17 / 24
ROMANIANTIMES
Caribbean adventures,
by Marianne Circiu,
Atlanta, Georgia
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien
Few are the pleasures that ignite my sense of adventure more than traveling…I
love the excitement that comes from even before you take your first step foot into a
foreign place, the sense of adventure, the packing, or more often overpacking, planning,
dreaming, hoping…they are all mixing into a great amalgam and I can honestly say, I
never-ever had a bad trip! Even when things were a little less than expected, I always
managed to find the silver lining, and at least one redeeming feature that turned the
vacation into a cheerful memory…after all, we are here as collectors of memories, some
happy, some sad, may you always seek to add to your collection the happiest and most
meaningful ones, the ones that help you grow and give you a better perspective.
My most recent Caribbean adventures, started right before Christmas and lasted
well into the New Year. There is something fascinating about immersing yourself into
the turquoise waters and white sands of the Caribbean, the sound of the sea, the Calypso
music, the lush vegetation, the slow pace and beauty of the Island living make you easily
forget the everyday worries. I took a two week cruise and circled the Caribbean, and
I can happily say that I felt just like a Princess aboard the Caribbean Princess! Each
island had its own charm, and I want to encourage you all to include them in your future
vacations: Bahamas, St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Kitts, Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad,
Aruba and my absolute favorite, the Mermaid Paradise, Curaçao …English, Spanish,
Dutch, French, African influences, all these islands with the exception of Aruba at
one point or another were colonies, which more often than not passed hands, one day
English, next Spanish, etc., but the inhabitants found a way to forge their own identity
and maintain their uniqueness. I loved this concoction of influences, the sound of the
different languages, the local cuisine, the beauty of the people, and the amazing sites.
I can see the appeal for all the Westerners that decided to trade their mundane living
***
with a slice of Paradise…yes, the Internet is slow at best or lacking entirely, and there
is always the threat of hurricanes, but living on the edge of the world sure beats another
day when you’re stuck in traffic. Would I trade my living with an Island living? Hard to
answer, especially now when the music of the emerald waves harmoniously mingling
with the Calypso drums is still haunting me, and the Caribbean colors are still dancing in
my mind…
Years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than
by the ones you did do, so, my humble advice to you, is to forget the ordinary and let the
extraordinary inundate your existence! Leave behind the safe harbor, and sail away…
Dream. Explore. Discover.
Not long ago, I read a few words in a traveling magazine that best sums up
my views on traveling: “We travel initially to lose ourselves; and we travel next to find
ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our
newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance
and knowledge, to those parts of the globe where riches are differently dispersed. And we
travel, in essence, to become young fools again—to slow time down and get taken in, and
to fall in love once more.”
I lived for two weeks in Paradise, I breathed in the wild beauty of the Caribbean,
I enjoyed the places and the people that I encountered, and uponmy return, I couldn’t help
to whisper, “What a wonderful world!”