Day Two – Costa Maya and Mayan Ruins
On our first cruise we over-booked our shore excursions and found ourselves exhausted. On our second cruise we under-booked, and found ourselves scrambling to find our way to local beaches. This time the pendulum swung back the other way, and I think we over-booked.
Our first stop was Costa Maya, a port now controlled exclusively by Royal Caribbean. The plan is to develop it into a “Perfect Day” spot like Coco Cay, their other exclusive island resort. We stopped at Coco Cay on our first cruise, and it was a nice, calm island. From recent ads it looks like they have developed it into a large amusement park. It seems a shame to think that this little Mexican village will suffer the same fate.
Today’s excursion would take us to the Chacchoben ruins. As we disembarked, we were greeted by village actors portraying Mayans in historical attire. You could have your portrait taken with them…for a hefty tip.
We found our departure group and boarded a bus for Chacchoben for the hour-long drive to to the archeological site. To be honest, the ride was not impressive. Poverty was rampant and there was trash everywhere all along the roads. I wondered how Royal Caribbean’s plans would change things.
It was hot and humid, and Laura and I had over prepared. We both had water bottles and walking sticks. I had a sling bag and Laura had a fanny pack. I had binoculars. None of that was really needed.
At the entrance to the site was more stuff we didn’t need, in the form of trinkets and souvenirs. There were lots of ways to extract cash from tourists’ pockets, and this would be a theme throughout the trip.
Our tour guide took us to the first temple. While not as large as the Chitchen Itza complex, it was still impressive.
Our guide pointed out other mounds that hid structures. This was still an active archeological site. We arrived at a set of stairs, and this is where I made a near-fatal mistake. Actually, our guide made the mistake, but I didn’t correct for it. We were to climb stairs to view more temples. She indicated that the easy route was to the right, but the more challenging route was to the left. However, she meant HER right and left. I headed to the right.
The stairs were steep and difficult. Laura tried a couple of steps then decided it wasn’t for her. I decided to go for it. Apparently the folks observing below weren’t sure I’d make it. I wasn’t sure I would make it. But, I did, and found an even larger temple complex.
In the trees near the smaller of these pyramids there were several monkeys. I couldn’t get a decent shot of them. I took the easier route down, but it was still a challenge.
Our guide led us to an area with stairs and large trees that formed a boulevard for the city. From there we went to a final large pyramid.
Fortunately we were just a short walk back to the entrance. We bought cold drinks and got back on the bus for the long ride back to the village. We were hot and exhausted, but it was still a great experience.
When we got back to Costa Maya we were accosted by a barrage of merchants trying to get us to buy stuff. Laura got sucked into a place trying to sell us some sort of anti-aging skin cream.
It was ridiculous and the kept trying to get us to buy this expensive snake oil. I finally said, “We’re done here” and we escaped.
We cleaned up and found our favorite ship-board activity – martinis and pub trivia in the Schooner Bar before dinner. We didn’t do well, but it was still fun.
Continued on the next page…