Daphne - or was it Carol... I can't keep Dale's women straight anymore - had reserved a spot for us at the Maya Chan beach resort for the day so we piled into a cab with a twelve year old cab driver and away we went. We passed through downtown Costa Maya and then drove along quite possibly the worst road in the western hemisphere for what seemed like hours as we bounced around the interior of the cab. We started to get a little worried that we were being taken to the middle of nowhere because all we saw was the ocean on one side and what was formerly a mangrove forest on the other. The mangrove forest, along with most all of Costa Maya, was destroyed by a hurricane several years ago and it definitely shows. Occasionally, we would see a shack, a tent or a van in a small clearing in the mangrove wreckage or right out by the beach. Clothes lines, lawn chairs and the occasional toy were strewn around these "houses" to show that people were living there. I began to feel bad for these folks until I remembered who was living on the beach and who wasn't.
We finally arrived at Maya Chan and after a few minor spinal readjustments were led to our palapa. As we walked through the grounds we noticed that Maya Chan was breathtaking. The grounds were meticulously maintained (they even raked the sand) and the trees and shrubs were beautiful. Under our palapa, we found three lounge chairs and a beach mattress along with a spectacular view of the ocean. A bar and dining area were arranged under a big thatched roof to our left and more palapas and beach mattresses were arranged along the beach. When I build my Tiki Bar, I hope it looks half as good as Maya Chan.
The staff was just as wonderful as the scenery. As soon as we arrived (around 9 a.m.), we were served rum punches - anything that contains orange juice, such as rum punch, is technically a breakfast drink - and fruit cups. Not long after we had finished the punches, our waiter for the day, Zach, arrived and introduced himself. Zach had led an interesting life, to say the least. He had moved with his parents from California to Cancun and grew up there. His parents died in an accident when Zach was twelve so he found himself on his own. He ended up in Costa Maya giving city tours to the tourists and sleeping in the pier area. When he was older, he became the manager of the largest marina in Costa Maya. The hurricane wiped out the marina and wiped Zach out of a job. He went back to Cancun and worked for a while before one of his former employees at the marina offered him a job at Maya Chan. Anyway, Zach begged and begged for Dale and I to order a drink so we decided that Pacifico was a suitable pre-lunch beer.
One of the dangers of cruising in the wintertime is that the weather may not be as nice as you would like. In Costa Maya, the wind was blowing at about 20 mph and it was a little chilly. Since the weather was not suitable for being in the water, we spent most of our morning relaxing in the palapa. While we were relaxing, two ladies set up massage tables right in front of us and started trolling for tourists. The first tourist to agree to a massage was a middle aged lady. She climbed up on the massage table and laid down on her front. The masseuse untied her swim suit top and started shoving it down in the back. The lady on the table sat up to help with this process and quicker than you could say "Please, noooo...." the masseuse pushed her entire top down around her waist while the Tiki Gal and I watched in horror. Yes, we saw it all.
Have I mentioned before that anytime I've ever been involved with stranger nudity that I always wish I hadn't? Well, this was another one of those times. I immediately doused my eyes with Pacifico and tried not to think about vintage crack.
Luckily, I was able to distract myself on a guided bike tour with Zach and then with lunch. The "chef" at Maya Chan grills chicken, beef and fish on an outdoor grill beside the bar and then serves the meats with tortillas, cheese, pico de gayo, and beans. The food was really good. Also, as we stood in line to get our food a drunk woman used me to remain upright. How do I get so lucky?
After lunch, Dale and I were feeling adventurous so we took the glass bottom kayaks out into the pounding surf. We saw some fish and coral formations but mostly we tried to keep the surf from hurling us back up onto the shore. We paddled around for a little while and then started back for the beach. As we got closer, we found Daphne waiting for us with our afternoon beer of choice, Negra Modelo
Daphne and the Tiki Gal had been hanging out at the bar while we were kayaking so we joined them there. They had ordered red wine so Zach served it to them in tall Collins glasses instead of wine glasses. They were as happy as clams with their 32 oz. glasses of wine but the bartender / owner of Maya Chan did not seem as amused. He needs to lighten up if he's going to be a bartender, I think. Also, his mixed drinks were not the best we've had. He was a little skimpy with the alcohol, to say the least. We heard from other cruisers later in the week that the owner must have been filling in the day we were there because the regular bartender made really good drinks. Not that it bothered us. We put quite a dent in their Negra Modelo stock that day.
As we left Maya Chan that day with to-go cups full of red wine, we took a last look at the beautiful beach resort. It was difficult to keep that image in mind as we bounced from shoulder to shoulder on Pothole Street while looking at mangrove stumps and one room houses as we rode back to the ship, but we tried our best.
2 comments:
Just another point of view http://www.ulyzone.com/search/label/Postales
I have found this Travel Guide about Costa Maya
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