From Cozumel, Silver Spirit made a short overnight trip south to a very new cruise port on the southern coast of Mexico, just north of the border with Belize.
Until a few years ago this stretch of coastline was nothing but mangrove swamp, palm trees and white sandy beach punctuated every few hundred miles with small fishing villages. The Mexican government created a cruise port here to encourage tourism and development. Costa Maya has become a jumping off point for tours from cruise ships to various Mayan Ruins in southern Mexico. It also has one of the largest tourist shopping centers I have ever seen.
Silver Spirit offered tours for fly fishing, jeep riding on the beach, a glass bottom boat ride, a beach barbeque and a tour of a contemporary Mayan village. The tours mostly departed from the village of Mahahual three miles from the pier. Our opportunity to see Mayan ruins would come later at stops in Guatemala and Belize.
Since none of the tour options was particularly interesting, Michael and I decided to spend the day reading on our veranda with a trip ashore to view the large shopping center complex designed to part cruise passengers from their money.
Was it ever a tourist trap! Two Diamond's International stores, a Tansanite International, three gift shops selling t-shirts, sandals, hats, refrigerator magnets and bottles of sand decorated with little figurines. I heard one woman telling another, "I saw something just like this in Dubai. Isn't it great?" I imagine most of the souvenirs were made in China and shipped to the appropriate tourist shop with the appropriate country label. These souvenirs all said "Mexico" somewhere on them. We also saw a shop selling a hundred different types of Tequila. We walked by three bar/ restaurants including the inevitable Senor Frogs.This one had a large swimming pool with a swim up bar. Among the shops there were t-shirt and sunglasses stalls and tiny shops selling bags and hats "handmade in Mexico." The shopping center was fenced all around with chain link and a guard post protected the exit to a sandy road leading to the fishing village. I found the whole place bizarre and a bit sad.
The next morning, December 9, we docked at a commercial pier in Santo Tomas, Guatemala. Here, the tourist shopping center was inside a warehouse filled with what appeared to be local crafts, independent tour operators and only one tiny Diamonds International store. The rest of the pier was occupied with a busy shipping operation. Various freighters were being unloaded and loaded the whole day. Tourism was only a small part of the port activity.
The main reason for the Santo Tomas stop was that SilverSea offered two nine hour tours to two different sets of Mayan ruins, Copan in Honduras and Tikal in Guatemala. Each involved an air flight from Santo Tomas, a long bus ride and almost $700 per person participating. Michael and I decided to wait until we arrived in Belize before we visited Mayan ruins. None of the tours to local attractions particularly appealed to us either.
Jim, Michael and I took a longish walk into the town. Santo Tomas is a town that mainly supports a Guatemalan naval base and the port. The town was a real town, the people were real people going about their normal lives. All the tourist activity appeared to be confined to the port. Seeing real people was fascinating. They were poor by U.S. standards but not poor compared to people on some of the Caribbean islands we had seen. Some streets were torn up for water and sewer work before they were to be paved with concrete. We were passed by many people on motor bikes and bicycles but there were cars and trucks on the streets too. It was definitely a middle class environment. The open air stores and houses with only gratings over the window openings seemed strange until I realized that in a moist, hot year round climate window panes are not required, nor necessarily desirable. Air circulation is more important.
The three of us enjoyed the walk and the friendly people we met who were pleasant but intent on their own business.
Until a few years ago this stretch of coastline was nothing but mangrove swamp, palm trees and white sandy beach punctuated every few hundred miles with small fishing villages. The Mexican government created a cruise port here to encourage tourism and development. Costa Maya has become a jumping off point for tours from cruise ships to various Mayan Ruins in southern Mexico. It also has one of the largest tourist shopping centers I have ever seen.
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| Center of Shopping Compound |
Silver Spirit offered tours for fly fishing, jeep riding on the beach, a glass bottom boat ride, a beach barbeque and a tour of a contemporary Mayan village. The tours mostly departed from the village of Mahahual three miles from the pier. Our opportunity to see Mayan ruins would come later at stops in Guatemala and Belize.
Since none of the tour options was particularly interesting, Michael and I decided to spend the day reading on our veranda with a trip ashore to view the large shopping center complex designed to part cruise passengers from their money.
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| Swim Up Bar at Senor Frog's |
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| Dolphin Pool at Costa Maya |
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| Made in Mexico Handicrafts |
Was it ever a tourist trap! Two Diamond's International stores, a Tansanite International, three gift shops selling t-shirts, sandals, hats, refrigerator magnets and bottles of sand decorated with little figurines. I heard one woman telling another, "I saw something just like this in Dubai. Isn't it great?" I imagine most of the souvenirs were made in China and shipped to the appropriate tourist shop with the appropriate country label. These souvenirs all said "Mexico" somewhere on them. We also saw a shop selling a hundred different types of Tequila. We walked by three bar/ restaurants including the inevitable Senor Frogs.This one had a large swimming pool with a swim up bar. Among the shops there were t-shirt and sunglasses stalls and tiny shops selling bags and hats "handmade in Mexico." The shopping center was fenced all around with chain link and a guard post protected the exit to a sandy road leading to the fishing village. I found the whole place bizarre and a bit sad.
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| Diligent Line Handlers Waiting for the Order to Cast Off |
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| Sunset over Costa Maya as we Sail for Guatemala |
The next morning, December 9, we docked at a commercial pier in Santo Tomas, Guatemala. Here, the tourist shopping center was inside a warehouse filled with what appeared to be local crafts, independent tour operators and only one tiny Diamonds International store. The rest of the pier was occupied with a busy shipping operation. Various freighters were being unloaded and loaded the whole day. Tourism was only a small part of the port activity.
 |
| Tourist Center at Santo Tomas |
The main reason for the Santo Tomas stop was that SilverSea offered two nine hour tours to two different sets of Mayan ruins, Copan in Honduras and Tikal in Guatemala. Each involved an air flight from Santo Tomas, a long bus ride and almost $700 per person participating. Michael and I decided to wait until we arrived in Belize before we visited Mayan ruins. None of the tours to local attractions particularly appealed to us either.
Jim, Michael and I took a longish walk into the town. Santo Tomas is a town that mainly supports a Guatemalan naval base and the port. The town was a real town, the people were real people going about their normal lives. All the tourist activity appeared to be confined to the port. Seeing real people was fascinating. They were poor by U.S. standards but not poor compared to people on some of the Caribbean islands we had seen. Some streets were torn up for water and sewer work before they were to be paved with concrete. We were passed by many people on motor bikes and bicycles but there were cars and trucks on the streets too. It was definitely a middle class environment. The open air stores and houses with only gratings over the window openings seemed strange until I realized that in a moist, hot year round climate window panes are not required, nor necessarily desirable. Air circulation is more important.
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| Streets in Town of Santo Tomas |
The three of us enjoyed the walk and the friendly people we met who were pleasant but intent on their own business.
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