The Master is a SHE; Isabella's underwear and Cozumel

We enjoyed the lecture yesterday given by the Smithsonian associate, Charles Ingrao, who is recently retired from Purdue University. He was entertaining and knowledgeable. We learned all about Columbus’ four voyages to this part of the world. We heard about the incredibly small size and poor condition of the ships. We listened to tales about the Arayak and Carib Indians.

I was surprised to learn that almost 2000 years ago scholars had determined that the world was round.  He showed us a map created in 1492 that clearly indicated islands and landmasses in a sphere shape. So Columbus wasn’t the first.

Had a delightful evening sharing wine and appetizers with our traveling buddies, Kathy and Bos, going to the hallway "Block Party" and then going for a quiet and wonderful dinner.

ISABELLA

Columbus appealed to Queen Isabella of Spain for funding for his journey to India. She was totally focused on the war for Granada she even promised not to change her underwear until the war was over. So you can imagine how her underwear looked when they finally won that war and Granada was part of her empire.  Dr Ingrao showed a picture of a horse that was light brown colored. The name of a horse that color is Isabellini. That tells a bunch.

We also learned at the boat drill and from the newsletter the Master of the Vessel- the Captain- is a woman, Serena Melani. She is from Livorno Italy and begin her sailing days at age 16 as a cadet. She graduated from the Nautical College in 1993. She headed out to sea fulltime while serving on al types of cargo and container vessels. By 2002 she decided to enrich her nautical experience by accepting her first assignment on a cruise ship. In 2010 she was hired as the Bridge Officer by Regent Seven Seas . She now makes her home on the quaint Croatian island of Korčula. She and her husband enjoy traveling the backroads of Europe with her riding on the back his motorbike.  Passages said her motto comes from the author Karen Blixen- “The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears, or the sea.” AND “Be bold, be bold, be not too bold.”

ABOUT COZUMEL

The Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the first century AD, and older Preclassic Olmec artifacts have been found on the island as well. There are many Mayan ruins from this era on the island; however the largest was bulldozed to make way for an airport runway during World War II.

The first Spanish visitor was Juan de Grijalva in 1518, and in the following year Hernán Cortés came with a fleet and destroyed many Mayan temples. Some 40,000 Mayans lived on the island then, but smallpox disease devastated them. By 1570 only 30 were left alive.

In the ensuing years Cozumel was nearly deserted and just used as a hideout for pirates from time to time.  In 1848, the Caste War of Yucatán resulted in the resettlement by refugees escaping the tumult. Abraham Lincoln as the American President came close to purchasing the island of Cozumel as a place to send the freed slaves. The continued war in the Yucatán caused him to change his mind.

In 1959 Jacques Cousteau discovered the extent and beauty of the coastal reefs at the south of Cozumel. These reefs are protected from the open ocean by the island’s natural geography.

On this beautiful day we are docked at the pier beside the YUGE Costa Deliziosa. It has 20 life boats -10 on each side. That ship must carry about 3200 passengers. The water is a beautiful blue and boats of all sizes and functions are playing the waters. Looking at this ship made us happy once again that we are on this lovely 700 passenger ship rather than one of those big ones.

We had a funny – and could have been really bad- thing happen as we watched from our balcony. The room service guy came to take away the dishes. He put the table top on the right side of the door behind the curtains.  When we got ready to go inside the table top prevented the door from opening completely…in fact it only made a tiny opening. Thank goodness for Jim’s small body. He was able to just squeeze through. So the relaxing continues!