Cruise Week: Costa Maya

Today's theme is Costa Maya, Mexico. As my friend Joe would say, ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice. The only reason I'm tossing it out here is because we'll be stopping there next year, and I'm looking forward to it.


The thing with Costa Maya is that it's the Mexican equivalent of that baseball diamond in the Iowa cornfield. If you build it, they will come. Costa Maya isn't really a town, an outpost, or even a fishing village. It's just a big old custom-built tourist stop, designed only to separate Americans from their money, out on the Yucatan Peninsula. Basically they carved a beach club and shopping center out of the jungle and then built a pier for the cruise ships. Ta-Daa!




So the idea here is to just pull over for the day and let everyone off the ship for some drinking, shopping, and relaxing. And I am all over that! Everyone knows that one of my favorite activities is sitting under a palm tree on the edge of the ocean, sipping a rum drink... I think I could find myself doing that very thing pretty easily. This is the kind of port stop that I really groove on, much more than overpriced, over-hyped places like Grand Cayman.


There are a few shore excursions offered, mostly snorkeling and exploring old Mayan ruins. None for me thanks. I may do a little shopping, if the prices on duty-free booze are decent. Otherwise, it's sandals, swim trunks, and flip-flops for me all day, while I roast in the sun and wait for the rasta-man with the machete to come by and lop off the end of a coconut and pour some rum inside for me.

I can think of no finer way to spend a day.

Mikey