Costa Maya, Mexico

It's been kind of hard getting back into the normal swing of things around here. I've been wanting to continue our cool cruise blog, but every time I went to do it, I just didn't feel very funny. I know that's not a prerequisite, but I like to feel a little funny. I still don't feel funny today, but I do want to get it off my list, so here goes.

The first stop on our fun adventure was Costa Maya, Mexico!

I chose this particular cruise because we could go to Mayan Ruins. I just love seeing old things. So, from Costa Maya we took a shore excursion to the Chacchoben Ruins. It was so cool!

Here we are waiting to board the bus. It was a HOT day in Mexico. I believe the temperature was 85 degrees and the humidity was at least 100%, maybe more. It was RIDICULOUS! And as soon as we got on the bus, it started pouring rain. Good timing!

The drive took about an hour. Our guide, who is Mayan, talked for most of the time. I truthfully don't remember a lot, but he was entertaining. And I thought it was really cool that he was actually Mayan. He said that at home, they speak the Mayan language. I honestly didn't know there were still Mayan's around!

Then we got to Chacchoben, and this is the first thing we saw...

Can you see the Mayan Temple? Maybe you'll be able to see it better in this next one...

So cool! I was dying to go up and touch it. I am weird like that. I love to touch old buildings and try to imagine who else has touched that building. Who else has walked where I am. I mean, they say these were built in 300 BC. Amazing! But, first we had to listen to some talking....and I took pictures.

But, soon enough, it was time to go and touch the Mayan Temple! You couldn't walk to the top, but you could walk up a few very steep stairs to get a picture taken. Ok, sounds good to me!

But then we got some scrunch pictures...

Which are harder to do with big hats on!

Mamadillo had to get in on the action!

Our guide said that unlike the pyramids in Egypt, these pyramids are not burial sites. If you dig down inside, you'll just find a smaller pyramid. They just built the bigger ones right over the top of the smaller ones.

We were told that the walls used to be painted red.

Then some more talking...

Can you tell how much I like being on a tour? I'd rather just wander all by myself, but that wasn't going to happen.

But then we could walk up these very steep and uneven stairs...

To the plaza above...

We got some pictures with Mamadillo...

And made one particularly impatient woman mad. Apparently she thought we took too long taking pictures. It was fun.

Then we went to the place where everyone lived, since the temples were for ceremonies.

While we were in this area, it started to POUR again. We all just found a spot under a tree and waited it out. It didn't last too long, but it was quite the rainstorm! When we got back to the ship, I noticed how my legs were all muddy from the huge rain drop splashes.

And our last stop was the back of the first temple.

Brent and I climbed up to the hatched part. I thought it was suppose to show a smaller pyramid underneath this one, but apparently I misunderstood. It was just a hole.

And Mom and Dad not climbing up that part of the pyramid. Interestingly, the woman in the blue in the front is the one who yelled at us earlier. Hey lady! Get our of my picture!

As we were walking down the pyramid, we heard a commotion...a spider monkey was in the trees.

Woho! Our first wildlife sighting! Very neat.

On the way back, our guide, who was, as you remember, Mayan himself, talked about all the fear surrounding the end of the Mayan calendar. He told us that it didn't mean that the world was going to end, just that there was going to be a change, for good or bad. But that we shouldn't be afraid. I wasn't worried about the "End of the World" coming yet again, but it was interesting to hear him talk about it. He did keep saying that the Americans had basically blown it way out of proportion. What, us? We NEVER do that!

Anyway, we made our way back to the pier, where there were a lot of places to shop, and walked around, in the POURING rain until it was time to head back to the boat. As we were walking back to the, oh wait, ship, sorry, it stopped raining long enough for a couple of pictures.

Our ship, the Norwegian Star. The one behind ours is a Disney Cruise ship. Can you see the dumbo figure on the back?

Costa Maya was great! The ruins were great! The heat was not so great, but the rest was great!

Next stop, Belize City, Belize and my birthday!