This will be my last post about our South American Cruise.  On February 1, 2013, we docked at Cozamel, Mexico.  This was the first day we had cloudy, rainy skies and less than ideal conditions.  It was a very long walk through a crowded shopping mall to get to our tour bus. But we did get an idea of stores to shop at on the way back to the ship.

Our first stop was a history museum where models of the Mayan civilization were featured.  These were small replicas of some of the ruins we had visited and others that were more famous that we did not visit on this trip.  It was cool to see how the temples and villages were set up during their hay day.  We also got to see men in native costumes climb a very tall pole and swing down upside down.  I managed to get photos while they were on the ground, but my camera battery quit.  By the time I got a new one in, the men had already completed their performance.  Pretty scary stuff!  I would have enjoyed knowing more about the significance of this particular pole dance.  I either did not hear the tour guide's explanation or there was none. 

After that we got back on the bus to visit another historic sight.  They were rebuilding the first Catholic church and other historic buildings at this stop.  Mostly, it was known for the black coral jewelry that the people sold there.  You can tell the difference between black coral and say, onyx or obsidian, because the coral has little rings, like tree rings, that appear when it is cut for jewelry.  It is also very light compared to the other stones.  I picked up a necklace made with several pieces of coral and jade stones.  I asked the vendor for the price.  He told me $60!  Wow!  Well, I only had $40 to spend and told him so as I handed the necklace back to him.  It was crowded and so I was slowly making my way out of the store.  The vendor suddenly appeared in front of me again and said he would take my $40 for the necklace!  Made me wonder if I could've made a better bargain!  But I do like the necklace.  Steve and I got our picture taken with a cute little donkey at this stop.

Next we drove along the beach and made stops for pictures at several scenic spots.  Our destination was the tequila tasting factory.  We walked by a field of blue agave plants. Tequila is made from the root of the blue agave.  The hosts at the factory handed out little tasting cups to everyone who wanted to sample the varieties of tequila.  Steve sampled each one.   He thought some were too sweet and liked others.  I took pictures because usually tequila does not agree with me.  I loved the beautiful bottles filled with the blue tequila.

We returned to the dock and all the shops and stores and crowds of people.  I was tired, hungry and frustrated.  It was our last stop and I still had gifts to buy for people back home.  It was also super windy and pouring down rain by this time.  We managed to find hats and the gifts we needed and finally headed back to the safety and warmth of the ship.

That night on board the crew treated everyone to a "Chocaholics' Buffet."  They had just about every chocolate confection one could imagine, brownies, eclairs, Boston Cream pie, Black Forest cake, lady fingers, fudge, cream puffs etc., etc.   It was so crowded that we grabbed a plateful and headed for the wine store.  Then we enjoyed our chocolate and wine in the privacy of our stateroom.  It seemed a fitting end to our shipboard adventure.

The following day was spent at sea headed back to New Orleans. I think that was one of the fastest weeks of my life! Next time I will catch up on what has been happening since we got home.