I'll start off with a confession. I never learned how to swim. After multiple failed attempts at trying to schedule swim classes, I just gave up at some point last year. But when I took it upon myself to plan our delayed honeymoon, I felt a tinge of regret at not having learned how to swim. Anyways, I ignored the regret and planned us a relaxing one week on board Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas cruise ship for a combined birthday-honeymoon trip, in the 2nd week of May. It was this cruise that pulled me through all of March and April. When we finally boarded the ship and it set sail into Caribbean waters, we were in for a week of gorgeous views, beautiful waters, an unlimited supply of food, my chance to get photographed in some beautiful summer outfits and as we discovered later, some moments of reflection as well.
Almost immediately after setting sail, we found ourselves surrounded by water and only water. The vastness of the tiny part of the ocean we traveled through, still amazes me. For somebody that is not very familiar with sailing, it takes a while to get used to the idea of being in the middle of the ocean with nothing but water everywhere you looked (of course except for the luxurious interiors of the cruise ship). Once the sun sets, the darkness that surrounds the ship is something that can't be imagined or explained unless one experiences it first hand. As the ship arrived at the breathtakingly beautiful Labadee in Haiti on day 3, we were looking forward to ziplining on the world's longest zipline over water and trying our hands on a couple more adventure sports. Amidst my awe of the beautiful Caribbean landscape, excitement at trying the zipline and a teeny bit of fear at being on this adventure sport - beach paradise without knowing how to swim. But who lets fear take over on their cruise honeymoon? So I ignored that fear, packed a bag full of beach essentials, doused ourselves with sunscreen and almost hopped my way out of the cruise ship looking like a true hijabi Caribbean tourist, accompanied by my husband who couldn't really understand my obsession with the beach.
As soon as we got on land, we went around trying to book our adventure sports for the day. After leaving the parasailing kiosk disappointed because they were sold out, we went ahead and reserved spots for the zipline adventure. My husband then suggested jet skiing. That's when my fear began to peek again. But he convinced me saying that he'll drive and I can just sit behind him and enjoy the view. Reluctantly, I agreed. After the 20 minute long information session, I began to feel a lot more confident and slightly excited. There were about 15 people on the group with us and two instructors/guides. One of the instructors would be on a jet ski at the front of the group and the other behind and we'd all be moving in a line. There were about 10 jet skis, either with a single rider or with a driver and passenger. My husband and I were on the last jet ski, followed only by the instructor at the back. We were prepared for the adventure with life vests and my husband wore an additional vest with handles on either side for me to hold on to. At about four spots in the ocean, we'd all regroup and then start off again. Once we started moving, I realized I'm going to be spending the entire time praying with my eyes closed, rather than enjoying the view or the experience. But it would have been a shame to not look at the gorgeous landscape, so I tried to overlook the fear and make use of the chance; while my husband tried to scare me even more by speeding.
After the third time we regrouped, where we were met by some locals selling handmade objects on kayaks, we started off again. As the rest of the group started moving, we took off too. At one point, just as I was starting to finally feel at ease on the jet ski, we made a sharp turn and the jet ski toppled over, dropping us into the ocean. For a handful of seconds, I found myself under water, drinking in a lot of sea water. I had accepted the fact that this could be the end when I realized that we were wearing life jackets and we'd resurface. Right about then, we did resurface. In all this chaos, I hadn't let go of the handles on my husband's vest (which I'd later tell him is a metaphor for how the rest of our lives will be!); and he was holding on to the jet ski. As we called out for help, the instructor that had been at the back of the group, and the men on the kayaks were making their way towards us. Once they reached us, they'd asked to let go of the jet ski, to which we furiously protested and then realized that it was the smartest thing to do at the moment. As we let go of the jet ski, we went underwater again. This time, as we resurfaced, we held on to one of the kayaks while the jet ski was being turned over. The instructor then helped us on to the jet ski and called for a new one. We waited on the malfunctioning jet ski, in the middle of the ocean, waiting for the replacement to arrive, soaking wet. I was shivering - both because of the wetness and panic, while my husband stayed calm and kept smiling throughout. I'd never understand how one can keep calm after having fallen into the ocean, but his calmness kept my panic under check throughout the episode. Once our new jet ski arrived, we were able to continue on and join the rest of the group at their last regrouping session.
When we reached the shore though, we quickly moved on to lunch, some time at the beach and our breathtakingly beautiful ziplining adventure before it was time for the ship to set sail again. However, once we reached our state room on the ship and had time to contemplate on the happenings of the day, was when we realized the magnitude of what had happened earlier that day! Thinking about those few moments I spent underwater, gives me goosebumps even two months later. It was an experience to truly realize the vastness and beauty of creation, the fragility of life and how big of a blessing it was to be in each other's company through it all. It was quite a honeymoon adventure, but also, drinking all that salt water somehow miraculously got rid of a stubborn cough that had refused to go away for days. What we had planned for was a different and unique honeymoon experience, but it turned out to be an adventure of a lifetime!
Almost immediately after setting sail, we found ourselves surrounded by water and only water. The vastness of the tiny part of the ocean we traveled through, still amazes me. For somebody that is not very familiar with sailing, it takes a while to get used to the idea of being in the middle of the ocean with nothing but water everywhere you looked (of course except for the luxurious interiors of the cruise ship). Once the sun sets, the darkness that surrounds the ship is something that can't be imagined or explained unless one experiences it first hand. As the ship arrived at the breathtakingly beautiful Labadee in Haiti on day 3, we were looking forward to ziplining on the world's longest zipline over water and trying our hands on a couple more adventure sports. Amidst my awe of the beautiful Caribbean landscape, excitement at trying the zipline and a teeny bit of fear at being on this adventure sport - beach paradise without knowing how to swim. But who lets fear take over on their cruise honeymoon? So I ignored that fear, packed a bag full of beach essentials, doused ourselves with sunscreen and almost hopped my way out of the cruise ship looking like a true hijabi Caribbean tourist, accompanied by my husband who couldn't really understand my obsession with the beach.
As soon as we got on land, we went around trying to book our adventure sports for the day. After leaving the parasailing kiosk disappointed because they were sold out, we went ahead and reserved spots for the zipline adventure. My husband then suggested jet skiing. That's when my fear began to peek again. But he convinced me saying that he'll drive and I can just sit behind him and enjoy the view. Reluctantly, I agreed. After the 20 minute long information session, I began to feel a lot more confident and slightly excited. There were about 15 people on the group with us and two instructors/guides. One of the instructors would be on a jet ski at the front of the group and the other behind and we'd all be moving in a line. There were about 10 jet skis, either with a single rider or with a driver and passenger. My husband and I were on the last jet ski, followed only by the instructor at the back. We were prepared for the adventure with life vests and my husband wore an additional vest with handles on either side for me to hold on to. At about four spots in the ocean, we'd all regroup and then start off again. Once we started moving, I realized I'm going to be spending the entire time praying with my eyes closed, rather than enjoying the view or the experience. But it would have been a shame to not look at the gorgeous landscape, so I tried to overlook the fear and make use of the chance; while my husband tried to scare me even more by speeding.
After the third time we regrouped, where we were met by some locals selling handmade objects on kayaks, we started off again. As the rest of the group started moving, we took off too. At one point, just as I was starting to finally feel at ease on the jet ski, we made a sharp turn and the jet ski toppled over, dropping us into the ocean. For a handful of seconds, I found myself under water, drinking in a lot of sea water. I had accepted the fact that this could be the end when I realized that we were wearing life jackets and we'd resurface. Right about then, we did resurface. In all this chaos, I hadn't let go of the handles on my husband's vest (which I'd later tell him is a metaphor for how the rest of our lives will be!); and he was holding on to the jet ski. As we called out for help, the instructor that had been at the back of the group, and the men on the kayaks were making their way towards us. Once they reached us, they'd asked to let go of the jet ski, to which we furiously protested and then realized that it was the smartest thing to do at the moment. As we let go of the jet ski, we went underwater again. This time, as we resurfaced, we held on to one of the kayaks while the jet ski was being turned over. The instructor then helped us on to the jet ski and called for a new one. We waited on the malfunctioning jet ski, in the middle of the ocean, waiting for the replacement to arrive, soaking wet. I was shivering - both because of the wetness and panic, while my husband stayed calm and kept smiling throughout. I'd never understand how one can keep calm after having fallen into the ocean, but his calmness kept my panic under check throughout the episode. Once our new jet ski arrived, we were able to continue on and join the rest of the group at their last regrouping session.
When we reached the shore though, we quickly moved on to lunch, some time at the beach and our breathtakingly beautiful ziplining adventure before it was time for the ship to set sail again. However, once we reached our state room on the ship and had time to contemplate on the happenings of the day, was when we realized the magnitude of what had happened earlier that day! Thinking about those few moments I spent underwater, gives me goosebumps even two months later. It was an experience to truly realize the vastness and beauty of creation, the fragility of life and how big of a blessing it was to be in each other's company through it all. It was quite a honeymoon adventure, but also, drinking all that salt water somehow miraculously got rid of a stubborn cough that had refused to go away for days. What we had planned for was a different and unique honeymoon experience, but it turned out to be an adventure of a lifetime!
No comments:
Post a Comment