| � | |
|
Day Three - Cozumel, Mexico the overnight trip here was very rough. we cross the gulf of mexico through rain showers that roughen the seas & cause us to bob & weave all night. at least we have a �cheep� suite so we are close to the water. (the higher up on the boat, the more you bob & weave. cruse ship math: the more costly the cabin = the more sea sick you will get. lets hear it for the cheep rooms) we arrive to a hot & sunny morning. the day looks promising & i am cautiously optimistic. breakfast cattle call & then we bring the boy to the kid�s area of the ship. now, for all my bitching about the trip, i cannot say enough good things about Royal Caribbean�s kid�s program Adventure Ocean. the boy was a bit shy when we went to look at it the night before, but he took to it like a fish to water. it is a contained area on the upper part of the ship just for kids. there is a wonderful staff & each day has a theme with activities. (this will lead to the kids, dressed as pirates, storming the dining room later in the week. but i digress�) after a quiet morning & lunch we head into cozumel. cozumel is an island off the coast of mexico billed as a great tourist spot. but like so many places, cozumel is a place ruled by desperation. desperately poor people doing what they can to survive, making a living on the over-feed tourists wandering the crowded streets & shops. this is a town based in selling mementos & trinkets, alcohol & a false culture, smiling through gritted teeth just to make a buck (preferably american) we take a taxi downtown, nothing more than a long stretch of shops & bars facing the sea. narrow sidewalks are crowded with barkers trying everything to get you to spend money in their shop. (one jewelry store had six barkers for twelve feet of storefront) we end up having to crossing the street & sit on the sea wall just to have a smoke. the shops themselves start to blend together after the first three or four. variations on a theme, a hodge-podge of central & south american cultures jumbled together in the hopes of a sale. aztec & mayan, mexico & brazil, whatever the tourists want they will have. (or at least something they can convince the tourists they want) this is history & culture ripped from context, coated in gold & silver & sold to the pasty white couple from georga. after an hour we are tired & overwhelmed. we have made a point of stopping at shops that don�t have barkers outside &, having exhausted the supply, decide to start making our way back. another taxi ride & we return to the floating vegas. the evening is quiet as the ship heads out of port. the contrasts today have been jarring. the beauty of the clear water set against storefronts selling silver & cheep smokes. schools of fish flashing in the waves, fed by the man who runs the discount prescription drug kiosk next to the duty free shop. i watch the moonrise over the sea & try to make sense of what is around me. another restless night looms as i head below decks to my cabin. |
|