HOLA!

Day 6- COSTA MAYA

May 9

After missing the port yesterday, we were all worried that the same thing would happen today, but during the night, you could tell when we “hit” calm waters – everything settled and became very quiet. This morning's docking went without incident.

The shore excursion I had purchased was cancelled, due to insufficient bookings, so I went with my second choice – the Chacchoben ruins. This is a big site, and is a national park. It's in the jungle, as are most of the sites, but has a beautiful, non-commercialized welcome/reception area before you wander off throught the vegetation. The ticket says “wear comfortable walking shoes”, the write up stresses uneven ground, and warns you to wear closed toe shoes. The guide warned us about standing on mounds that contain fire ants. Yet, there must have been half a dozen silly people wearing flip flops. Duh! And, again, it was hot ... as in HOT! I had my hat on, but took it off every time we went into the shade to try to catch a breeze in my hair. I am used to high humidity with heat, so did fairly well, but some people who came from drier areas were not doing as well. Walking through the jungle was as marvelous as I expected. Lush greens with wild roots and strange growths around trunks, brilliant splashes of flowers, the rain-like sound of the breeze in the palm fronds, and the noise. It's a very very noisy place, with birds and the loudest grasshoppers/crickets I have ever heard. And mon keys. Yes, monkeys!!! You could hear them everywhere, and at one point, our observant assistant guide pointed out a spider monkey high in the tree above us, munching leaves and no doubt wondering what the troop of hairless apes were doing. I saw a monkey! And not a sanctuary one, but a wild jungle monkey. My trip was complete.. :)

Our guide, Jesus Rivero, was brilliant. It was obvious that he was passionate about this site, well educated, very informed, and involved. (I asked him afterwards if he was a teacher, and he grinned and said that yes, he had been. It was obvious.) It was like taking a living class or field trip with a university prof. He showed us trees where the Mayans developed chewing gum and rubber, showed us the whistles they carved in shapes of jaguars to call the sun each morning, pointed out the leaves used to make novocaine, and the barks used to heal burns from touching the toxic rosewood tree. He showed us the perfect alignment of the temple corners with the equinoxes. He explained the incredible accuracy of the Mayan calendar. (It's only out 18 seconds a year, compared to the 6 hours ours is off. As a result, we need to recalibrate every 4 years by adding an extra day. The Mayans only needed to recalibrate theirs every 5000 years! And the last recalibration took place on December 21^st, 2012... the end of the 12^th cycle- not the end of the world.) He explained the astronomical system that lined the cycles of the sun and moon every 52 years, when they could add to their temples.

When these amazing structures were built, the stones were covered in clay, and so the sides were smooth and white. While the clay was wet, it was carved and painted, so when dry, the brilliantly coloured frescoes were baked in and permanent .... until the jungle encroached and destroyed them. (This is the same method of painting we call 'al fresco'.)

Jesus also explained how it was only the high noble males and priests who could partake in the herbal hallucinogens to get their visions. If the wife or priestess needed a vision, she would go to a special, circular area, and kneel down. Her assistants would pull her tongue out as far as they could, and then pierce it. They would then pull a rope with embedded thorns through the hole, causing the blood to run freely and quickly. As she became weakened from blood loss, and just before passing out, she would have her vision. Lucky her...

The buildings allow climbing, and Cathie was eager to head up the steps again. I decided against the knee/leg pain and heat stroke, and remained below to take pictures. After all, I did climb the Temple of the Magician at Chichen Itza, and that's TWICE the height of this one! (I also was pretty close to never coming down again, since the steps there look like a ramp from the top.)

We spent almost 2 hours here, and it was amazing. Afterwards, we had the option of buying some fresh pineapple (picked that morning!), and it was perfect for quenching thirst and re-energizing us. (We passed many fields of pineapple on the way.) The Costa Mayan way to eat this treat is sprinkled with

habanero pepper! I opted to enjoy my pineapple “au natural”. We had a bagged lunch to snack on for the drive back (about an hour). I also had a minor heart attack when I realized my wallet was missing... tore my bag apart, and just when I was ready to alert Jesus, I realized it was on my seat, and I had been sitting on it. That kind of adrenalin attack I don't need!

After one of the hurricanes in the early 2000s, Jesus was involved in cleaning up the site. The huge piles of branches and kohune shells were ready to be burned until Jesus persuaded them to let him try to use the wood. He carved wonderful ornaments – conch shell whistles, turtles and dolphins, etc.- out of this “trash”. The wood is dark, polishes to a high shine, and is 4 times harder than pine. He trained a group of people in the technique, and all that “trash” was turned to art which supports both the artists AND the work done at the park. Now THAT is recycling at its best.

Jesus is mestizo- of mixed Mayan and European blood- but his 110 year old grandmother still speaks Mayan, one of the very few. I suspect his passion for this came from her.

A little shopping at the port, but the ship sailed early from here, so time was limited. Also, the day's heat was starting to nudge a migraine into existence, so I headed back to the ship for some cooling down and a nap.

Woke in time to hit the Taste Bar, listen to some bad karaoke, grab an ice cream cone, and relax on the promenade before supper. It was elegant night again, so that meant slightly nicer clothes for supper... and my gorgeous new tanzanite and Mexican opal ring (my birthday gift to myself.) Exchanged stories with the Rosenbergs (our tablemates) about the day, and shared some wine. The wait staff were as wonderful as always, and made us laugh.

The show that night was a tribute to the British Invasion, and was brilliant! Scene/sets, lights, and performances were all fabulous. My only complaint was that it was not long enough ... like this cruise. This was our last port of call. Sea day tomorrow as we head back to Miami.

Feline antics – all is well. Emily assured me that Tyler was diligent in making sure Astrophe was pilled on time, and everyone was doing well.

Daily food frenzy :

Brekkie – scrambled eggs, bacon,

Lunch – mex snacks on bus, Guy's burger back on ship

Supper – baked eggplant and mozza, penne siciliana (I want this recipe!), fruit plate