the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors
On March 8, 2010, Kate and Dick boarded the huge Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Navigator of the Seas, for a six-day excursion to Cozumel (Mexico) and Belize (a member of the British Commonwealth). The official reason for the trip was attending the annual convention of the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors (AGPC), which just happened to be on the high seas this year. These photos by Dick Jones tell the story:
Casting off, Miami harbor with skyline of hotels in background.
The Royal Promenade, awesomely spacious to dazzle the eye, a veritable mall, with even a Ben & Jerry's.
Entrance to Casino Royale—this is the floor!.
Wednesday—first stop, Cozumel. Here's Jose's horse-drawn cart that rode us into town.
One of the hundreds of shops tempting tourists. Notice the sign, since 1492.
Thatched roof, a popular building detail.
Floating cities anchored in Cozumel harbor. The pelican is not impressed.
Musicians at pier invite tips by credit card, cash, and beer.
Thursday—by shuttle boat, two-hour bus ride, and ferry, we approach Mayan archeological site in Belize.
Grass-carpeted, partially excavated Mayan temple mounds at Xunantunich.
One mound unearthed, the other just beginning to emerge. Archeologists' dream!
Tourists prepare for rugged clamber up the tallest structure.
No guard rails, just narrow ledges.
Rough terrain for the fearless climbers.
Grand view from top of "the castle," well worth the climb.
Nearby, our guide, Dr. Jaime Awe, showed visitors a ball court where the Maya used to play a life-and-death game. The losers would be sacrificed. We also learned, from anthropologist Lieve Verbeeck, about a somewhat less deadly game played by the Maya the night before planting—a piece-capturing boardgame called BUL, played with corn kernels used as dice. The game could go on all night, accompanied by hallucinogenic refreshments. Only the men played in teams while the women cooked. Presumably playing this game was to assure a plentiful harvest.
Dr. Jaime explained several theories for the disappearance of the Mayan civilization, the most likely one being years-long droughts. Belize now has only about 320,000 inhabitants on 8,867 square miles of territory, of many mixed ethnic ancestries. Tourism seems to be their major industry.
Back on board, on Friday, March 12, the gamers enjoyed several presentations and workshops on the history of games and jigsaw puzzles. Kate gave a talk on "The Art of Play," illustrated by lots of pictures of the Kadon gamepuzzles and a few hands-on samples.
Saturday—disembark, amidst 3300 other passengers, including two thousand students on Spring Break. Long, long lines slowly wended their way through immigration. Great chance to play Sequitur to pass the time, introducing it even to a couple of students standing in line with us. They caught on fast. Adios, muchachos!
