Barge to Hell 2012, Day 5, Schwag, Final Words and Thank You

I6Z6A6N NOTE: This was posted on January 3, 2013, but the date reflected on the top is for organizational purposes.

The morning after the last full day of Barge to Hell. Just like my previous Metal Festival experiences, this is the day when you leave behind a magical place that can't be replicated. When you look around and see people who understand and get what you're all about, and realize your going back to "civilization", it's a terrible feeling but a necessary evil as moments like these don't happen often for Metal fans (unless you're in Europe, lucky bastards \m/). With this negative feeling comes a positive memory that will remain in the mind for a very long time.

Looking back, the trip was unique but familiar, as it was my first Metal Cruise (and my first cruise ever). To say I had anticipations of what to expect would be an understatement, as my mind was flooded with expectations that were beyond all my Metal experiences, and that's a lot of Metal.

After everything was said and done, it was a \m/ HEAVY \m/ experience that left 4 days missing from my life. It also allowed me a chance to look deep inside myself in a way I never had a chance to do so, and changed me in a way that as of this writing, I still can't figure out.

Onward, to the final chapter of the Barge.

December 7, a day that will live in infamy. While the history books indicates this was the day of the Pearl Harbor Attack, another historical moment was in the making. A historic moment made of Steel. This was the day the Barge to Hell was officially over, ending another successful chapter in the History of Metal.

Upon waking up, the boat was already docked in the starting point of this journey, the Port of Miami, with all the Metalheads either still asleep or waking up and taking advantage of the breakfast the vessel offered before heading off to the next part of their journey (and for some, it was a long one).

Barge to Hell 2012, Day 3

The invasion of the Bahamas. At least, that's what it looked like when you consider a horde of black-shirt clad, raging Metal Maniacs pouring out of the ship and into Nassau. This was the port of call to give ourselves a break from the confines of the boat and explore a unique island most of us have never visited before.

As someone who has lived in Miami his entire life, the Bahamas are always mentioned in some way, shape or form. From the locals who travel there, to the Bahamians who live in my city, I have always known, but never experienced the Bahamas, until this trip. What lay ahead was an adventure that was foreign, but familiar, as well as some Metal discoveries I never expected to find.

Barge to Hell 2012, Day 2

The second day of Barge to Hell, and while last nights Pool Deck debacle did put a sour taste for the voyage, it didn't ruin the experience entirely as things like this is almost expected in a Metalheads journey. Think about it, how many times have you gone to a concert, from the local bar shows to the shows in night clubs to the medium sized venues to the mega stadiums and even festivals, and there has been some kind of delay and/or issue to get the bands playing? Today was the first full day of the Barge to Hell, meaning, an entire day of Metal madness from morning until the wee hours of the nights, this was one party that was only starting to warm up.

Speaking of morning, I managed to get some breakfast in the Windjammers Café, and was joined by surprisingly many other Metalheads (we're not known for being morning people, that's why we excel in working night shifts, where we belong). Probably the different time zones where they come from grants them the ability to be awake so early in the morning? A Metallic Scientific Hypothesis.

Welcome to Metal Trek

Welcome to Metal Trek, the next evolutionary step that was Wacken Trek. Instead of focusing on traveling to Wacken, this blog will focus on all aspects related to Metal Travel.

Wacken Trek had a good run and did what it needed to do (provide information on how to travel to Wacken and the many tall tales of my travels), but as my Metal Travel experiences continue to expand (and my previous travels should have told me this before starting Wacken Trek), it was time to broaden the scope of Wacken Trek and the only way to do this was by creating a new blog, which allows for easier and faster setups of new (and even old) posts.

The next few months will have the blog undergo additional major renovations and major updates as it has a long way to go before it is considered complete. If you find links taking you back to the old Wacken Trek site, don't worry, I am aware of it and will fix them as time progress.

I will also have videos and news relating to Metal Travel that will be a feature for this blog.

As for the old Wacken Trek site, I haven't decided yet whether it will stay up or be deleted.

For the time being, and to give something for the launch, I have posted the Wacken Open Air 2009 and the European Metal Festival Tour 2011 blogs as well as some videos that will provide Metal Travel related entertainment.

That's it for now but if you have any suggestions, let me know and I will take them into serious consideration.

Many \m/ HEAVY \m/ thanks!6!6!6!