This was by far our best excursion of the whole cruise. If you're cruising, book through The Native Choice directly and you won't be disappointed. I think the only possible negative is that you did have to walk a ways to get to their office, but after that we were extremely well taken care of.
In Costa Maya we decided that a mayan ruin visit was essential, so we booked a tour that gave us a guided tour and an authentic mayan lunch afterwards.
After a walk through the shops and the city we arrived at The Native Choice office where they had bathrooms and water for us! There were a lot of people waiting for various tours, but it turns out that the rest of our group was from another ship that couldn't dock (the seas were choppy all week!). That meant we got the tour guide, and van all to ourselves. This time it wasn't awkward, it was an added bonus!
As we drove he pointed out various parts of the city and described how much tourism has changed the island. He even had us pull over to the side of the road to get some locally grown pineapple.
Being from San Antonio we were familiar with this, but lots of people put this slightly spicy pepper spice on sweet things, Tajin.
Are your cemeteries this colorful? Think Coco!
Our first stop was at the site of the Chacchoben Ruins. I was surprised with how many ruins there were in one spot! There were a lot of tourists there for the same thing, but our guide did a great job at keeping us apart from larger groups and allowing for some awesome pictures. Alex was particularly excited about seeing something he had studied in elementary school. Very neat.
These trees were literally being strangled by another. They eventually lose the battle.
Steps up to another Mayan Ruin
Banana chips. They tasted like potato chips!
Those spikes will keep my kids from climbing! :)
After hiking around in the heat, we were hungry! It's hard to say which part of the excursion was our favorite- seeing something ancient like that, or eating a meal handmade just for us!
A local Mayan family works with A Native Choice to give us a unique glimpse into their way of life and cooking. When we arrived at their house we were given a tour of the grounds which had a nice garden.
Pineapples!
The boys had apparently never had a plantain before
Cotton!
Afterwards we did our best at making our own tortillas while our guide made a filling that he made fresh with a mortar and pestle right in front of us. It was fun attempting to make tortillas!They had the dough portioned for us and we flattened it out, and then the lady fixed them for us so they'd be edible, lol.
That was just a snack! Then it was time to eat the lunch that the staff of ladies had prepared for us. Every single bit of it was delicious, and there was plenty for everyone. My favorite were the tamales that had been wrapped in banana leaves, and the empanadas with these delicious onions on top.
Look at all that food!
Table set just for us
And I just had to keep documenting Cade eating food that he wouldn't normally eat! His lunch plate is mostly empty and he's eating the delicious flan dessert!
Here's a better look at what they served. Chicken, tamales, rice and beans, emapanadas and veggies!
And don't forget your dessert flan!
After lunch we made the drive back to the port, and most of us fell asleep. We had plenty of time to explore and shop a bit before boarding the ship. Unfortunately right when the boys and I decided to head back to the ship we got caught in a downpour. The rest of the group could run into a shop to stay dry, but we were out on the pier with the rain going sideways! Good thing we were about to shower and change anyways!
Half of him is wet!
Right in the shopping area there was apparently some wildlife present. I totally missed this, but Kevin and the boys didn't!
The ports are always busy trying to take your money!
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