Celebrity Equinox Cruise: December 14-21 THE FINAL SEGMENT

Like all good things, the beginning of the end of the cruise began after we left Cozumel. We were at sea the next day and I imagine most people were doing their best not to think about the impending return to reality. My wife and I staked an early claim to a couple of lounge chairs in the Solarium to read and relax. The seas that had been extremely rough the day before were still particularly bad with the water in the Solarium pool sloshing back and forth as the ship rolled through the waves.

After several days of hanging out in the Solarium with all the blue-hair old folks, part of me wanted to head outside and get involved with the younger crowd. I was really enjoying all the quiet but after several days of it, part of me wanted something more lively in the way of stimulus. I did try to join the younger crowd but quickly rejoined the blue-hairs once realizing out out of water I felt.

The final stop on the trip was Grand Cayman. While there is nothing wrong with Grand Cayman we've explored the place on previous trips and found it a bit of a tourist trap. The Equinox almost cancelled its visit on our trip because of the lingering storm. There are no port facilities on Grand Cayman forcing visiting cruise ships to anchor offshore, from there small boats ferry people to the island and back. Because we stayed on the ship here are a couple of pictures from previous cruises.

This is a small segment of Seven Mile Beach. It's a party place typically catering to young folks without kids. Going back to my dilemma of not being comfortable with the blue-hairs while being unable to keep up with the younger folks is part of the reason I stayed on the ship.     

On the previous visits, the standard tourist spots like Buffett's Margaritaville was overflowing with Americans making them unattractive to me. My wife, daughter, and I hit this local spot and had a fantastic lunch with a genuine Caribbean atmosphere.   

After leaving Grand Cayman the final night on the ship was filled with activities. This one was called "Silent Disco" where the participants wear headphones that provide three channels of music. The idea being that it allows people to dance to literally their own music. It was a bit freaky, but I found it quite fun.

Yes, I did dance that night with my music being the stuff on the Latin channel. 

The part I miss most is the buffet. Especially early in the morning when most of the other passengers were still asleep. 

  This is the final installment of these posts. For the longest time I wondered just what would be the last picture. I thought about posting one of the ship terminal with thousands of people either scrambling to get off the boats or begin their journeys. If you remember, I hated Fort Lauderdale and decided not to go that route.

So the last picture of the cruise is of a platter filled with bacon. Right now my wife is planning another cruise for 2021. Unfortunately, wifey is talking about taking her sister on a North Sea cruise that would include a trip into the Baltic and a stop at Saint Petersburg. Me going to Russia just ain't going to work for a whole bunch of reasons. 

Celebrity Equinox Cruise: December 14-21 PART FIVE

For me the best part of the trip was visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum, a recognized World Heritage site facing the Caribbean Sea. The trouble was that getting to Tulum was a bit of an adventure since the Celebrity Equinox docked on the the island of Cozumel.

The seas were already rough as we pulled up to the docks on Cozumel with the ship you see already tied up. There was a second cruise ship in the immediate area that for some reason that had anchored nearby instead of docking. Scuttlebutt among the experienced travelers was that both of these ships were based in Europe and that do regular transatlantic runs. That's what you get when you live in countries were bosses and management don't think of worker vacations as infringements on their rights to squeeze every damn cent of profit out of their employees.  

To get to the ruins we had to board a ferry to the mainland, which involved us doing the kindergarten-like walk from the Equinox to the smaller vessel. The Mein Schiff 1 you see in the picture was a beautiful ship and I would have loved to see the insides if it was possible. Ignore the drop dead gorgeous blonde in the picture. Yeah, the guy in the orange shirt knew I was checking out the blonde crew member of the Mein Schiff 1. On a side note, there are a whole series of cruise ships carrying the Mein Schiff name, you would think a premiere cruise line could cough up some euros for better, more original names.  

This is the ferry that took us to the Mexican mainland and brought us back. I give the locals that crewed it the highest marks in professionalism and seamanship. The only problem I had was with the weather conditions that made the trip to the mainland difficult and damn near intolerable returning. I didn't get seasick going out but the rough seas coming back to Cozumel had me dry heaving into a plastic bag. In fact, coming back to Cozumel the crew had to stop the boat twice to check its condition after something outside came loose. By that time, I was French kissing the barf bag and going through my first flop sweat in years. It got so bad my wife was worried my heart might go bonkers. It didn't and fifteen minutes after we finally got back to the docks I was back to my usual abnormal.     

Not exactly sure why I took this picture or included it in this post.

This was the stairway leading up to the entrance to the ruins. Had a fine collection of people from North America and Europe. All during the time I heard French, German, Spanish, and what I think was Dutch I wanted to scream out that I was an American that hated trump. I resisted, mainly because my wife would have probably slapped me across the back of the head.

The entrance to the ruined city. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Mayans. It reached it peak between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive for around 70 years after the Spanish began their occupation of what would become Mexico. 

As you might be able to guess, the diseases brought by Spanish colonization resulted in significant moralities among the native population. This disrupted Tulum's society eventually causing the city to be abandoned.  

I first found out about Tulum years ago from watching a documentary on the Mayans. Further research on my part turned up beautiful, sunny, and clear pictures highlighting the green of the vegetation, the light blue of the sky, and the dark blue of the ocean, along with white fluffy clouds. On the day of our visit it was cloudy and rainy throwing off my ability to take a decent picture.  

THis was our tour guide who said his name was Jesus. He was extremely knowledge on the Mayan civilization and took excellent care of his spoiled norteamericano guests. That being said, I got a heavy vibe that he didn't like me. Part of that may have come from the army surplus booney hat I was wearing as well as my camouflage backpack. It wouldn't be the first time that the stink of the "Ugly American" caused me an issue with citizens from other nations. I'm tall, Caucasian, and pretty much a poster child for white American privilege even though I try not to be a dick.     

Too many similar pictures, yeah I know. Was trying to get one to be decent given the conditions and my lack of talent.

I believe I snapped about ten of these while playing with the preset filters on my camera.

One of the current locals at Tulum. He seemed wholly unimpressed with everyone. 

Not sure, since I never could get the tour guide's attention to ask a question, but I guess this was a well.

Probably the best picture out of the bunch. You can actually see some blue sky.

Really wasn't up to spending hours researching the use of the different buildings. Time at the ruins was incredibly limited since the ship had to leave later that afternoon.

By this point the tour guide had broken us into two groups, one that went straight back to the shops and the other which stayed to take more pictures. I stayed to take more pictures and didn't get a chance to prowl all the neat souvenirs.

I did get to the cliff face to snap a bunch of pictures there. No, I didn't get the sunny skies or crystal clear waters like I have seen in magazines. But at least I can say I have seen one of the most remarkable sites on Earth. 

And in the space of a few minutes the clouds came back in and made taking pictures difficult.

Clouds rolled out again but by this time I was down to about 10 minutes before I had to race back to the bus.

The path leading out of the city.

Our next stop was a beach resort that was supposed to be a place to relax and swim. Except the weather had turned bad again with it raining steadily. We got our meal, great local seafood, but no one wanted to go swimming in the rain.

Not sure if this is a real fishing boat or a decoration.

I didn't go swimming but I did take a long walk on the beach. My wife stayed under the shelter drinking coffee.

After the nightmare return trip to Cozumel, the Equinox soon departed for Grand Cayman. As we were heading out I caught sight of one of the Disney ships heading into Cozumel. By this time of the cruise I was perfectly happy with Celebrity Cruise Lines and didn't miss Mickey at all.

Celebrity Equinox Cruise: December 14-21 PART FOUR

    After a peaceful day at sea our next stop was Costa Maya, a stretch of Mexican coast on the eastern Yucatan Peninsula. As usual I was up way before my wife roaming the ship taking pictures. There was a fairly cool wind blowing as I snapped this picture of the sunrise. It felt awesome!  

    The nearby village of Mahahual is a popular cruise ship port with beaches and beautiful coral reefs. My wife and I didn't leave the ship that day instead we laid out at the indoor pool. Hindsight being what it is, that was a mistake since there were two biosphere reserves in the area.
     As I was strolling the decks that morning, I noticed a strange building off in the distance. But since the sun wasn't fully up and the haze in the air, I couldn't really tell its purpose. 

    This massive structure at first looked like a Mayan pyramid sticking out from the surrounding jungle. You would not believe the numbers of pictures I took of what I thought was a Mayan ruin.
   I eventually learned it was not a genuine historical monument but a brand new, Mayan-themed water slide. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself by verbally speculating to anyone about the structure.     

    A discovery that was truly mysterious was this sailboat. At first I assumed it had been washed ashore by a recent hurricane and probably abandoned. While this picture doesn't show it, the boat is a considerable distance from any sign of human habitation. I'd say about a mile from the docks and the village.
    As I obsessed over the boat, I realized it was sitting almost upright, something I doubt a raging tropical storm could accomplish. I also noticed that the boat still had its rigging, a sign that it was a recent arrival to that location or that someone was taking care of it.

    Naturally, since it was in a reasonable walking distance from where the Equinox was docked, I wanted to go check it out. Something my wife said would have been a bad idea. Mexico isn't a good place for a stupid American to go walking off alone in the best of locations. So I continued to watch the boat from the Equinox and take pictures hoping to squeeze a few more details out.   

    If you click on the picture here, you should be able to tell that the name and origin of the sailboat isn't painted on the stern. You should also be able to tell that the sailboat looks relatively new, in the sense that it appears to be recently constructed.
    It's a good thing my wife talked me out of trekking to this sailboat just to satisfy my curiosity. Given my luck, I would have probably been on the news for getting snake bite or simply disappearing.      

    If I titled this picture it would be called, "Fluffy Anvil of the Gods." Sorry folks, since we stayed on the ship there isn't many pictures that do not involve my mystery sailboat. 

    As much as I have whined about the "Blue Hairs", my wife and I spent much of our ship time in the Solarium. A place dominated by the old folks who shied away from all the loud music and activity of the outside pools.
    The Solarium was exceedingly comfortable and quite, allowing me to read in peace.  

    I may have already posted this picture but I wanted to point out a few things about the main pool. It was freaking cold! I did want to at least say I did get in the pool figuring it would be as warm as the one in the Solarium. I only got down to my waist before having to do a quick retreat. 

I also wanted to point out that I did visit the gym several times while on the cruise and in fact took part in a yoga class. The yoga instructor, a goddess originally from New Zealand took it easy on her students but even the basic moves kicked my ass. Sorry no picture of me in the yoga class exist.
   Instead here's one of me on the tread mill working off some of the excellent food the ship offered.  

A piece of Key Lime Pie. One of many that died at my hands. 

Celebrity Equinox Cruise: December 14-21 PART THREE

     Being upfront here, I simply do not have the talent to take decent pictures nor write a proper description about Key West, Florida. A partial explanation is that while I have visited the place four times through the years, it was always on cruises that took me away after only a few short hours.
     But truthfully, I am far from an unbiased person when it comes to Key West. For years I listened to Jimmy Buffett sing about the place, its character, and its history. So I continue to be enchanted like a love struck teenager even though many people have tried to dissuade me of my clumsy romanticism. These detractors say Key West is tacky beyond redemption and that its banal commercialism has ruined everything special about the place.
     All very possible, but enough still lingers to make it close to paradise for me.    

    On my first visit to Key West way back in September, 2001 the aftereffects of a very recent 9/11 prevented a lot of the usual tourists from visiting. Long story short, that allowed me a lot of time at the Southern Most Point. There was no line of people waiting to have their picture taken at the colorful buoy.
    On all my other visits though, the line of people has been so long as to make it impossible for me to get another. So I just settle to take a quick picture as I ride by on one of the Couch Tour Train or Couch Tour Trolley.

    Caused a bit of an issue with my wife as we rode passed the Garden of Eden Bar on the very crowded Couch Tour Trolley. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the Celebrity Equinox was overwhelmingly an older crowd with many obviously of the more socially conservative bent.
    So my lovely spouse didn't appreciate when I loudly spoke out about how we needed to get off the trolley, go up to the Garden of Eden Bar and strip down ot our birthday suits like we did years ago. No, we never visited that bar but I did thoroughly enjoy my wife's discomfort and the weird looks we got from all the raging stiffs.

    Yes, there was a price to pay for my improvisation but it was worth the several hours of stony silence. I honestly can't say I would never visit a clothing option bar like Garden of Eden. While on cruises I generally follow the idea that since I will never see any of those people again I can act as stupid and foolish as I want.    

   The "Lost Weekend Liquor Store." With such a name, that place screams to be added to a story of some hard luck loser looking for redemption.
   From what I understand, it's actually a new business, not something from the days when Papa Hemingway could be found walking the streets.   

    If you look beyond the palm tree you will see the destroyed air traffic control tower at Key West Airport. Now the story told to us by the trolley driver was that the tower has been that way for years. That air traffic is controlled by some person sitting at the end of the runway with a radio.
    Not sure how about the truth of that story but it does sound cool.   

    Time, or the lack of it, has always been my enemy when visiting Key West. On this trip I accompanied my wife to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, not a place many would expect me to like, but it was awesome. If my heart was normal, allowing me to drink beer, I would have done the bar crawl again.
    But be that as it may, I did enjoy seeing the 50 to 60 different species of butterflies that live in the indoor park.
   

    Not sure what species this bad boy belongs but this was one of my better pictures. It was funny how many shots I took but because of the nature of butterflies, failed to capture any image. 

    In the center of the park was a pond where two flamingos lived. They are named "Rhett" and "Scarlett" and didn't give a damn about any of us humans prowling around their humid home.     

    This butterfly looks like he, or she, has seen some rough times. Not sure if butterflies fight, but I can't think what would have caused this damage to its wings.

    A better view of the insides of the conservatory. 

    Like the previous visits, we had to get back to the ship much too early. These two Princess Cruise line ships were tied up at the Mallory Square docks. One of the things that fascinates me about cruising is the complexity of these ships, even medium-sized one like these two. Pack a couple of thousand spoiled North Americans and Europeans on a ship with about a thousand paid crew members answering their every whim.    

    Don't really know why I included this picture. Maybe because all the others I took at Key West were just not good enough. Riding the Couch Trolley wasn't really conducive to taking good photographs. Plus my wife was having issues with her knees making walking highly problematic.
    While I have forgotten the name of this little island just off Key West, I do remember it's one of those upper crust, exclusive communities.    

    Barely an hour after leaving Key West I took this picture. I really liked the contrasting blues of the sky and ocean. The next stop on the cruise after a day at sea was Costa Maya, Mexico.