Today we are in Georgetown, Cayman Islands. I thought it was Cozumel but I guess that’s tomorrow. Whoops. Anyways, we set off pretty early to go to snorkeling. We had two spots to check out – a reef area and a shipwreck. The reef and the shipwreck were pretty neat. We took quite a few pictures under water but it’s on an old fashioned film underwater camera so we’ll have to post any good ones later. The shipwreck was neat to see because, well, it’s a shipwreck but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I guess the ship sunk in the 1940s but it was built in the 1800s. It was a cargo ship that transported rice and somehow water got into the cargo area and the rice expanded. Since there wasn’t much room in the base of the ship, the rice expanded a hole in the side of the ship! It sank within hours. Since it was near shore you could see the shipwreck pretty clear. The locals decided to blow up the ship (or what was left sticking out the water) so really underwater you see the remains of a blown up/sunken ship. It was definitely different.
After snorkeling Mike and I headed to Margaretville. We had a burger and I had a margarita before heading back to the ship. Overall it was a fun experience with a lot of happening things. The DJ in the restaurant had some competitions going on for free shirts/drinks/etc. He even gave up free shots of tequila. We declined since we would have to go up to the stage and he gave them out by just pouring the bottle into various people’s mouths. Yuck. Anyways, it was fun to watch.
Once we were back on the ship we were tired after another day in the sun so we took it pretty easy for a few hours. I read a book on deck and Mike took a semi nap in the lounge chair. Around 7 we got ready for another formal night and ate dinner with two Irish couples this time. We talked a bit about the ship and they all gave me advice on where we should go if we ever make it to Ireland. I’m happy to have some local people’s advice on the different things to see and do. I’m very excited by the prospect of an Ireland/Europe vacation. Obviously I need to get through this one first but Ireland is definitely on the list =)
After dinner we walked around looking for new places to see on ship. We visited a few new bars and eventually decided we were too tired to stay up late. We called it an early night. We’ve had pretty neat towel arrangements in our room every night but this night we had a really cool one. We think it’s a monkey.
Vacation Day 5 – September 10thToday, as always, we had an early start but our last trip excursion. Today we are (officially) in Cozumel, Mexico. We were scheduled for a Mayan Ruin tour. It was pretty extensive to get to the ruins. First we took a boat from our boat to get to the mainland from Cozumel. Then we took a bus to the ruins. We stopped briefly at a flea market type place for a restroom break and shopping opportunity. I bartered once again (the “sale” hunter in me loves negotiating prices) for a souvenir. This time I bought a letter open made from some special kind of cooled lava that changes colors in the light. I like it. This is me in a neat swing they had outside the flea market:
Back on to the bus, we travel for a bit more before we finally arrive at the Tulum Mayan Ruins. We piled out of the bus and into the hot (scorching!) sun to walk a half mile to the part entrance. All the tourists are dripping sweat by this time. Even me, who usually likes the heat, felt like a sticky sponge. I was so happy to make it to the park so we could walk around and get back to the air conditioned bus! The park was pretty cool. I liked this ruin’s park 100x better than the Chicheniza (sp?) ruins I saw a few years ago. There are many similarities as far as the ruins look but the Tulum park area was very well kept up and it was more like visiting a state park than some forgotten location locals charge an arm and a leg for people to see. We got some fantastic pictures of the ocean and some of the ruins. 
We also saw a lot of iguanas of various shapes and sizes while we were there. Mike had me nervous with one iguana (a small one) because he wanted a picture of it and the poor little iguana was nervous and stuck his tail up and looked mean. Mike still took his picture but at least he moved faster. 
We didn’t have a long time to walk around since our bus left at 3 but we made the most out of what time we had. Once back at the bus we had to repeat the steps we took to get there. Another long bus ride, boat ride but then we had an added taxi drive. We didn’t leave the port right away though. We went to a local Mexican restaurant and had delicious Mexican food. We bought a few things and took a few more pictures. I was super annoyed by how aggressive the salesmen/saleswomen are in the tourist shops. If you so much as glance their way or try to look at their products they are all over you! Thankfully we have had experience with that kind of thing from our last trip to Mexico so we did pretty good avoiding all of them. I know that’s totally common here but so far from our normal experience at a mall in Michigan. It was still a lot of fun, just an interesting experience!
Right now we’re hot, tired and so happy the excursions are over. Tonight we may catch the “Somewhere in Time” show at the theater and go to bed early. Tomorrow we’re at sea all day on our way back to Miami. We have a massage and dinner at the other specialty restaurant to look forward to. I’m planning to get some last minute sun exposure so people will know I went on vacation. Right now I’m much tanner than I was when I left but not nearly as much as I should be for traveling to the Caribbean! Plus, Mike wants his last chance to swim in the pools. He’s such a fish! 
No comments:
Post a Comment