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We cruised back up the Yucatan coastline for a stop in Cozumel. After breakfast, we watched another cruise ship ease into the dock right beside us.

Brandon had booked an excursion to swim with dolphins, and the rest of us didn’t feel like doing that, so we decided to explore the town a bit. We headed off the ship.

I think the square mile right by the cruise ship dock is nothing more than tourist shops. We walked along the main drag, looking down alley after alley filled with storefronts.

We stopped in at many of them, admiring the way some of the displays claimed the items were “handmade by local craftsmen” when I’m pretty sure they were shipped in bulk from China. Luchador masks were a popular item, and I tried one on while I thought of my wrestling stage name. How about Revenge de la Rojo?

There were some cool stores where the goods were definitely handmade. Pepper bought a really nice leather fanny pack (is there a fancy name for those?) and some earrings. She collects earrings much like I collect ties: both of us probably have far too many, but it’s okay. I stumbled upon a cool hat that says COZ and it felt appropriate.

Both of us enjoyed using our pidgin Spanish as we chatted with the store owners. My Duolingo training hasn’t exactly made me an expert, but I could understand many of the signs and notices, and was able to have halting conversations with patient vendors. At one point, while Pepper was haggling with a vendor– a girl who looked to be about fourteen– I noticed a mural painted on a nearby wall. The closer you look at it, the stranger it gets.

We spent a few hours wandering the streets, and Pepper and Kricket were starting to complain about the heat.

We decided to head back to the ship for some food (of course) but it was a long walk back. We went along the shore, where there were some odd statues. It all began with a Derpy Fish, which I encouraged Kricket to emulate.

From there we passed the Happy Octopus…

The Bucktooth Snail…

Another (identical) Derpy Fish…

And even a Dancing Turtle…

Our last stop before the dock was a statue of General Rafael Melgar, who was famous for… something, I guess.

As we headed out of Cozumel toward Texas, we noticed a massive ship in the distance. It’s a bit hard to tell the scale in the photo.

Looking closer, we noticed it was the Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world. She has a capacity of almost eight thousand passengers, with a crew complement of over two thousand. This happened to be her maiden voyage. On the left of the photo above, there are three other cruise ships. One is a Carnival ship that had followed us from Roatan (and is actually visible in the selfie of me and Pepper in that post). That means a total of six ships had docked in Cozumel that day! There were almost certainly more than twenty thousand people who left those ships to do some shopping or take excursions or explore the area. It must be a crazy life to work and live in Cozumel and have those ships pull into dock.

Late night snack tonight: deviled eggs.

Today we landed in Honduras. Our port of call was Roatan, and we’d booked a trip on a catamaran to go snorkeling. But first, we enjoyed our usual buffet breakfast, which provides around a thousand calories to start our day. The bacon here is amazing, and each time I return to the buffet to load up more eggs, pancakes, or cinnamon rolls, I grab another few slices of pig.

There’s a group of three crew members who walk around the breakfast area delivering coffee and pastries. I guess if you’re too lazy to get your own muffin, you can sit and wait for them to come over. They sing songs together, all related to coffee and pastries. They’ve rewritten the words to a few well-known songs, like the Earth Wind and Fire classic September. Yes, imagine a song about doughnuts that sounds like September. Anyway, they’re a smashing hit– always garnering applause from whoever’s around– so of course we had to take a picture with them.

After our hearty breakfast, we disembarked and headed for the marina. It involved a ride through town in a small bus, whose driver navigated the narrow, crowded streets with a beautiful combination of skill and recklessness. The traffic was crushing, and there weren’t any stop lights, stop signs, or even road signs in general. You’d just merge when you felt brave enough, and other drivers would stop and grudgingly let you in, giving you a few inches of clearance and honking a few times to let you know they were irritated.

We made it to the marina, though, and boarded a sixty-foot catamaran. I’d call it more of a “party boat” because the captain– a huge dark muscled Honduran with a thick accent– would steer with a loose half-hearted grip on the wheel while blasting American party rock on the stereo. We listened to everything from Sweet Home Alabama to YMCA to Firework. We got some instruction about the snorkel equipment (nothing complicated) and jumped into the water. It wasn’t as warm as Harvest Caye yesterday, mainly because the skies were grey and stormy and threatened rain. Brandon and I headed out while Pepper and Kricket figured out how to jump off the ship.

There were big schools of fish rushing around, many within just a few feet of me.

As I followed another school, I headed over to a drop-off where the coral suddenly ended in a rock cliff that descended into the dark depths.

Beyond that, it was impossible to see what was below. Suddenly a mass of bubbles floated up, and a guy wearing scuba gear ascended from the deep. Pretty cool! I’m not particularly interested in scuba, but snorkeling was fun. We spent about an hour wandering the area, and then climbed back aboard the party boat.

The captain opened the bar, and there were free drinks for everyone. As songs like American Pie and Gangnam Style blasted, several of the passengers who’d had a bit more to drink than most were dancing on the deck. Well, staggering might be a better description. An hour later, as we returned to the marina, one had to be helped off the boat because he was so sloshed. Sigh.

That night we enjoyed another Caribbean sunset.

Looking for something to do other than a raunchy comedy show, we went up to the racetrack and inquired about the cars. It turned out the rules require close-toed shoes, and I was wearing sandals (of course). I went back to our room and donned my Keens, which are absolutely close-toed, but was told they weren’t good enough because they still had open air vents. Apparently the shoes have to be entirely closed, “for safety reasons”. So I wasn’t allowed to race the cars. Brandon, who had regular old tennies, took to the track.

It looks like he’s zipping past, but in fact he’s going at about the speed of a brisk jog. The cars were horribly slow. I can understand the concern about shoes… you’d hate to somehow run over your own foot at such a glacial speed! We cheered him on nonetheless– only he and one other guy were “racing” at the time. Every time the other guy came meandering past, we shouted for him as well. He seemed confused, but hey, no one else was cheering for him. After a few laps Brandon was directed back into the pit by a crewman. He took to the victors’ podium to celebrate his decisive victory in the two-man race.

Even though the racetrack turned out to be a bust, we had more fun playing games and chatting on deck in the cool evening air. We also decided to get some deviled eggs.

Several cruise companies own private islands in the Caribbean. In Norwegian’s case, they own one they call Harvest Caye. It’s not very large, but it has a nice beach. So we decided today would be our Beach Day. The weather was perfect for lounging.

It was a little strange to think it’s February 5 and we’re lathering on sunscreen and hoping we don’t burn too badly!

We spent the day lounging in chairs and wandering into the ocean (there weren’t really any waves, which was nice but not much fun). We enjoyed it so much that we were the last people to board the ship. The onboard time was 4:30, and around 4:15 we decided it was probably time to head back. It was a longer walk than we remembered, but there was a guy driving a golf cart toward the dock and we talked him into a ride. Pepper enjoyed the free trip.

Back on our balcony, we watched as the ship pulled away. We snapped a shot with the island behind us, admiring our beautiful seawater-soaked hair.

Back at sea after another amazing dinner, we enjoyed a sunset together. Life is good.

Finally! We arrived in port at Costa Maya, Mexico. It seemed like all three thousand passengers needed to leave at once. Many of us had excursions planned; the rest were probably just funned out from their fun day at sea yesterday and ready to stand on land. The process was surprisingly fast, and we found ourselves in the midst of a big marketplace right off the dock. The vendors were pretty pushy, and we just had to mumble “No, gracias” as we pushed our way through to the street beyond. We walked a few blocks to the gathering spot for our excursion, an ancient Mayan site at Chacchoben.

We hadn’t booked through the cruise line, because we found a private tour that was half the price. When we arrived at the spot, we laughed a little at the setup. It was a couple of Mexican guys with a couple of run-down white vans. But hey, what’s a trip to Mexico without a little adventure? Hoping we weren’t about to be kidnapped, we climbed into the van and rode for about an hour into the jungle of Quintana Roo. We eventually arrived at Chacchoben, where our guide, Octavio, led us through the various ruins. There were a bunch of big groups with obviously more “professional” guides, but frankly Octavio was a lot of fun and interesting to talk to. He’d been an aerospace engineer for many years before deciding he wanted less stress in his life, when he opted to run this little tourist agency.

The ruins were pretty cool. They’re about 1,300 years old, and when you consider the dense jungle surrounding them, it’s not surprising we’re still discovering Mayan sites throughout Central America– they’re overgrown and buried so deeply in the trees that even satellites have a hard time picking out these ancient cities.

Even after a millennium, the stonework and masonry endures. Apparently these larger temples were originally covered in smooth clay, but over the years it wore away and left only the original stone framework.

We learned a bit about Mayan culture, and Octavio even explained some Mayans mathematics. They invented the concept of zero, which was unknown in Europe at the time. Although it’s hard to understand how you wouldn’t have zero, it’s more about using a placeholder to represent it in equations. Their temples incorporated math, often using numbers the Mayans considered sacred, like seven and thirteen.

In places, the jungle is slowly devouring the ruins. Or, perhaps, the ruins haven’t been fully excavated. Either way, it was really interesting.

I don’t think Pepper enjoyed it nearly as much. It was hot, and there wasn’t a lot of shade. We’d seen ruins at Tulum (in the same area of Mexico) on our Cancun trip back in 2015, and those hadn’t excited her much either.

After our excursion and the ride back to Costa Maya, we had some time before we needed to be back onboard. The port was more interesting than the ship, so we hit a few of the local shops. As usual, I found that the hats for sale were too small for my head. Alas.

We made our way back to the ship, stopping for a quick shot on the dock.

Once again we enjoyed some time on the deserted deck. And had some deviled eggs.

Not really.

When cruise ships spend a day (or more?) plodding from their origin port to whatever their first destination is, they seem to advertise them as “fun days at sea”. The truth is, they’re not very interesting because the outside world looks like this:

The weather was beautiful: sunny, warm, and a little breezy. The decks were completely stuffed with people enjoying the pools, hot tubs, beach chairs, loungers, and everything else. It was tricky to find a spot the four of us could sit together.

My suggestion for the cruise lines: on these fun days at sea, make sure the shipboard entertainment is top-notch. Get a hilarious stand-up comic. Host a little play. Show a movie or two. Have trivia games with fun hosts and interesting questions. Offer bingo where you don’t have to pay twenty bucks per card. Host a Spades tournament. And so on. The four of us came up with dozens of ideas about things the ship could offer that were better than the trivia game with confusing geography questions from a host who seemed like he’d rather be sleeping in his cramped bunk in steerage. Or the “couples’ game” with random married couples which could’ve been fun if it hadn’t been absolutely inappropriate and lewd. Or the comic who did a “clean” show that was moderately amusing– we assumed his best jokes were heavily adult-themed and saved for his “18+ show” late at night.

That said, sometimes you just have to make your own entertainment. I’d brought several quart games, and Brandon and I pulled them out to play. We had delicious food and plenty of snacks; I’m guessing we put away three or four thousand calories today. We enjoyed late-night deviled eggs (go figure). We roamed the deck. We lounged in the chairs when most of the passengers had retired to bed, watching the stars above the empty darkness of the ocean. So it wasn’t all bad.

After our Alaskan cruise last year, we were picked up at the airport by our friends Brandon (aka “Bojangles”) and Katie (aka “Kricket”). We bought them lunch as a thank-you for the ride, and of course they asked how our trip had been. We gushed about the fun we had, the beautiful weather, the hikes, the cruise ship, and of course the food. After our travelogue, they both suggested the four of us embark on a cruise “sometime next year”. It’s been said cruising is more fun with friends or family, and since we were so experienced we could show them the ropes (hah, a little nautical humor there).

The months passed, and eventually we got organized and booked a February cruise to the Caribbean. We figured February in Montana would be a great time to take a break from the cold dreary grey of winter and enjoy some sun and beach time.

The day arrived, and due to some utility work the highway past our house would be closed, so we had to leave several hours early to avoid the closure. Without much to do, we decided to take a hike. Here’s what the scenery looked like:

Very pretty, to be sure, and not quite 20 degrees. So it was cold. We were excited for the beach in a few days.

After a flight through Denver to Houston, we spent the night at a hotel and headed to the port this morning. As expected, it was crowded as thousands of people queued to get on the ship. Also as expected, it was a refreshingly efficient process. These cruise lines know how to handle logistics, that’s for sure. We snapped a shot of our ship, the Norwegian Prima.

It’s mammoth. The passenger capacity is just over 3,000, with a crew of about 1,500. Since our stateroom wasn’t ready– they were still turning over rooms from the former passengers who’d disembarked only hours before– we took some time to explore the ship.

We found the racetrack, which seemed like an odd thing to have aboard ship, but might make a fun diversion at some point. The little car sure looks fast, doesn’t it?

One “boardwalk” along the deck featured a bunch of art installations.

We explored for a couple hours, watched as the ship pulled out of dock, and decided it was time to eat. Cruises are renowned for their food, and although I’m not a “foodie” myself, I’m traveling with three who are. We picked one of the restaurants and were impressed with how fancy and pretty everything was.

Here’s Pepper reviewing the menu (“the steak or the shrimp?”) as the sun sinks toward the horizon beyond.

This evening, the ship hosted a big game show. It was based on the “hit TV series” Deal or No Deal, which is a mind-numbingly stupid concept based almost entirely on luck. I suppose in that way it’s like most game shows. Anyway, without much else to do, we went to the theater with about five hundred other people to watch.

They chose someone at random from the audience– her name was Karen– and she went onstage to play the game. In short, the concept is you open selected briefcases which contain some amount of money between one cent and a thousand dollars. You’re hoping to eliminate all of the low-value ones and go home with the thousand-dollar one. Although I rolled my eyes at the concept and the over-the-top showmanship, it was a lot of fun to be in an audience who was absolutely screaming at the top of their collective lungs to tell Karen what they thought she should do each time. Eventually, Karen managed to win the thousand dollars. The crowd went totally nuts. It was the best possible outcome, and Karen was jumping with joy.

The cynic in me wondered if they’d staged the game specifically so she’d win it all, but I was told later that in a second round right after, the guy didn’t do nearly as well and won something like fifty bucks. So maybe it was legitimate, and she was incredibly lucky. Good for her.

Stuffed from dinner and finished exploring for the day, we headed to our respective staterooms. Ready for a “fun day at sea”!

We’re heading out on a cruise tomorrow. Since our traveling companions include my friend Brandon, the king of board games, we agreed we need to bring a few games along to play on the “fun days at sea” while the ship cruises through the Caribbean. Of course luggage space is at a premium when you’re flying United (sigh) so I needed to find good games that also happen to be small.

I picked several and took them out of their boxes (because boxes are big and unwieldy in luggage), and stuffed them into some quart bags.

That’s 7 Wonders: Duel on the left, Space Base on the top, and Dicee on the bottom. All of them fit quite neatly into quart bags.

It got me thinking: maybe the next game I design should have a goal of fitting into a single quart bag. It’ll be a Quart Game!

Pepper was driving along the highway today and this happened.

That rock “chip” can’t be repaired, so it’ll mean a whole new windshield. As we learned last year, the nearest Tesla repair shop is 200 miles away, and it’ll mean a $500 deductible and a second claim on our insurance in three months. Ugh.

A few weeks ago, Kari asked if she could come out from Missouri to visit us. In January. I was excited, and started making plans for the things we’d do while she was here.

Her original travel plans happened to coincide with the coldest temperatures we’d seen in years. The weather forecast called for highs that were below zero. That would really put a damper on our plans to be outdoors, and Kari was worried about airline flight cancellations. She bumped her trip a week, which turned out to be a wise choice because her original flight through Denver was cancelled. Plus, the forecast called for much warmer temperatures the following week.

So she showed up, and the thermometer was in the 30s, which was much better for outdoor activities. After a few days with her friend Denise up in Kalispell, she dropped in at our place. We had a grand time chatting and eating and playing games, waiting for an opportunity to do something outside. But the rain came down, and the temperatures plummeted, and we ended up with a quarter-inch layer of ice on everything. Here’s what our driveway looked like:

In this photo it just looks like it’s wet, but that’s all ice. And after plowing two feet of snow off our driveway, we’d kept the pavement clear with shovels. So the nice smooth driveway became a nice smooth (and steep) ice rink. The only way to even walk on it was with crampons.

Well, we’re hardy Montanans and we wanted to show Kari a good time, so we pulled out our sleds.

Whoa.

Sliding down the icy tire tracks was absolutely crazy. By the time we’d get to the bottom of a switchback, we’d be cruising so fast we couldn’t even steer to make the turn. Here are Pepper and Kari roaring down the driveway:

And, unable to make the corner, wiping out in the pile of plowed snow in the switchback:

It was probably the best sledding we’ll ever see. And there was absolutely no way we’d be able to get a car down if we wanted to leave. We’d simply slide right off into a snowbank, or (worse) over the edge and into the forest. We talked about whether our v-bar chains would’ve helped, but I’m honestly not sure. I think they would’ve bit into the ice enough to get us down, but didn’t want to test my theory. So we had a blast sledding at Mach 2 and laughing as we wiped out on the corners.

In this video, I couldn’t steer very well because I was holding my camera, so I ended up spinning through the center snowy strip. Kari easily beat me in our race.

After sledding, we donned snowshoes and gave her a tour of our property, including a hike through the neighboring national forest. The two-foot-deep snow had a layer of ice on top, so we had to basically punch our snowshoes through the ice, sink down to our knees, and then step again. It was hard work, but the forest was beautiful.

We had a good time, even though we couldn’t do all the things we’d hoped. We snapped a quick photo under our continually-growing front door icicles.

Of course we made a pilgrimage to Rosa’s.

It was wonderful to see my sis for a few days, and I hope she can come back again sometime soon. In the summer.

With the designs for Dicee finished, I sent them off to the print company. It was a simple job: just a deck of 54 poker-size playing cards. They arrived today, and I’m pretty pleased with the results.

I decided to use 8-bit retro gaming art for the design after watching Zack and Alex play a video game called Enter the Gungeon. And since Zack is a co-creator of the game, he deserves a subtle shout-out. I like that the game is simple. It involves a deck of cards and a bucketload of dice. It takes a couple minutes to explain and maybe fifteen or twenty minutes to play. It doesn’t involve resource management (as Zack was quick to point out). And honestly it’s a lot of fun.

Of course it’s not finished– this was just the first printing. I already have some ideas for more cards, and I sent a copy to Zack so he can introduce it to his friends and get their input. Together we’ll make it even better.