A Cruise Adventure to Mexico

Already follow me on Instagram? Well, you would know a little bit about how I started 2020 with a very spontaneous cruise to Mexico. Aside from being on the cruise, I spent about 8 hours on each Costa Maya & Cozumel. 

I boarded the Norwegian sun cruise and after a couple of nights watching the moon & ocean meet through my window, lots of food, blackjack & wandering around the boat we arrived in Mexico.

Mexico had always been on my bucket list, but I never thought I would visit so soon. Our first location was Costa Maya & two days later we arrived on the beautiful island of Cozumel. 

Costa Maya

How we got around:

So this one is going to be very funny because I don’t do this so often, but we actually took a guided tour. I actually do not regret any bits of it. This is a location full of history & there is no better way to gain back knowledge than a certified local guide with Mayan ancestry. Fun fact, I like to touch random things and some of the trees at the ruins are poisonous so it was good to know.

 The road trip after the port actually took about an hour to the ruins and back. Our tour was not entirely private but we did take the small van with another family. I highly recommend that option rather than the big busses. We were able to talk individually with the driver & guides, make jokes, and even have some refreshments including beer. Fun fact: I was the only Spanish speaking individual on my van and the guide tested my skills. He told a tale in Spanish and my job was to memorize & translate the entire thing as I actually succeeded to do so. 

What did we explore:

We ended up going to one of the biggest ruins which still had a lot of saved history. We learned about the trees, how they contacted ancestors as we saw the pyramid of the moon & the pyramid of the sun. Many steps later & some rain we actually had a beautiful encounter with funny Tikal monkeys.

Cozumel

How we got around:

After arriving early morning in Cozumel, we exited the boat at about 8 am running from breakfast to see the beautiful teal waters and what this island had to offer. We wanted to explore on our own without restrictions since we had all day but did not know where to start. As soon as we exited the port there was a rental place across the street and the owner happened to ask if we were lost. We decided to check his place out as we left with an amazing yellow buggie and a paper map.

What did we explore:

We decided to grab that map and ride around the only main street on the island. We blasted Spanish music, my hair got frizzy and we reached a pretty looking entrance. When we asked what it was all about they said we could ride on a dirt road for miles as we had access to El Faro (the lighthouse) we saw wildlife & a couple of beach clubs and reefs. All for $19 per person. 

After we drove our buggie & made fun of tours and Jeeps, saw different breeds of pigs, went up the lighthouse, saw crocodiles & got bit by mosquitoes we reached the Palancar beach club and reef. This was definitely beyond our expectations. We reached the club & the service was magnificent, the guys were extremely personable & caring. We ended up renting snorkel gear for $16 & had a snorkel guide on the spot who took us from land as we swam up to the reef a couple of miles in & back. I will tell you I was very scared at first but this was the most beautiful & calming experience ever! Although I think I saw a baby shark. 

We ended that location by laying out, conversing with the locals over some margaritas, and riding from the beachside around the entire island to the local town. When we reached the town we went to a large supermarket & it was like a new land. We all parted our ways and came back to our meeting point with bread, sweets, candy, chips and so much more.