Hi friends and family,
This post is VERY LATE getting published. I had some issues with uploading pictures and some other problems with the web page but, found a work-around. So, finally here’s the post that should have been published in January. It’s only April, after all . . .
We’re back! This cruise was truly legendary. Sue and I had a great time, hooked up with people we had met on other LRBC cruises and made some new friends and contacts. This was our fourth cruise on the LRBC and maybe our best. Okay . . . Last time we got to swim with whale sharks and sea lions. But’ this time I was given an award. The MOJO BOOGIE Award for Jammingest Passenger. Out of the many musicians that jammed at the Pro-Am Jamarama I was picked as the “jammingest”. I guess that means I played a lot. Mostly, I think I was maybe, the most noticeable. I brought my new custom prototype bass that is very different from the usual bass played by blues people and I brought my EUB, Electric Upright Bass, that is just what it says in the name; an Upright Bass that is Electric. It’s also not something the usual jammer brings to the jam sessions. It sounds great for most blues songs and has the punch that sound guys love from a bass so I was able to stand out from the usual bass player.
The votes come from Jam Hosts, Sound Engineers, and others. I feel very honored because these musicians and sound engineers are world-class musicians and recording artists. The award was announced for me to accept on the large stage where they gave other cruise-related awards out but, I was still at the Crows Nest, jamming and schmoozing with other musicians. Later, we found the award in our stateroom. Sue and I were surprised to find it on our bed.
Oh! As far as ports we visited on the cruise, (everybody asks where we went when we say we went on a cruise) . . . on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, the ports are secondary to all the musical and magical moments we have aboard the ship. But we did go ashore to enjoy some exotic scenery and meet the locals.
Our first stop was Costa Maya, Mexico, on the southern tip of Mexico where we explored the Mayan ruins of Chacchoben. They are the largest Mayan ruins discovered to date. I was left with a feeling that we lost a great civilization. Imagine what the world would be like now, if the Mayans had not been brought to extinction by the Europeans!
Next, we spent a day in Santo Tomas, Guatemala and took the best taxi ride ever!!! Our driver took us through the ‘real’ part of the city where people live and work. He stopped at various vendors and bought us food and beverages you only will find in Guatemala, so he said. The food was pretty good, I have to admit. This driver also took us to meet his sister, who is a licensed turtle breeder, a small house where we saw Iguanas. He took us to meet his family including his mother, young son, his dog, and his wife who was very youthful and pretty. He asked me how old I thought his wife was and I said “Mmmm . . . 12?” He laughed and punched me in the shoulder and said she was 30. We tried to stop at the city center to see the mayor who our driver claimed was a personal friend but, she was away at a conference. Our driver explained that crime is very low in Guatemala. He said any crime is imported from Honduras where the bad guys live and Guatemala does their best to keep the bad guys out. This was just the kind of adventure you want to take when visiting an exotic place.
The next day was Roatan, Honduras. Beautiful hills and jungle. We took a bus ride that took us to a shopping area on a beach where Sue and I bought souvenirs and ate Gelato while swinging on a swing overlooking the beach. Then on to a beautiful beach where we had lunch and rum drinks in an outdoor restaurant overlooking the beach. Our friend, Danny who brought his mother on this excursion, had a massage while eating. Apparently a big lucrative industry on the Roatan beaches is giving massages, usually while lying in a beach chair. I laughingly declined the massage although the masseuse kept starting to work on my shoulders.
Back aboard ship we continued to enjoy some of the most amazing music on the planet. We heard Zydeco by Terrence Simeon and the Zydeco Experience who play the happiest music you can imagine. We heard Thornetta Davis from Detroit play the hottest R&B music ever, complete with horns, backup singers and outlandish costumes! The Taj Mahal quartet played awesome fun blues. I made friends with his lap-steel player, Bobby Ingano, from Hawaii who has the most beautiful, toothy smile while playing you just know he is doing exactly what he wants in life.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds with Kim Wilson, soulful Ruthie Foster, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, funny Mitch Woods, Anne Harris (blues violin), Anna Popovic (from Poland . . . Hot!) . . . There were so many artists on board that it was very easy to mingle with them and just talk about music or ordinary things, joking and laughing. The artists really love to talk with their fans and find out what they think. What a fun cruise!
Some people are saying that we caused the earthquake that hit the Carribean after we passed through (just hours later). I wouldn’t dismiss that possibility . . . Jes’ sayin’ . . .
So, here are some pictures and video from our wonderful time on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise #34:
