LATINGA

I think this was a highlight of the trip. If you are not familiar with it, the ferry ride between Playa del Carmen on the mainland of the Mayan Riviera and San Miguel on Cozumel Island is trying, at best. Some time between the last time I was there and now they have bought fancy new boats, which they now charge quite a hefty sum for the pleasure of sailing on. Before that, the ferries were open-air, single-hull monsters with some metal benches and several metal buckets at the end of each row for people to puke into as they made the 40-minute journey across, pitching and tossing on this glorified cargo boat. The new boats are all fancy inside, with comfy seats, air conditioning which gets turned on SOMETIMES (but not for the 10am sailing we were on), one bathroom, and a person who goes around passing out little black bags for people to puke into, because the fancy new boat pitches just as much as the rickety old boats did. Why, you ask would any fool undertake this journey?

Because it is worth a cab ride, fighting through ferry lineups, emptying your stomache on the ferry, and the Scamapalooza of San Miguel to spend a few short hours on Cozumel. In case you've never heard me wax on about it endlessly, if you can rent motorized transportation and get yourself to the Caribbean side of Cozumel, total paradise awaits you, with the best vistas, empty beaches, adorable places to eat, fresh coconut that gets macheted from a tree for you so that you can drink fresh coconut water - I could go on for hours.

After an exhausting day of pleasure (out on the island) and pain (in the Cruise ship tourist trap city of San Miguel), you have to get back on the ferry and return to Playa del Carmen. On our return trip, we were greeted by a small band that was setting up. The musicians turned out to be a group called "Latinga". Apparently, the ferry people call them periodically and invite them to come on board and try to play drums, guitar, and keyboard while pitching around on the Atlantic Ocean. They do this surprisingly well. They had a great sound, and played Latin favourites that even us gringos can sing along to, like Guantanamera and Bamba, and Oye Como Va. Needless to say, when they asked for tips (because they play for free) I bought their CD. They made the ferry ride so fun, with their great tunes and boisterous good humour. They don't have a web site, but they have an email latin_ga@hotmail.com and cell number listed on the CD. In case you are ever in the Riviera and want to hear a smokin' group of Latin music types.