Latitude 19° 30N, Longitude 80° 30W.

To sailors and pilots who know the Caribbean, that location can only be one place. Grand Cayman Islands or better yet, destination: Georgetown.

We just returned this day from Charleston ending our winter cruise. Our third time on the Charleston-Western Caribbean cruise and the first time that the ship made it to all three ports. We got to go shopping in Georgetown, visit the Mayan Tulum Ruins in Cancun and (finally), made it to Hemingway's house in Key West. Yes, the cats are there and they do have six toes. Why is a longer story than can be told here.

I can confirm that Margaritaville, Georgetown is still there and still open despite the nearby church protesting their license renewal. As for the Mayan ruins let me say I am awfully glad we took the excursion and awfully glad I do not have to do that again (!). Long bus trip, hot day, rugged terrain but our guide, Humberto, was a wonder. He was full of information about the Mayan-Toltec languages, calendar, astronomy and mathematics developed by the culture spanning a time from about 3000 BC to 1500 AD, when the Spaniards arrived. Only heat and tiredness kept me from leaping on to the pristine beach and demanding a coco-loco-rum drink but there was still the return trip to the ship. Back on board I enjoyed a much needed shower and once cool headed to the bar for an Espresso Martini. After that nothing much mattered.

The on board dancing was wonderful, not only did we dance at our appointed practice times but for the first time the cruise director had professional teachers offering 4classes during the week so everybody got to dance. The best part was seeing the increased dance participation since the first trip. This time we had crowded dance floors and far better live music. The popularity of Dancing With the Stars has made a difference.

The search now is for background about The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber, a Hemingway short story set in Africa. Dear Hubby begins a course on Great American Novels this Wednesday and is now reading Melville’s Moby Dick. I am trying to persuade him that even though Hemingway is not on his reading list (a major omission in my opinion), I think he should read some EH’s short stories. For some reason DH does not seem to be that interested in either the course or the literature.

My search has just found that 1936 was the publication date for “Macomber,” a story about a manipulative wife named Margot, who was (my guess) based on wife #3. Martha was the wife who traveled with him to Africa and Cuba (divorced in 1940). If the character “Margot”is not “Martha,” then she is a compilation of wives 2 and 3, both of whom he took poetic license to punish in literature. You many remember seeing the 1947 film The Macomber Affair, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Bennett. I do not remember if the movie had the same ending as the story, a final cut if ever there was one.

Pictures? Sure, I took lots, mostly of Tulum. Will post some after I rest and my eyes can focus. Right now I need dinner and sleep...bb

Ruins and Geography

"Without geography you're nowhere," according to Jimmy Buffet. Viewing a couple of postcards and largely from reading "A Piece of Salty Land" by Buffet, we are heading to the ruins at Tulum.

The cruise ship docks in Cozumel, Mexico for eight hours on Wednesday and for seven of those eight hours DH and I will be on a tour of Tulum, the Mayan ruins south of Cozumel. Am I excited? Maybe....these excursions often end up more survival training than a look into an ancient time. If my current cold subsides, if my energy level is high and if it's not too hot and sunny (fair skinned sunburns quickly), then perhaps I will find it enjoyable. Working to get to a trim weight also means that if I can't do it this year, the time may never come.

Further hesitation comes from the fact that I have studied ancient, European and modern art history, humanities and decorative arts. Mayan culture was never mentioned. So I venture into the great unknown of Pre-Colombian - western hemisphere cultures with very little understanding. Getting there may be difficult but the photo opportunity appeals to me.

One more update on the soon-to-bloom orchid. This is the third day of photography and one of the three full blooms is spreading wider each hour. Am I worried that I will miss the full blooms when we are traveling? Not. Past experience with orchids is that the blooms, while slow to open, are also long lived. One week in the life of an orchid is not a lifetime. The color shown is closer to the vivid intensity than the previous pictures and is the reason I bought this orchid.

What are we doing New Years? Besides taking antibiotics, cough syrup, Airborne, and lots of liquids. We have leftover chicken-n-cornbread stuffing from last night. How thrilling is that? I may drink a lot of champagne just to feel better.
Downloading dance cd's onto the iPod is practically a full time job today...while I had five playlists organized I realized that there is a lot more memory available. Pulling out cd's I found lots more dance-able tunes for practice. Fear that someone will request a song and won't be able to find it on the iPod keeps me checking lists over and over. Once we board the ship, what's there is all there is.
bb