Month: March 2016

Thankfully, the rollercoaster ventured slightly upward today for me on Day 9 of vacation here in Grand Cayman.

It began with my sinus pain being considerably less than what it was for all of yesterday, of which I was exceptionally grateful. Unfortunately, we had our first full day of clouds, cool temperatures, and rain though. But that didn’t stop us from going outside, as we spent a good hour and a half sitting in two different hot tubs and socializing with other guests. I did attempt to swim in the ocean several different times in between my time in those hot tubs, except the waves and the riptide were so strong that I ended up getting hit by a piece of coral on my ankle pretty hard. That was enough to convince me to stay out of the ocean for at least today.

What most probably don’t know about cloudy and rainy days in the tropics is that it’s quite easy to get seriously burned during them. With the wind blowing as strong as it was today and feeling as cool it was, I wasn’t going to take any chances on getting a bad sunburn with only two full days remaining here. This is why we ended up taking a car ride along the coast instead of staying in those hot tubs any longer.

During our drive, our first stop was at The Shipwreck of the Twelve Sails, which was a monument for a number of ships that wrecked on the reef in front of it. Next we stopped by the blowholes again where the waves travelled up quite forcefully through the coral and with today’s rough seas, it set the ground for some pretty spectacular photos. Our last stop was at a local bird sanctuary. There, we walked out a short pier onto a pond where suddenly every living thing in the water from tropical birds to turtles came over to greet us, obviously hoping we had some food. It was rather funny to see this, almost like we had an audience. We also used our binoculars there to see some pretty large iguanas in stealth mode at the top of many of the trees that surrounded us there.

Later in the evening, after our drive around the island had ended, we went to the same Italian restaurant we had our first dinner at over a week ago, but this time ordering something other than pizza. My partner went for the traditional spaghetti and meatballs, while I opted for the chicken marsala. What was special about this dinner though was the couple who sat at the table directly next to us. They were from New Jersey and were very friendly and supportive of my partner and I, making mention that one of their own sons was gay. Being that Grand Cayman is a mostly conservative Christian-based island, it’s not very well-known for its support of gay couples. In fact, in 1998, a gay cruise filled with a few thousand gay men was actually turned away from the island by the government here. But it seems as if the times have really changed because my partner and I have found nothing but support of our same-sex relationship here.

So by the time Day 9 came to a close, I’m was exceptionally grateful to my Higher Power for feeling much better today, for feeling accepted instead of frowned upon, and for seeing a little more of this island’s beauty…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

It’s Day 8 in Grand Cayman and one that’s been overly frustrating for me again. My sinuses have been acting up all day pretty severely alongside some low grade depression and anxiety. But as always, I did what I could to make the best of my day, which was mostly spent at The Cayman Turtle Farm.

There my partner and I swam with sea turtles, actually got to hold them as well, and even be amongst them while they were fed along with hundreds of fish. Most were small to medium size and could be held easily in our arms. I was so surprised at how docile these turtles were and how they didn’t mind our presence at all. In fact, most of them just swam right on by, touching our arms and feet in the process. There was another pool of sea turtles in this park as well, but we could only observe them from behind a railing. What was interesting about them was their sheer size, some being over five feet around!

After our time with the turtles there, we took a dip in a very large pool that was adorned with a waterfall and a waterslide. We enjoyed both, taking a much needed break on the 90-degree day. Before we left the park, we also took a nice stroll through an aviary where we were treated to a small yellow bird jumping on our fingers who was hoping for a tasty snack.  And next door to it was a butterfly sanctuary with hundreds of them flying around, which I found a little serenity in.

A little later in the afternoon on our way back to our resort, we stopped by Spotts Beach where sea turtles are known to frequent. While I didn’t get into the ocean to snorkel and see them up close, given how late it was in the day, we did get to see one from the small dock there.

By the time we arrived back to the resort, my partner suggested that I get to another AA meeting. I agreed, as my attitude had been rather poor all day. While the recovery meeting I attended a little later only had six of us there, it was still a great meeting. The topic was on anger, and I definitely was harboring some of that towards myself and my Higher Power for how I felt today. After the meeting ended, some of that was lifted and I was glad I had gone.

I must say though that today was probably the most challenging day I’ve had so far on this vacation. As it came to a close, I decided that I’m not going to go on one again until my mind and body feel more at peace. As much as I’ve been enjoying the warm weather and ocean here, it’s been truly difficult to appreciate them for all their beauty with the pain I continue to go through even here. I had honestly hoped that this island trip would have catapulted me to the other side of this long health and healing journey I’ve been on. But alas, so far it hasn’t yet and I accept that.

I will at least say though as I end today’s entry that I’m grateful for two things. I’m grateful to have spent time today with more of God’s creations that came in the form of all those sea turtles and I’m grateful that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous always seems to be nearby when it’s needed the most…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

 

 

Day 7 in Grand Cayman was definitely far better than Day 6, that’s for sure and I’m absolutely grateful to my Higher Power for that. The weather today was pristine with total clear skies, 85 degrees, and a light breeze. It was perfect swimming weather.

I spent a lot less time today snorkeling and instead just floated near the shoreline. Laying there in the ocean all by myself staring up at the sky felt so peaceful. In fact, I talked to God during part of it and then did my daily affirmations for the rest of the time out there. I also took a small walk down the beach today as well, far away from everyone else and spent some time talking to God during it. I generally find that I feel considerably better when I take regular time out of my day to talk to my Higher Power.

Later in the afternoon we met a nice woman at the pool that I felt should be mentioned. She was from New York and spends three or so months out of the year at this resort. She owns several timeshares and units at two different resorts and said she might be able to let us stay at one of them for our vacation next year at fraction of the cost from what we paid this year. Regardless of whether that happens or not, it was just nice to have an extended friendly chat with someone for a good portion of the day.

The overall highlight today though came much later when my partner and I decided to hit an AA meeting on the other side of the island. Normally when I go away on vacation I still like to hit a bunch of recovery meetings because I find myself feeling much healthier in my mind and body when I do. Unfortunately, the closest meetings from where we are staying on Grand Cayman are at least 30 minutes away or more. But tonight I really felt the need for some of my spiritual medicine so we took the drive and headed to this gem of a meeting called Happy Destiny where a woman from Australia did a lead because she was celebrating five years of continuous sobriety. I was so thankful I went because the energy was extremely uplifting and positive.

There was one odd thing that happened today that I think is also worth mentioning. Somewhere around 11:30pm or so, the power went out on the majority of the island. It’s now about two hours later and as I finish typing this, it’s still out. Ironically there are no storms going on here, so I can can’t fathom for the life of me what is even causing this. But I’ve always been a fan of power outages because they force us to make due with far less conveniences in life and sometimes I think we all need a strong wake up call to realize just how good we really have it in life.

So as I call it a night and the end to Day 7, I’m thankful today for new acquaintances, my recovery-based life, the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and a much healthier-feeling day.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson