Cozumel, Mexico

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We arrived on time or even early after an uneventful evening. (I assume. The navigation map shows we still didn't maintain a straight line of travel overnight!) It is partly cloudy and hot and humid here. Cozumel is an island with protected status. That means no new buildings have been built in about 30 years and there is no agriculture allowed. Tourism is the only real business here. We are docked right at downtown San Miguel at the Punta Langosta Cruise Pier. There are a couple other, bigger cruise ships docked away from town that we can see from here. We are docked on the port side and the mainland is visible from our starboard balcony. This is our first visit to the Yucatan Peninsula, so new map pins!

We took a ship's tour today. Described below. We paid $99 each. It was not worth it. I know we've seen much better chocolate demonstrations and we saw zero cacao trees. We had thought just the bus tour of the island would be worthwhile but there is really nothing here but trees and scrub. The stop at El Mirador might be considered comical. There used to be a natural surf-carved rock arch there but it collapsed and now there is nothing there but some souvenir stands on the beach. The guide failed to mention the collapse when he unloaded us there. We booked this tour in advance on the Oceania website. The order form they had in our cabin on arrival stated in bold typeface that there would be NO stop at the bee sanctuary. Thankfully that was wrong. We never did learn why the bees are stingless. The guide did say they were entirely domesticated and could not survive without human support. Mystery.

Island Discovery & Chocolate Experience
DETAILS

3 hrs Estimated Duration

Gain a greater understanding of the Mayan culture at the Mayan Cacao Company, where you will learn how the ancient Maya made chocolate from the cacao tree.

After departing from the pier, you will soon arrive at the Mayan Cacao Company, an interactive attraction where you will discover the importance of the sacred cacao seed to the Mayan civilization. The Mayans were drinking chocolate made from cacao for ceremonial and medicinal purposes as far back as 500 B.C. They also used cacao as currency.

Chocolate was also essential to Mayan cuisine, and you will sample a local version of the sweet treat along with some traditional handmade tortillas. While touring the grounds, you will see flourishing cacao trees, a typical Mayan residence and a botanical garden of indigenous plants. To further your understanding of the ancient Maya civilization, be sure to stop at the replicas of a Mayan calendar and a stone stela adorned with hieroglyphics and carvings.

Following your immersion into the Mayan lifestyle and traditions, you will settle in for a panoramic drive around Cozumel. Much of the route will follow the beautiful coastline, which is rocky in certain areas and rimmed by great stretches of sugar-white beaches elsewhere. In time, you will pause for photos at El Mirador, a spectacularly scenic lookout where the pounding sea has carved a large stone arch out of the rocky shore.

Next you will head to the Mayan Bee Sanctuary and learn about the importance the sacred stingless Melipona Bees had in the Mayan culture as well as the significance of cenotes where bees interact in their natural space. Not only are Molipona bees essential for the pollination of crops and environmental balance but also key to Mayan traditions and believes. Learn about the benefits and properties of the bee’s marvelous golden liquid as you enjoy a small tasting. Afterwards you will return to the pier.

End of tour description.

We were returned to the rear of the shopping center across the street from the port. We were paraded through there in a double line outbound to be sure we'd see it. We had to walk back through to return to the port. We stopped at the Starbucks to check the mugs and they had them, but I didn't like it. We walked about a block down the street to the Mega Soriana store we'd seen from the bus ride outbound. Clay bought 4 local beers and a bottle of Listerine for about $10.

We didn't find anywhere good looking for lunch and ate at Terrace again. For the 2nd time, the same guy at Baristas refused to serve me an Ily Crema because he claims the machine doesn't work. It actually seems that he is the problem since he is the only worker I've encountered there who won't serve from the machine. Worse is that he also doesn't offer to manually make an iced cappuccino instead! I think I've figured out he works there in the afternoon around 2pm and I can try to avoid him, but should  I have to?

We sail at 5 pm tonight. We have Toscana reservations at 6 pm. We found an invitation to the Oceania Club cocktail party at 5:45 pm on Friday but we have 6 pm Jacques that night. It would be tight. We'll see.

Tomorrow we are at Roatan, Honduras, another island. We received an info sheet about it while out. It states there are 2 possible docks and a 3rd option of anchoring and tendering. So, a 2 out of 3 chance of docking and a 1 out of 3 chance of tendering. Those might sound like pretty good odds. But... our tour tickets tomorrow already state that our meeting place is onboard in the Riviera Lounge and our meeting place today was on the pier. Our thinking is that is a good sign that Destinations already knows it is a tender port. We'd love to be wrong about this tomorrow around 8 am!

Finally, we move the clocks back one hour tonight.

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