Or not.

Sometime after 9 PM on Monday we got a call saying our excursion had been cancelled due to weather. Damn. We were both looking forward to that one. Celebrity did refund our money. At least I got the message before I fell asleep and was able to wake up Paul so we could reset our alarms, thus avoiding waking up at dark thirty for nothing. Yep, it was an early excursion, but we were hoping to get it done before the heat of the day set in. Ah, the best laid plans.

We decided to go ahead and disembark and see what horrors awaited us at the port.

At the end of the pier is Punta Langosta, which is the shopping area from which there is No Escape. We did manage to exit and tried to find a less "touristy" place to shop. Paul wanted a pair of sandals for the beach. How hard could that be? We stopped at a supermaket that I think we shopped at during our first trip to the city in 1999 or so. The prices were good, but there were no sandals that Paul really wanted. Picky? Not really. Neither or us particularly like flip-flops. Julie is a major klutz, so flip-flops are a disaster just waiting to happen. We went toward the downtown area, away from what we thought were the tourist traps, and then down a small side street to a warren of small shops.

Imagine Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Cozumel. We ended up in a dark shop operated by the local equivalent of Peter Lorre. We tried to negotiate a price on a pair of sandals, and every time we walked away he would say, "excuse me," in an ingratiating voice. Oh, fine. We finally got the price out of the stratosphere and then went to pay with a card so we'd get the best exchange rate. "Follow me," he said, and we went through a small passage with - I kid you not - nails sticking out of the wall to another shop where the terminal resided. We felt like we were being taken to the posh gambling establishment where we would find Sindey Greenstreet. There was a woman there who kept trying to sell Julie on some handmade goods I didn't want or need. Every time she turned away the woman would say, "excuse me," in the same ingratiating tone. Okay, it was an adventure. And the sandals would be useful in a few days.

Cozumel (or at least the part closest to the coast) is just one big long trail of barkers and buskers. You can't walk five feet without being impored to take an island tour, buy souvenirs, or having costmetics samples pushed upon you. Yes, it's part and parcel of the tourist trade, and these people have to make a living. We still remember being there in 1999 or so when it was far less crowded. We could also go a couple of blocks off the main street and find good food at good prices.

Speaking of food, we ended up at a place called The Thirsty Cougar where the signature drink was a frozen margarita that had to be seen to be believed. Fortunately, we took pictures. See above. For all that it was pretty watered down. The food was okay.

We decided we'd had enough of Cozumel and that it might be a good idea to go an board and take advantage of a less crowded ship. We hung out by the pool, which was nice until it was time for the perky cruise director to annoounce another game. Sigh.

However, we found another spot and the rest of the afternoon seemed more like the cruise we were hoping for - sitting around sipping cold drinks and reading. That was nice. We finally changed clothes and went to the buffet for afternoon tea to hold us over until an early dinner, after which we attended the magic show in the theater.

Day 4? Grand Cayman Island. We hope the tenders will be running.

 

(Go to the next day)