Celebrity Equinox Cruise: December 14-21 PART FOUR

    After a peaceful day at sea our next stop was Costa Maya, a stretch of Mexican coast on the eastern Yucatan Peninsula. As usual I was up way before my wife roaming the ship taking pictures. There was a fairly cool wind blowing as I snapped this picture of the sunrise. It felt awesome!  

    The nearby village of Mahahual is a popular cruise ship port with beaches and beautiful coral reefs. My wife and I didn't leave the ship that day instead we laid out at the indoor pool. Hindsight being what it is, that was a mistake since there were two biosphere reserves in the area.
     As I was strolling the decks that morning, I noticed a strange building off in the distance. But since the sun wasn't fully up and the haze in the air, I couldn't really tell its purpose. 

    This massive structure at first looked like a Mayan pyramid sticking out from the surrounding jungle. You would not believe the numbers of pictures I took of what I thought was a Mayan ruin.
   I eventually learned it was not a genuine historical monument but a brand new, Mayan-themed water slide. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself by verbally speculating to anyone about the structure.     

    A discovery that was truly mysterious was this sailboat. At first I assumed it had been washed ashore by a recent hurricane and probably abandoned. While this picture doesn't show it, the boat is a considerable distance from any sign of human habitation. I'd say about a mile from the docks and the village.
    As I obsessed over the boat, I realized it was sitting almost upright, something I doubt a raging tropical storm could accomplish. I also noticed that the boat still had its rigging, a sign that it was a recent arrival to that location or that someone was taking care of it.

    Naturally, since it was in a reasonable walking distance from where the Equinox was docked, I wanted to go check it out. Something my wife said would have been a bad idea. Mexico isn't a good place for a stupid American to go walking off alone in the best of locations. So I continued to watch the boat from the Equinox and take pictures hoping to squeeze a few more details out.   

    If you click on the picture here, you should be able to tell that the name and origin of the sailboat isn't painted on the stern. You should also be able to tell that the sailboat looks relatively new, in the sense that it appears to be recently constructed.
    It's a good thing my wife talked me out of trekking to this sailboat just to satisfy my curiosity. Given my luck, I would have probably been on the news for getting snake bite or simply disappearing.      

    If I titled this picture it would be called, "Fluffy Anvil of the Gods." Sorry folks, since we stayed on the ship there isn't many pictures that do not involve my mystery sailboat. 

    As much as I have whined about the "Blue Hairs", my wife and I spent much of our ship time in the Solarium. A place dominated by the old folks who shied away from all the loud music and activity of the outside pools.
    The Solarium was exceedingly comfortable and quite, allowing me to read in peace.  

    I may have already posted this picture but I wanted to point out a few things about the main pool. It was freaking cold! I did want to at least say I did get in the pool figuring it would be as warm as the one in the Solarium. I only got down to my waist before having to do a quick retreat. 

I also wanted to point out that I did visit the gym several times while on the cruise and in fact took part in a yoga class. The yoga instructor, a goddess originally from New Zealand took it easy on her students but even the basic moves kicked my ass. Sorry no picture of me in the yoga class exist.
   Instead here's one of me on the tread mill working off some of the excellent food the ship offered.  

A piece of Key Lime Pie. One of many that died at my hands.