COZUMEL AND MAYAN CULTURE

This morning we docked in Cozumel.  It is so beautiful here.  Mark and I are going two different directions today.  He is Scuba Diving (for the first time) and I am doing the included excursion, which is a trip to visit a replica Mayan village and learn all about their culture.  It was “fine”……..

Before writing about it, I need to complain about Viking and this stay in Cozumel.  In most cases, Viking does an outstanding job with all that they do!  Everything from the excursions, lectures, crew, food, etc. is always top notch.  Today, however, they missed the mark!  Cozumel is noted for being one of the best places to snorkel in the world.  IN THE WORLD!  Here’s what I found on Google:  The island of Cozumel is one of the best places for snorkeling on the planet, particularly in Cozumel National Marine Park, which lies just south of its shores! 

We were offered seven excursions offering food but zero opportunities to snorkel!  This makes no sense to me!

Sometimes cruise ship excursions seem a bit contrived and today’s excursion was one of those.  Granted those who set up the Mayan village did a great job and made the whole thing a learning experience, but still……..

We arrived at the cruise ship terminal and were amazed at how vibrant and busy it was!  No wonder - we were parked right next to a cruise ship with 6,000 passengers!  Ours only holds 350.  We were fortunate to get photos of the two ships next to each other.  It amazing how our “baby” ship compares to the other one!

It’s hard to tell, but there are two ships next to each other in this photo!

And here’s a good photo of our “baby” ship!

We left the pier just after noon and took about a 30 minute coach ride out of town to the Mayan Village. Below are photos that I captured during our route showing some businesses and homes.  Transportation by scooters are very common here.

We arrived at the Mayan Village and were greeted very warmly by our Mayan host in his regalia along with a couple of Mayan dancers.  They escorted us to a tent where we were served chicken and pork tacos along with refried beans, guacamole, rice, papaya and watermelon.  It was prepared in the Mayan tradition and was delicious!  We enjoyed some Mayan music and dancing and then had the opportunity to get our faces painted in traditional Mayan style!

After this we moved to a Mayan Hut where we were taught how to make Tamales.  Corn is a big ingredient in Mayan foods and the tamales were delicious!  Next up was the last hut where we were taught how to make chocolate using cacao beans and honey.  Yum!

After our “feast” we were taken back to the ship.  

Did I enjoy this experience?  Yes.  

Did I learn something about Mayan culture? Yes.

Did I appreciate and respect the Mayan culture?  Yes.  

Would I have preferred to snorkel?  YES!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset as we sailed away from Cozumel.