A Tale Of Two Cities

There was a time in my life when I was considering moving to Puerto Rico. Seriously. It was an actual consideration at the time. Everything has it's pros and cons, but, I figured that there were a lot worse places for me to move to at the time. I was pretty sure that I could find some good things about the weather, beaches, and music of Puerto Rico.

At the time, I didn't know much about Puerto Rico at all. Now that I'm on a cruise ship that docks in San Juan once a week, I know…well…only slightly more. So far, I've only visited San Juan. I haven't taken the time to rent a car and drive around at all to see the rest of the country. Maybe I'll do that in the future sometime. For now, I've had experiences with 2 areas in San Juan: Old San Juan and New San Juan.

The two locations couldn't be more different. Each has it's merits and my preference for one over the other hinges on my various moods and needs while in port.

"New" San Juan (not sure it's actually called this, but, it's the opposite of Old so it works here) is basically a combination of most of the aspects of commercialized modern America. The main attraction is a HUGE mall that features all of your favorite American franchise stores. Church's Chicken, Burger King, and Chili's in the food court (among others) and Abercrombie and Fitch, Old Navy, and Sears just to name a few. There's a huge movie theater showing American movies (subtitled in Spanish) and plenty of mall standard kiosks hawking everything from sunglasses to flying toy helicopters to Dish Network TV. Across the street from the mall is a Best Buy, K-Mart and other big box stores eager to take your American currency in exchange for goods and services. It's basically the USA. Everyone speaks English. Everything and everyone is encased in a recycled air conditioned environment. It's a dry walled paradise. There are big crowds, long lines, and no shortage of mall walking shoppers. Like I said before, everything has pros and cons, New San Juan included. It's great if you need to go to GNC or Radio Shack, but, bad if you want some quiet time and sunshine.

Old San Juan is basically the complete opposite of it's counterpart. Old San Juan is charming with brick streets where homes and buildings featuring dated architecture seem to crowd in over and around you when you are strolling on the sidewalk. The entire place is adorned with flowers and palm trees that provide shade as well as a pleasing aesthetic. Street musicians mix in with tourists and locals almost seamlessly. It seems like there is an antique shop on every corner. Everything seems to move at a slower pace here. All kinds of food is available and I took advantage of that by stopping in a small local cafe. I sat down and asked the waiter to order for me. I ended up eating mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican dish that features mashed plantains covered in meat and various sauces. I had lightly fried pork with garlic sauce as the waiter recommended the "pork with a good beer." 

Both of these areas of San Juan have their merits. There seems to be more history and culture associated with Old San Juan so I'll have to check that out in the future. For instance, there are a couple of historic landmarks that feature military forts or castles of some sort. I'll be taking a tour of those very soon. 

Like I said before, I still don't know much about the history of Puerto Rico. My impression of it's people (all judgments garnered from observing vacationers onboard Adventure of the Seas…caveats apply, naturally) is that they are nationalistic, passionate, and music lovers. I do know that I like it here. Every time I get in a cab or hear a local radio station I hear salsa music. It almost always features trombone (gotta love that). I think I could've been very happy living in Puerto Rico.  The weather is beautiful. American currency is used everywhere and almost everyone I've come in contact with is bilingual, courteous, and welcoming. I never ended up living in Puerto Rico. Life dealt me a different hand that took me to Indianapolis, a place that I enjoyed living very much for two years, but, I'm glad that my ship life has given me the opportunity to visit a place where I could've have moved to about five years ago.

Pictures from Old San Juan:

Mofongo!

I bought a CD of these guys. Nice to hear authentic Bomba.

Quick Hits

Saw Skyfall today in San Juan. It's the new James Bond movie and it's getting rave reviews. I would have to say that the movie didn't really do it for me. I was pretty bored most of the time. No spoilers here, but, maybe this is a sign that I'm getting a bit old for action movies. Not so much old in age terms, but, I've seen so many formulaic action movies that I'm just not that entertained by them anymore. It's kind of like watching football for me. Unless I'm invested in one of the teams (University of Michigan or Detroit, for instance) I usually don't watch. It all seems the same to me. Maybe if I was more invested in Daniel Craig as Bond I'd be more interested. Where's Roger Moore when you need him?

--

I may be turning into a beach person. I've spent two days in St. Maarten so far on this itinerary and they have been great. I normally don't enjoy the beach that much, but, for some reason it's starting to grow on me. I've just been enjoying getting out there swimming and hanging with friends mostly. The last time I was there I put on some sunscreen and soaked up some rays a little bit. The company does make it better. The folks on my ship like to hang out and have a good time. Also, the beach is in very close proximity to the bar…always a good thing.

--

Speaking of bars...what is the deal with loud music in bars? It's really obnoxious. Usually there are very few to no people dancing and the DJ is behind his/her laptop listening to headphones. The DJ usually seems completely clueless to the environment in the bar. The rest of the patrons are sitting around screaming at each other to be heard. When the conversation inevitably falters (because it's just too much damn work to scream at someone sitting next to you to be heard) most people resort to "chair dancing" and just staring at each other. I'm not even complaining about the choice of music. I'm not a big fan of bar/dance music these days (that comes as a shock, I'm sure), but, even if it was Sonny Rollins it would be too loud.

--

A friend of mine onboard just turned 38 years old over the weekend. I'll be 37 in January and he and I were discussing these "milestone birthdays" the other night. Here's where I'm at right now with the whole birthday thing: I don't feel old. It just seems that everyone around me is young.

--

I'm not a big cigar person. I have one or two a year, usually on special occasions. They are fun to smoke sometimes, but, I almost always regret them the following morning when I wake up feeling like I licked an ashtray the night before. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I brush my teeth. The orchestra occasionally hangs out in the cigar bar onboard after easy gig nights. We were up there a few weeks ago and the guys were enjoying Trinidad (a Cuban cigar that Castro gifted to visiting diplomats) and Monte Cristo punched cigars. I also tried some fancy alcohol including: Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12, and Remy XO cognac. It was pretty much a new experience for me and for that I'm grateful. However, is it wrong that I'd rather have chicken wings and beer?

Picture Post - St. Maarten Sail Away

From a Sail Away in St. Maarten. Enjoy!

Sail Away - St. Thomas

Years ago I watched a documentary movie about bodybuilders. These athletes are extremely disciplined regarding training and diet regimen when preparing for a show. Eating extremely clean diets with low fat, high protein, and lots of water helps them anticipate and prepare for the two minutes of flexing and posing on stage at the contest. In this movie, after the competition, many of the athletes gave themselves some celebratory time off and took themselves out to eat. Those meals generally consisted of huge steaks, baked potatoes with butter and sour cream, as well as dessert. I wouldn't call it binge eating really, just a big release after depriving themselves of that kind of comfort food for such a long time.

After the six day crossing of the Atlantic at the first sight of land we all acted like a bunch of bodybuilders after a show. Running off the ship as fast as we could to eat at restaurants and drink wine. In St. Maarten, we had a day off from work so we ended up going to the beach. This was, of course, accompanied by more eating and drinking. Today in St. Thomas, I went to the Shipwreck Tavern for a Shipwreck Supreme Burger. 

Spending six days in a row 'trapped' onboard a cruise ship seems like a really long time. It feels more like six weeks. I can understand our need to feel like having a 'cheat' day or two, but, this is getting pretty ridiculous. I'm looking forward to getting back on a little more planned diet and exercise plan.

Tonight I joined three other musicians from the orchestra (Beau - tenor sax, Chris Joodi - trumpet, and Sam - guitar) on Deck 13 for a the sail away from St. Thomas. They enjoyed cigars and we all had a drink while watching the sun set over the mountainous islands. It's very quiet up there. It's really hard to hear the engines. Very peaceful, really. Tonight it was surprisingly calm and there was very little wind. The conversation ranged from the best places to party and eat on the next run to the best locations for bargains on alcohol all the way to iPad video game ranks and high scores. This is all pretty much par for the course among my friends onboard. We're all basically living for today. It's part of the spoiled life of a cruise ship musician. Hey…every job has perks, right?

We were floating by the Marriott resort as the last rays of the sun were in the sky behind us. I could see the camera flashes from the balconies of the resort as people took pictures of the Adventure from their rooms. Kind of a neat role reversal. Here I am taking pictures of everything from aboard the ship and it never really occurred to me that people would want a picture of the ship I was standing on. Here are a few of the pictures that I took before I lost all daylight.

Land Ho!

After 6 straight days of sailing without land in sight, the Adventure of the Seas has finally finished the Atlantic crossing. Our first port of call in the Caribbean was St. Johns, Antigua on November 15. After drill in the morning and a noon rehearsal, I made my way off the ship. It felt great to be back on solid ground. I don't mind traveling by ship, but, that's a lot of days in a row to be trapped onboard. It's true, being 'trapped' onboard a luxury cruise ship could be much worse (especially with the prices in the crew bar), so I recognize that as a first world problem. However, it was so nice to be on solid ground I immediately hugged a tree!

Antigua is one of our regular stops, so, I'm sure I'll explore it much more thoroughly. Today, I just got a quick lunch and split a bottle of sweet white wine with a few friends. Nice to be back in (or at least close to) the Eastern Time Zone. Looking forward to cell phone service in the next couple of days.

Port-Oh-Feeno

I did not see myself here a year ago. A year ago I spent Thanksgiving with some friends in the Indianapolis area. My personal life had gone off the rails just a few months earlier and I was lucky to have so many people in my life to help me pick up the pieces. 

But, let's not rehash all that stuff. Lately I've been thinking about this quote:

"You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?"

"No."

"They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory."

I thought about Thanksgiving 2011 with my good friends recently during a night off onboard. I usually work seven days a week onboard. I normally work at night and, as I've described in the previous post, the work can be pretty mentally taxing. By some happy accident, one of the entertainers onboard did not use the orchestra which gave us a night off. To celebrate this occasion we made reservations at the onboard Italian restaurant, Portofino. Cruise ships are famous for their cuisine and this evening didn't disappoint. I had the following:

Risotto al Gamberetti

Sauteed prawns atop creamy, saffron scented Aborio rice and a garnish of fried onions.

Insalata alla Cesar

Cesar salad.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Char-grilled T-bone with fresh haricots verts (green beans)

Triamisu

Dessert served in a chocolate cup.

The meal was exquisite and accompanied by amazing Chilean red wine, terrific cold cheese with olives appetizer, and authentic, genuine company. Eight of the nine orchestra members were there and we had a great time. Lots of laughs, unparalleled food and service, and a wonderful respite from having to be on our best concentration for the evening.

Again, I did not see myself here at year ago. However, this meal reminded me of times at home spent with in good company with comforting food. I miss everyone at home very much. I miss having a life with direction very much. However, there are some times (and this was one of them) when I'm glad to be out here.

This is not the only time I've felt this way. It's just one of the times I've chosen to document on this blog. Suggestion: try to find time to break bread with close friends and cherish that. In my estimation, it's time and money well spent.

Sol Y Son

Grabbed lunch in Gran Canaria today at a Cuban Restaurant called Sol Y Son with some guys in the band. The food was OUTSTANDING and freshly made to order. I had black beans and rice, beef with peppers, salad, fried plantains, and something like a Hush Puppy or fritter. It was basically mashed potato stuffed with spicy beef and deep fried. Good and good for you, too!

There was also an interesting playlist of music during our lunch. I was expecting some son clave or cha cha, but, instead we got the following. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying.

Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
All Night Long - Lionel Richie
Memories - Barbara Streisand
Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship (from the movie Mannequin...oh yeah!)
When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
Easy - Lionel Richie
And I Love Her - The Beatles
Carrie - Europe

Pictures!

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend checking this place out.

L to R: Joodi (2nd Trumpet), Kris (Musical Director/Drums), Beau (Tenor Sax), Yours Truly

The before pic.

The aftermath.

Picture Post - Lanzarote

I finally made the trek off the ship in Lanzarote. It's a small island just off the coast of West Africa. It's a long ride from the pier to the town(ish) area, so, I've hesitated getting off the ship until now. Wanted to make sure I at least saw some of the place before the crossing back to the Caribbean. My roommate Dustin and I got some coffee and listened to some music at a small cafe and then took a stroll around the canal. And, yes. I'm holding a miniature University of Michigan flip flop in my hand. It's part of a key chain gift from a good friend and another photo series that I'm doing and publishing on facebook called "Travels of the Michigan Flop."

Enjoy the pics!

We found a playground with black volcanic sand.

This piece of equipment doesn't seem entirely safe to me.

The Concentration Game

Of all the characteristics that a cruise ship musician must possess, I'm learning that one of the most paramount is the ability to concentrate. Have A.D.D.? Don't bother trying to play a cruise ship gig. I may not work many hours in the day, but, I can guarantee you that the work I do takes a combination of expertise, patience, versatility, and most of all concentration. Concentration is key.

There are several sets on the ship gig that repeat weekly. The music for the production shows, Captain's Cocktail Hour, and Big Band performances are roughly, or in the case of the production shows, exactly the same each week. However, on the bigger ships, another role played by the house orchestra is the back up band for various headliner acts. These acts are usually singers (though, sometimes multi-instrumentalists) with their own arrangements. We typically have one rehearsal in the afternoon around 5:00 pm followed by shows at 7:00 and 9:00 pm. Almost all of the time this is new music that the band has never seen before. We are expected to read it at the rehearsal and play as if we've been playing with the headliner for years at the concerts that evening.

Sight-reading has never been that big of a deal to me. I've developed the skill over the years through school and on the freelancing gig trail. It's challenging and fun to read music for the first time and to have the pressure of performing it well with very little rehearsal, but, that's not the toughest part of this. Even though playing music for a living is often fun and very rewarding there are times when we end up playing music I'm not that fond of. Some nights you're playing Motown's Greatest Hits. Some nights you're playing a Can Can Medley. As my friend says, "The gig road has many a strange turn."

This is where concentration comes in. Even if the music is easy to read, I still have to pay strict attention to what's going on. I mean, mistakes by horn players are pretty glaring. I have to make sure that I don't play in a rest or play a note out of the key signature. Even if the audience doesn't necessarily notice, my band mates will for sure. Then I'll have to pay a beer fine…and nobody wants that. Except the band, sorta. 

My point is, sometimes the hardest thing to do when reading these shows is concentrating for 50+ minutes and trying to be perfect musically. Rhythmic and note accuracy, intonation, and dynamics. Those are somewhat second nature to me at this point. The hard part is maintaining my focus for that long. Imagine playing catch with someone. Pretty easy, right? It involves a few different skills, but, it's not that hard. Now do it for 50 minutes without dropping a catch or making a bad throw. That's a somewhat lame, but, appropriate analogy.

Sometimes I think it's even harder as a horn player. Horn parts are often quite exposed. The icing on the cake. Lots of times the horn lines are the parts of the songs that people recognize. Can't mess those up or people really notice! As a horn player, we also usually have long periods of rests between our entrances in order to rest chops and to leave space for the singers. This is the most dangerous time. When you're resting, your mind wanders or you start watching the act and you make a mistake.

By the end of the night, I'm usually pretty tired. There is some physical fatigue with the amount of playing during the evening depending upon how taxing the shows are, but, most of the exhaustion is mental. This kind of 'brain' work is part of the cruise ship gig that is often overlooked. When I was playing a gig at Cedar Point, I played the same 22 minute show 6 times a day for 6 days a week. The first summer we stopped counting at 545 shows! That gig was all about the physical factor and keeping the show as fresh and exciting as opening night. This is different to be sure.

I guess what I'm saying is this: a lot of people assume that this job is 'easy' and 'fun' all the time. You know what? It is fun, but, there is actual work involved. And I've been training to do this work for all of my professional life. It's a difficult and a specific skill and I happen to be pretty good at it. That's rewarding in and of itself.

It's been real, Europe

When I told people back home about my itinerary for this run the general reception varied from excitement to envy. Most people tell me that they've "always wanted to" or it's one of their "dreams" to see Europe. For me, not so much. I have different dreams. Europe is not one of them. I've always believed that Europe exists and I never felt the desperate need to verify that belief with my own eyes. I've been here for two and half weeks now and I'm ready to leave.

Now, before you start getting all self-righteous and start mixing up an indignation cocktail about my take on Europe, consider that I completely understand that I haven't really 'seen' Europe yet. All I've done is been to a few islands off the coast of Spain and Portugal. I haven't been to Italy, France, Germany, the U.K., or any of the countless other famous and historic place to visit here. I'm just done with being uncomfortable and off my game. A short list:

1) I'm not comfortable with currency exchange. I never quite know how much money I'm spending here. As a bonus, when using my credit card there are extra fees and charges associated with being out of the States.

2) The language barrier is significant. Even though I speak a few words of Spanish, it's nowhere near enough to be communicatively competent. This issue reveals itself in the strangest places, for instance, the grocery store. I wandered around the laundry aisle for almost 20 minutes yesterday in search of dryer sheets. I never found them. Later I realized two things. First, because I couldn't comprehend the words written on the packaging or the recognize the names of various detergents, I couldn't zero in on what I was looking for. None of the American brands are sold here. I was having trouble distinguishing between various types of cleaners (don't even get me started on trying to locate Clorox wipes). Second, apparently in Europe dryer sheets are not used. People use liquid softener. Either that or they put up with huge amounts of static.

3) I'm on a completely different eating schedule. You can't go to lunch at 11:45 am here. Lunch joints don't even OPEN until 1:00 pm. Can you imagine a Burger King closed at noon in the States? Well, that's what you have here. I even have trouble locating coffee shops that are open for breakfast. So much for getting off the ship early for some WiFi and blogging. 

4) My cell phone doesn't work here. This one is largely my own fault, but, it's still frustrating. I haven't talked to Ted on the phone since I joined the ship. Getting calling cards has proven more difficult than I originally thought it would be. Plus, with the time zone difference, it's nearly impossible to Skype. 

In short, I'm SO ready to cross back to the Caribbean. American dollars, English speakers, Easter Standard Time. The works! The good news is, we start that this coming cruise. Here's the weird thing though: I'm considering extending my contract a couple months this coming summer. That will give me the opportunity to cross back over the Atlantic with the ship and see some ports in England, Rome, Nice, and Barcelona. How's that for a dichotomy, eh? I can't seem to tell if I'm coming or going these days. 

The Accidental Beach Day

On my second trip to Gran Canaria I struck out on by myself to explore some of the port city. My first stop was to grab lunch at a cafe with some reliable WiFi (pronounced "Wee-Fee" in Spain) so I could keep in touch with some people back home and try and take care of some business online. I decided on the "Bar Da Vinci" because it fulfilled three necessary criterion. They had WiFi, were not busy (ensuring that the network bandwidth would be moving pretty fast), and accepted credit cards. I settled in for a small tasty lunch of grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a couple bottles of Coke Light (that's Diet Coke for those of you back home). 

After quenching my thirst, satiating my hunger, and satisfying my craving for high speed internet I struck out for a walk. I was originally headed to a shopping center to look for a supermarket on my way back to the ship, but, saw that I had plenty of time before all aboard. So, I took a left turn (literally) and walked into the unknown. 

A couple of observations that I made:

1) I'm used to bigger, more well-defined streets. The streets in the section of town I was in rarely had curbs and were quite narrow. I found myself having to look both ways even when I thought I was just crossing a sidewalk in order to avoid being run down by a taxi cab.

2) Port cities are quite similar. There are plenty of shops where you can buy knick-knacks that are locally made. There are also plenty of shop owners and employees out in the street barking at you to come in and have a look around. I guess some things aren't exclusive to Nassau and Key West.

3) Europeans seem to enjoy sitting outside. I encountered many cafés with most of their seating available outdoors. People were eating, drinking, and smoking more outside than in. Furthermore, I noticed while there were plenty of places to grab a seat outside, most of the furniture was incredibly small and positioned together closely. I'm not sure if it's because I'm American or because I'm bigger than your average person, but, I like a big chair, big table, and a big space to relax in. Small places make me uncomfortable. Surprisingly, I don't notice this too much on the ship. Or maybe I do. I have noticed that my cabin on Adventure is much smaller than my previous accommodations on Majesty.

After walking around for about 20 minutes I, rather by chance, stumbled upon a beach. Just turned a corner and there it was. I know that the Canary Islands are famous for their beaches, but, I hadn't seen one since arriving almost two weeks ago. As it turns out, this one was only about a 25 minute walk from the ship. It was a gorgeous day so I took the opportunity to stroll along the boardwalk and snap some pictures. There is something very cool to me about a beach that has mountains in the background. It just doesn't seem like those two things should be in close proximity. I mean, I'm used to sand dunes, but, not mountains. 

I happened upon the beach at low tide. Lots of sand exposed and people made good use of it both sunbathing and building some very intricate sand castles. Also, there was some sort of rock formation or reef about 150 yards out into the water. Big swells broke against this barrier and provided a very calm area close to shore for swimming. However, it was low in the water so it didn't impede a great view of the horizon.

Another thing I'm not used to seeing at a beach (being American) are topless women. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just saying, I tried to keep the rubber-necking at a minimum. I think I did a pretty good job. 

An observation and a couple follow up questions, if I may, about Euro beach policy:

Lots of totally naked babies at the beach. In fact, with the baby naked and parents both only wearing Speedos (bottoms only, mind you), there was one family that was almost completely naked together at the beach. 

Now, regarding naked babies: what happens at "go" time? Is the beach just one big toilet? Are babies treated the same as dogs in this regard? What's the sunscreen policy and application procedure like?

What is the appropriate age for people to start covering particular areas at the beach? How is this decided? Is there a law or some sort of town hall meeting? Are people just on the honor policy regarding this issue?

Now, I'm not judging here. Just pointing out some thoughts that ran through my mind and asking questions.

Seems to me like the policy is reversed. I think that younger humans should wear more clothing at the beach than older ones. Seriously, it's for their protection (sun) as much as it is for everyone else's (see the aforementioned "go" time).

In any case, here's some pictures that I snapped off on my walk.