March 16, 2019

Cozumel, Mexico

2.09 miles
2 hours
33 foot elevation gain
81° F high/75° F low
83% humidity
3 traditional geocaches found
1 letterbox hybrid found

As mentioned in my previous post, I participated in a PAUMCS continuing education event at sea aboard the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas. The first full day of the cruise we were at sea. I spent all morning in lectures, and met with my focus group during lunch. In the afternoon Deban and I went to an ice show (YES! They have an ice rink on board the ship!) and enjoyed a performance of Grease that evening.

On Saturday morning I joined my fellow PAUMCS members in a trip to an orphanage in Cozumel called Ciudad de Ángeles. It was interesting visit, although I felt a little strange touring the home of these children as if they were on display for us. They do seem to be doing great work there, and it appears to be a good home for the children.

During the bus ride to and from the orphanage, some signs caught my eye. I shared a photo with my geocaching friends back home and remarked that Cozumel was very confusing because I had done what the sign said and got arrested for indecent exposure.

Once back at the ship, I ate lunch and then headed back out to find some geocaches. I had identified four that I could easily walk to from the ship.

The first was a quick and easy find right near the port. It was a 35 mm film canister hidden under some steps down to a rocky beach. Although the area was very busy, I was able to sit on the steps, find the cache, sign my name, and replace it without anyone noticing.

I then exited the port area and began walking along the road that runs north parallel to the sea. There were good sidewalks on each side, and I enjoyed the breeze blowing across the water that made the heat bearable.

The next cache was just a short distance away and was hidden inside a business where you could rent motorcycles to tour the island. When I walked in a man asked if he could help me. I told him I was looking for a geocache and he confirmed that it was inside. He let me explore the store on my own looking for it. I had made one circuit around the room and he had just told me to let him know if I wanted a hint when I spotted it. This cache was big enough to hold trackable items, so I dropped off a travel bug belonging to my hiking buddy LakeBum (Rob).

I left the store and continued walking north. The coordinates for the next cache took me to a group of businesses along the beach. The cache description instructs hunters to ask for Danny in order to access the geocache. I stepped into a small gift shop and asked for Danny. The proprietress took me next door to a business offering water sports such as snorkeling and snuba. When I asked the woman there, she reached inside and retrieved a key. Before handing it to me she said, “What are you looking for?” “A geocache.” I answered, reaching for the key. “What else?” she asked. “A locker” I said, since there was a bank of lockers behind me and I could see she had a key in her hand. She said, “More specifically?” I quickly looked on my phone at the hint for the geocache. It read “eleven” so I said, “Locker number eleven?”

She nodded and opened her hand to display the key which had “11” stamped on it. I opened locker 11 and found the cache inside. This was also a cache large enough to hold travel bugs, so I dropped another one off here. I hope that both of the travel bugs I left in Cozumel will be picked up and moved along. The log book in this cache had a photo of a dog that looks like a puppy version of my Shih-Tzu John Wesley.

After I replaced the cache, Signal posed for another photo next to a Cozumel sign. In the background you can see our ship in the distance.

Our last cache for the day was just over a mile from the ship. This one was inside a local bar and was actually a letterbox hybrid. This type of geocache is usually not at the posted coordinates. Instead you must go there and follow some type of directions to find the nearby cache.

I went inside and asked for help finding the cache. A gentleman retrieved it for me and set it on the bar. After I had logged my find, I decided that I needed a genuine Mexican margarita, so ordered one from the bartender. It was quite large, and strong but delicious. I drank about 3/4 of it while enjoying the atmosphere, but then decided if I was going to walk back to the ship in the hot sun that I should probably leave the rest. The terrain rating for this cache was the highest possible – a five. I suppose that is because if you have too many margaritas, the walk back to the ship could be very difficult.

Is it my imagination, or does Signal look inebriated?

I made the walk back without incident, stopping along the way to take photos. I also visited a few of the shops near the pier, but didn’t see anything I needed or wanted.