It’s been another crazy week onboard. Just in my department, we’ve had two illnesses, one near-firing, two friends transferring, four brand-new singers signing on, the bandmaster signing off, and me stepping up to take his place. (This job involves counting off tunes onstage, doing a LOT of paperwork, and having a spiffy mobile phone that rings every few minutes.)

But in between all that, here’s a little bit of what I’ve been up to:

The first panel is from Curacao, a Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela. My Brazilian friend and I were having almost–but not quite–the same thoughts about the tiny pastel-colored houses we passed.

I was biking alone in Antigua when I saw this old abandoned property–the future site of waterfront condos, according to a sign. It was so quiet there. I biked away from the port for over an hour, finally landing at the most perfect beach I’ve ever seen. I didn’t have a swimsuit, so I just dove in with my clothes on, and dried off on a scenic rock. Then I checked my watch, realized I had an hour to find my way back to the ship, died a thousand deaths, pedaled furiously and made it back just in time.

The volleyball game is at a favorite crew hangout in Barbados. The beach bar is to your right; behind you is a pier that leads to a rope swing and high-dive. To your left are jet-skis and inflatable climby things. In the background you can barely see a ship’s smokestack, a reminder that you’re never all that far away from work.

The Honky-Tonk in St. Maarten:  wi-fi, delicious food and a beach, all a 20-minute walk from the ship. There are usually 4 or 5 ships docked there on any given day; as you can see, someone in the bar has just run into a friend from a previous contract.