2015 Mexico – Cozumel
7th January 2015
Our first port of call was Cozumel, a small island off Mexico but we wouldn’t spend any time there as we had booked a tour of the Xcarat Theme Park on the Mainland. I had read some reviews of the tour that said it was good but a 40-minute boat ride to Playa Del Carmen in rough seas. We told ourselves the reviewers must have been unlucky and that it would be calmer when we went. It wasn’t. Ten minutes after leaving the shore the crew were walking around handing out sick bags and by the time we arrived, at least half the passengers had turned forty shades of green. Federika and I were good sailors so we weren’t affected but we found it uncomfortable being thrown around so we ended up hanging on to a pole most of the time. The worst of it was knowing that we had to repeat the performance on the way back. The tour guide told us because of the various currents and winds in that area the sea was like that every day of the year.
On the mainland, we were led to a multi-coloured bus which took us to the theme park. Our guide talked us through everything which started with what they called a “river swim” but was more of a drift than a swim. It was all very well organised. We put our belongings into a locked bag and were told it would be taken to the end of the river ready for us to collect when we arrived. We were given life jackets and told we had to wear them which seemed a bit over the top as the river was only a couple of meters wide and full of people so even a bad swimmer would struggle to drown in those conditions. We were led to a starting point which looked like Piccadilly Circus at Christmas time but as we floated down the river it thinned out. 
There were three routes to choose from. One was completely inside a tunnel; one was half in a tunnel and half in the open and the other was completely in the open. We were advised to take the one that was only half a tunnel which was good advice. The tunnel bits were interesting for those who were really into darkness with the occasional glimpse of rock walls. It wasn’t until we got to the open bits that there was anything to see and that was excellent. I found it uncomfortable swimming breaststroke with the life jacket on so I started doing backstroke which resulted in some head-on collisions with cave walls. It took about 45 minutes in all and was very enjoyable.
We then strolled around the park which included areas where there were turtles, dolphins, sharks and various other creatures. There were also some Mayan ruins but nothing to get excited about. We went to one section at the far end of the park which had some hammocks that I had heard calling to me. After a very satisfying nap, we went to say hello to some parrots waiting patiently in a corner. They looked so cute they were just asking to be stroked. Federika got close to one and wanted to touch it but the parrot kept trying to nip her. Getting braver, Federika leant on the perch with her elbow and in a flash, the second parrot ran across and grabbed her arm with its beak and wouldn’t let go. I didn’t know what to do. In all those years of karate training we didn’t have a single lesson on defending ourselves against parrots. It hung on for a few seconds and eventually let go when Federika swore at it in Spanish. It left a bite mark with a speck of blood on Federika’s arm so it was an official parrot attack.
As we left the area a man at a kiosk asked us:
“Would you like to have your photograph taken with our Parrot?”
“But your parrot just bit me. They’re dangerous!” said Federika
“Not our parrots. They are perfectly safe.”
“Then what is this then?” asked Federika showing him her arm
“Where were the parrots?” he asked looking confused.
“Around the corner there.”
“Ah those are not our parrots; they belong to the hotel next door.”
I had to laugh as it was straight out of a scene from one of the Peter Sellers Pink Panther films except it was about a dog.
We would have liked to have swum with the dolphins and various other fishy things but a problem with cruise excursions was there was never enough time on shore so we had to leave and find our tour guide. Thankfully the return boat journey was nowhere near as rough and we were soon back on the boat after a long and very tiring day which started at 6 a.m.
That evening at dinner, Clive and Sue had already warned us they were going to the steak restaurant so we would be alone with Victor and Margaret but they were pleasant enough. Margaret was very friendly but she had dementia. She spent ages studying the many choices on the menu and when the waiter came to order she had forgotten what she wanted. We learned to go through the order beforehand with her so we could order for her when the time came and Victor was relieved to have someone take over from him even if only for a short while. It was an awkward dinner as we had a choice of talking to Victor who was quite deaf or Margaret whose hearing was good but couldn’t understand a word we said. I must say we got quite fond of them during the week and discovered that they were staying on the ship for three cruises. Despite being 91 years old, Victor had to care for his wife most of the time so being on a cruise meant everything was done for them which gave him a welcomed rest.
2015 Caribbean Cruise
