On Saturday, February 10, I left Austin on a party bus and returned Saturday, February 17. In between those two dates were many fun-filled days of delicious food, good friendship, and lots of entertainment.
Saturday, February 10: Sailaway Party with lively music, dancing, congo line, BBQ, and drinking out on the deck. Met up with friends for dinner at the Terrace. Wandered around the pool, bar, and lounge listening to music and enjoying the entertainment.
Sunday, February 11: Enjoyed an incredible breakfast, lecture on Mayan Astronomy, cheered on a friend in the Mr. Sexy Legs Contest, delicious lunch, worked on a tan, great singing and dancing in show called “Rock this Town", dressed up for dinner, then went to the Observatory for songs of Neil Diamond.
Monday, February 12: This food is wonderful! Watermelons are carved out like swans, beautiful presentation. Did not get off the ship at Progreso. Instead, visited with friends, worked on tan, ate more food, and went to the Sock Hop.
Tuesday, February 13: Stuffed myself with a huge breakfast, boarded the tender to Cozumel. Spent a couple of hours on the beach snorkeling, drinking, eating, and getting sunburned. Then followed Diana around as she wore out her credit card buying jewelry. Returned to the ship around 5:30 and got ready for dinner. I’m running out of adjectives to describe the many choices of food, how delicious it tasted, the beautiful presentation of the meal, and the wonderful staff that waited on us. Tonights show was “Country Gold”.
Wednesday, February 14: Today we went to Belize. It felt like we were stepping back in time. Belize is peaceful, with a beautiful coastline and lush forests. It is primarily English speaking happy people in spite of their poverty. We took a bus ride on a rickety bus that started filling with smoke at one point. Another time, a lot of clanking came from underneath, and the driver pulled over, then the tour guide kicked and beat around on something, maybe the exhaust pipe, then off we went again. We rode for an hour in that unreliable bus, then hiked for about an hour through a jungle at Jaguar Paw, then jumped in the water and floated around on inner tubes in a long cave for about an hour. That was so serene. We had to wear headlamps on our head so we could see in that dark cave, where intricate crystalline formations line the cave, stalagmites poking up and stalactites dripping down from the ceiling. Afterwards we enjoyed a meal of their local food, cooked in a very rustic environment, served up with big smiles. Beans and rice are fine, but when cooked in coconut milk, it was delicious! The chicken was grilled with a pepper sauce, and coleslaw was a combination of cabbage, carrots, raisins, pineapple and a sweet dressing. There I bought a bottle of cashew wine, and the local told me it was good for two buzzes • one when you drank it and another buzz the next day when you went out in the sun. I have not yet tested this, but was so intrigued by a wine made of nuts, I had to buy a bottle. After we got back to the ship, I freshened up and put on my prettiest red dress (since it was Valentine’s Day) and enjoyed a lovely dinner with my girlfriends. We could not decide between Beef Wellington or the lobster, so we ordered both! The show tonight was Jane Powell, the Chocolate Goddess of Love. Great rhythm and blues.
Thursday, February 15: Slowed down some today, shopping, finally checking e-mail, and enjoyed their show of “Sea Legs at Sea”. Had a nice diner with friends and saw the late night comedy show of Tony Daro.
Friday, February 16: I’ve decided that when I am old, I will not go to a retirement home, I will just live on a cruise ship! I hated to pack my bags because it meant this vacation was coming to an end.
Saturday, February 17: Enjoyed a long leisurely breakfast since I was in the last group to disembark the ship. We boarded our party bus and returned to Austin. Diana came over and we sorted out some pictures and I put mine in an album, and we relived a lot of our activities as we handled each picture. What a wonderful vacation!
