Sea Day

We are on a passage from Costa Maya, Mexico to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.  

After a few lumps during the night, Cuba is now providing us with a wind break to our south.  

All day, the seas have been flat and calm.  The sky has been blue. This has made for a strenuous day of rest and relaxation.

Costa Maya, Mexico

The ship has a distinct vibration today caused by waves slapping against the stern quarter of the vessel. This seems unusual since we are tied up at a dock.

The pier perpendicular to ours

Costa Maya, being a popular cruise ship destination, has a huge pier that extends well out from the shore. When we disembarked, it was a considerable walk before our feet were on terra firma.

As we entered the port compound, four men were climbing a pole that had ropes hanging down from it. We were informed by an announcer that they would be making 52 rotations of the pole coming down—a religious experience for them.  We were asked to remain quiet while they prayed before beginning their descent. The cynic in me noted that the duration of the prayers and the time it took the man on the ground to orbit the onlookers with the tip jar coincided.

Pam & I did admire the way in which the four men had worked together, wrapping their lines around the pole. Once they began their descent in unison, the unwrapping of the ropes provided the propulsion to keep the performers spinning. 

They hung upside down as they spun around the pole. One man even played some sort of flute and beat on a drum through the entire descent.

After the performance, we wandered around for a while, including a short excursion outside the port compound. The nearest town was 3 miles away and a tourist trap. Since we had been here before, we did not feel the need to venture further afield. 

The ancient structure in the background is a modern fake.

Once back in the port compound, we settled into some lounge chairs and relaxed for a while. We watched two large cruise ships dock. When we saw a third one approaching and the passengers from the first two starting to come ashore, we decided it was time to return to RIVIERA.

We were a little too slow. The trickle of passengers coming ashore from Royal Caribbean's JEWEL OF THE SEAS and ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS turned into a flood of people. Their combined passenger manifests were over 6,500 people. (Riviera carries 1300.)

Going against the flow, even walking on the extreme right-hand side of the pier, required some persistence and, at times, a smidge of persistence.

We got aboard RIVIERA just before Carnival's VALOR docked, holding up foot traffic on the pier. Once secured and her gangways in place, she would add another 3200 passengers to those visiting Costa Maya. If all the passengers from the four ships went ashore, the combined total would be 11,000 people, not counting the crew.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing onboard RIVIERA, far from the madding crowd.

RIVIERA was the first of the four ships to depart.

Glad it is not the head

This evening, Pam noticed water coming out of this vent in our stateroom.

A parade of the ship's personnel later, it was determined that it was coming from a shower in the room directly above us. It will be fixed tomorrow. We were offered a different stateroom for the night. We decided the likelihood of someone using a shower above us at this hour of the night was small enough to warrant the risk of staying in the room. The shift would have had a very high nuisance factor.

Tomorrow when we leave for our day of activities, a team will come in to fix the problem...we hope.

Will Pam and Harry have a dripless night? Will they be able to fix the problem tomorrow? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.

Belize City, Belize

Although well offshore, Riviera kicked up a lot of bottom sand while anchoring.

Large, reasonably comfortable tenders ferried us ashore.  It was a 20-minute ride from the ship to the cruise ship terminal.

Aboard our bus, we drove through Belize City and out into the countryside on our way to Altun Ha, an ancient Mayan site. The drive took about an hour. Belize City is not much to look at, and once you're in the countryside, there isn't much of interest to see.

At Altun Ha, our guide let us through Zone A and Zone B. Although the temples and associated structures were not as massive as some we have seen, they were nevertheless impressive, reflecting the construction and carving skills of the Mayan people.

Founded about 900 BC/BCE, Altun Ha was a trading center. The community was between 10,000 and 14,000 people. According to our guide, the community collapsed when the leaders promised rain during a drought and none came, resulting in them being killed and the population moving elsewhere.  Had he lived back then, Will Rogers might have told the leaders, "Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance."

The climb to the top of the temple in Zone B didn't look that high, but the placement and rise of the steps up and down left my legs jelly-like. It was, however, well worth the effort to view the site from that perspective.

After checking out the small gift shops containing mostly local crafts, we were back on the bus for the return trip to Belize City.

During the round trip, based on what our guide told us and our direct observations, at some point (and perhaps continuing even now), Belize must have been a magnet for religious groups seeking a place where they had freedom of worship. We heard about Mennonites and Amish communities. We passed churches and schools established by Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Anglicans, Baptists, and other religions. Catholicism remains the primary religion of the country.

The drive back to Belize City was less interesting than the one to the ruins because we'd already seen what there was to see.

Once back in the city, we zigzagged our way through it back to the ship. Describing the city earlier as "not much to look at" perhaps gave it too much credit.  Many of the buildings were run down.  Other buildings were just utilitarian and unattractive.  The whole city underscored the limited economic means of a country with only 400,000 people.  

Parts of the city are three feet below sea level, which has not served it well during hurricanes.  Our guide told us that this house might look like it would come down if someone leaned against it, but in fact, it had survived the last three hurricanes.  

Shot through the tinted window of a moving bus

It was interesting to learn that Guatemala and Belize are in an argument being heard by the World Court.  In fact, Belize likely would have been "reclaimed" by Guatemala based on some 1800s treaty with European powers if Belize weren't a commonwealth country and treaty partner of the United Kingdom.  

At the end of the tour, we were dropped off at the terminal to catch our launch back to the ship. Most of the concessions were closed. Today, being Sunday, the merchants had calculated that giving their day off for such a small cruise ship was a worthwhile investment.

I found the first sentence of this sign in the men's room peculiar. It was over the urinals, each of which was equipped with an automatic flush system. 

From the boat taking us back to the ship, I took this picture of the mouth of the Haulover Creek that runs, dividing Belize City in half. The four bridges spanning it were all built thanks to international help.  

Since RIVIERA was standing well offshore, our departure from Belize City was completely uninteresting.  Anchor down = there; anchor up = at sea.  

Harvest Caye - Belize

After only a little ship's motion during the night, mid-morning, Riviera anchored off Harvest Caye.

Harvest Caye is privately owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), which owns Oceania and Regent Cruise Lines. Because Regent cruises have a considerably higher price point than Oceania cruises, passengers from Splendor's cruises were able to step directly onto the pier. Riviera's passengers had to come ashore in launches, about a 10-minute ride.  Regardless of the ship you were on, you had an equally long walk up the pier to get ashore.  (In this picture, Splendor is tied up at the end of the pier.)

The island serves as the jumping-off point for tours heading to the mainland.

For those staying on it, there are a variety of beach and pool venues as well as other activities and amusements.

Opportunities to buy various items abound, including fresh coconut water straight from the shell. You can also get a shell loaded with more lethal potions.

Pam and I opted for the beach. We were grateful that Riviera and Splendor were the only two ships visiting Harvest Caye that day. The lines of deck chairs suggested how crowded the beach could be on a day when a couple on NCL's big ships were in port. (This picture was taken looking right.  Looking left, the mass of chairs stretched out much further.)

From our deck chairs, it was fun to watch Kites, Pelicans, and zipliners go flying by. It was a long run for the zipliners that began in an artificial lighthouse that also hosted bungee jumping. Unlike the upright ziplining we had done, most recently in St. Lucia in 2018, these zipliners were prone.  

It is not an activity in which I would want to participate with my head leading the way while my arms are immobilized by straps. 

The lifeguards at the beach worked with military precision.  There were four towers on our section of the beach.  Each lifeguard would man each tower for 15 minutes before rotating to a break period.  Five minutes into their time on a tower, we would hear a signal on their radio.  They would all stand up.  Five minutes later would come a signal that they could sit down.  When it was time to change towers, the new lifeguard coming on shift would watch the water while the lifeguard in the tower climbed down.  The one that had descended would watch the water while his replacement ascended the tower, then run to the second tower, where the process would be repeated, and so on until the lifeguard at the fourth tower ran off the beach. Watching them for over three hours, they never allowed themselves to be distracted. The team really had its act together.  

When we'd had enough beach time, including a lunch brought to us by a waitress, we gathered up our things, walked to the end of the long pier, and boarded the launch back to Riviera.

A while later, the ship raised its anchor and we sailed off into the sunset.

Santo Tomas, Guatemala

Perhaps because we are in the lee of the tall mountains, the wind abated overnight. This made for a tranquil arrival at the port. A small coastal freighter scooted out of the way to give us enough room on a dock where we were the only cruise ship.

When we were here in 2018, Pam & I took an eight-hour tour inland that included a boat ride across a lake and a tour of a rubber plantation.  This year, we opted for a 60-minute trolley ride to see some local sites.

It was a fun, mindless tour, the highlights of which were seeing a local cemetery, complete with a mini Taj Mahal, and a driveby of the local market.  

One thing that stood out was everyone was on their cellphone. Wherever I looked people had one up to their face or to their ear.  

Another thing that stood out was that you had better cover your black motorbike seat or you would have an uncomfortably warm ride home at the end of the day.

We arrived back at the ship to find some sort of huge crew drill underway. Everyone has a lifejacket, but no one was wearing one. You could almost hear the group think, "We've got so much to do, why are we just standing around out here?'

After a quick spin through the port tourist trap, we went back on board.

It is difficult to see in this photo, but a swarm of bees landed on the sundeck near the swimming pool in the middle of the afternoon. The collective guess was that their nest had been destroyed and they were following their queen. The crew had to block off the area for the remainder of the day. During the night, the swarm was collected in a cooler and released ashore the next morning. Whether this story was the equivalent of the aggressive dog that went to live with nice people on their farm in the country we will never know.

The ship got underway about 9:00 p.m. for the short passage to tomorrow's destination; an island off the coast of Belize.

Roatan, Honduras

We had a surprisingly comfortable night given the wind was blowing 30 knots and the ship was doing 20 knots directly into both the wind and the waves.

As we approached Coxen Hole on the island of Roatan, we went up to the weather decks so that we could have a 360° view. We found that they were closed due to the high winds. We eventually found a sheltered one that was still open. We had a ringside seat for a nice piece of seamanship as the captain brought the ship to the pier. First, he slipped sideways past Azamara's ONWARD which was at anchor. Next, balancing the force of the wind with the propulsion of the side thrusters, he floated past the stern of NCL's BREAKAWAY and alongside the pier without slamming into it.

When we disembarked, we found ourselves walking up the pier into a 25+ mph headwind.  

In the port shopping area were the omnipresent Diamonds International and a bunch of other ho-hum ships. 

This is the second port this trip where we have seen feet as fish food. The last time we saw this was in SE Asia. Apparently, it has become an international thing.

We walked along the road outside the port gate. The shops and eateries were rundown. People constantly tried to sell us things but were not pushy about it when we declined their solicitations. It was interesting to see some of the local life outside the curated shopping village in the port. What we saw we knew from a previous trip was not representative of the whole island.

This sign may have been done by the same guy who did the one in a store just outside the gate to the port. It offered a big discount on Shannel perfumes.

We had a relaxed afternoon back aboard the ship. In the evening, we watched the other two passenger ships depart, then left at about 5:00 p.m. for Santo Tomas, Guatemala. Unlike our arrival, there was no finesse required to get us clear of the dock and headed out to sea.

The wind was still strong. Getting up from dinner, we noticed the deck had some shimmy in it. In general, given that the wind was more astern of us than the previous evening, those board with delicate stomachs were probably much happier.

Cozumel, Mexico

After a peaceful night with only a little motion, we docked on the island of Cozumel early. Over the next couple hours, other ships joined us. Eventually there were five major cruise ships tied up at our pier, the other for being Carnival's PARADISE, SUMMIT and VALOR plus Celebrity's APEX. Down the coast were two more. Compared to the others, we were the runt of the litter.

With such a major tourist assault (which the port of absorbed quite well), Pam and I were glad that we had no particular plans for the day. We just wanted to get off the ship and poke around a bit while stretching our legs.

After a couple of hours ashore, we'd had enough. Loaded down with our finds—a coffee cup, an SD card, and some candy bars—we wended our way back to RIVIERA, where we had a nice lunch and a relaxing afternoon.

RIVIERA departed soon after 5:00 p.m., turning south into a heavy headwind with building seas. The ship did not pitch or roll much, it mostly shuddered its way through the waves. Compared to some passages we've made, the motion did not rise to the level of being an inconvenience.

Some of our fellow travelers found the motion more bothersome. By dinner time, there were reports of people staying in their stateroom feeling queasy. On the one hand we felt bad for them, while on the other their absence made it easier to get a good table in the dining room.

40+ nautical miles north of Cuba

During the night, we rounded Key West.  This morning we are paralleling the Cuban north coast one a westerly heading.  Later today our heading will become southwest.  We have about 400 NM (nautical miles) to go to reach Cozumel, Mexico tomorrow morning. Not visible in the picture, there is a big Celebrity Cruise Line ship abeam of us traveling on what appears to be the same course at the same speed. Will it be in Cozumel tomorrow? It does not really matter to us.  Pam & I are under no illusion that the ports we visit on this trip will be intimate experiences. We know ways to have fun in even tourist-clogged ports. 

Underway

 The transfer to the ship was an hour from leaving the hotel to going aboard.

In the upper left quadrant of the picture, a red circle indicates the location of our stateroom.  The room is pleasant.  The veranda has something extra. Like the starboard bridge wing above it, the front end of the veranda sticks out over the water, giving us an unusual perspective, especially when looking aft.

A pleasant surprise was that the muster at the lifeboats wearing lifejackets is no longer part of leaving port. There is still an emergency drill process, but it requires checking in at your muster station and then watching a video and listening to an announcement.

At 6:13 PM, RIVIERA cast off its lines, backing down along Terminal Island until there was room to turn around.

About an hour later, we slipped between South Beach and Fisher Island. The ship followed the deep water channel until well offshore, then turned south on its passage to Mexico.