Mexico and beyond

 The day after Costa Rica was a sea day.  Very relaxing.  We slept in, had breakfast at the buffet, played trivia and spent some time in the thelassotherapy pool.  

The evening’s entertainment was something called Soundtrack, singing, dancing and acrobatics set to music from the movies.  I especially liked the James Bond tribute.

And then it was time to visit Mexico.  We were one of several ships to make port in Cozumel that day.  We were berthed beside the Disney Magic.

There’s a large shopping area immediately adjacent to the port.  There are all sorts if jewelry stores, leather stores, souvenir stores and a pharmacy.

Yes, a pharmacy.  Mexico has very different rules about drugs.  You don’t need a prescription for Viagra, amoxicillin, or dozens of other medications, and much cheaper than in the States.  All I wanted was a bottle of Listerine…

This was our third visit to Cozumel. The first time we opted to visit the beach, as we had seen Mayan ruins at Altun Ha in Belize earlier in our cruise.

On our second visit, we took an all-day excursion to Chichén Itza — we had to take a ferry to the mainland, then a bus to the site.  We were the first ones off the ship and the last to return.  But the site was magnificent.  Here are photos from Chichén Itza.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So you might think we’re tired of Mayan ruins.  You’d be wrong.

This trip we chose to visit the ruins at San Gervasio.  Interestingly we visited on the day of the winter solstice, but too late in the day to see the Sun line up with the ruins.  This is a small site, dedicated to the moon and to fertility rites.  It’s got a very different vibe than either of the other sites we visited.  The path through the jungle is mostly walkable.  There are areas where you’re stepping over rocks and tree roots, but mostly the path is smooth.  One older gentleman in our group could not finish the tour.  One woman regretted wearing  sandals — ants started to crawl over her feet when she stood in the tall grass.  Despite my bad back and bad knees I was able to finish the tour.

 

The guide told us than there are a lot of ruins on the island that have not yet been excavated.

Can you see the red handprints?

iguana!

Notice how the paths form the constellation Orion.

 

The Mayans were amazing, and I learn something new at each site.

Back aboard the ship, we saw a concert of holiday music in the Grand Foyer.