We didn’t get much time for sight seeing as we were hustled right to the bus but I did steal a moment to grab some street scenes.
Joe in Mexico
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Category Archives: Mexico
Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen
The ferry to the mainland crosses the Cozumel Channel, part of the Caribbean where the gulf stream gets funneled between the mainland and the island of Cozumel. This creates some choppy seas in the best of weather.
The tour description mentions that the crossing from Cozumel to the mainland can be rough and when Joe booked it he asked me if I would be ok with that. Forewarned is forearmed and I prepared accordingly. I made sure to have sea sick patches with me specifically for this trip. I didn’t need them for the cruise but for the ferry…well better safe than sorry so I put one on first thing in the morning. For the patches to be most effective they need to be on for 4 hours before you head off to your adventure.
Now we sat on the upper, open deck waiting for the ferry to cast off. It was windy with some drizzle so it was certainly expected that the crossing would be rough. What I wasn’t prepared for was how rough!.
Once we cast off the ferry wasted no time in accelerating but even so sometimes it felt like the forward progress was overshadowed by the side to side rocking and rolling and I mean rolling! We were on the top deck and as the boat rolled left everything and everyone slid that way. It felt like you could reach out and touch the water. At times I was afraid we wouldn’t right ourselves and we’d all be thrown into the cold, gray sea. But instead we bobbed back up only to roll to the other side.
It didn’t take long for those around us to start dropping. The crew handed out plastic bags and cotton balls. Joe was fine and I was too as long as I didn’t listen to the sounds around me. Water splashed all the way up to our level! My mantra was “I believe in my patch”.
I would guess the crossing took 45 minutes to an hour but it was hard to be sure. I bet it felt much longer to those who were sick. This trip was far worse than the trip to see the Puffins off the Maine Coast last summer where almost everyone there got sea sick too.
Finally docked and unloaded in Playa Del Carmen we were directed to the buses and loaded in there for the drive to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. Our guide was an energetic Mexican with a great sense of humor.
Her non stop monologue could have been a stand up comedy act. She was going to make this tour a winner! As she said to us…her livelyhood depends on it.
A Rainy Morning at Sea
We awoke to clouds and fog and rain but we were still a way out to sea. We were hoping the weather would clear before we reached Cozumel.
Our morning had fallen into a pattern. We got up, dressed and went to the Lido deck for the breakfast buffet usually a starch like pancakes, waffles or French toast. There were the eggs too, Scrambled, hard boiled, Benedict or an omelet station where you could have them prepared to order.
Of course there was the meat: bacon, sausage, ham and turkey bacon. Grits and home fries pretty much round out the standard fare. Move on to the fruit bar and there were oranges, bananas, melon wedges, fruit salad and more! Another station was set up for the continental breakfast. Yogurt, bagels and toast, muffins and corn bread. I think I also saw cereal boxes and milk on that table.
You’d think that’s be enough for anyone but they even had a dessert table groaning with cookies, Jell-O, cakes, brownies, cheesecake and chocolate pudding. You could even make yourself a bowl of frozen yogurt or soft ice cream.
Beverages include coffee or tea, orange juice, apple juice, orange~promegranate and lemonade.
No wonder people say they over-eat on cruises! All of this food is included with your cruise!
Bt the time we finished breakfast the ship had pulled into Cozumel, an island off the coast of Mexico. We were directed to go to the Xanadu lounge just one of the many lounge and stage areas on the ship. Shortly after we reached the lounge one of the cruise people came around with stickers with the number 20 to put on our shirts. There was no explanation but we would soon find out the reason.
It was still raining but pretty soon they confirmed that the excursion was still a go and called for us to line up in twos. Like funeral procession we were being led off the ship as a group and our numbers identified us as an excursion group and therefore entitled to priority disembarkation.
Getting off the ship was easy. We just had to give security our room key which was scanned to show that we had left the ship.
Now began the half walk half run down the long pier into Cozumel but we didn’t even slow down as they hurried us around a corner and onto another long pier. At the end of the pier was the ferry to the mainland. As we boarded little did we know this innocent looking boat would soon become an instrument of torture for about half the group.
Always Something
It won’t be long now before I’ll be in the air and winging my was south to warm weather. My 2nd annual winter migration to escape the snow and cold of New England. Cat sitter has been secured. Extra cat food, treats and kitty litter brought in so at least the furry children will be well cared for in my absence.
My own preparations have been a teeny bit more challenging. My tripod wouldn’t fit in my suitcase. Why bother you ask? Because the 2nd half of my trip is the Florida Everglades and if I want to use my telephoto lenses I need a tripod for stability. I haven’t mastered the monopod yet but it makes a great walking stick. So it was off to the store to find a 27 inch suitcase instead of my 25 inch.
Next step was to log onto Carnival Cruise line’s web page to do my online check in and set up my “on board account”. Carnival is “cashless” while on board. That part actually went pretty smooth until I got to the part where I had to print the documents. The luggage tags printed , the cruise documents printed but not the boarding pass.
I thought it might be because my sailing partner had not set up his on board account yet so I sent an email off to him to get going on his docs. Good thing I did. Apparently the Carnival web site has issues. When he tried to access his booking it told him there was a problem and to book again. As he struggled with Carnival I went back into my account and could now print my boarding pass so I was all set. Not so my buddy. It was 2 full days before they told him the problem was corrected. I haven’t heard yet if it really was.
Tomorrow I’ll check my flight to see if that’s all set and finish packing…carefully…so I don’t get a furry stow away.
To be continued…..