Day 6:
Today was a big highlight of the trip, a visit to Chichén Itzá to see the Myan ruins. The first thing we had to do was get off the island of Cozumel where we had docked and get to the mainland. This required a ferry ride of about 45 minutes. Despite it being windy the sky was clear and the sun seemed relentless. There had been an announcement on the ship that some of the tours had been cancelled because of the weather but ours was still going ahead.
We were escorted through the town of Playa del Carmen. It looked fairly typical of what I imagine a Mexican resort is and it would have been good to shop for tat if we'd had time. One shop keeper shouted at me 'Senior I have big belly shirts'... Rude! But I still would have gone and had a look.
We finally got to our coach which turned out to be a well used mini bus. The seats were losing their padding and on the one I was sat on the padding at the front was going which meant it felt like you were constantly falling off. It was a 2 hour drive to Chichén Itzá and any thoughts of looking out of the window at the ever changing Mexican scenery was soon dashed. It was basically 2 hours of green, not even very interesting green. It also clouded over and started to rain, proper tropical rain and I hoped it would hold off for our visit because I only had a very thin shirt on. Arely, our tour guide, tried to fill the time by talking at us about the Myans. The only thing I can remember is that the Myan DNA originated from Mongolia. The rest of the lecture seemed to be trying to teach us the Myan counting system for some reason.
We eventually got to Chichén Itzá and the car park seemed very busy. Turns out that locals get free entry on a Sunday. I was starting to think that this was going to be another Trevi Fountain (ask Lyn). When we got off the coach there was a young girl who would do our Myan horoscopes while we looked around. As it was my birthday the following day we got dual ones done which would be ready for us after our visit. We then went into the site itself. Fortunately the site is so big that despite the numbers it never seemed overly crowded.
I'm not sure what I can tell you about Chichén Itzá, you can see what it is. I think it's great but I'm into that sort of thing. A better recommendation is the fact Lyn thought it was good. Here's a direct quote, 'I wasn't really looking forward to this but I'm so glad we came. It's amazing!". You can't get a better review then that. While it was cloudy it never rained. Our guide said she was a bit worried in the morning because if it had stayed sunny it may well have been too hot.
After our visit we went to a local restaurant for lunch which was part of the tour. This was a buffet and was actually quite good. Lyn wasn't that keen of course but she did try a few things. There was drumming and dancing going on from the local Myan's as well. I probably shouldn't mention this but they are tiny!
After lunch we then went through the compulsory attached gift shop. A man followed us around carrying a basket with the few bits and bobs we'd picked up and encouraging us to buy more over priced nonsense. At one point he said 'How about something for your housemaid?' completely misunderstanding who we are. I said 'That would be me and I'm good thanks.' Everything was in pesos so I wasn't sure how much stuff was. I paid with a card and then checked the account. In the end we spent £47 on practically nothing but as it goes to the local Myan community I think they’re entitled to rip Europeans off. I do like my paperweight though.
The weather seemed to be getting worse as we drove back with the wind picking up. The ferry crossing was definitely going to be rough. We got on and I thought there was a free seat with a table but it turned out the couple we'd been speaking to the previous night were sat there. They invited us to join them but we declined giving them the room and sat behind instead. We were chatting away telling each other what we'd been doing when an old couple got on and despite there being plenty of other seats asked to sit down with them. They said yes, then after they sat down they announced the bloke gets sea sick. He spent the entire journey puking into a bag. I would have been fucking furious! The chap who the old twat had sat next too spent the entire journey in silence looking out of the window probably trying not to think about how he'd like to drown the selfish git in his own puke bag. At least that's what I'd have been thinking about.
Day 7: Sea Day
Today was yet another sea day and my birthday. On ship they know if you have stuff like anniversaries and birthdays so the cabin staff arranged a little towel cake. I also got a card from the entertainment manager. I'm pretty sure when we were on a cruise ship for Lyn's birthday she got one from the Captain. They also left me with some balloons.
The truth is I slept away quite a lot of my birthday. Gone are the 'salad days' although the days of Jelly and Ice Cream may well make a come back as my teeth fall out and I loose the ability to chew. At one point we were sat in the bar and I woke and looked across to see that I was in a line with other snoozing old men. Sat next to all of us were our wives who were reading/knitting/checking pulses and working out what to spend the insurance money on. I'd like to point out that when I retired 6 years ago one of the goals I set myself was being able to fall asleep sat upright in a chair... Goal Achieved!
That evening we'd booked the Diners Club which is the poshest restaurant on the ship. We've eaten in this restaurant before and the menu looked very familiar. Talking to the staff they basically have just 2 menus which they alternate between every 6 months or so. The food is very nice and its only £35pp for a meal that would probably cost 3 times as much on land but at this point I was struggling to find something I'd not eaten before. This is now a big downside for us on Marella so instead I concentrated on one of the big upsides, the included alcohol and by the end of the meal felt a little tipsy.
We went to bed and I had probably the worst night I’ve ever had on a ship. There was a lot of movement and the alcohol probably didn't help. On one of the few occasions I actually managed to fall asleep I woke up shortly after calling for Lyn... because I’d dreamed that I'd just discovered some mould on the wall near my desk at home. Yep that's the kind of exciting dreams I have now.
Normally we’d be going home after a week but we have another one to go. Whoop! Whoop!
Happy birthday to you 🎂 🥳
From Terry!