The Call of the Isle

She felt a strong desire to spend the first anniversary of her beloved husband's passing as they had often done before, so my sister, Julie, invited a few friends to join her on a Caribbean cruise.  Thanks to Dan's completely selfless support, I was lucky enough to be able to go.  The only problem now is that I want to go back!  And not someday, but right away! Or at least before too much longer.  Our time aboard ship was filled with two Broadway-style productions, a magic show, concerts by Billy Joel and Paul McCartney on the giant movie screen on the deck, gourmet dining, a little shopping, plenty of relaxing by the pool, and picking up a few valuable travel tips from fellow travelers.

As enjoyable as all that was, what really has me clamoring for more is the time we spent ashore.  For me, our day in Cozumel was better than a dream come true.  Julie arranged a five-hour private tour of the island for us, which of course isn't long enough, but we were under the ship's time constraints.  We loved our driver/guide, Nelson, who customized the tour according to our interests.

For our Day in Grand Cayman, we decided to do a meet and greet with stingrays.  I wish the creatures no harm, but I've met all the stingrays I ever want to meet.  One even bit my finger!  No sharp teeth pierced my skin, but a tiny little vacuum just sucked it right up into parts unknown.       That was followed by another mishap.  I took a tumble reboarding the catamaran, coming up  with an impressive black eye and a few other large bruises.  Someone gave me a chilled bottle of water to hold against my eye until the captain returned from his swim to a nearby boat for a bag of ice.  This should put an end to the pernicious rumor that my black eye was caused by fighting in the midnight buffet line.

Cozumel, oh Cozumel, I hear your call.