Mexico

[Guest guest]

Well, I know it has taken me forever and a day to post this but I am home safe and sound from Mexico and it was a BLAST !!! Initially we were concerned that we weren't going to get to leave the States as it had only been two days since the attack but fear not, we left as scheduled and sailed on. The first night was a living hell as we sailed straight through Tropical Storm le. Luckily the four of us girls in our cabin had stomachs of steel but unfortunately that wasn't the case for the majority of the other cruisers. There was no rocking of the boat, just a very pronounced tilt to one side and 12 - 16 foot waves. Our hands were permanently clenched from having to hold onto our beds as to not slide out. TVs were coming unhinged from the ceiling and crashing down on cabin floors, everything was cleared from tabletops and we had glass everywhere. The girls across the hall from us had brought two cases of beer onboard and in the middle of the night, the beer fell over and proceeded to explode all over them and their cabin. People were getting sick all over the place and so we pretty much stayed in our cabin and tried to keep to ourselves. The man in the cabin next door (we found out later he was the boat minister) kept falling out of bed all night due to the boat being on its side and we were splitting at the seams laughing at him. He did not share in our humor and proceeded to bang on our wall all night to try and get us to hush but it was impossible. It was incredibly loud and we just couldn't contain ourselves. At one point we decided to be brave and venture out to try and find our way to the front of the ship to play Titanic (which was strictly forbidden in such weather) but as soon as we found the door leading out and opened it, the winds were so strong that it literally blew us back inside (soaking wet no less). Major g-forces !!! Needless to say, we were unable to port in Key West and went straight to Cozumel. It was BEAUTIFUL and the weather was superb for the rest of the trip !!!!! We shopped and snorkeled all day. The fish were gorgeous but only saw one guy that was even worth looking at twice !!! He happened to be our waiter at lunch (true Mexican food is nasty) and the four of us got to experience a very strange but funny as hell little custom. Arturo (the waiter) came up behind me and put a motorcycle helmet on my head. Then standing behind me told the rest of the patrons to count to three. On three, he slammed this glass down on my head and it became this foaming thing that resembled something you would see in a horror laboratory. He yanked my head back and poured it down my throat and then proceeded to do it to the other girls. Never did find out what it was we were drinking although he tried to convince us it was tequila. It was a hoot. We fed our food to the stray dog that was under our table inside the restaurant and after a photo shoot with Arturo and the other waiters we were off. Spent the entire day there until midnight and didn't waste one minute of it. I will say however, I got pretty tired of being accosted by Mexicans who spoke horrible English wanting to sell me everything under the damn sun. All day long it was "Hey blondie, come here...I want to show you something !!!" Aarrrgggghhhhh !!!! It is incredible however that one can talk them down so low in price. My best negotiation was a clay statue for my hairdresser that the guy wanted $80.00 for. Ended up I paid him $5.00 and left in hysterical laughter !!! Our ship was only about half full as 600 firefighters that were supposed to go with us had to cancel and go to NY to help in the relief efforts. Ironically, when we were to depart from Mexico on Saturday night we were told that we would be joined by 400 Americans who had been stranded in Mexico due to the airport shutdowns. They were ever so grateful for us and it was a good feeling to know that we were able to help them out. On board the ship we did nothing but eat, eat, eat and drink, drink, drink !!! The food was to die for and I truly was spoiled !!! Everything from escargot to baked Alaska and yes on a few nights I indulged in two entrees !!! Why bother trying to make up your mind when its free !!!!! Got some good sun out on the deck, mingled with the cabana boys and did a lot of relaxing. All and all it was fabulous and I'm ready to go again. Any takers for next summer ???

It's much easier to let the cat out of the bag than to put it back in !!!!!