Mexico Cruise

We are back on land and had a great time on the cruise! It was a great vacation, especially nice since my cellphone simply wouldn't work so I just packed it away and enjoyed time with Kevin, my sister and her friend. I was glad to see they liked it, it was the first cruise for each of them and the second for us.

We had lots of good food, time to relax (lots of reading of my book!), and just had a great time. The cruise directors always have something going on - lots of trivia games, which I love. This time they even had 2 nights of comedians, and we made it to an 'adults only' show, the material is more like what we're used to at a comedy club, as opposed to the 'family friendly' show we'd seen before.

We also checked out the casino (lost $40 at roulette), and I rode the HUGE slide this time! Even with all there is to do on the boat - the excursions are definitely the best part for me.

Our first excursion took us by bus to see some of the historic spots in Merida, including a HUGE cathedral. It has THE largest indoor Christ statue in the world (the largest is the outdoor one in Rio de Janiero). Our tour guide (Jerry) was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He was always pointing out things for us to see along the way and telling us a little about the history and life in the area. After seeing the sites we were taken to a hacienda (plantation) that has been turned into a rum distillery. We were able to tour the place - even see some workers bottling the rum -and then have a tasting. The setting was great, we sat on benches (think park benches) under a canopy of trees and were able to taste rum as well as several fruity liqueurs -- my favorite one was made with a fruit called guanabana. If you didn't like it, you could toss it over your shoulder into the plants, though most of what I didn't like went to Kevin. We saw lots of iguanas and a gorgeous tree called the 'Fire tree'.

Our second excursion was a first for me - snorkeling! We went with a group to a man-made beach on Cozumel where we were able to walk right into the water and snorkel. There were small reefs and lots of fish! I had a hard time at first, but once I got the hang of it - it took a bit for me to get used to breathing through the tube how I needed to - it was really very serene. At times the water was rough so it was tough to stay under sometimes, but I got the hang of it (and a good workout!) The guide who was with us has great eyes, he brought up several creatures for us to see and touch - including a small yellow stingray! The shore set-up worked well so that we could go back onshore when we were ready - my sister and I went back out again while Kevin and Ana stayed on dry land. I did get stung by tiny jellyfish, I felt something burning on my arm and leg, and then saw that it was swollen when I was out of the water. apparently its pretty common - they had a bottle of Caladryl right at the counter. Leave it to me to find the jellyfish.

All in all, we came out pretty well - no sunburn, just the jellyfish and some overeating. We did better than some people who overdid it in Progreso - know your limits people. There is one excursion called "Corona Beach Party" which is basically an open bar in the sun. Last year and again this year we've seen people who imbibed WAY too much and had difficulty walking. The woman we saw this year actually went swimming in a small fountain -I thought she had leaned against it to steady herself and actually said I hope she doesn't drown when I thought she fell in, nope turns out she was getting in to swim....she did this not once, but twice. I hate to think what the locals must think of Americans when behavior like that and what you think of on Spring Break is most of what they see. I like a good drink, but also like to be in control of myself, especially in a foreign country.

I'm not ready to head back to work, but am very glad to be home!