just say her former Captain lost his head over the whole deal... All I have to say is, way to go!!! Never let a man get the best of ya!!!! Welcome aboard! Diosa

Done. Doc and I are back online again. Will try to post more often. We are making headway towards the warmer sunnier climates slowly. Our target is still for June but could be earlier if everyone up here keeps pi**ing me off. I hate government functionaries. They are a waste of my time and tax payers money. That goes for lawyers too. Animal hmm....as I look through my e-mail box I do not see a response to the e-mails I sent you asking for information...obviously someone is not completely caught up with their work.... tsk tsk...

<sniffle> my little pirate wench is all grown up and actually doing her job.... makes a pirate mom proud :)

We're already going to do a ticket puchase for JB tampa this weekend. want us to buy for you as well?? Flint and his lady will be coming with us.... and we're making a list of how many tix to get. Diosa

Ok, I know the Capt and I are in.... Flint, his lady friend, and One Eye may also be in... i'll check with them and let you know by later today! Diosa

Yes young lady, were you a good little pirate and keep an eye on our website, you would have seen that... Actually this was a last minute addition. I had found there was a Chamber event over here that had a pyratical theme, and we called to express our displeasure with the premiere pirates in the area not being invited... so in order to save them selves from a raid and possible building burning, they are offering us the best cuts of meat and other nummies. Sorry to hear he's sick. Get used to the homework/classwork lying... that won't stop until... ohh... when he is out of school :) Diosa

Well the add this... Capt Hurricane from Pyrates of the Coast and I will be on the cruise, and we will bring along a cute pirate wedding kit(it's a joke kit, but funny) for you guys, and wedding gifts. How's that for a bribe :) Here's hoping for lots of pirates to play with on the trip :) Diosa

Ok, who's willing to share a hammock?? We've a new crewe member. Flint is a wee bit lost... he claims he originally hails from the West Coast, but is now here in Portlando and in need of a ship. He doesn't recall much of how he came to be in these waters... something about a sea shanty singing competition, an off note, the butt of the cutlass to the back of a head, and then he woke up here with quite a headache. Since he is used to a life on the water, he has been a pretty miserable cuss on land, and has been tossed out of most of the inns in town. It seems most inn's dont appreciate his habit of using his spare time to hone his flintlock skills in their rooms. Welcome aboard Flint! Diosa

if there's a part where a really sexy shirtless (but has his coat) pirate gives a certain crew member a backrub, i'd be willing to do that little skit in the bookstore. *wink wink nudge nudge hmmm... since I already offered to be the female character in person... and Cinn seems to be ok with that, I guess that means I get the back rub. so nyah!!!

Gee...go with Diosa and I'll dress up and as your heroine and go running around at book signings... and I already have wanted posters :)

Ya know, with crewe members like Black Skot, it's soooo tough to be part of the Pyrates of the Coast. Is this where I mention I got to help you do th final fittings on the coat??

Glad to hear you are heading back this way!! Do you get to leave earlier by taking the freighter trip back??? and that sounds like a very very cool way to travel - Good Pirate!!! :) Diosa

Good luck!! We can start coming up with a list of reasons she should go if ya like. How about an at sea pirate re-wedding ceremony... We could do it at a sunset!! It'd be beautiful! Diosa

Ok...uh....ladies.... (boy am I using that word loosely :) ) let the man breathe. Cinn.... well let me echo everyone else and just say.... wow.... Sheila... shhhh.... I didn't tell him any of the horible truths about you, so don't spoil it... and Spry...you will have many many many opportunities to go pirating with the captain and I just keep watching this forum and your e-mail, i'll let ya know (all of you 'out of towners' should be jealous...he's another real portlando-ian and doesn't need airfare to play) Diosa