Curve contributor Jenny Block shares her adventures from Olivia’s 20th Anniversary Western Caribbean cruise.
Well, I didn’t make it back to my favorite chair today. Why? Well, I’ll tell you—because we did a lot of walking yesterday. A heck of a lot. And so now I write to you from my bed because my legs are too sore to even drag myself to the Explorer lounge! Of course, it’s not a bad place to be.
Olivia chartered a Holland America ship for this cruise, the ms Ryndam, and it has some comfy beds. So we called in for room service this morning and while my girl is at Total Fitness Class, I thought I’d catch up with you. The curtains are flung open, the sun is streaming in (thank goodness!), and I can see Belize in the distance. But yesterday was all about Cozumel.
It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day when we got off the ship. We quickly worked our way through the terminal shops and then grabbed a cab downtown. We paid $7 for four people.
Downtown Cozumel looks like a lot of other little Mexican port cities. There were lots of shops and restaurants and people inviting us into their shops to “Buy something nice for our boyfriends,” which we told them was not on our to-do list.
We had yummy tacos at a place called Viva Mexico. It was located over a shop by the same name and had terrific steak tacos and fish tacos dressed with a delicious, fresh pico. The waiter very generously allowed me to practice my Spanish and he and my girl laughed as I ordered a mug, instead of a glass, full of ice.
After we had lunch we wandered into the cutest jewelry store called Tanya Moss, where my girl bought us matching silver rings with heart cut-outs in them. Jemma isn’t usually into hearts, but these were so mod, even she couldn’t resist.
We decided to head back to the ship on foot, thinking how far can it be. Far, I tell you. But once we started walking, we decided to finish the five (or more) mile walk despite it being way more than I bargained for.
It was hot. But it was so pretty walking down the sidewalk, which runs parallel to the beach filled with crashing waves that afternoon. I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction as we walked with my sundress blowing up to my waist so many times that I finally decided just to pretend I didn’t notice.
We stopped to get sno cones for the walk back and were so grateful we did, an icy beverage was a true necessity that day. I had a nice, boring root beer one. But my crazy girlfriend opted for the Mexican favorite chamoyada, which was strawberry sno cone drenched in sour plum sauce and sprinkled with chili powder. Sounded like a nightmare to me. But she loved it.
We were so beat (and hot) after our walk we jumped right into the ship’s pool after our walk. It was perfect timing too because they were just setting up Mayan BBQ. Our formal dinnertime was hours away so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to indulge just a little locale fare. Ribs and chicken and steak and a million sides were served and we were glad we had had such good timing.
Finally, we made it back to our rooms to get ready for the show and dinner. We had a really nice dinner with Dipstick. She is so smart and so funny. We’re hoping to get to spend more time with her before the week is out.
After dinner, we made our way to the theater. Julie Goldman did the intro that night for a hilarious show with Dana Goldman. She is so funny and nothing is off limits. I had finally recovered from Vickie Shaw. But after seeing Dana performing, my sides were splitting once again.
It was a late night by the time Dana was through and Jemma and I managed only to pre-order our breakfast before falling fast asleep, excited knowing that we would awake in Belize the next morning.
Hope you have a sunny day, whatever the weather,
Jenny Block