Friday – January 8, 2016
“…. And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.”
It was a short trip from Belize City to Costa Maya on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. When I awoke, the ship was still. She had tied up to a very long pier early in the morning. I looked out of our window to see another huge ship slowly sliding sideways toward a dock which was perpendicular to ours. It was incredible how the skipper (or his assistant, ‘auto pilot’) maneuvered these gigantic floating hotels.
Costa Maya looked like nothing more than a tropical outdoor shopping mall with a pool, lounge chairs, and restaurants which was specially built to accommodate large cruise ships. Someone spent a lot of money building the very long piers.
We were signed up for a small group tour of Chacchoben Mayan Ruins. We had some time ashore before the tour so we explored the facilities. It was fun to watch the dolphin tanks which included several hesitant tourists who were expected to interact with the dolphins.
We boarded a mini-van for an hour long drive to the site, however this tour turned out to be the best of all the Mayan ruin locations. Alejandro, our guide was very knowledgeable and professional. He exhibited a genuine depth of understanding of history and culture of the region.
We even saw a Yucatan gray fox, commonly called “El Zorro,” which was picking up cast offs from a monkey in the tree above.
We followed a path through dense tropical trees and were rewarded to find wonderful Mayan step pyramids. The site was settled between 200 BC and 700 AD.
“I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide, is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied….”
It had been very warm, sunny, and humid on land so we returned to the air conditioned ship just in time for her afternoon departure. We anticipated two nights and another full day ‘at sea’ before we return to New Orleans. We hunkered down with an ice cream snack at the Bimini Bar (this is a cruise ship after all!) and watched as the Norwegian Dawn slowly pulled away from the dock and aimed northward.