Cozumel, Maragritaville and a Pile of Nachos- By Host Mach

Stephanie — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:11:00 GMT

Day Three… Cozumel!!!

We arrived exactly on time in Cozumel. A trip up to the Lido Deck for breakfast used up an hours or so and I was ready to go ashore. According to my watch it was a bit after nine. Making my way down to Three Deck via the forward elevator I soon found myself on the Punta Langosta pier gazing and the island. You’d be amazed at how long that pier is when you’re stuck doing your best Quasimodo impression. I had a job to do. I had a mission. I needed to acquire a rare and oft sought after spirit… Aha Toro Tequila which, when translated, means ‘Run, it’s a Bull!!!’ I think.

The dock at Cozumel has these three wheel bicycles that more than anything else resemble a rickshaw. This was my new mode of transport. Feeling like a tourist in Hong Kong we glided slowly along the pier, zipping by 85 year old ladies with walkers… everyone else breezed by us. No matter as in less then twenty five minutes I had secured a second bottle of Aha Toro, this time with a stopper that fit properly. I rickshawed my way back to the Inspiration in time to view the arrival of her sister ship, the Imagination. She docked directly across from us. This was quite the sight as the Imagination is the only other ship in the fleet that has the Evolutions of Fun upgrades complete. Side by side these two gleaming white beauties looked like a traveling version of Schillterbahn. Folks exchanged greetings across the way and it seemed much like a family reunion.

Somewhat later in the day (morning in Cozumel) I elected to return to town, once again, to shop a bit and finally to visit Margaritaville. I stopped at Carlos and Charlie’s and Senior Frog’s, easy to do as they pretty much share the same building. I had a wonderful time chatting with many other time confused travelers all of whom were expecting lunch and were being offered breakfast.

It was time to pay homage to Jimmy Buffett and head to Maragritaville where ‘there’s booze in the blender and soon it will render that frozen concoction that helps me hang on…’

I’ve visited quite a few of Jimmy’s stores and this is one of my favorites. Even quite early in the afternoon (early for them, mid day for me…) the place was kickin’!! Most folks were out on the patio with drinks in there hands, colors mimicking the entire spectrum of light.

The water just beyond the patio was that gorgeous pale blue that so typifies the beach areas of these islands. It was about as inviting as any water anywhere could be. I wanted to run headlong into the sea but the new camera that was draped around my neck made me think better of it. So, I elected to sit, have a few (wink, wink…) drinks, look for some t-shirts.

Looking about this place one is assaulted by all things Jimmy. There’s surf boards on the walls, parrothead signage everywhere, bikini clad lovelies wearing paper pirate hats, waitresses in grass skirts.

Curvaceous hips clad in a grass skirt swaying in my direction suggested that I needed to figure out what was going to be my concoction du jour. On rare occasions I like something a bit different and today was an occasion. It boiled down to one word: Mojito. What a wonderful word, conjuring up images of Hemingway leaning heavily against the bar at La Floridita in Havana. Yep… it’s gonna be a Mojito day.

In short order those swaying hips returned sporting a tray which sported my Mojito. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! Yellowish green with muddled mint leaves the size of my thumb swirling about, this drink was a work of art. Tropical moisture condensed on the cold glass and ran gracefully down the side. My mouth is watering as I write. This thing was cold, refreshing, full of flavor and history. There isn’t a thing about this drink that’s not to love. I drank it gratefully and fairly quickly. The second was as pleasing as the first and was a perfect compliment to my order of nachos… as was the third… and fourth. Ya’ see, this was no common order of nachos. It arrived by fork lift and nearly crushed my table. As I recall, Sir Edmund Hillary was planting the New Zealand flag on the top when the plate arrived. Pale green gobs of fresh guacamole, hundreds of slices of jalapeno, cascades of melted cheese, creamy refried beans, deep brown ground beef and bacon (!!!!) graced an Everest of chips. This was the mother load! Tasting as good as it looked this delight could have fed several families in some third world nations. I spent a good forty five minutes savoring Mt. Nacho before I finally waved the white flag and begged to have it taken away.

Mojito in hand I spent some time taking stock of the gift shop and selected a couple of the less brilliant t-shirts, got my treasures bagged up and made one final pass through the store.

Arriving at the pier I once again rickshawed my way back to the Inspiration. I suspect that every time I see Carnival twins side by side I’ll get the same silly grin on my face that I did then. It was good to be home… home on the Inspiration.

Splendid Things in Life : Margaritaville

Cozumel, Maragritaville and a Pile of Nachos- By Host Mach