labadee

first port, labadee, haiti, was the kid's first experience with the ocean.

labadee, untouched by the earthquake, is a consturuct of the cruise line...

it employs haitians, but from what i understand is not so haitian.

there were two main beach zones;

this one, exhibiting a sportier side of the ocean waves,

(and alive with the whirring of zipliners whizzing past on wires)

and the lagoon side; better for sandcastles and sunbathing. 

also great for those passengers worried they might miss the boat...

i had forgotten how buoyant one feels in the salty water,

and how the sand was once coral, not stone.

a few bands of men performed what may or may not have

been the ancestral music of haiti.

regardless, it was hauntingly lovely.

we didn't miss the boat...even though esther successfully begged that we stop

for a "labadoozie" on our walk back.

this ceremonial beverage of labadee

is a tropical fruit/coconut based smoothie.

e + e had them without the traditional top-up of rum.

(the 'doozie' part?)