Costa Maya, Mexico

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We had a hard night sailing to get here. The hot weather has broken and with high winds. So we're glad it is cooler and less humid and appreciate the breeze, but it was a rough ride. Fingers crossed that we finished sailing through the system and have a calm sea day tomorrow.

Today is Sunday. Usually I have a big breakfast with eggs or something hot on weekend mornings. For this cruise, Monday and Tuesday will have to be my weekend. We've had 2 early tour starts this weekend near 8 am and for some reason Terrace breakfast hasn't started until 7 am. I prefer to return to the cabin between breakfast and an excursion to brush my teeth and apply sunscreen and insect repellent as needed. That gives me less than an hour, not enough time.

Costa Maya is a new cruise port area with a maze of forced shopping and other tourist opportunities. We went straight to our bus this morning for tour departure after the maybe mile long pier walk. When they returned us to the port, we had to walk perhaps an extra mile to try to find our way back to the pier. There has been too much of that on this cruise!

We had booked a ship's tour here to Chacchoben Mayan Ruins. It was 4 hours and cost $129 each. Description pasted below.

Chacchoben Mayan Ruins (CMA-007)
Port: Costa Maya
Tour Length: Half-Day (Approximately 4 hours)
Tour Description
Explore the ruins of Chacchoben, a Mayan city that dates to about 1,000 BC.
Hear how a local farmer stumbled upon the undiscovered site in the 1940s.
See ruins so intact that the original paint is still visible on the stucco walls.
Climb atop a towering ruin and enjoy sweeping views from above the tree tops.
Look for tropical birds and howler monkeys in the surrounding jungle.
Explore the ruins of Chacchoben, an ancient Mayan pilgrimage location known as “The Place of Red Corn.” On the 50-minute drive there, the guide will describe some of the history and culture of the Mayas that is pertinent to Chacchoben. Because of the dense jungle, the overgrown site wasn’t discovered until the 1940s and more than 50 years passed before excavation was begun. Dense foliage still surrounds Chacchoben, lending it an ancient feel that the ruins greatly enhance. While meandering about, you will likely see the original red paint on the stucco walls in one of the pyramids and the temple with a mural showing the astronomical positions of Venus. You will also have time to climb the Gran Basamento, a structure that rises above the tree level, where archaeologists found ceremonial offerings. Before re-boarding your coach for the return transfer to the pier, you will have a brief break to enjoy a complimentary beverage and perhaps purchase a souvenir.
HELPFUL HINTS
Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.
PLEASE NOTE
This tour includes a considerable amount of walking over uneven, rough and sometimes slippery surfaces. It is not available to wheelchair guests and not considered suitable for guests with mobility concerns. The minimum age to participate is 3 years old. There is a government tax of $5-8 for using video cameras at each site. No tripods or professional video cameras are allowed. Flash photography and food are prohibited inside the ruins.

End of tour description.

The tour was good. Victorio, our driver, and Roberto, our guide, both did a good job. We were not offered complimentary beverages before re-boarding the bus. These ruins were totally different from those in Belize. Nim Li Punit was village sized and Chacchoben was city sized. We were glad we did both.

We had a late lunch onboard Riviera after our return. The TV doesn't have menus available today. We have no reservations and I expect we'll have dinner at Terrace. The new stricter sanitation rules are slowing table turnover and availability more than usual. But hopefully they'll figure out adding additional staff and things will settle down. We got a letter today that allowed us to go ahead and make restaurant reservations for the following cruise today. That was good as we'll avoid the crowds on turnaround/embarkation day. We'd been unable to get all our allowed reservations pre-boarding online because they were only offering us after 8 pm! All settled now except they tell us there is some room number issue with our keycards and we need to go get them fixed. They work fine for leaving and returning so we'll see.

At 5 pm in Riviera Lounge there is a live Super Bowl broadcast. We sail at 6 pm tonight and reach Miami on Tuesday early in the morning.

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