Day 5 - Costa Maya

Costa Maya was the only port we had where we actually docked. Costa Maya doesn't appear on maps or the Weather Channel, because it's nothing more than a seaport specifically for the cruise industry. Lots of the crappy shops, a nice outdoor bar (including the pool bar), and the ubiquitious jewelry stores. Again, we had time to kill, so we looked around at the shops. The Mexicans were far more aggressive than the Belizians(?). Not physically, mind you, but they talked to virtually every person that passed by, whether you acknowledged them or not. Again--alot of crap being sold.

Here's the pier at Costa Maya. Lots of little shops in the orange building,
with more stuff under the thatch roofed shelters.

Being at sea allows you to leave your drapes wide open all day/night. No one is going to see you. Unless you're docked at the pier and another cruise ship docks right next to you. Imagine my surprise (and theirs) as I came out of the shower that morning! Sorry the picture seems hazy, but the air was so frikken humid that the lens kept fogging up! Be sure to click on this picture to get the large version. Look for 2 men on the pier (under the ropes). It'll give you an idea of the size of the ships!
From here, we were to get bussed to a lagoon (a very large lagoon) about an hour away. Where, after a "safety check and operating instructions," we would be driving our own 2-man speedboats around the lagoon for an hour. The place is known as the Lagoon of 7 Colors. For good reason. There are literally 7 different colors of water! All quite distinct, too! While there, I figured I'd better fulfill the request from Mia: "Could you do me a favor though and sneak some pics of some hot guys/girls for me? I'm living vicariously through you right now, so help out!" Well, it wasn't going to happen on the ship, so I took a picture of these two locals who had just gotten out of the water. May not look like it to you, but they were hot. Trust me on that one. Sorry it came out so dark...


The "safety check and operating instructions" lasted all of 15 seconds--"Are you wearing a life jacket?" and "Forward on the stick makes you go forward (two speeds), straight up is neutral, and pull back to go in reverse." That was it. Then we realized that we were not going to be speeding around the lake on our own. He would lead us to one end and back. About a 60 minute journey. To his credit, we did do some tight circles and created some wonderful waves to cross through. The motors were not really speedboat motors, either, but it was fun. The most amazing thing about it was the warm, colorful water. The water as you see it is the color as it was. No words for the beauty of it. There were a handful of resort-type places along the shores, and some VERY nice homes. I'll let the pictures tell the rest (be sure to click on the pics to see the large versions!)...





After a pretty decent lunch, we head back to Costa Maya. The highway was a fairly decent two-lane road, well-maintained. A blessing over what we were greeted with the day before. Our bus guide was also much better than our boy in Belize. He had live in the States for a few years, and was much more at ease with us. He even bought fresh pineapple from a roadside stand for us (the finest pineapple I've ever eaten!).

We get back to the ship and find that Dad is feeling somewhat better, and he joins us for dinner. Our next stop will be Cozumel, and Felix, our waiter, recommended stopping off at Carlos'n Charlie's, the local party bar. He told us that generally, by 3:00 PM or so, the girls start losing their tops, and the party continues on. He told us that the free tequila flows most of the day. Well, that was enough for us! We scatter, and meet again at Dizzy's for a little more jazz, and a final nightcap. Little did we know that the shit was once again going to hit the fan in the morning...