Waking up with a sore throat and the fear of the onslaught of something worse sadly marked the arrival into Cozumel. But I was not going to let that stop me for this was the part of the trip that I had looked forward to the most; seeing and walking amongst the Mayan ruins.
In typical cruise boat fashion, we gathered at a certain time in our groups before heading to the ferry that would take us to the mainland. The ferry ride took a little more than 45 minutes. From there, a mile-or-so walk to the busses in 100°+ heat. This walk was through a crowded little shopping district where locals beckoned the tourists to depart with their money. Finally, we are back on the bus for an hour-and-fifteen minute ride to the ruins. This means that we started getting ready to head to the ruins around 10:00 a.m. but didn’t arrive until well after 1:00 p.m. – and in stifling heat.
There is a Seventh Level of Hell and it is a place where a cruise ships dock and the 4,300+ inhabitants must disembark and attempt to board waiting travel busses to various excursions. I’ve invoked the term abattoir in this cruising experience and that feeling is no more prevalent when thousands of people are sardined in on staircases, waiting to pour out of a small hole in the side of the boat. Once the exit is achieved, the feeling continues as one walks into a giant room where lines are being formed to get on the travel vans.
Labadee is interesting in that although part of Haiti, it is really a privately-owned beach-front resort built and established by Royal Caribbean®. This means that the nitty gritty that may be considered unsafe in Haiti is beyond the bounds of the tourists visiting this gorgeous locale. Inasmuch, the cruise ship sets up more than ample activities, including jet-ski, parasailing, and – in my case – snorkeling.
The boat is anchored and the guests take a “tender” (a smaller boat) to the shore line. There, multiple lounge chairs are set-up on the beach, drinks are offered shore-side, and various bands perform Reggae music with CDs for sale. It is all terribly commercial, contrived, and rather forced, which is a shame for such a beautiful location. But, acknowledging the questionable safety of the nation as a whole, perhaps there are some internal benefits to the residents of Haiti that may not be seen to the general public.
I am on a cruise. Yeah, this is the sort of thing my parents used to do. I admit; I’ve been on cruises before (two with my parents before they passed away as part of family vacations). Last January, my two sisters asked me if I wanted to join them on a cruise. They are now part of that “cruise community” meaning they are frequent cruisers – at least once a year.
What I didn’t realize when I agreed to go on the trip was that I was booking myself on the world’s largest cruise ship, the Liberty of the Seas. I won’t give you the specifics on the trip. I’ll just tell you that it is bloody big. Take a scan through my pics if you aren’t sure. This boat has 22 cocktail bars (one fashioned after a British pub, a Champagne bar, one with a nautical theme, etc.), two different pool areas (one for adults and one for kids), an ice skating, rink, a Johnny Rockets, a Ben & Jerry’s, and the Promenade displays a Morgan +4 vehicle.
Despite my various travels, for some reason I had never made it to New York before. And how I ended here is a matter of some serendipity. Having just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Europe, I read in the New York Times about the first production of Philip Glass’ opera, Satyagraha in 25 years. Being a long-time Glass fan, I had to figure out a way to see it. Checking the calendar, it so happened that the last performance was a mere day-and-a-half before I was going to be in Florida, departing on a Caribbean cruise. My thought? Well, gee, if I’m going to be on the East Coast anyway… A flurry of e-mails with one of my oldest friends, Jerry, only shows how serendipity works; it turns out that my time line also coincides with his 50th birthday, he likes Glass music, and *poof* there just happen to be a few tickets left!
I arrived a little late on May Day, but still enough time to get in a little face time and meet-and-greet an online buddy (Hi, L!) before Jerry and I headed out for our adventure and #2 on my New York must-do list, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jerry arranged for lunch in the Trustee’s Room, a fabulous window seat where we had a view of the Egyptian obelisk in central park. The Museum itself was considerably bigger than I had anticipated and reminded me a great deal of The British Museum in its scope of cultures. I was very happy to peruse a Courbet exhibit and much of the permanent collection are paintings I had only read about, most notable for me a pre-Raphaelite Frederic, Lord Leighton, a handful of the Orientalist period likes the works of Jean-Léon Gérôme, and yet another of Parliament series paintings by Manet which affected me so much in London. There were some giant Koons sculptures but overall, it was the magnitude of the classical offerings which was so impressive and I was surprised to see how well attended the museum. A testament to the collection and hope that art is still loved and revered (I’m often surprised by how empty California museums are!). More pictures on the next page!
