The Mayans Did Not Die Out

COBA

Docking early in Cozumel, we had to be ready to leave the boat by 7am.  It would take a boat and a bus to get us to the ancient city of Coba, and the trip would take two hours.  One look at the dock told us that it would indeed be a long trip.  I think in the early days they must have tendered people ashore because this was the longest dock I had ever seen.  They even had their own form of transport to get people to the end of the dock to the stores.



In order to get to the bus that would take us to the ancient Mayan city of Coba to view the ruins, we first had to take a ferry to the mainland at Playa del Carmen.  The trip took about 30 minutes in the high speed water taxi.

Playa del Carmen had been built up from a sleepy Mexican tourist town to a chic resort that attracted the rich and famous.





Outside the city limits, however, things were different.  The people went about their
business, going to work down a narrow street, selling their wares to keep alive, or walking to school, trying to stay in the shade and out of the heat.

The one thing our tour guide, Raul, wanted to impress on us was that the Mayan civilization did not die out.  In fact, he was Mayan.  The Mayan language is still spoken, and many aspects of the culture that ruled the world four thousand years ago.  The descendants of the original Mayan people still live in Central America and they still carry on with many of their original traditions and beliefs.

Raul

It was an extraordinarily hot day in the middle of Mexico.  During the ride, Raul filled us in on the history of the Mayans, and prepared us for some of the sights we would see.  He was clearly excited to be able to share the accomplishments of his culture with us.  After traveling for 90 minutes, we arrived at the site of the ruins and exited the air conditioned comfort of the bus. Raul led us down the path toward the first pyramid called the Conjunto Las Pinturas. 

One of the most fascinating sights at the ruins was the ball fields.  It seems that there was a game where you had to get a heavy rubber ball through one of the hoops.  The game was similar to soccer in that you didn't touch the ball with your hands and usually used your hips to move the ball.  It was associated with some kind of ritual that usually involved the human sacrifice of one of the players.

The stone tablet that many say predicts the end of the world on December 22, 2012 is located at Coba.  The Mayans, however, do not believe that the world is going to end, but rather, that the tablet predicts the beginning of a new era.

 

The highlight of the site was the great Nohoch Mul pyramid.  You can climb to the top see the great panoramic view of the countryside, including the tops of many other pyramids.  

 

We headed back to the bus for the long trip back to the boat.  Because the tour included a stop to a Mexican souvenir factor outlet, we were the last group back to the water taxi in Playa del Carmen, consequently the last ones back on the boat.  Thank goodness we had booked the tour through the boat, or we might still be in Mexico.

Trasport through the ruins for the weak at heart like me!

ROATAN (Part Two)

Gar Fish

Walking back down the pier, heading toward the bus, we were greeted by women and children selling their wares.  Beaded necklaces and bracelets hung from their arms, and each woman selected one of us as the person who should wear one of her designs.  Of course, all the necklaces were similar in design; just how much can you do with the same type of bead in different colors?  I selected one necklace, and agreed to pay $8, but didn't have anything but a $20 bill.  The woman ran from store to store in the village, but was only able to come back with $8 in change for me, thus upping the price to $12.  I took the necklace off, and took my $20 bill back.

With that transaction behind us, we left the fishing village and drove off to find West End Village, which turned out to be approximately a quarter mile down the road.  We were led down the pier where we were going to see the native Garifauna dancers.  We were treated to an iced drink, which was very welcome in the heat.  We walked through the bar to the back porch area where the dancers awaited us.

I'm sure the local people do this dance, and need the money the cruise line gives them to perform for the tours, but I felt that they could have been a bit more authentic.  For example, to have the performance held in the back of a bar, didn't add to the reality that it was a native dance.  The drummers should have been dressed in a native costume, even if it was a loincloth and no shirt, or some brightly colored costume that matched that of the dancers.  The New York Yankee Baseball cap and Bronx attitude of the drummer really detracted from the entire event.

Did I say it was hot?  It was sweltering, but the other performers in the troupe threw their heart and soul into the performance.  As I said before, having it in the back of the bar tends to detract from the pictures, with all the tables and chairs in the background.  But, it is what it is.





When we left the pier we were told we had 30 minutes to
wander around the village.  Who greeted me at the end of the pier but my necklace seller!  She had followed me down the road in hopes that I had found the change needed
for her to complete the sale.  I hadn't, and, judging from the look she gave me and the string of Spanish that flew from her mouth,  I'm sure I'm currently living under a very powerful Honduran curse.

The village proved to be a great source for some native crafts mixed in with the usual things imported from China.  We bought some coffee, a hand sewn purse and some water, and pushed on for the next leg of the tour: a visit to the Cameo factory on the way back to the boat.  I confess that I did not know that a cameo is carved from a shell, so this turned out to be a learning experience, as well as a shopping experience for me.

The carving on this conch is considered a cameo, and was passed around during the demonstration.  Entire shells like this were available for sale starting at $200.

It's not surprising that  by the time we got back to the boat, we were exhausted!  Of course it helped to be able to watch the beautiful sunset from the balcony!

ROATAN (PART ONE)

Roatan

The Island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras, is situated on the world's
s second largest barrier reef.  We had never been there, and had booked a tour that included a ride in a semi-sub, a visit to West End Village, viewing a performance of a native dance and a visit to a cameo factory.  We weren't able to dock due to windy conditions, and had to be tendered to shore on the other side of the island from our original landing spot.  Many people who had been there before said that this side didn't compare in beauty to the other side, which can only mean that the other side if the island is exquisitely beautiful.

We took a short bus ride through the countryside and arrived at a village with a pristine beach.  We were led out a short dock to our semi-sub and made ourselves comfortable.  Moments later we were introduced to our tour guide, a Marine Biologist who was doing research on the reef.  As we took off, she explained the reef and pointed out various forms of life on the reef.

Grasses

The grass, which many countries had gotten rid of, were the best form of protection for the coastline.  It is also home to and hiding place for many types of marine life. The guide explained that you could predict when storms were approaching by the way the coral, sea grass, and other underwater creatures acted.

Ocean floor with coral

There were mountain like structures, and trenches.  I was fascinated that they looked like the hills and beaches on the island.  It was as if they were the island, and the water came and flowed over them, and now they were below the water.  The different forms of coral took on different shapes, but as we toured, all appeared brown or grey.


It was like scuba diving without getting wet.  With the engines cut and the sub just drifting in the water, fish grew comfortable enough to swim right up to the boat.

I think that the turbulence in the water from the winds had something to do with the fact that we did not see many different kinds of fish.  The ones we did see were magnificent.   I tried to get as many pictures as I could, but the fish were cooperating with the other side of the boat more than my side.  While I could see, I could not photograph!

The tour was truly awe-inspiring, but as we returned to the dock I saw how the carelessness of man will someday destroy this important natural resource if something is not done.

Sand, seagrass and garbage

GRAND CAYMAN

One of the best islands for shopping in the Caribbean, in fact, it was the only one that had good shopping for this cruise.  With all the banks holding the "offshore" funds for much of the world, the island has been attracting tourists for years.

Turtle Farm

Some of the attractions that we had been to on previous trips include a turtle farm, swimming with the stingrays, a rumcake factory and Hell.  On this trip, it was strictly shopping, and the only thing we were after was Pandora charms for our bracelets.  Island Jewelers was the only place that was an official seller of Pandora charms, and we spent a pleasant, air conditioned hour looking for the charms.  After lunch on the boat, Ellen and crew took off to Seven Mile Beach while I stayed back to nap.

Hell

As we departed from Grand Cayman and made our way to Roatan, I watched as the sun set on our day.