Our last cruise port before arriving back in
Miami was Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is located on the southeasternmost point of
Mexico, and is in fact, a small island. We have been to Cozumel twice before,
and it is one of my favorite cruise stops. But I’m not the only one,
this destination is quite popular with tourists. When we docked it looked like
we had arrived in a giant parking lot for cruise ships. We had signed up for a
tequila tasting excursion, and this turned out to be our favorite onshore experience.
We did so much more than just taste tequila!
We walked off the ship and onto the pier where
we met our guide, Martin, who tried really hard to get us all to roll our r’s
every time we said his name. Mar-rrr-tin! He also referred to our group as
“family”, and every time he had to get our attention, to reconvene or move to
our next spot, he would call out, “Come, family, we’re going over here now!” We
had a small group, only 19 of us, and we were shuttled in vans two miles to the
Discover Mexico Park where the activities were scheduled.
Upon arrival at the park, Martin gave us all a miniature margarita to get things started, to get everyone in
the mood for the rest of the day. During
the presentation we learned all about tequila, Jose Cuervo in particular,
how and where it is made, the different varieties, how it is aged, and lots of fun
and entertaining tequila trivia. We were provided with three full shots to
sample, which Martin walked us through, giving us instructions on how to smell
the vapors, swirl it in our mouth, cleanse our palate, sniff coffee beans in
between, nibble on chocolate, smell a twist of lime or a piece of cinnamon. I couldn’t drink three full shots, but I did sample all of
them. We must have looked a sight to the people walking past us, as Martin had
us waving our arms to disperse the aromas, pushing down on our noses as we took
sips, and doing funny breathing exercises to enhance the vapor effect.
Following the tasting we visited a gift shop with
a very nice selection of trinkets, t-shirts, tequila, and glassware. Of course,
everyone felt pretty good after the tasting, and likely more in the mood to
spend money. We ended up buying a t-shirt and a bottle of tequila to take home.
From here we went to the small Museum of Popular Arts, long enough to take a
few pictures, and then to a setting filled with scaled down replicas of numerous
ruins sites and Mexican landmarks. Some of the pictures we took are extreme
close-ups of these replicas, and it might look like the real deal, but they are
just models.
Next to this model village was a real cabaña. Here we were treated to blended margaritas where the glasses were rimmed not with salt, but
with Tajín (a spicy blend used to sprinkle on Mexican fruit salads – it was so
good!), and more stories, including the proper way to make a blended margarita.
Then, we were ushered to a courtyard to watch the Danza de los Voladores (Dance
of the Flyers) acrobats perform.
This is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual
still performed today, in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico. This
very entertaining performance consists of dance, music, and the climbing of a
100-foot pole from which four of the five dancers launch themselves, tied with
ropes, to descend to the ground. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing
and playing a flute and drum. According to one myth, the ritual was created to
ask the gods to end a severe drought.
And finally, we were
treated to an unexpected delicious Mexican food vegan buffet, which consisted of warm corn
tortillas, beans, rice, various pickled veggies, salsas, and chips. It also
included beer, soda, or water. It was such a fun day, and so nice to have
this delightful excursion as our last one for this cruise.
