Cozumel or Bust... A travel Journal
Cozumel or Bust - X Minus One:
Thursday, November 23
After a lovely Turkey Day with Mom and Katie (in which I discovered just how OCD my mom is, (more on that at another time) I came home, started a load of laundry and crashed in a Tryptophan-Induced coma for an hour and a half. Woke, moved laundry to the dryer, and ran Elvis down to the Kitty (aka heather_grey) who so graciously agreed to watch him while I was gone. After assuring myself he was in good hands and that he wouldn't get eaten by the three cats in her place, I took my leave to put the laundry on it's second round. (on a side note, I'm TOTALLY bitching up a storm about the dryer exhaust in my apartment when I return and making the maintenance people snake the darned thing!) Joy and Bryan showed up a bit later and they patiently watched me pack and then watched a little TV. They left a few hours later (as I continued to re-set the dryer.) Finally, around 1:30, my clothes were more or less dry (or more accurately, I gave up on them ever being dry and I collapsed.)
Cozumel or Bust - Day One (Travel to Galveston, TX)
Friday, November 24
Woke up at 5:00, got ready, threw the rest of my stuff in my bags and headed for the Dayton airport. (As a side note, I'd feared that I'd put some of the weight I'd lost back on, but stepped on the scale and found that I'm at my lowest weight yet. Woot.) Managed NOT to call Jenn to check to see if she'd gotten off work and left for the airport yet. (As I'd been a Leeeeetle OCD/bothersome about details over the course of the week, and didn't want to start the trip off obnoxiously. In fact, on Wednesday she told me I wasn't allowed to pester her about what time she'd be getting to the airport until Friday. I endeavored to prove I had SOME restraint.) I wanted to deposit a check from a client before I got to the airport, so I stopped at the bank in Dayton to throw it into the ATM. No deposit envelopes, of course. Sigh... I made it to the airport around 8:00 or so, and Jenn arrived 15-30 minutes later. She got her baggage checked in (after explaining that she'd had to go in to work early the night before and that her dear husband had backed for her. (I feared the worst, but he did pretty well, all in all.) I slipped my driver's license in my pocket for quick access, and we ran outside to indulge in a bad habit. I finally managed to relax (we were at the airport, we had all the necessary accoutrements for travel (I knew, I'd checked at least 25 times) and we were on our way to paradise. Whew!) We headed back inside for the security check point. This is when I realized my ID had completely disappeared. I vividly remembered putting it in my pocket. Jenn checked my bags and I made a frantic dash back outside to see if it'd fallen out of my pocket. I checked with TSA baggage check #1. No luck. I checked with TSA baggage check #2. (They claimed that an ID had been turned in at the security check point.) Raced back (in full OMG it's all about to blow up and I won't make my flight mode). The front woman explained that she'd go talk to a supervisor. We waited. (whereupon Jenn started cackling at my pain and suffering - after all, I'd been giving her a significant amount of crap about making sure the details were attended to for a week, much to her... well, annoyance-and proving that she's kind of a meanie) After another round of prompting the supervisor came out with the ID. My blood pressure returned to normal and we headed for our plane (after a quick stop at Cinnabon so we could elevate our blood sugar to astronomical levels!) After that point, there was no travel-trauma. We landed in Charlotte, NC to change planes, got lunch at a seafood place (it was OK, but nothing to write home about) and hopped on our next flight. Jenn slept and I tried. I discovered a few things. First, it is NOT good to sit directly in front of a family with three rambunctious boys (aged 3-7) and that there's a reason that most flight attendants are skinny. Our flight happened to have a fairly... well, portly attendant. I'm the last person who'd be sizist towards ANYONE... but come on! There are certain jobs/activities (spelunking comes to mind) that being small is advantageous. She slammed into me with her person no less than five or six times, waking me from my doze each time. I was somewhat less than amused! I'm convinced that the landing was performed by a monkey or a special ed student. (wings went wobble wobble all the way to the ground and the landing was Smoooooooothe. (Read, not at all) In fact, the flight attendant made a statement like 'Now that we're all awake, Welcome to Houston!'.
We found Caren & Ron as soon as we got to the baggage claim. We had our bags and found our driver (Caren had chartered a car service to haul ourselves to Galveston from Houston) and we were on our way. The Baymont Inn was brand new and really, REALLY nice (particularly for the cost!) Comfortable beds, fridge & microwave and balcony. Jenn crashed as soon as we got to the hotel, and Caren, Ron and I took a short walk to the Happy Buddha for dinner. It was nice to catch up and lovely to get to know her husband better. (He has a very funny, dry wit that amuses me.) We meandered back and started watching Willy Wonka (the original) on TV. Feeling like I was ready to fall over, I headed back to the room, threw Jenn's dinner in the fridge and passed out around 7:30. (sad state of affairs, I know). Jenn woke me a bit before 9. We watched NUMB3RS on TV, and she read for a bit and I returned to my exhaustion-induced coma.
Cozumel or Bust - Day 2 (Boarding Splendour of the Seas at Galveston)
Saturday, November 25
I woke up at 6, pulled myself together, grabbed my laptop and headed down to the breakfast area to meet Caren. We chatted, worked on our current stories a bit and ate a bit of breakfast. Ron toddled down after a while and then disappeared. Around 8:30, Jenn made it down, looking better rested than I've seen her in a while. After she ate, we headed to Kroger to grab some last minute essentials (and try to find some place for me to deposit my #$(*)(* check, without any luck. I finally ended up mailing it to the bank.) We packed up our stuff, checked out, stowed our stuff at the hotel then walked to The Turloga(?) for lunch. It was a FABULOUS Mexican place where they made the guacamole at the table. (And it was maybe the best guacamole I'd ever eaten!) We returned to the hotel, called a cab (which arrived within moments) and we were off to the pier. I am ever-amazed by Royal Caribbean's ability to load people on the ship without incident or chaos. A porter loaded our bags straight from the back of the van-cab. (As a side note, because Jenn (Jeff) had backed Jenn's bag very light, we were able to cram my laptop and CPAP into it, and all I had to carry was my purse. We boarded, had our welcome photos taken and then our security pictures and went to our room. We're very close to the elevator (not so close that we have to hear it, but close enough that we don't have to walk far). In the category of things that impress me about Royal Caribbean, I'm also LOVING this ship. It is 100X nicer than the Sovereign of the Seas (which I traveled on last January). The state rooms are nicer and the ship is obviously newer. Having the beds split actually makes for a bigger feeling room. (Caren & Ron have the same room but with the beds pushed together and it feels smaller.)
After tossing the non-essentials, Jenn, Caren & I went up to the pool deck for frosty rum-soaked beverages (complete with souvenir glasses). We saw a bridal party and I think Jenn and Caren expected me to completely break down. (The Bride was adorable, and I was surprisingly fine.) I've had a couple of iffy moments over the past couple of weeks (What If Things Were Different moments, if you will) but overall, I'm doing well with the sudden left turn my life has taken. I miss the life I thought I had, but prefer the honesty of knowing that it wasn't what I thought and I have so many things to look forward to. Jenn and Caren both talked about how much they loathed the idea of starting over again. I admitted that it was pretty intimidating, but I also said, "you know what I have to look forward to? A first kiss. That tummy flipping, exciting moment when the whole world hinges on his lips meeting yours for the first time." They both agreed. (And then discussed that that's what made 50 First Dates is such a great movie!) We returned to our rooms to try to agree upon which excursions to indulge in. (We found Undersea Bond Adventure for Cozumel and ATV Jungle Adventure for Costa Maya. More info on those after we do them.) Then on to our Muster Station Practice (see pictures below). Very charming, No?
We dropped our life vests back in our room and went up-top so we could enjoy the setting sail. (Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I trotted down to the room (7 stories down) grabbed the camera then took the elevator to 5 (it was stopping every floor and taking forever to close each time). I raced up the last four flights of steps and realized I'd missed the majority of sunset. It was WINDY up top as we pulled out to sea. SERIOUSLY WINDY! But I got some great shots and hung out with Jenn, Caren, Ron & Bastian. (Mystee was enjoying a relaxing deep-tissue massage.) (See pics below, and note decided absence of pictures of Bastian who is a bit camera shy).
We had time to kill, and Jenn wanted to learn how to play Craps. The ship was holding a Gambling how-to, so the four of us went to the Casino for a bit of a lesson. Caren, Jenn and I decided that there were too many rules for Craps. Ron was determined to figure it out. With the intensity only given to those in the engineering profession, he studied until he figured out the odds were so bad he could never play it. In the meantime, Caren, Jenn and I received a little lesson on Texas Hold 'em from a little cutie passenger (since the ship's staff seemed destined to ignore us and our need to understand Texas Hold 'Em.
We needed a little snack to tide us over, so we headed for the Windjammer Café. It was a tasty preview of the dinner to come. Then it was time to actually get ready for dinner. I thought we were going to have to drag Jenn in by her ears, but she got ready and took getting semi-dressy like a trooper. I had the stuffed chicken breasts and a Caesar salad to start. Dessert was Apple Pie a la mode. After dinner, Jenn and I were wiped, so we headed back to our cabin to read for a bit, then pass out.
Cozumel or Bust - Day Three (At Sea)
Sunday, November 26
I woke up around 7:00 or so and took my laptop up to the pool deck to write for a bit. Caren joined me around 9:00. We had breakfast in the Windjammer Café. While Jenn played in the pool in the Solarium, Caren and I both wrote. (Still not happening as fast as I would like, but at least it's progressing!) Around 12:30 or so, Jenn and I went off to the ship's crackbooking demo (although it wasn't much of a demo... just free goodies and time to play). We re-joined Caren & Ron in time for lunch at the Windjammer. After lunch, Jenn and I were both tired so we took a nap.
We reconvened, went to the Windjammer for a snack (and then we must have done some other stuff, but to the best of anyone's recollection, all we did all day, was eat and sleep.)
It was the ship's formal night for dinner. (It was cool to see everyone in their Evening wear.. almost like the Prom.) I wore my green velvet and let Jenn wear my red velvet dress. Ron was in a suit and Caren wore this gorgeous beaded orange Indian pants/tunic outfit. Very Caren. Dinner was lovely (I had the Filet, and other stuff).
After dinner, Jenn, Caren, Ron & I (Mystee was feeling the rocking of the boat much more the higher up she went so she and Bastian did their own thing) went to the Top Hat Lounge for Rock-e-okey. (Which is Karaoke with a real band). I sang, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" which was fun (because I haven't sang in front of an audience in years) and appropriate given my present situation. I think it went pretty well, though I had some initial problems with the timing. The leader of the band sang in my ear for a bit which helped.
Later, Caren and I sang The Eagles' "Take It Easy" which was fun and well received.
The highlight of the evening was Tommy, from Texas, who sang Unchained Melody and something else, in a really convincing Baritone! Everyone was quite impressed. We eventually took our leave of one another and headed off to bed.
Cozumel or Bust - Day Four (Cozumel)
Monday, November 27
I woke up at 6:00 (only because I arranged for a wake up call) and pulled myself together in time to meet Caren and Ron @ the Windjammer Café at 6:30. Jenn came up shortly thereafter. Caren, Jenn & I had planned to do the underwater "Bond Adventure" (which is a helmet and a little under-water scooter that propels you about the ocean. Unfortunately, when we unloaded at the pier at Cozumel, we found, much to our sadness, that the trip had been cancelled. So we settled on a plain helmet dive. (The benefit of the helmet diving being that Caren & Jenn (neither of whom had contact lenses with them) would be able to see more than a few inches in front of their faces. Sadly, as we filled out our "We promise not to sue you even if you kill us due to rampant incompetence on your part" papers, they explained to Caren that they weren't comfortable with her going (She's a Type 1, Insulin-dependant Diabetic). So she decided to Parasail instead... which Jenn thought sounded like a hoot. So I changed my paperwork (yet again) and went SCUBA Diving by myself, which was a BLAST! Before I actually describe the SCUBA diving, however, I feel it necessary to relate how proud I was of myself for being willing to go do what I really wanted and not give in to the need to be with someone I knew! It was very liberating. And, as it turned out, I did kinda "know" someone on the trip. Tommy (of Unchained Melody from the night before) and his wife (whose name is escaping me at the moment) were also doing their first SCUBA Dive. I dove once before (in the Bahamas about 10 years ago). It was fun, but there were 7 newbies with one dive master and it was an off-the-boat dive (which meant that the dive master had to drag us each to the bottom to confirm we were regulating our breathing, ears and mask pressure.) By the time everyone made it to the bottom, we got to swim around for about 10 minutes and then we were done. It was fun but... disappointing. THIS time, however was not disappointing AT ALL! We were broken up into small groups (3 divers in mine) and left from the beach, which meant we spent more time swimming around than practicing. It didn't take me long to get acclimated and the water was so clear and beautiful! Lots of fish and other sea creatures. The Dive Master (Ernesto, pictured below) managed to coax a small ray out from underneath a rock and held it in his hands. He offered to let me hold it, but I passed. (It wasn't fear of dying from a sting... more like not wanting to ruin the rest of my vacation in pain.) I did hold a big sea cucumber-like thing and a sea anemone, however. I had SO MUCH FUN! And now I have one DOCUMENTED open water dive so when I go to get PADI certified (which I intend to do SOON) I'll be that much closer to finishing. We weren't allowed to take underwater cameras :( but the company doing the dive took a few.
I got back to the pier and waited for Jenn & Caren for a bit. When they didn't show, I ran back to the ship, took a quick shower and returned to wait. I was accosted by a little Mexican man who seemed intent on selling me a (admittedly beautiful) fire opal & Tanzanite ring. (I talked him down from $250 to $60... but still thought rent was probably more important than the ring!) Finally, tired of waiting for Caren & Jenn, I went over to Senor Frogs (or ½ Senor Frogs, actually) and partook of a fruity, rum-soaked beverage and a quesadilla. Eventually, the girls showed up and partook of their own fruity drinks, relating stories of their parasailing adventure as well as "Charlie" the local cab-driver who charted them all over the island and showed them a very good time. Meanwhile, the waiter, Oscar (very cute little Mayan man) took a shining to me. (I kid you not, I'm evidently irresistible to the Mayan Men. Note to self: Move to the Yucatan Peninsula) He kissed my hand after taking my order, gave me a pretty good neck massage after the girls arrived and kissed my cheek (a couple of times) before I left. There are pictures here as well. (I'd like to tell you that wasn't his tongue... but I'd be lying. :D)
We wandered back to the ship and I took a brief nap (unintentionally... and without my CPAP... UGH!) I came back up top around 2:30 or so and found the girls by the pool. Ron joined us shortly thereafter, and we grabbed a few gnashies (mostly desserts-- Jenn was IN LOVE with the Scones and Clotted Cream) from the Windjammer. I ran down to grab my 'puter so Ron could see the video the company he went SCUBA diving with made. It was way cool. They saw a shark, a moray eel, rays, and lots and lots of fish. (They dove off a boat, so they were at an actual reef rather than close to shore as I was.) Looked like a good time and convinced me that much more how much I'd like to get my certification. Around 5:30, it was Margarita Madness time in the Viking Lounge (on the highest part of the ship). We all agreed that while "Madness" wasn't really an apt description (the lounge was definitely quiet and required more Jimmy Buffet!) but the Margarita's were fairly potent and tasty.
We got to watch the Ship set sail from Cozumel and the view was great!) After three of the Margaritas (as well as some phone-ho stories from Auntie-Jenn which made Ron giggle far more than I had expected) we were all pretty lit. It was getting close to dinner time, so we went back to the room to dress for dinner. I wore my bridesmaid's dress from Jenn's Wedding with a Gold Faux-mina (like a Pashmina, but only $10) and my gold Ralph Lauren Strappy high-heeled sandals (which aren't as easy to walk in after three Margaritas). I had a cheese plate (with Zesta crackers... don't faint, Jeff) pumpkin-apple soup and rare sirloin which was perfectly prepared. Dinner was Banana Crunch delight or some such. Tasty.
After Dinner, we went up top to enjoy the fresh air and Jenn and I got talked into some blinky glasses by one of the bartenders. ($8.95, filled with whatever you want and you get to keep the glass). I got a OJ, Pineapple Juice & Malibu. Jenn got a disappointing Amaretto Sour. But the glasses are way cool! We finally toddled off to bed by 11, knowing that we had to be up early for the happenings in Costa Maya.
All in all, considering it was the day I was supposed to get married, it was a very, VERY good day!
Cozumel or Bust - Day Five (Costa Maya)
Tuesday, November 28
I got up at 6:00 again and met Caren for Breakfast. Jenn joined up shortly thereafter. We quickly gathered our stuff and headed to the pier. Costa Maya is a really small port. Mostly a fishing village (with a little Duty-Free shopping and excursions.) I'd been less thrilled about the idea of going on an ATV ride through the jungle than playing in the sea, but it was what Jenn & Caren wanted to do and I didn't expect that I'd have a bad time. And I'm so glad I went along! We took a 55 minute bus ride to Chichoben and were regaled with the history of the area by Francisco, one of the tour guides.
For history buffs (like Jenn, Caren & I are) it was very interesting. Francisco's first language was clearly not English, so there were a few words which he mispronounced which had me in the giggles. "Veenoooos" (Venus, in reference to the Mayan Calendar) "Thees Aria" (This area) to which I had intense desire to trill with great vibrato and peenăpplé (pineapple). Which seemed appropriate, as I'd been saying, "We must beware of the Jag-you-wah" in a horrible British accent the evening before. (and a good thing, too).
(Note, we did not actually see jaguars. This photo is ENTIRELY for Ron!)
When we arrived, we were given the opportunity to use the "facilities", which was the bathroom of an elementary school. It was somewhat crude (but did the job). The amusing part was the "tip" cup taped to the sink counter. Evidently the ATV company paid the school a small stipend for the use of their facilities and the money (as well as any "tips" were used for the school... It was a good cause, so Caren plopped a couple of bucks in the cup. Jenn took a picture, but unfortunately, her camera managed to expel itself from her ATV early in the trip.) We were given a quick and dirty lesson on driving our ATV, then we were off.
I got the hang of shifting pretty quickly. Everywhere we drove, there was a pretty well-marked/maintained trail, so keeping the vehicle upright posed little problem. Sadly, can't say the same for myself. We stopped twice to look at small ruins (not the big pyramids, which was fine, 'cause I had no desire to haul my ass up 1000 flights of stairs!) On one of these stops, I tried to hurry to catch up (after falling behind in the midst of frantic picture-taking) and managed to fall. Other than a couple of bruises (the biggest one being to my Ego) I made it through. It did make for an interesting moment when Carlos (our ATV Guide who was cute, cute, CuteCuteCute!) asked if I was okay. I mentioned that I was embarrassed more than anything. He said, "Too bad. I thought I was going to have to check you out," in a very flirty manner. I'm telling you, those Mayan Boys. :D
We got back to the ship around 11:30 or so and then after a quick clean-up (Riding through the jungle on an ATV is a muddy/dusty affair) we converged on the food. Afterward, Jenn went for a nap, and I brought my laptop upstairs to work on my journal. Caren ostensibly was reading, but she lapsed into a coma by the pool, her book unopened on her lap. She eventually woke and we sat on the deck for a number of hours. Caren and I decided we needed a challenge so we climbed the Rock Wall. Unfortunately the sun had been baking the hand holds all afternoon and they were scorching hot! We decided to retry it the next day. (Though we each got up about halfway, so not too shabby I'd say.)
Afterward, we found that Mai Tais were the drink of the day (one of Caren's favorites) and she indulged in that while I reacquainted myself with Captain Morgan. I asked for a drink of 1/3 OJ, 1/3 Pineapple Juice and 1/3 Captain Morgan. I got a full glass of OJ, a full glass of Pineapple Juice and a shot of regular Rum on the rocks. (Sherman -the deck waiter-and I clearly were not simpatico). I mixed my own drink, but had lots of juice left over, so after I finished, I asked for more Rum. (This time The Captain) The Captain and I had a very lovely afternoon. (giggle °hic°). Jenn and Ron came down a bit later. Jenn having taken a nap and Ron having trekked anywhere from 3- 20 miles (His story kept changing, I'm suspecting it was more like 5 blocks or so ;P) back from his SCUBA Dive. He was looking kinda scary as he managed to blow a blood vessel in his eye.
Jenn was completely exhausted, so she headed down to bed. A while later "The Captain" and I weeble-wobbled down to the cabin to get ready for dinner. Jenn was still sleeping and said (in the moments she came up to the surface of wakefulness) that she was skipping dinner. Caren and I went up to dinner (and Ron joined us a bit later). Mystee and Bastian met us in the dining room. Dinner was a Mushroom and Puff pastry, Peach Soup, Lobster Tail, Shrimp and Veggies. Yum! My dessert was not particularly to my liking, but by then I was EXHAUSTED. I toddled back down to the room and collapsed.
Cozumel or Bust - Day Six (At Sea)
Wednesday, November 29
I slept in our final day at sea. (Although, for the record, I woke first of everyone!) After showering and coming up to the pool deck, I had some coffee and a couple of nibblies whilst waiting for my traveling companions and worked on my journal. Caren came topside an hour or so later. Jenn, having slept FIFTEEN hours, came up a couple of hours after that looking surprisingly well rested and nearly giddy. We did breakfast and commenced a day of laziness. Caren and I tackled the climbing wall again (and this time, we both made it much further). I had a really good time with it. I'm convinced I really REALLY want to join the Lebanon YMCA, as they have a climbing wall (in addition to more workout equipment, fitness classes and pools than you can imagine!)
After the climbing, we took some additional pictures (below is my favorite of the girls!)...
...and then commenced a day of giggling, relaxing, reading, chatting and... well, let us not forget the drinking! It's all kind of a blur. The highlights being Texas Tea (which is like Long Island Iced Tea with Cranberry juice instead of coke) and a game of "I Never" which we NEVER should have played! Caren, Ron & I skipped dinner in favor of packing and more frosty beverages. We went up to the Viking Lounge to continue. A couple of problems appeared at this point. First, the music was HORRIFIC! It started with "Disco Hour" (Which Caren liked, but caused Ron and I to cringe and writhe on the ground) followed by "Romantic Hour" Which made just about everyone claw at their ears. Lots of Celine Dion and cheesy knock-offs of other romantic atrocities. Second, something (and I'm not ruling out the music, &/or the alcohol) suddenly DIDN'T agree with me. I finally had to go back to my cabin because I was feeling really awful! I was bummed to miss karaoke, but I guess Ron had a great time.
Cozumel or Bust - Day Seven (The Trip Home)
Thursday, November 30
I woke up around 4:00 am on the day we docked in Galveston. After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, I quietly finished packing up my stuff, and went for some coffee and to grab some pictures of the sunrise and the ship docking. I found out we had to be out of our staterooms by 7:00, so I woke everyone around 6:45. They were less than amused. We all ate then went to sit in the TopHat Lounge until they called us. Jenn and Ron looked like the morning after the night before (which seemed about right!). Caren and I, of course, looked lovely.
We were practically the last people off the ship. Other than fearing I'd lost my birth certificate (which fortunately, I found) Exiting the ship was fairly painless. We took a cab to Enterprise Rentacar where we got an extended cab pickup to take to the Houston Airport. The good: the bed actually fit all of our stuff. The bad: A storm was brewing and we feared it would get wet.
It was balmy and lovely while sitting on the deck of the boat earlier that morning (I'd guess at least mid-seventies). It was a little cooler by the time we exited customs. We toodled around Galveston for a few minutes before we realized how bad the weather was getting, then we headed for Houston. The wind was blowing like CRAZY! When we arrived in Houston and got out of the truck to fill it up with gas, we could see our breath. (It had to have dropped thirty degrees or more in that hour!) Crazy!
Caren and Ron were able to get an earlier flight back to North Carolina (lucky Ducks!) but Jenn and I had missed our last opportunity by about 30 minutes, so we were stuck at the gate for about five hours. Lots of crazy people waiting for planes.
There were storms brewing all over the mid-west, I guess. Our flight (a little puddle-jumper with only three seats (2 on one side of the aisle, 1 on the other)) was the worst I've ever been on. It felt like the storm was going to hurtle us from the sky all the way up and all the way back down. (We had 15 or 20 minutes when we were above the storm clouds where we DIDN'T think we were going to die). We landed by 10:30, gathered our bags and hit the road for home. I got in around 12:15 and it was good to be home!