COZUMEL & TULUM
Downtown Cozumel is a maze of streets in and about the old Mayan ruins and is built over sink-hole topography, hence the many crooked streets. The huge Banyan tree is in the midst of one such plaza.
The thirty-minute rest stop so timed tourists can refresh and buy trinkets found us looking at a jewelry factory making silver and hard-stone jewelry.
What was not mentioned (?), was the out-of-use loom behind the factory, fully threaded for weaving a plaid blanket and shut down somewhere in progress. The sale of synthetic blankets in the shop from sources in Asia suggested the labor cost of weaving in Mexico may be too high. Not a good sign for craft and artisan workers there. 
Cliff side ruins over look the Caribbean (known as the Cozumel Riviera), offering a strategic view of incoming ships. Tulum was an important seaport for the Mayans, a mid-point between Honduras and Veracruz. The temples are built in line with the sun’s position on the vernal, autumnal equinoxes and the winter solstice, making the Mayan knowledge of astronomy at least equal to the builders of either Stonehenge in England or the Pyramids in Egypt. The heat of the afternoon sun made dipping in the Gulf a very tempting choice but I needed a drink of cold water more than a dip.
KEY WEST
Walking Duval Street almost its entirety we saw the honky-tonk bars, the college kids on a fling, many shops selling all kinds of trinkets (who buys this stuff?), and drinks of every kind and flavor. My favorite place to eat dinner is located in the historic LaConcha Hotel (now Crowne Plaza hotel: www.laconchakeywest.com/history),Jack’s Seafood. I could repeat the recipe for their terrific Caribbean Shrimp Cobb Salad but I did that here earlier. The LaConcha was built in 1926 and is a landmark building on the national historic register. The Key West landmark has been mentioned in writings by both guests Hemingway and Tennessee Williams and has attracted several US Presidents as guests. Whether the history or the food appeals the most to me would be hard to say.
HEMINGWAY HOUSE
What quilter could pass up the grid patterning of decorative floor tiles? What was the original source? Could be Mexico or Cuba, both have a ceramic tradition of painted tiles. The motifs? Who knows? Pauline, the third of Hemingway’s wives redecorated and fashioned the house to entertain her publishing and celebrity friends. The walk leads from the back door of the house, out to the studio, the pool and off to the garden side gate. The cats wander the area in and about the many "cat" houses placed throughout the garden.
DANCING ON THE MAJESTY
iPods can travel with a sound dock, making it possible to have music almost anywhere you go. A fully loaded iPod with dance music and playlists for ballroom dancing was the perfect solution for this trip. Morning practice sessions were in the Royal Fireworks lounge on Deck 5, afternoon sessions in the disco, Frame 52, on Deck 7. Royal Fireworks had live music for dancing in the early evening hours, the disco played from ten until closing (not for us), if one can stay awake that late.
So ends the "dance at sea" cruise for January 2008. Next up is the start of Ballroom Dance Winter term on January 23. And I need to prepare for the "Really Simple Blogging" course for the Spring term. As the teacher, I really do need to get organized.
Stay tuned....bb
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