Day four was our first day in a port and off the ship so we took a whole lot more photos, I tried to choose a nice smattering for you. On this day we were in Cozumel, Mexico. As we were traversing the many waters to get to Cozumel, I started thinking how we were traveling to another country and how they probably didn't speak English there but that it would be ok because I had gone to China just a couple of months ago and they didn't speak English either and it all worked out. My next realization though was that while in China I was traveling with someone who could speak Mandarin and he translated for us if needed and that I would feel a lot better if we had someone who could translate for us. It was at this time I remembered/realized, "Wait a minute! I speak Spanish! I can translate!" Yeah, I can be a little slow sometimes, but my Spanish did come in handy a few times.
That morning, we had perfect timing for breakfast as we were early enough to get ourselves ready and also beat the rest of the ship to the buffet lines. After eating, we went back to our room to get sunblocked up and gather a few things. Our excursion for the day to the Mayan ruins of Tulum was planned through Carnival as all of the private tour guides were charging the same amount so we figured to go with a guarantee. We met up with our group on the ship in the Firebird Lounge where we got our special stickers saying we got to leave the ship first. OUr bags were checked to make sure we weren't bringing any food/fruit with us. As soon as we got off the ship we headed for a smaller boat/ferry to take us to the mainland. Colette and I really only spent about ten or fifteen minutes in Cozumel, maybe I'll go back and actually spend some time in Cozumel. Once on the ferry, we found our new friends from dinner the night before. The ride over was very pleasant. At one point, we all saw evidence of a joke in the making as the bathroom light wasn't working so a lightbulb had to be changed and apparently they were having difficulty with the task. So if anyone ever asks you how many Mexicans it takes to change a lightbulb, the answer is apparently four. The ferry took us to a town called Playa del Carmen. The water was beautiful and the beaches were too.
After the ferry, we got on a bus where our tour guide, Lily, started telling us a bit about the area and the Mayan culture. On the drive to the ruins, we stopped at a large gift shop where we were given time to take a look around and maybe buy a few items. Everything had the price in both pesos and US dollars. We finally arrived at the ruins. Tulum was a fortress by the sea that was used as a trading post/town. There were a lot of structures to see and walk around but we couldn't climb any.
There were iguanas all over the place.
The main temple where it is believed human sacrifices were made.
The fortress of Tulum was located on the coast. We went down some stairs that took us to a small beach area. This beach is listed as one of the world's top five most beautiful beaches. We decided not to swim but we did stick our feet in the water and enjoy the scenery for awhile.
After the beach, we decided to get out of the sun as Colette's eye was still bugging her so we wandered around a few of the shops in the area. We found all of the shops with air conditioning. I looked for a silver charm to add to my charm bracelet of travels, I found one that looked really neat and would have been perfect except it was Aztec instead of Mayan so I didn't buy it. I did buy a postcard for a co-worker though. We met back at the bus where we were given a cold towel and a snack (a chocolate cookie and a bag of potato chips that tasted more like french fries). The bus ride and ferry back were very relaxing. We didn't have any time after we got back so we had to head straight to the ship.
Proof that I was in Mexico.
Once we got back to our room, we showered and then got ready for dinner since we really didn't have a lunch. We sat with new people for dinner, but they weren't nearly as fun as our friends from before. The dessert also wasn't that amazing either. In the dining room we noticed that the ship wasn't having water as smooth as the previous day. I thought it was pretty funny when we were walking out of the dining room and everyone in front of me all walked to the right and then back to the left in unison with the rocking and swaying of the ship. It was like we were all drunk and a bit tipsy (don't worry, we weren't in fact I don't think any of the drunkards would have been able to stay standing with all that movement).
That night was a family friendly comedy show so we watched it. On the way out, we ran into the two fun couples from dinner the night before. We chatted again and told each other about our excursions that day. They also checked in on Colette and her eye, they were very motherly to us (it was kinda nice). Colette and I went back to our room for a bit and chatted, had a bit of a impromptu devotional/discussion on faith. The big show of the night on the ship was another comedian. We went but he just wasn't very funny and sometimes inappropriate so we left and went to bed.
Towel creature of the night--I believe it's an ostrich
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