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| At Puerto Maya Just to get ashore you had to go through the Duty Free shops, seen above. |
When we got up the next morning our ship was already docked in Cozumel. We had been to Cozumel before with my Mom and Dad and my sister and brother-in-law. That time we hopped on a bus and went to a cooking class at Playa Mia on the west coast of Cozumel. I think the last time Cozumel was toward the end of our cruise. This time however, it was the first stop. While I enjoyed the cooking lesson, which was very hands on, We were looking for something a little different to do while we were in Cozumel this time. Boy did we find it. But I might be getting ahead of my self a bit. Our first order of business was breakfast. Mom and Dad had selected a less strenuous activity for their day in Cozumel and they were scheduled to leave the ship much earlier than we were, so they called us up again to see if we wanted breakfast in the dining room again. My mother was on a search for the perfect Eggs Benedict. I like like Eggs Benedict as well. I think a soft poached egg on a English muffin with ham or Canadian bacon is delicious and a tart Hollandaise sauce on top just makes it wonderful but i don't pursue the dish with the same passion as my Mom. As out departure from the ship was a little later, We chose not to go with them to the dining room and lay in for a bit longer. Later when mom was describing her breakfast, we heard her said that her egg was overcooked and the Hollandaise sauce was cooked onto the eggs under a broiler. I thought broiling Eggs Benedict was a bit odd. The funny part is, when my wife and I went to the Horizon Buffet that morning I was able to get Eggs Benedict. While, I will grant that the Egg was over cooked, the buffet provided a side of Hollandaise sauce and I could put as much as I wanted on my Egg. Later in the cruise, My mom figured out that if she told them what she wanted and asked for the Hollandaise on the side she could get the perfect Eggs Benedict she was searching for. The galleys on the ships were very receptive to special orders and cooks on board prepared a well poached soft and put the sauce on the side. As for my Breakfast, I indulged in the collection of crisp bacon and delicious sausages along with a Meusli that I doctored up with dried fruit and granola. I know that it sort of defeats the purpose of Meusli to put cream on it but i couldn't resist a dollop of clotted cream on the top of the cereal. It made it taste yummy! And, of course, I had to have my daily allotment of Chocolate Croissants.
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| Some of the shops at Puerto Maya |
It wasn't long before it was time for us to go ashore to catch a ride to our Shore Excursion. I had assumed that we would be riding on a bus, or a van or some other land transportation to get where we would board the sailing vessels that make up America's Cup Regatta which was our excursion of choice for Cozumel. After we disembarked the ship, we had a bit of time before we were to meet the people that were running our excursion. So off we went shopping. Nearly every cruise ship port has a collection of shops at the pier when you arrive at port. I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a large amount of experience with Cruise ports. I haven't been on nearly as many cruises as my parents and some people have had hundreds of days at sea. But even in my short tenure as a cruise enthusiast I have begun to notice some patterns in the shops at the cruise ports. You can count on several shops no matter where you go. Nearly every port has many shops for jewelry. There is always a Restaurant or two and lots of little shops selling Touristy stuff. Lots of the shops are the same from Port to port. The most interesting shops are the ones that have the local stuff in them. In Cozumel we could could find Mexican Chocolate (Mexican chocolate is different than what we eat. Its not as refined but still tastes wonderful), crafts and of course T-shirts by the score. Our mission in Cozumel was simple. We needed to find a pair of glasses holders to keep us from loosing our spectacles. Every where we went we asked if they had holders and we looked in a lot of shops. Unfortunately, glasses holders were not to be found in Cozumel. I let my wife have the single set of holders that we could find at home because she would be much more debilitated than me without glasses.If shoppers were interested in Duty free stuff then they were in luck. There were huge Duty Free shops at the entrance of every port we visited. Alcohol, Cigarettes, fragrances and other exotic things were available. Funny thing though, I didn't think the prices were all that much lower for the same stuff in US.
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| Stars and Stripes and True North IV (We were not on board for this photo) |
After maybe an hour and half in the shops, the time came for us to go on our shore excursion. We had scheduled the America's Cup Regatta. Some time ago, I'm not sure when, the company, with I believe was Australian, purchased one of Dennis Conner's Stars and Strips 12 meter yachts. This yacht is same boat that won the America's Cup back from Australia in 1987's which was the last time that 12 meter yachts were used in the America's cup. We were on the True North IV which completed in the same Luis Vuitton cup races as Stars and Strips. The US won the Luis Vuitton cup to earn the right to race the Australians and went on to win the America's Cup bringing it back to the US. Dennis Conner was the first skipper to loose the cup in over 100 years and the first Skipper to win it back. Since then the cup has been passed to New Zealand and then to the Suisse and back to the US. The cup was successfully defended last fall. All of this history adds to the fun of the experience. We were met near the dock by an fellow that was obviously from Australia by his accent. I'm sure that he had been sailing for a long time. Anyway, he let us to a pontoon boat that would take us out to the yachts. On the way out we were split into 2 teams with a captain for each. We were picked one by one, like you would be picked in a pick up basketball game or something. While my wife and I weren't picked first we were picked close to the begining. I think it was our enthusiasm that carried us. We were picked by the Canadian captain. She really was from Canada and we were on True North IV which was a Canadian boat.
First of all, I should probably state that the seas were pretty rough for a casual sailor like myself. It was misting rain and the wind was up a bit. This is a mixed blessing for sailing, Wind is good for sailors. High seas are bad for land lubbers. The weather was bad enough to make my wife and I wonder if they were going to do the excursion or cancel it do to the conditions. Well fortunately for us, the excursion went on as planned and the pontoon boat took all of us would be America's Cup Racers out to the boats. The Skippers of the boats were brothers and something about them got my competitive juices going and I really wanted to win the race. Now, we had the choice of activity level. We could choose none, medium or active. My wife and I choose medium. My competitive juices were flowing but not enough to give myself a heart attack. As it turned out it was the perfect choice for me and the boat as well. My wife's job ended up being the bar tender. She helped pass out the drinks after the race. I kind of suspect she would have enjoyed something a little more active. My Job on the boat was rear grinder. As the boat tacks from one direction to the other the sail must move over the boat and the tension must be maintained on the sail in order for it to work properly. I got the job of tensioning the sail after a tack. It was fun and a big adventure because the boat tossed us around a bit. I used a handle that fit into the top of a ratcheted fixture that would hold the sail tension as I cranked it down. To simplify matters, the company had put a piece of black tape where I should stop when I was winding the rope. I had a counter part at the fixture whose job was to loosen the rope and take care of making sure it was properly lashed to the ratchet. This was great fun and I was determined to do it as well as I could. I really wanted to win you see.
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| I'm at the back. Bonnie more toward the Middle. |
So, with an understanding of what my task was to be, we sailed off and honed our skills a little before the race. There are a lot of timing rules for the start of an America's Cup race. People often see the yachts circling just in front of the start line. The idea is to hit the start line with full forward momentum at just the right moment when the race is suppose to start. If a boat crosses to early it has to circle around and do it again. The margin for victory between boats, and especially with these two boats, is so thin that a good skipper would almost certainly win the race if his challenger crossed the line too soon and had to circle. But both our Skipper and his brother hit the line well and the race was on. At the beginning it took a little time for me to get use to the pitching of the craft. Cleats had been provided on the deck of the boat for us to leverage against when we were leaning back and a rope to hold on to when we were leaning forward. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of all this but soon I was able to stay stable enough to do my job. During the first up wind leg of the race, Stars and Strips (not our boat) forged a head with a pretty good lead, our skipper assured us that we had the advantage in the down wind leg and would catch them and pass them. They had extended the first up wind leg to make sure the race would last the appropriate amount of time. With the stiff winds, we were moving pretty fast through the water. We made our turn at the buoy a little better that Stars and strips and made up a decent amount of distance. Soon we were flying across the ocean on the down wind leg of the race. You would think that when you sail with the wind the boats would go at their fastest. Actually, the cross wind leg is when the boats move faster. The angle of the wind provides more energy to the boat causing it to move quicker across the ocean. After a couple of upwind and down wind legs that were shorter that the original up wind leg we started to come close the end of the race. It looked to me as if we were leading but our skipper said that the race was much closer than it looked because the finish line was at an angle to the forward progress of the ships. So neck and neck we charged across the sea it was very exciting and great fun. Rain and wind and pitching boats couldn't ruin it for me. Our skipper told us that if we saw the committee boat raise a white flag then we were the winners of the race. To be honest the committee boat was a small outboard boat that had braved the waves to take pictures and "officiate" the race. Time passed and we could see the committee boat. As we pasted them and they raised the white flag first then the blue one. We had won the race. Wow, What a hoot.
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Puerto Maya in Cozumel
After the race was run we sailed back to the mooring for our boat which took several minutes. we were all exhilarated and maybe a little tired, but not to bad. The race was set up with amateurs in mind. So nobody was exhausted from the experience. We gave the traditional Three cheers to the other team and passed by the committee boat for another photo, and there was time for a beer or a coke as we sailed back. All to soon we were back to the mooring where they kept the boat. I suspect they do this regatta more than once a day but I don't know for sure. Once the boat was moored the time came to furl the sails. Putting the Sail away required that the customers to be out the way so that the real crew could wrap the sail up and tie it down. This required that we move to the bow of the boat. Of course, while sitting on a box on the bow the box tipped over and I went to the deck. I didn't hurt myself and I thought the fall was pretty funny. At the beginning of the regatta the skipper told us that if a crew member fell overboard they should be prepared to wait in the water for a while because the boats don't turn on a dime and if the boat you fell off of was winning you might get to wait even longer. No one fell out, of course, and I had lots of hands to help me back onto a more stable sitting device that the crew provided. The pontoon boat soon returned to pick us up. Normally, the boat would have taken us to the gift shop where we would get some Rum Punch and could purchase souvenirs at the International pier, but on this day the sea was too rough at the dock where the gift shop was. So they took us back to the Puerto Maya pier. Our counterparts from the Stars and Strips were just a little subdued and I felt no urge for trash talk, but we on the True North were having a great time on the pontoon boat trip back. I wanted a picture and my wife and I both wanted T-shirts, so we followed one of the crew members to the International pier where the gift shop was located. The walk was about 1/3 of a mile, so it wasn't too bad. Its funny how the walk back seemed much shorter. I think they way my mind works is that I pay much closer attention while i'm going to a new place, therefore, making walk seem longer. On the way back I'm already more familiar with the route, so I don't pay as close attention, thus making the walk back shorter in my head. The Rum punch was more punch than rum, but that was OK with me. One of the last thing I needed was to get tipsy in unfamiliar land. The gift shop didn't have my size but we bought a t-shirt for my wife and pictures of us on the boats. They were kind enough to email us pictures so I could put them in this blog. All in all, this excursion was one of the highlights of the cruise for me. Its something wonderful and goes down as one of the best days ever in spite of the misting rain and the winds.
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| The International Pier is furthest up. |
By the time We returned to the ship it was pretty well past lunch time, but on a cruise ship it always seems to be lunch time. Food is available 24 hours a day on the ship, however, I haven't chosen to test the availability of food in the early morning by getting up and going on search for a meal at 2:00 am. Usually I'm so full from the scheduled meals that I really haven't been in need of a late night or early morning snack. Before my wife and I hit the buffet for lunch we both needed a quick shower to wash off the salt spray from the regatta and as usual the buffet was packed with many good things to eat. We knew that dinner was coming soon so our we ate pretty lightly, well as lightly as one can on a cruise ship. After lunch, I believe that my wife took advantage of her membership in the spa while I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and napping in our cabin. It was very refreshing. I was afraid that I had missed my rehearsal for the pop choir but it turns out they didn't have one that day.
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| You've seen this picture of the Lotus Spa before. |
After my wife returned from her spa treatment, we dressed for dinner. We met my parents at the usual place in front of the lifts that went down to the Atrium. Today's meal was not a formal affair, but I don't like to dress in shorts for meals aboard ship. So I put on was a pair of dockers and a collared shirt. The food, as always was delicious and our servers treated us like royalty again. If any service could rival that of Disney then our servers came close. They were always attentive and always kept our glass full. Yani, our assistant server, had a had a bandage behind one of her ears. It turns out she wasn't hurt but she had a tattoo. Princess does not allow there wait staff to display tattoos so she covered it with a bandage. I had noticed the bandage on previous nights but after commenting about what ever wound she had received, she told me the story of how it was a tattoo. My father and I wondered what she had tattooed behind her ear. I guess every woman likes to keep a little mystery because in spite of the subtle and not so subtle hints we never got the nature of her tattoo out of her. As we were taking our delicious meal we could feel the ships engines start to crank up and watch the Island of Cozumel slip away through the windows.
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| This was the fellow that did the tribute show. Terry Lee Geoffy |
That nights entertainment was a Johnny Cash Tribute singer. I personally think that at one time he might have sounded like Johnny and he never claimed to be an impersonator and the music was pleasant if not accurate. I like Johnny Cash songs anyway. He brought out his wife to sing the famous "If I Were a Carpenter" song. I suspect it was the hair because even if they didn't sound much like Johnny and June Carter Cash, they sure looked like them. She went on to sing several songs by June Carter Cash. Then they let one of their backup singers do a number. I must be frank here, She was the best singer of the lot. I would have loved to have heard more from her. Anyway it wasn't an unpleasant way to spend an hour and a half and the time went by quickly. There is so much activity on a ship in the evening. Lots of night clubs and bars that offer entertainment and dancing along with your favorite beverage. But I have to tell you that I was tired when the show was over. My wife and I went back to our cabin and after reading for a short time, we conked out. Cozumel was great!
