Hey, We're In Calica!!!

Willie on her ATV

Hello everyone, I know I'm running late on this update, but it's been a busy couple of days. You'd think when you were on a cruise you'd have all the time in the world to type something like this up, but you'd be wrong, seems like we're always busy or napping, lol.

As I'm typing this we're getting ready to pull out of our second port of call, Calica, Mexico. I'm sitting out on our balcony, enjoying a very nice breeze, waiting for the ship to take off, we're supposed to leave at 5, and it's about 4:45 now, so either we're getting ready to go, or waiting for a few last minute stragglers to get to the ship.

When I posted my last update it was still on our embarkation day and we had just gotten on the ship, well since then we've had one full sea day, mostly consisiting of lounging around and eating. We did have some luck in the casino, which is nice cause Willie thinks that means more shopping money. We did go see the welcome aboard show Monday night, which was really good and they had a comedian named Happy Cole, he was hilarouis, almost made me wet myself.

We got to see him again on Tuesday night when he did an R rated show which was even funnier. We also took in the main show Tuesday evening which was called Rythm, it was very good, lots of good song and dance numbers. Spent a bit more time in the casino and won a bit more. We met two very nice couples who share a table with us in the main dining room, and have really enjoyed chatting with them about our various activities during the few days we've been onboard. Tuesday night was also the Formal/Elegant night on the ship, so everyone was dressed up nice, and this time I didn't get seasick so I was able to enjoy not one but two lobster dinners!!!

On Wednesday we were at the island of Cozumel. We decided not to take an excursion and to go off snorkeling on our own. We were on our way into the port town when we realized that Willie had forgotten her sunblock, and I'd forgotten to get a bottle of water and my hat, so Willie went back onto the ship to get it. When she got back she told me she had a bit of trouble, apparently when getting back on the ship, she put her sail and sign card into the machine and the alarms went off. She'd gotten on the wrong ship. The Carnival Legend was docked right next to us at Cozumel and she tried to board it instead of the Elation. LOL... We caught a taxi just outside of the marketplace and went to a local beach a couple of miles from the port called the Money Bar. It was a very nice area to snorkel with a bit of coral to snorkel around, we saw quite a few fish, I saw a spunge, and lots of pretty coral. There were very few people around us in the water, as most people go on an excursion to snorkel a few miles further down the beach. After snorkeling for a few hours we caught a taxi back to town, did a little shopping and got back on the ship in time for lunch. We've discovered that it's great to get back onboard around 1 or 2 as the lines at the buffet are very short, so we can get back on board, get lunch, then there is plenty of time to shower and nap.

After a bit of time in the state room we got ready for supper, we decided to skip the show that evening and just had supper, then Willie adjourned to the room and I went back to the casino, by the time I got to bed I had 400 bucks more than I started with.

Thursday we were at the port of Calica, which is actually in the region of Playa Del Carmen, Calica is actually the name of a sand mining company, and they have a port large enough for cruise ships, so that's where the ship docks. We pre-booked an excursion through a company called Calica Excursions over the internet. It was an ATV Jungle Adventure. We took a taxi from the port to the location, about 5 mins, then had a two hour ATV journey through the jungle in the area. We traveled around a few older Mayan huts, then to a cenote that was a little ways off the trail where we got to swim in the crystal clear cool waters for about 20 mins, then back on the trail and got to go into a cave that the Mayans used at one time.

Swimming in the cenote!!

Mayan Cave

Red Headed Tarantula that chased Willie down the ATV trail

The trip was a lot of fun, and Willie even managed to only run into one other atv. He stopped and she smacked right into him. After the excursion we got a taxi back to the port and then it was back to the ship for changing and lunch.

Well that's all that's happened so far, I'll add some pictures and probably blog more tommorrow while were at our next day at sea. After that it's back to Mobile then out again on our way to Progresso. We're having a blast, but we're missing everyone at home and our puppies.

Talk to you soon, I'll be calling when we get back to Mobile,

Signing off, Dave n Willie!!!