Good morning!
I'm babysitting my baby nephew today!!! Chad took off work today to take my brother and family to the Times Square area just to walk around and see the sights. My brother rolled his eyes when his wife Kristin wanted to go, because this is all old and boring to him, having been born and raised here, but he did want his girls to see it all. I was thinking of later on putting the baby in the stroller and meeting them, but it's going to be in the mid-80s today, and still too hot to take the baby out. He gets prickly heat, so we'll just stay home and keep cool.
Ok, cruise talk!
I've decided to definitely do the cooking class with Josephina in Cozumel. I've posted some comments about it that I found. If anyone would like to join me, please do. If not, I'll either see if I can jump in with a group from CruiseCritic, or just do it solo. It really seems to be a unique experience that isn't touristy, and is in a real local neighborhood. I wanted to do the dolphin swim, but that can be done in other places at a later time on another vacation.
I'm going to email Josephina and get some details about the times it's offered for our day in Cozumel.
The cooking class involves a trip to the town Mercado, the traditional shopping and walking back to the waterfront will expose you to more of the real Mexico, the businesses that locals use, a real cultural experience that few get to see.
Taxis are everywhere and extremely regulated by the union. Clean cars, neatly groomed drivers are strictly required and a better chance of getting a taxi driver that speaks English than most parts on the U.S.
Well I went on the cooking class last week. I'd say between 2 1/2 to 3 hours total. It starts at the municipal Mercado for shopping. This is where the locals shop for the freshest produce and some exotic things not available in the supermarket. This part might take up to 30 minutes as there are lots of questions learning new foods and many vendors will have samples to try.
The group then walks the three short blocks to the kitchen. Sauces and guacamole come first to have snacks with lots of Jamaica punch to drink. The people participate in different parts of the preparation of the components, I confess I had never prepared cactus before, now I know. Depending on the meal, you finish with a nice lunch you have all assisted in preparing. When the class ends, you could continue the cultural experience and walk back the four blocks to the square and see the normal stores that cater to the needs of the locals. Taxis are all over, so it is an easy walk or jump into a cab and they'll take you where you want to go.
Josephina even fixed an authentic margarita.
I've taken the class as well. It's great! The trip to the market is very informative and fun. The class is well organized and the final product is excellent.
My only "constructive criticism" is that I wish Josephina would provide written recipes to accompany the class.
That said, it isn't hard to follow along and take notes so that you can re-create the recipe when you get home. Just bring a couple of pieces of paper and a pen with you.
CLASS FEES (cost of ingredients included)
Private Classes (your group only) 2-4 people: $79.00 per person, 5-6 people: $69.00 per person
Public Classes (5 people max) $69.00 per person
Individual Private Classes, one on one with Josephina: $125
I went to youtube.com, typed in Josephina Cooking Cozumal, and found many videos of this excursion! Here's a link to the market, it's a short video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iPsy8jrMoxw
