High Tides & Good Vibes

Three things you need to know about my shopping habits:
1. I know exactly what I want going into it, so I never waste time looking for anything else.  Get in, get out, leave happy!
2. Apparently, I am a really good haggler.  I discovered this when I went to Chinatown in New York many years ago, and the trait never seems to have left.
3. Combine #1 and #2, and that means I may leave with a lot of merchandise, but I never pay the full price. : D

     Our second port stop came the very next day as we pulled into Costa Maya, Mexico.  A port created specifically for the cruise industry, it was no surprise that the small peninsula was teaming with tourist opportunities and attractions.  Fast Fact: "It is a 70,000-square-foot entertainment and shopping complex with artisan markets, a private beach club, pools, restaurants, and bars."  I would be lying if I said that we didn't do almost every single one of those things . . .

  Exactly like I mentioned, we spent the entire morning shopping for all of those hidden treasures and great finds that you can say to your friends: "I got that in Mexico!" while they all "ooh" and "ahhh" at their exotic nature.  I did not enter the premises thinking that I would be bargaining for any of my finds, as I assumed I would cough up the price quoted for such goodies.  But as soon as the first vendor let me in on the secret that prices were negotiable by trying to bundle items for a lesser price, I was on the loose!  My mother admitted to being in awe of watching me do this as she claimed that it was unreal the way I was able to finagle myself around a store.  Every financially savvy girl has her methods, right? :)  However, in addition to trinkets, there were a couple of stores that had peaked my interest because of their health or money saving benefits (duty free and tax free certainly has its perks).  Unfortunately, I injured my back many years ago playing sports and still struggle with the residual effects today, so as I am thinking about replacing my mattress (to help aid in this status), I was introduced to Cariloha products which are composed 100% out of bamboo.  Not something you think of as a soft product, right?  Well, as the story goes, it's supposed to rival any other "memory foam" type mattress in both durability and health reliability.  My thoughts?  Ask them to rise to the challenge: sell me on it.  If I like what you say, I think it over; if not, I move on.  This was my thought process as I entered the store and said almost exactly the same to the manager.  My mom leans over and whispers "Be careful  . . ." as any good mother should do.  Let's just say we walked out of Cariloha with not one, but two beds, two sets of luxurious bamboo sheets, and three pairs of free socks, to seal the deal. ;)  (I'll have to let you know, readers, how it works out.)
     After we shopped till our bank accounts dropped, we hopped on our second excursion for the trip that took us through the heavily guarded gates of the city and took us into the heart of Costa Maya for some last minute shopping (like as if we hadn't already done enough!!), and then back on the bus for a 45 minute ride to our very own private beach!

Downtown Costa Maya, Mexico.

What's humorous about the majority of these excursions is that the guides usually refer to the group as their "familia" (Spanish=family), which I am sure is to enhance the experience and so on, but it makes me laugh because every other sentence or so started "Ahora, mi familia . . ." (Now, my family . . .) and usually ended up with me having to translate for my mother what was actually being said, ha!
Along the way to our next destination, our guides provided us with some very enriching history about the lands: the Mayan descendants (hence the name, obviously), the agricultural benefits of the land, including the origin of gum (which came from Mexico, not the U.S. which most people think), and a very interesting take on the Battle of the Alamo.  He knew most of us were from Texas, so it was safe to say that he was as delicate as possible by describing the incident as "When Santa Ana came to Texas."  We'll let ya slide this one time . . .
     By now, we were out in the middle of nowhere and starting to wonder exactly where we were going (the description was not very clear in the excursion listing and practically no one on the bus really knew either), when the bus finally pulls off onto an even more desolate, yet tropical, road with a sign marking:

El Castillo means The Castle in Spanish.  This was our castle:

The place itself was only 6 kilometers from our ship, but due to the nature of government-facilitated roads, you had to traverse all the way back through the town to get in or out.

Also, this little guy was also waiting on us as we arrived.

Oh, can't see him?

Let me help you out . . .

No biggie; just your average behemoth iguana chillin' out in the window.

Before we got off the bus to go into El Castillo, our guides inform us that we are all going to have our family portrait taken out front (with the beautiful tropical scenery at our own private beach, etc., etc., etc.), so we all begin to disembark and start to realize that Ricardo (our guide) was taking the whole "mi familia" thing very seriously and was posing in the middle of everyone's "family portrait."  

The more the merrier, I always say!

     In addition to our "family portrait," they provided us with an authentic snack of real (I mean like really real, not Chipotle real) tortilla chips, Mexican caviar (black beans), a myriad of tropical fruit, including dragon fruit, and homemade pico de gallo, and sent us on our way out the back door to this tropical oasis . . .

The ocean was such brilliant colors, you can see the hombre effect even in the water.

 Our trip was short, but sweet, after only an hour or so of high tides and good vibes, leaving me craving more and not wanting to return the reality awaiting me in just a couple of days.