Tink Talks
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The Make a Wish family with Margaret at the tree (The Raito family)
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She was asked to meet two of the four Make a Wish families that were on board the Cruise and she graciously complied, kneeling down beside one lovely little four year old girl, Grace Raito, to sign a picture. I took a photo of the family and Margaret together, which I emailed the family as a souvenir and did the same for most of the crew that we met as everyone wanted a photo with Margaret �Tinker Bell� Kerry.

Margaret loved the ship and chose to remain on it, rather than go on shore excursions and maybe also enjoy some quiet time alone as well. I myself, being the tourist that I am, went off exploring on my own at all the ports of call. First port was Key West, which I had dreamed of visiting for years, ever since I had seen the old Humphrey Bogart film called Key Largo as a child, but had not gotten around to it. Key West is an island linked to other islands and to the mainland of Florida by bridges. It is the southernmost part of the United States. It is a charming little town with buildings, only two stories high, in lovely pastel colors. I walked to the Ernest Hemingway House, which is now open to the public for a fee. I had read his books, such as The Old Man and the Sea, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, as well as For Whom the Bell Tolls, which was made into a film with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman,  amongst other books. I admit my main reason for visiting the house was to see the descendants of the six toed cats that he owned and I enjoyed my visit greatly. I learned that there is a veterinarian that visits at least once a week and that each female cat is allowed one litter before being neutered, while they only allow two males at a time to remain un-neutered. There are between 43 and 50 cats at a time, with their births and deaths recorded. I learned much more about the lovely cats and even coaxed one lovely little calico named Simone to accept my pats while she purred with pleasure. The house itself was interesting as well as learning about Hemingway�s four wives.  I wanted to visit the Little White House that President Truman often visited but the heat drove me back to the boat with a sunburn. However just walking made me appreciate the loveliness of the island.

The Nativity in Grand Cayman
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In Grand Cayman, there were tenders, little speed boats, to take us from the ship to the port. There was time for Duty Free shopping and numerous water activities or tours available. I had already enjoyed the Dolphin Encounter on another shorter Disney Cruise in the Bahamas or would have chosen that in a flash as dolphins are the most beautiful and intelligent of all the creatures of the water. Instead I decided to take the 2 � hour tour of the island. Our guide drove us in a van to show us where many lovely hotels had been before Hurricane Ivan had destroyed them but had not been rebuilt. He took us to Hell, where there is a Post Office to send postcards stamped Hell. There were a couple of bill boards in front of the Post Office/shop where you could just put your head in the opening to have a photo taken of you as a Devil or an Angel. Most people chose the Devil one but for some reason that I really don�t know, I chose the Angel. Behind the shop is a group of black limestone formations, about the size of half a soccer field. People are not allowed in the formations but two viewing platforms exist. It is called Hell as that is how they imagined Hell would look. Then we were taken to a turtle farm for endangered species and were allowed to hold the turtles for pictures. There was a lovely nativity scene in front of a church but it was strange to be in such heat  during the Christmas season.

The Disney Magic in Grand Cayman
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Third port was Cozumel, Mexico, where again there were opportunities for water sports and tours to Mayan Ruins, which required strenuous activity and again Duty Free Shopping. Everything was decorated for Christmas and there was a bill board of a snowman wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, which you could put your head in for photos. As there was no island tour, I chose instead to take a submarine ride called Atlantis, which went 100 feet to the ocean floor. It was rather strange as the closer you were to the surface, the more color there was from the sunlight. The farther down you went, the colors disappeared to be replaced by grey and black and white. It was very thrilling to be in a submarine.

Me in a submarine 100 feet below the sea in Cozumel, Mexico
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