The third excursion of our Bahamas trip was on the island of St. Kitts, where we went on a jeep ride through the tropical rain forest to a beautiful beach. I loved the accent of the Caribbean guy who was driving. He drove like a maniac, but I’m used to crazy driving that makes you feel like you’re going to crash, because I grew up in Guatemala. So every time we thought we were going to crash, I felt like I was a little girl again in my childhood home. I miss Guatemala, come to think of it. (Sigh)
The rain forest was green, with vines hanging everywhere and gnarled roots coming up out of the ground. Now I know why we had a jeep. I don’t think this was a road. We bumped up and down like popcorn popping at a movie theater. We reached a high lookout point, and we took pictures and drank some punch. The guide told us not to step on the fire ants.
Next we went to a gorgeous beach. I ran in my white gauzy dress across the white beach, with the turquoise water behind me. I felt like I was in a dream. Then Alan took me by the hand and led me over to some bushes. As soon as we got there, we saw that there was a lake on the other side of the bushes. A long-necked bird was flying over there, and I absolutely love long-necked white birds. I ran to go catch it, and it flew up into the air.
We walked along the beach. We sat under someone’s abandoned umbrella until someone kicked us out.
Back on the jeep, we saw a monkey running along the road. (I think someone put it there on purpose so that the tour would see it and say, “Ooooo, Aaaaa…”)
That night, back on the ship, I decided to do karaoke for the first time ever. I wasn’t sure if I had a good voice or not. During the summer, we had visited various churches, and I liked the idea of singing in a choir. But I didn’t want to embarrass myself in public if I sang off key. So I had Alan record my karaoke singing with the video camera, so that later I could evaluate my own voice like an impartial third party. Plus, I’m a ham and I’ve never sung into a microphone before, and there was almost no one in the room, maybe five people total.
So I kicked off my high heels and walked barefoot to the stage. The first song I chose was by the Carpenters. I got choked up when I sang it to Alan because I meant it. Unfortunately I sang slightly off key because I was on the verge of tears. I used to sing the song about Alan before we were married. “You showed me the way to leave the past and all its tears behind me…”
After stepping off the stage, I thought, “I need to choose a song that doesn’t make me cry.” So I chose another Carpenters song, “Top of the World.” Alan said I sang pretty good except for the really high and really low notes. So I flipped through the book to see what else I could sing. Madonna seemed to have a voice range similar to mine, so I chose “Crazy for You.” Bad choice. I forgot all the smut I had to sing to the five people in the room. Yikes. I got off the stage in a hurry.
Then I sang my favorite, which was Luis Miguel’s “Te Extrano.” Of course, I was singing in Spanish, and Alan couldn’t understand what I was saying.
For my last song, I wanted to do a gospel song, so I chose “Love Lifted Me.” I must have been familiar with a completely different rendition, because not only did I not know the words; I had no idea of the melody. A Chinese guy had sung before my last song. I cringed, thinking he would sing horribly off-key, but he didn’t. His voice was gorgeous, like Frank Sinatra. Well, this Chinese guy was apparently a Christian because he knew all the words and the melody of the hymn, so I asked him to help me sing it. I bowed my head in shame as I exited the stage, put my high heels back on, and left the room.
(Coming up next… parasailing in the Caribbean, and a near-death experience on a jet ski. Don’t miss part 10 of our Bahamas trip, the grand conclusion of my dream vacation…)
