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.