The day we arrived in Costa Maya, it was raining (again). This time we were able to dock right at Costa Maya. Interesting breakfast scenery isn't it?
Shortly after we docked, a Carnival cruise ship joined us. These folks had a better time than those on the Triumph. We were on the Norwegian Dawn.  |
| The entrance to the shopping area at Costa Maya. |
As we walked to the entrance to Costa Maya, we couldn't help but notice our welcoming committee. These 4 soldiers and their dog just watched each and everyone of us pass. One can only surmise that they were on guard for anyone bringing in drugs. The question is why would you bring drugs into Central America? I thought that it would be an export. The committee wasn't there when we left.
While we were there, we met some people from a wildlife rescue organization. This is George. He is a 2 month old male lion. He and his brother had been rescued from an abusive owner.He has a healing wound between his eyes on his forehead. George had amazingly big paws and made a variety of sounds. I think he quickly got bored of us holding and petting him.
It took us about an hour to get to the pyramids by bus. The roads were pretty rural as is this house that we passed. We also passed some large pineapple farms- which is a large export.
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We were stopped at this military checkpoint. It took a few minutes. Everything was done by the tour guide and the bus driver.
This is a chiklet tree. The sap from this tree is an organic gum. Years ago, the sap from these trees was exported to the US where pieces of it were coated in candy and became- yes, you guessed it- Chicklets gum. The gum we know is now synthetically made, but you can still by the raw organic gum by the pyramids. The sap can only be harvested form a tree every 5 years, and is obtained from these diagonal slashes.
We actually made it to the pyramids. Here's Dave at the great pyramid. It's so amazing to think that these had been completely covered with dirt and had trees and other vegetation growing on them. Dave looks kind of tiny when you compare him to the size of the pyramid, but it gives you a better reference.
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| Yes, Judy made it there, too. |
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| Dave's wandering on another ruin that has been partially uncovered. |
More ruins that have been discovered. It is amazing to walk at this site. The original city must have been very large. There are hills everywhere, and we were told that each hill has a building under it. The centuries of wild growth have taken their toll on the buildings. Roots from all the trees and plants have gotten into the underground ruins and has separated the stones on many of them.
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| The pyramids were originally stuccoed much like our houses here, and were painted red. This is one preserved area of the original stucco. |
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| And as we sail away under gray skies......... |
Next stop- Cozumel
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