Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Costa Maya, Mexico 2007

Costa Maya is a small tourist region in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, between Cancún and Belize. The area is generally undeveloped but has been growing quickly and rapidly after the construction of a large pier to accommodate cruise ships. The Costa Maya includes two small villages -- Majahual and Xcalak. We went to the beach in Majahual.

Costa Maya, Mexico 2007
The after-the-adventure photo at the port

Tourists Chatting with a Local
Tourists chatting with a local
The fishing village of Mahahual has soft sand beaches, grass thatched palapas, and a coral reef a short distance off-shore, as well as several bars, restaurants, and shops. Mahahual is only about 2 miles from the port; cruise ships can easily be seen from the village. And that's where our problems began.

Costa Maya, Mexico 2007
Walking past the village

Costa Maya, Mexico
Me on the beach at Mahahual

McCracken Disc 1a 060b
Sarah took a picture of us- Looks like Paul and I are reading

Costa Maya, Mexico 2007
Paul notes that we can see our ship from here!
IMG_3672b
We went to a cafe for drinks and snacks
McCracken Disc 1a 081b 
This is fun!
DSC01851b
Time to go back. This is what we should have done...
DSC01863b
... This is what we decided to do instead.
We figured that since the ship was only two miles away, and we could see it, we could walk back. One little thing we failed to calculate was the location of the ocean relative to the land. So after walking for an hour down a secluded path, we reached a beach facing the ocean and an unscalable wall. Our choices: try the wall anyway, head into the ocean, or walk back one hour and risk missing our ship back to the US. 

Costa Maya, Mexico
This is what denial looks like.

We chose ocean. Now our second problem: as we reached dry land on the other side we were confronted by Mexican port authority trying to figure out why we're trying to swim around border control. Conversation clearly starts off on the wrong foot as he accuses us of trying to break the law, but he then ironically suggests bribery. Finally, through a combination of my persuasive abilities and Spanish sweet-talking, he finally lets us go without going to jail or paying money or anything. And that's why you should learn Spanish, kids!

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...