Tuesday December 19, 2006

Cozumel, Mexico

Grandpa met us for breakfast in the Four Seasons. We decide to go into Cozumel and look for a tour like the one the boys took yesterday in Progresso. Both guys convince me I cannot do a tour on a bus and take my scooter. I guess I will not take my scooter into Cozumel. The walk from the ship to the end of the pier almost did me in. I hate that I cannot walk at all anymore. I am just too young for this. My hip is ok, but the knees are bothering me. I think once I am back home, I will go see Dr. Borowicki and have some X-rays done. I think my walking gait has changed since the hip and it is affecting my knees. This really sucks. I need pain meds, NOW. I will eventually run out of the stash of pain pills I have. I can’t take vicodin forever…We stop at a little shop that is selling soft drinks and water. After we get the water and I take the meds, we continue to walk to find a tour place. Paul thinks that he may have paid $21 for that bottle of water…he had two new twenties and thought he had given one to the clerk for the water…but now all he has is $19.00. Good grief. If I confessed that, I‘d never hear the end of it….from Paul or grandpa. He was so concerned about making both me and grandpa sit down to rest, he wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing. I know he means well and wants to look out for us, but sometimes his controlling goes over the top…but will he admit it? Oh pishaw.

We are approached by a guy selling vacation packages. Promises us free lunch and a tour of the Island for only 20 bucks for the three of us. Wow, a challenge for Paulie! He loves dicking with salesmen. Mexico is no exception right? OK. Off we go in a taxi to a beautiful new resort in Cozumel. The International something or other. We do the obligatory questions and answers, and tour the suites. Very nice. Very VERY nice. No lunch just yet. We go to the sales office where our rep, Margarita gives us level one sales pitch. Nope. Not interested. Tina arrives to give us sales pitch….level two. She is a cute little Brit and orders diet coke for me and a coke for Paul, with water for grandpa. Paul sips his drink and announces this is rum and coke. Ok. Grandpa grabs it and is happy. The waiter brings another drink. Same thing…rum and coke. Hmmmm. Something’s fishy here. Gosh, maybe they will slip us a roofie and we will buy the whole place? This time Tina instructs the waiter NO BOOZE! He brings Paul a plain coke.

After about 15 minutes of hard sell, Paulie says not interested. This brings on Jorge, pressure sales pitch level three. Hmmmm. They said no pressure. Sure. He only lasts five minutes with Paulie before he gets really peeved. They don’t know Paulie. He is a master at this sales game. They are pikers next to him. OK, here comes STEVE… the big gun from Las Vegas, the ultimate closer… you can tell by his air of bravado and swagger….he gives us the fourth level sales pitch…he’s got the best offer all afternoon. An offer I just can't understand how he can even make. Its plain stupid...or he thinks we are....Paul says….NOT INTERESTED and says this is the last time. The guy tries again…nada. He has met his match in this polish prince. The guy makes some crack about coming back to the resort for $3000 bucks per week the next time we are in Cozumel…I tell him nicely…”Not in THIS lifetime”. The original sales rep comes back to escort us back to the taxi area. Still no lunch. And we won’t be getting any lunch either…that’s for folks who have bought into this scheme….a 30 year commitment to vacation all over the world at certain luxury resorts, or cruise all over the world for a mere $75,000. Easy payments with only 11.99% interest. Yeah, right. We do however get our tour of the island. A very nice taxi guy gives us the costal tour, stopping at a few local spots for pictures. I am starving at this point and will be having the shakes soon if I don’t eat now. We stop at a little roadside cantina and Paulie and I split a club sandwich. We all have the local brew, Sol beer. Grandpa won’t eat…hmmmm. Two rum and cokes, now a beer? Ok.

We finally arrive back at the pier and make the long walk back to the ship. I am pooped so I go up to the cabin to take a nap. Later, we dressed and went to meet grandpa and Zack for the show. It was a country themed song and dance show, nicely done again. After the show, we went to the Terraces for dinner…Zack had other plans so he took off. We had the most wonderful prime rib with a delicious rosemary glaze. Oh my. After dinner, Paul and grandpa went off the casino and as my usual habit I went back to the cabin, took my meds and drifted off into never never land. That’s my life…one party after another.

Later

dee