"... and Cozumel took him" pt 3 - END

Saturday:
Unlike the previous morning, I woke up around 8 am to the sound of Chandler's phone alarm with a cabin door that remained shut. It was the day of disembarkation in Cozumel, Mexico so it wasn't difficult to become fully conscious. As I think I mentioned in part 1, I had never been to Mexico nor had it been on my travel lists but I was eager to add another country's stamp to my passport (It wasn't until later that I found they don't stamp passports for cruise passengers). We were all up pretty early and hanging around outside our cabin doors, so most of us went up for a quick breakfast before getting ready to hit the shore. I took a couple photos from the buffet area and deck outside.

I had originally planned to save the cash I brought on board for Mexico, but had unwisely spent the majority of it in the casino. Thankfully the ship had a few ATM's, so I pulled out a couple hundred just in case. Kevin had decided to bring a backpack off the boat with him and was gracious enough to keep all of our passports on him while off ship. I put my drivers license, a backup credit card and my cash in the secret compartments in my Reef 'stash-flops' (that you can no longer buy in the US... or anywhere really, but you can Google it). Those on the boat knew that I was very proud of my sandals. Perhaps too proud.
Once we got word from the crew that we could jump ship, we made our way to the lower level to hop on the pier. Unfortunately, Awag forgot his ever-important "Sail-n-Sign" card so he and his roommate Joey had to go back to the rooms to grab it while we waited outside. I remember that Jay was standing on the edge of the pier during our wait and there was a brief moment where I considered pretending to push him into the water. Despite it looking very shallow b/c the water was so clear, it could have been 100 ft deep. The idea passed when it dawned on me that, having only known Jay for a couple of days, the threat of a relative stranger pushing you into the ocean wasn't beyond the boundaries of a possible reality, so it was probably a better idea to pass on the humor. In an alternate universe, I probably did it... and the result was hilarious.

Once Awag was back, and having narrowly escaped the grasp of the fake Mayans posing for photos, we made our way through the mini-outlet mall at the port to the rental car strip. We ended up saving a couple bucks by talking the Dollar Rental Car guy down to $210 (w/insurance) for two, day-long jeep rentals. It took a few minutes after we got the jeeps to get on the road but traffic became pretty light as soon as we got out of the parking lot, heading south.

Kevin and Joey were "DD's" for the trip. At least Kevin took that responsibility seriously. Our first stop was a couple miles down the road at Carlos and Charlies Beach Club. It was our first opportunity to buy beer outside of the port so we took it. We grabbed a couple overpriced cervezas ($5/each) and stuck our toes in the clean Mexican sand. I didn't take the following photo, but it's basically where we stood.

I think we all had the feeling that this place was pretty much an instant bust, so a few of us grabbed a road beer as we got back in the Jeeps. One of my main goals for the day was to see authentic Mayan ruins, so we made our next pit stop at a spot on our Carnival Excursion Map called El Cedral. Supposedly, the site was a small temple that was later accompanied by a small catholic church. I would say this stop would have been a huge bust as well, but Chandler was able to buy a hooded poncho, I found a fresh margarita stand and we all got a bunch of Sol beers from a little convenient store for $2/each (or 6 for $10).

We also took this opportunity to try to find a short cut across the island by following a questionable looking vehicle down a gravel road for about half a mile before they stopped, got out of their car and started walking towards us waving and shaking their heads 'no'. Though I didn't at the time, I now find it humorous that, at that moment, I had looked in the rear view to see Kevin's jeep going about 80mph in reverse and seeing nothing between our jeeps but a large cloud of dust. I'll note that Joey was also pretty quick in getting us away from the situation. Both vehicles had moved just far enough away from "danger" to stop and let everyone urinate on the side of the road; more or less right in front of someone's house. Not the classiest American move we'd made that day... but sometimes you can't wait for a clean gas station bathroom.

We had to backtrack a little to get back on the main road around the island. We rounded the southern tip and made our third, and best (IMO), stop around the red flag you see on the map above. It wasn't really on the map as an acceptable normal stop, but the shacks that had been constructed looked stable enough. They had hammocks nearby, beer for sale and beach access. That's pretty much all we needed. I wouldn't be surprised if we stayed there for a good hour. The water felt fantastic and was perceived as exceptionally clean until we all disclosed the number of times we had each pissed in it. (sorry for being so crass). I know at some point someone had said to me, "I think I may have seen a no swimming sign". I couldn't see one displayed so I ignored it. It wasn't until after we returned home that I was informed by Jillian's mother, who is a frequent cruiser to Cozumel, that we were indeed swimming in an area known for strong undertow and not too far from hammerhead infested areas. We left about the time I knew I was getting a sunburn. Other notable events: Kevin jumping off the rocks into what was essentially three feet of water. I'm pretty sure a jelly fish stung me on the leg. Awag also seemingly decided to swim halfway to Cuba there towards the end and, before we called him back in to leave, Jay and I discussed how we would explain his disappearance if he had just kept going. We decided on ending his storied adventure with "and Cozumel took him", which explains the title of these posts.

At this point, we had run out of beer so we packed it up and continued driving North along the eastern coast of the island. We decided to pass on the majority of beach side bars and start making our way toward the largest of the Mayan ruins. I say "we", but I mean "I". I think it was the only time I pulled the "it's my bachelor party" card. I don't think anyone else gave a crap about seeing piles of rocks, but I definitely appreciated everyone paying their $8 to walk around the woods with me. Ultimately, I was a little disappointed that there weren't giant temples to climb, but it was still something that not everyone gets to see in life and I was thankful to be able to see it and felt comfortable marking it off my bucket list.

We called it quits on island exploration after the ruins. Driving through town on the way back was a bit of a confusing pain in the ass, but we made it to the rental lot before the ship left, so that was the important part. There was a giant Hard Rock Cafe sign across the street from the port so we decided to eat lunch there. Unfortunately, they had yet to build the actual restaurant, so we gave up and boarded the boat; opting to eat buffet food again.

It wasn't long after lunch that college football games had started so we pulled up chairs at a table closest to the bar in the back of the buffet hall. I believe the first games on the schedule involved Texas A&M and UGA v Clemson. We had probably been sitting there a minute or two before an LSU gypsy asked if she could sit down at our table. Telling her "no" was probably the smartest thing I had said all weekend. Unfortunately, she wasn't very good at listening and sat there anyway. gypsy's can smell weakness and we soon had a couple more heading our way... so I decided I would rather just stand at the bar. It was a good decision b/c the 'view' at the bar was better and there were more intelligent fans to talk to, apart from the Bama fan (I had to explain to him that it was possible to make the National Championship game without playing in the SEC Championship game by "reminding" him that his own team had done it within the last two years). I remember at some point turning around to look at the table and seeing Gavin surrounded by circus folk. Sucker. Football outweighed bad food, so the majority of us stuck around the bar through our scheduled dinner downstairs. I'm sure everyone around our table was relieved by the lack of participation.
The on-shore excursions/ evening football combo had really taken it out of me, so I made another attempt at going to bed early; this time at 8pm. Kevin was pretty much all over this one as well and I ended up at the craps table in the Casino.
I've been around a craps table many a time but had never actually participated. I decided to give it a shot this time and, for the most part, was pretty successful at winning money... for people around me. I had a pretty good system for rolling the die, even though I don't remember what it was now. I did end up rolling off the table a few times and then my streak ended. Later, I won JD $100 on a field bet. In the end, I won myself about negative fifty dollars. Afterwords, I joined some of the other guys at the club where we hung out until it was time for our customary 3am pizza. I think the only thing that made this night different was that Joey (I think) had ordered me two Tequila shots. I'll say that I never felt drunk... but after those shots and pizza, I certainly didn't feel great. Note: Listened to a really really drunk guy play Beethoven (maybe) on the piano outside of 'da club. He was surprisingly great considering he could barely keep his eyes open.
Somehow, my card wouldn't work on my room door, so JD and Kevin offered me a spot on their floor for the night. It did the job.

Sunday:
It was probably around 6 or 7 when I woke the sound of the TV that Kevin was watching. Like normal, he was up early. I found the sound so pleasant, that I stood up walked into the bathroom and promptly vomited. I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the tequila shots. I was able to wake Chandler for entrance into our room and access my mouthwash. I crawled into bed afterward and slept until 2pm. The following afternoon shower felt extra cleansing for some reason.
Chandler and I had some sandwiches for late lunch and then joined everyone at the back deck pool. We lounged around until around 5:30, then I ran off to get dressed for our last formal dinner. Luckily I got to watch a bit of the Louisville game (specifically Mike Dyer) after getting dressed. Gavin and Joey opted for extra pool time and the buffet dinner over our sit down meal. It was a convenient absence for our pool friends from Hartselle as they had apparently had a little too much to drink that day and missed the early dinner time, so we offered them our empty seats. I have a note that I ordered meatloaf... apparently that was important.

I didn't even make an attempt to go to bed early this time, as I knew it was a fool's dream. I did however swing by my room with Chandler to tag our checked baggage and leave it outside our door for midnight pickup(Note to self: Don't do this in the future). Afterward, I went to the bar outside of the Casino and drank my last Foster's Keg-Sized beer while listening to an all Asian band play cover songs from the 80s. It was a pretty awesome end to the night. I think I actually snuck off to bed around 11pm.

Monday:

Because Chandler and I had checked luggage, everyone had to wait until passengers without checked luggage got off the boat (Except for Jay who was let off early to catch a flight). The wait to get off wasn't terribly long, nor was getting our luggage and going through US customs. I don't know why I freak out every time I walk past a drug dog... it's not like I'm a mule... OR AM I?
I think it took about an hour or so to finally get off the ship and to Chandlers car.
We drove to Mobile.
I drove to Destin Florida to meet Jillian for vacation.
This blog took forever.
I'm done.