My Thoughts on Cruising

 This will be the last post about our vacation. It was such a wonderful change from the cold and snow that is now limiting our outside time! My brother Andrew organized the family event, and our group was 16 in total. We chose a family-friendly ship, complete with waterslides. After we boarded, it was one of the first things we visited. They had three different sizes of waterslides, from Desert Girl's size, to medium, to really large. And Desert Boy was just tall enough at 42 inches to meet the height requirements, which made him so happy.


I never could figure out how to go fast down the yellow slide, but one of my brothers and sisters-in-law could really whoosh down it. (Thanks to various family members for this photo and several of the following ones.) I was intending to perfect my technique on the At Sea day, but it turned out that it was so windy that day they had the big slide closed.

Here was the view from the tall water slide stairs towards the front of the ship. We were on a five-day four-night itinerary, leaving the afternoon of the first day, spending time in Key West the second day, Cozumel the third day, at sea the fourth day, and returning to port at 8 am the morning of the fifth day.

 We left the port of Miami at 4 p.m., and it was interesting seeing all the tall buildings. I can't imagine what it's like in hurricane season!

 We had two U.S. Coast Guard boats accompany us down the channel, with a guy at a machine gun on each. It was different.


The sun was setting as we left the port, and my brother Ed captured the above photo, with a second cruise ship following us away from the city.

One of the main reasons people go on cruises is to eat, and we quickly found our way to the food.

 Desert Girl discovered her love for butter--with a little bread to go along with it. She got to put her own butter on her roll, and some meals didn't consist of much more than that for her.

 In addition to three meals a day available in the formal dining room, there was also a main buffet and several other places to eat. And in case you're hungry at some strange time, pizza and ice cream were available 24 hours a day. Desert Boy ate ice cream four times one day and thought he was in heaven.

 Croissants need a little extra butter, right?

 The ship had a mini golf course, but both times we used it the wind was blowing so hard that it was really hard to play.

 The kids thought it was great fun anyway.

 We went to a variety of shows, such as comedy and singing and dancing. We had some members of our group chosen to go up on stage for a couple of the shows, which made it extra fun to watch.

 One event we went to was towel folding. You may see fancy-folded towels if you come visit us!

 Desert Boy and Desert Girl both enjoyed Camp Carnival. Desert Boy went several times and came back with various projects, including some sand art and a t-shirt he colored. Desert Girl's favorite was a crown she got so that she could be a princess.

 The upper berth became a hangout space. Some of the rooms can technically hold up to five people, but I'd say that would be crowded. We managed fine with two adults and two little kids in our room.

 We all liked hanging out at the back of the ship, where the wind wasn't as strong and we could relax and look at the seemingly endless ocean.

 A collection of towel animals. The service throughout the ship was attentive and polite.

 Desert Girl giving her towel bear a hug.

 I would have liked to have spent more time in Cozumel, but overall the cruising experience was pleasant. We got to have lots of family time and had a variety of activities. I probably wouldn't do it every year, but I'd consider it again in a few years. One of the best parts of the trip was relaxing in warm weather--I so much enjoyed outside time with family when I knew it was so cold back home. We might have to find another warm destination for next winter!

Christmas Nativity Play

 The kids were able to participate in the annual Nativity play this year, something my budding actors really enjoy. This year Desert Girl was an angel and Desert Boy was the innkeeper/priest. I managed to get them to stand together before the start so I could get a photo.

 Then Desert Girl promptly went and tickled her cousin, who was trying to get in a quick nap on shepherd's hill.

 The play is led by the magnificent Sharon, who manages to pull the whole production together despite kids missing practices, limited rehearsal time, and difficulties learning lines. I'm amazed at how she does it all. Thanks, Sharon!!

 After a quick run through of the songs with the piano, it was time to take their places.

 The angels crack me up every year, and this time was no exception.

 They sit center stage for most of the production, and it's just a little hard to sit still and look angelic that whole time.

 Hmmm...

 The audience got a good laugh when an obviously pregnant Mary came out to announce to Joseph that she was with child. Where had he been that he hadn't noticed?

 Soon Mary and Joseph were looking for a room, and the Innkeeper told them loudly, "All my rooms are full!" Desert Boy really got into his part and said his lines with a lot of emotion. He always learns his lines faster than I do.

 Then the baby was born and wrapped in swaddling cloths.

 Meanwhile the shepherds out on shepherd hill were learning the exciting news.

 The angels went over too, and one little angel couldn't help but give a look at her shepherd friend.

 Before long, Three Wise Men were on their way to the Newborn King, with a stop at King Herod's palace, with the guard and priest in attendance. The size discrepancy made the Three Wise Men seem even more impressive!

 The angels were still up on center stage, and Desert Girl was having a mighty hard time sitting still.

 I'm not sure what she was looking at, but it had to be interesting.

 It was almost See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil!

 The older angels were cracking up.

 Then it was time for the grand finale, Joy to the World, and bows. Well done!

 Isaac and Desert Girl were mighty proud of themselves.

It was a really enjoyable production. Again, I don't know how Sharon manages to do such a good job with such limited time. We're so grateful she organizes it, as the kids have such a good time and it is so fun watching them.

Following the play, we attended the candlelight service, which was beautiful and helped us get ready to celebrate Christ's birthday and the bringing of light into the world.

Merry Christmas!

Maya Lands: A Trip to Cozumel

 I figured it might be apropos to do a post that had a Mayan connection on this 21st day of December in 2012. It so happened that about ten days ago I was in Cozumel, Mexico, the main destination of our cruise. I was so excited to get there. The water was an amazing blue color that I've never seen before.

 In the distance we could see buildings and monuments of Cozumel island, which is the largest island in Mexico. It is a bit south of Cancun, located offshore of the Yucatan Peninsula.

 It was a stormy day, but that didn't deter us from our plans: to go snorkeling.

 We waited in line to get off the cruise ship, then hurriedly walked down the pier, through the little fake village of shops, and to the taxi stand. They didn't have a sign as to where you could get out of the village, and I think the cruise companies kind of hope that people will stay there.

When we got to the taxis, we were the only cruisers there. We had one guy try and talk us into going to a beach to the north, but we had decided we really wanted to go to Parque Nacional Chankanaab, located a few kilometers south of the pier. Our taxi driver also tried to get us to change our minds, but we decided no. Chankanaab charges $21 a person to enter, which includes several attractions, as you will see if you keep reading this rather long post.

 Desert Girl was wearing her princess crown, and she was a sleeping beauty, lulled to sleep by the short taxi ride.

 The entrance to the park was quite nice.

 We quickly got to see some of the local fauna.

 We really wanted to get to the beach. We found a nice chair and parked our worn-out princess. Then it was time for most of our group to go snorkeling.

 Desert Boy really wanted to climb a tree and get a coconut, but he never quite achieved that.
I had read that much of the sand at Chankanaab had been imported. Beaches in Cozumel tend to be either rocky with good snorkeling or sandy with poor snorkeling. Chankanaab had solved that problem by bringing in sand to its rocky shores and appealing to everyone.

 It was very easy to get to the water, and the visibility was very good, at least by our standards (and much better than Key West, where we had snorkeled the day before).

 Fish were everywhere! It was so cool to watch them swimming, feeding, and sometimes hiding.

 I don't know what the fish were, even though I had a tropical fish book. I still need to look them up!

 The snorkeling area was quite large. Further down the beach they had scuba diving, but none of us came prepared for that.

 When Desert Girl woke up, she was ready to play on one of the hammocks. It was mid-afternoon and not very busy, possibly because of the storms.

 Our admission fee included a sea lion show.

 The sea lions were very well trained.

 Desert Boy and Desert Girl each got a special kiss at the end of the show.

We also saw dolphins. One of the main attractions at the park is to swim with the dolphins. We didn't feel the need to do that. Supposedly they also have manatees, but we never could find them.

 It started raining hard, and the waves got kind of big, so most of our group went in search of the crocodiles. They looked a little scary. Then we ended up on a trail to see some archeological finds.

 Desert Girl was not too sure of being in such a downpour. It was a little chilly, but as long as we kept walking, we were fine.

 Along the trail they had replicas from many cultures from all over Mexico. We didn't really read much as we were trying to stay warm and find our way through. They had lights by some of the statues, and it would be really cool to go through there are night.

 We were surprised to come to a little temple. As we looked at it, we noticed a pair of glowing eyes inside it. We had been talking about monkeys, so at first we thought it might be one. It also sort of looked like an owl. We decided the best way to find out what it was would be to take a photo.

 The flash revealed a cat taking refuge from the rain inside. Well, not too exciting, so we kept going.

 The kids found a small turtle in a puddle and were enthralled by it.

 When we got back to the beach (skipping the tequila tasting section of the park), the rain had slowed, so we snorkeled some more. The kids played in a really nice freshwater pool. Then it was dark, and we were the last tourists out of the park.

We debated whether we should go back to the ship or not and decided to make the most of our time in Mexico and go see the downtown area. We had no problem getting a taxi, and our taxi driver enjoyed a conversation in Spanish with Desert Boy. He let us off at the central plaza.

 Desert Girl was ready to party it up.

 They had some nice Christmas lights up. It also appeared that they have a small carousel and a trampoline that parents can pay for during the day. We didn't mention those to the kids. Instead, we plied them with an all-time favorite: churros.

 Yum. Who can resist some sugary fried dough?

 We wandered down the pedestrian streets (so nice not to worry about traffic!). One English-speaking lady told my sister-in-law that Cozumel had changed a lot in the last decade. More and more cruise ships come, so the area has developed a much larger shopping district. One cab driver said about 25 ships come each week. Only one other ship was in port the day we arrived, and it left at 5:30 pm, so we found very few tourists wandering with us.

 We found a simple church. It was the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a huge religious holiday in Mexico. However, the big celebration was the night before, as they had a procession around the island that culminated with a midnight mass. One senora that left the church told me that the six o'clock mass was just ending and that there would be another at eight o'clock.

 We found a little cafe and ordered some tamales. They were huge!

 As we wandered, we passed this mural, which I found extremely touching. It shows the native flora and fauna and is entitled: Los veradaderos islenos/Our real islanders. It is so great to see that the people who live there realize that they are not the only inhabitants, that many other species share the island with them. This mural really grabbed me, and I wish I had taken more photos of it so I could see it even better.

 We wandered by many shops, most selling trinkets. When we went by the boot store, the bored shopkeeepers let us take a photo of Desert Boy in the big boot.

 Desert Girl tried on a hat.

 At Mr. Chile's, we found a bar with swings as seats. The owner encouraged us to take a few photos.

 If we had more time, I would have loved to have had a drink or two there. It looked like so much fun!

 Eventually we got tired of wandering and got a taxi back to the cruise village. We ambled through and back to the ship. It had been a good day in Mexico, and I didn't really want to leave. I could easily spend more time in Cozumel.

And in case you're wondering, I didn't get any strange vibes that the world was going to end or that Mayans were going to rise up and reconquer the island. But maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention. We'll see what happens...