We arrived in the port of Cozumel, but we never actually set foot on the Island where we docked. Instead we loaded directly on to a ferry shuttle headed for the mainland and Playa Del Carmen. The ride took 30 or 45 minutes, and then we faced a bus ride of another hour to get to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. As we walked along the pier toward our bus one of the agents grinned a sly grin at all the gringos and said, “Get out your tickets, please. No ticket, no taco.” Gotta love Mexico.
Our guide took over on the bus. His name was Angel, and he was by far the best guide we had the whole two weeks. He started out speaking only Spanish, trying to get us to help him out with words and such. But suddenly he broke out in perfect English. American English with no trace of a Spanish accent. Then in a tribute to American teachers he had had growing up, he added a Brooklyn accent. Then New Jersey. Then Boston. Then Alabama. Pretty good stuff.
He informed us that we were in the Estados Unidos de Mexico. The United States of Mexico. And Cozumel in particular was special. They are the only state in Mexico that can fly its flag at the same height as the national flag. Hmm. Sounds familiar. He made several other comparisons between Texas and Cozumel as well. He also said he loved our country. One reason? Because it says right on our currency “In God We Trust.”
Angel went on to unashamedly admit that he was a Christian, and he constantly brought into his teaching how that has affected his life. How could he go wrong with a name like “Angel”? He was masterful at being true to his faith in Jesus while understanding and respecting his Mayan heritage (His two grandmothers were full-blooded Mayan). We asked about his church. He began to describe Seaside. I knew I liked this guy ...
He had an amazing grasp of history and culture. He made a lot of comparisons between the Mayans and Americans. Interestingly enough, there was no conqueror of the Mayans. The working class rose up against the corrupt politicians among the elders. Killed them all. Problem was, they then had no leadership, no wisdom. The withered and died from within.
The temple and other buildings were amazing, especially considering they were built in the 600’s and are still standing. People used to be able to go into the temple as well, but abuse of the facilities led to the government prohibiting that now. We saw a few anteaters in the wild. Cute little beasts - an unexpected treat. We also saw iguanas. Lots of iguanas. All over the place. They seemed able to pick out which of the tourists were were afraid of them, too. That made it really funny when a young man out with his date reached down near an iguana, grabbed a nearby branch, and raced at his girlfriend with it. She literally ran screaming back down the path, head in her hands.
After roaming the ruins and taking pictures of the ocean view and doing a little shopping (of course), we stopped at the tour guide recommended lunch spot for a $5 plate fo chicken quesadillas. Well, they were allegedly made with Cozumel chicken ... iguanas. They were really good. Tasted like ... chicken.
Our ferry made it back to the ship just in time to shove off. One last day at sea and home to Galveston ...
1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Father, thank you for beginning the healing process in Janet’s life. Now would you do the same for the others who have gotten sick on board? Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment