We went ashore on Cozumel today. There were multiple opportunities for physical activity. We took a taxi to San Francisco beach and snorkeled all morning. A little way out from shore were seaweed beds where an amazing variety of tropical fish were swimming. My favorites had bright blue and bright green bands. There was no surf, and the water was crystal clear. It was hard to tell whether I was in five feet of water or way over my head.

For lunch I had an apple from the ship and a bag of homemade trail mix. The trail mix was almonds, walnuts, pecans, raisins, and pineapple, one of my favorite combinations.

We took a glass bottom boat ride out to a coral reef where we saw even more beautifully colored fish. We did a little shopping and took a long walk along the shore. I have to say it again; the water is just incredibly beautiful.

Before dinner I went by the gym for a few minutes on the weight machines. I want to take full advantage of the opportunity to work on specific muscle groups while I have the chance.

Dinner presented a tough choice: sirloin or turkey. The sirloin came with potatoes. The turkey came with sage dressing, parsnips and yams. I was very curious what the ship's gourmet chef would do with parsnips, so I went with turkey. I had expected turkey on one side of the plate and three little mounds of the three accompaniments on the other. Instead they put the dressing in the middle of the plate, topped it with mashed parsnips, and topped that with mashed yams. Two slices of turkey covered the vegetables, and gravy was poured over all. The flavors just blended together. It was good, but not as outstandingly tasty as I had anticipated.

There was a party on deck with a Mexican food buffet after the evening show. The kids were going and I joined them. I had not planned to eat again, but the food was too good to pass up. There were salmon enchiladas, black bean tostadas, and steak tacos. All were hors d'oeuvre sized, and I tried one of each. I also had guacamole, but no chips, not even the wrapping around the enchilada and taco. Protein at midnight is one thing, but I didn't forget myself so far as to have grain just before I went to sleep.