Accents
Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya, here I come!
Last of 3 parts
Our weeklong vacation in cruise ship, Carnival Dream, May 29 to June 5, included three shore excursions: Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico, Isla Roatan in Honduras, and Belize of the British Commonwealth in Central America — all in all a well-deserved break from the workaday world for my daughters Randy and Raileen and their families. For Lolo and Lola, it was a respite from pots and pans (because in the U.S. of A. where they are ensconced, a maid is as precious and as costly as diamonds as I have opined in an earlier column.)
The first one in the itinerary was Cozumel which the two oldsters didn’t go to explore. Having been there in 2002, I remember Cozumel’s mall-like stretch of consumer goods and souvenir items that I didn’t find particularly attractive, being no shopaholic. Enough for me to view from the ship’s verandah its shoreline which is a far cry from our own Boracay. Let the energetic young use up every single bit of their time ashore. Leisurely fun in the ship went well with old age. No Cozumel redux for Rudy and me.
Isla Roatan of Honduras was a different story. Mahogany Bay, the island’s cruise center, is something I would love to see in Boracay, but how can Boracay have one that was beautified at the cost of $62 million? Maybe later? A $64 question, I would say. Native art and handicrafts on display were more or less similar to ours, but I lingered on the various frames narrating the island’s history, and this I had jotted down: “We have a lot of spiritual things in our hearts and in our lives that we would like to share with you that cannot be explained with just words.” A curiosity-provoking quote from Olid Flores, a community voice from Costa Gorda, the Garifuna village in Roatan.
What souvenir did I get from Roatan? Something I told the children no other country can duplicate because doing so would be illegal. And to think that it costs only a dollar. They waited with bated breath, if I may exaggerate, as I was taking out a transparent cellophane case containing a bill and coins imprinted BANCO CENTRAL DE HONDURAS which my granddaughter then read. (Little Danika that I had introduced to stamp collecting is now slowly becoming a numismatist in addition to being a philatelist.) Tourist centers in the country can imitate the Honduras idea for foreigners who might be interested in collecting Philippine currency.
It is interesting to note that overseas workers come from many other Third World countries other than the Philippines. Four or was it five employees in the cruise ship come from Honduras. Vany, one of the waiters we met at lunchtime is from Honduras. He said he would be seeing his family when we would be at Roatan. Two very efficient waiters who served us at the Scarlet, our place for formal dinner, were Bagus and Florian, from Indonesia and Romania, respectively. Indonesia has the second biggest number of overseas workers next to the Philippines in the cruise ship, about a hundred of them, more or less. I surmise unemployment must be high also in their home country as it is in ours.
Going to Belize, we had to board a catamaran. The water must be too shallow for the cruise ship to go any nearer. We joined a small group that toured the city and found Belize more Third Worldish than the Philippines. A honky-tonk of stores displaying cheap goods line very narrow streets. The younger set in the contingent went for some sea adventure, Belize being known for its reefs and eco-parks. Steve, the driver cum tour guide, brought our group to a roadside store that sold mangoes, cashew nuts, etc. very much like the roadside talipapas we see in our barangays. I had a picture taken with Mari Ramos, the store owner who gave me a big mango to hold for the photo op. Reminds me to send her a copy of the snapshot. One significant thing about Belize is that English is their native tongue which is no wonder Belize being a colony of Great Britain and continues to date as a protectorate of the British Commonwealth.
Costa Maya of Mexico was next and last in the itinerary. At once, we had a face-off with stores big and small displaying an overwhelming array of items that posed a big challenge to the weak of heart, if not to ones’ pocketbook. Poor Rudy and I made do with the Costa Maya T-shirts. And here’s a tip to our Department of Tourism (granting this is really a tip), the entire audience—tourists and all—were regaled with Costa Maya folk dances by expert native dancers in their colorful costumes. In a tourist center such as Boracay, could the Tourism Department offer the same for free? For instance, Tinikling, the country’s signature folk dance.
Three tourists went for the beachside massage. The masseurs were Mexicanas clad in white. The rate: $30 for 30 minutes which translates to a dollar per minute. I was not drawn to having one, not only because of the prohibitive price but I just want a fellow Pinay doing the works on me. In Boracay, a Pinay does it for P300—ointments and all—you bet, longer than 30 minutes accompanied by stories or conversations to boot.
Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya, oh yeah, but where’s my Boracay? I’ll keep longing for the most beautiful beach in the world. Boracay with its cool, powdery white sand is just beyond compare!
Email: lagoc@hargray.com
