So there was someone who had to be airlifted off the boat in Key West due to a medical emergency. Part of me wondered what happened, but when you are on vacation, you just take information that you are given at face value. Curiousity is muted. My analytical brain was in the off position. It was blissful really.

For awhile.

We didn’t leave on time which made people antsier about Hurricane Emily I guess. How do I know this? Because the captain came over the intercom to assure us that everything would be ok. The whole speech had the air of someone trying to quell multiple questions about impending doom. It was a perky speech in an Italian accent. It was calming. We were all zen to let someone else be decision maker. We all practiced vacation brain. We were simply happy that we were in fact going to go to Cozumel and not some other God forsaken place. Mexico was calling. And we were going.

It was obvious to me that I was on vacation time. Why? Because I didn’t feel compelled to know every detail about the hurricane. And let’s face it, that is not like me. I just “weathered” hurricane Dennis a week before. Statistically what are the probabilities of having to deal with two hurricanes in one vacation? I should have known since I had to deal with two hurricanes during our Disney trip last year.

Anyway, we got to Cozumel a few hours late. It was stifling hot. We walked off the ship and breathed in the humidity. We arrived mid day and we decided to “put off” our beach excursion until later in the day. What’s the rush to get into the hot sun anyway? So we did some shopping. And then went to get some authentic Mexican food.

Good God what I think I love most about cruising is the food. Oh the food…. Food of different cultures. Food prepared in unique ways. Tons of options. Food is so so so so soothing.

The food in Mexico was wonderful. We ate at Pancho’s right off the Pier. Pretty pricey by Mexico standards, but wonderful food. At this point, we were still under the delusion that Hurricane Emily wasn’t going to interfere in our vacation at all.

At the end of our meal, I noticed them stacking up all the chairs and tables. There were only a few people left in the restaurant. I noticed that one of the shops across the way had closed up. I commented to my cousin that they really take this Siesta stuff seriously in Mexico. That they must be closing up for nap time. Then in broken Spanish and English I learned from our waiter that they were bracing for Hurricane Emily.

I think this is the moment vacation brain started slipping away.

Words like category four, 75 kph, and supplies sound very similar in Spanish and English. After much confusion, we realized it wasn’t going to hit till tomorrow… (after giving us a heart attacking using the English word “tonight” instead. Thank you pre Kindergarten Sesame Street which taught us the word Manana! Heh)

Anyway… We headed to the beach. ‘Cept they closed it to bring in all the beach chairs and umbrellas. Had to find somewhere else to go. Hmmm. Public beach is closing now? This doesn’t bode well. But still, we clung to our vacation plans like titanic victims to life jackets.

So we went to another beach. With a bar. And a pool. And did I mention a bar? And we bought overpriced snorkeling equipment since the snorkel guy went home to board up his house. And we bought shell anklets. And we drank. And we were merry. And there was a breeze. And all around us, all the Mexicans were cutting fans down from the tiki huts, putting away chaise lounges and yet still trying to offer comfort to their guests in the form of liquid comfort. Sun, Sand, Mexico, and liquid relaxers to make you forget all your cares.

Like there is a big hurricane on the way. Don’t mind us, we’ll take care of everything. You just go ahead and keep lounging in the sun while we try to save our livelihoods.

We headed back to the ship. It was around 8pm… the kids were tired. We went to the Lido deck and got some “quick food” and topped it all off with ice cream cones. Then we put the kids to bed. Everyone was exhausted, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was pushing the vacation time away and feeling the need for more information.

Amazing the pull of my control freakish need for information.

My cousin and I had a long discussion in the hallway about whether to take the Bonnine anti nausea drug. The cabin steward told us that if we touched the hurricane bands at all, no drug was going to make any difference. The entire crew got sick during hurricane Dennis. This didn’t do anything to make me feel better. My cousin decided to hold off… because this stuff made her so sleepy. Perhaps the captain was right… he would be able to out run it.

Seriously… I hate to throw up.

I went up to the top deck as the ship sailed and sat and stared at the blackness of the water. The boat was rocking quite a bit. I think they turned the stabilizers off to kick up our speed a few knots. The amazing observation was that in the blackness of the water, right below the foam of white, you could still see sea foam green even in the darkness. It was mesmerizing. Funny the things that come to you at odd moments isn’t it?

I headed down to the Internet café. The boat was rocking and I had an unnatural sway to my step. And this is when my terror was realized. This is when all hope of vacation brain went by the way side. I looked at the satellite image of Hurricane Emily and I realized there was no freaking way this boat was going to out run all the hurricane bands. I stared at the picture. I felt ill. I felt out of control. Good Bye sweet vacation brain.

And then I clicked on Google to research knots and kilometers per hour to see where hell would intersect. And then the satellite connection went out and I could not get more information.

The universe was having quite a laugh at my expense. Give her just enough information to freak her out… and no more.

So what did I do?

I went down to my cabin. I got undressed. I took some Bonnine and I prayed that none of us would get sea sick.

And as I drifted off to sleep I realized that vacation brain was still in full force. Because since I was staring at a looming category four storm in my mind, shouldn’t I be praying for safety instead of simply no one getting sea sick?

Blissfully… sleep quieted my mind.

And for the record, no one got sea sick.

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