Sorry for the delay there but we're finally reaching the end of our cruise and I couldn't bear to write about it... (jk not that emotional already planning my next big trip) But it was a great last top.
We saved part of our excursion budget for the fabulous Costa Maya! When we were first booking this cruise and I found out Mexico was on of our stops I KNEW we had to do some Mayan ruins. Their some of my favorite things to see so I pleaded with everyone to do the best one on the list (that wasn't at Belize because there was no way we were passing up the zipline and cave tubing experience) and so we ended up at Chacchoben.
We got off the boat at a decent hour, got on a bus, and headed to the jungle! And we all loved our tour guide! He made the bus ride over very pleasant and informative :)
And I'm going to say I was a little biased by the idea of actually being able to walk on some of the stones up the temple. (wish we could've gone to the top like you can do at Tekal but it was.... a step up. HA!) And hey all for the experience.
Right off the bus it was great hearing to watch out for fire ant piles seeing as we were all in our sandles... oops! I definitely watched where I was going.
The size of Chacchoben was really astounding. The only other ruins I'd been to was Tulum (which don't get me wrong is GORGEOUS especially it's location... but it's not huge and you can't climb on anything... ugg typical American tourist) so seeing as Chacchoben has at least 4 large pyramids and a few more that were still buried in vegetation waiting to be restored, but you could see the hill they were under and how they connected in the big picture, this place was HUGE.
Here's some background now: Chacchoben's name means Place of the red maize.
The first settlements in the area have been dated back to 1000BC and by 360AD Chacchoben was one of the largest Mayan communities in the region. It was basically one huge prestigious ceremonial center which explains all the temples! (I mean there's a lot!)
Lot's of pictures :) I think one of the most interesting things for me to learn about was how these pyramids and cities actually looked back in the day. I mean... did you know they were RED?? They covered it in like a red plaster and ohhh many I can only imagine how incredible they looked. In the picture above they managed to preserve a small portion of the plaster which has tiny bit of red to it still. It's also interesting to think about all the carvings that also covered these temples. So interesting!
I will also say this: it was a hot and humid day! Definitely the right day for tank and shorts (but maybe not the sandals... still calculating if the risk is worth it facing fire ants...)
Above is all of us with our wonderful guide! He gave us all so many great tidbits of information and I think the biggest take away (and this was his own personal mission) is to not spit your gum out on the sidewalk since it has plastic in it and kills birds. lol (this was stemmed off the conversation on the origin of gum being down here in the jungle) ...
also don't mind the next pics they were from my knock off go pro but I like the angle I got with it...
The excursion wasn't too long and I think we had about an hour bus ride there and back but it was worth it and our guide was so great! We also got some pretty cool souvenir (if I do say so myself..) including a miniature red stone pyramid! to remind me of what they actually look like when I peak back at all my pictures!
And of course we had to take pictures with all the tacky tourist spots at the cruise port before getting back on our boat and sailing home. (my mom captured this really tender moment between Aunt Lisa and me... not really sure why we were holding hands... but hey you can't beat the Aunt/niece relationship! haha Love all these lovely ladies that accompanied me! After at least a year of getting people pumped for a ladies cruise trip, and then another 8 months of planning and then waiting, we finally got our adventure. Can't wait for the next!
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