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© 2010 maps.com a lifetime. for remember will out venture who visitors which forest the in found be can what rather attractive; or interesting flat, low lying forests. It is not the forest itself which is so of miles by surrounded is Caribbean, the of waters blue The cruise facility of Puerto Costa Maya, while facing the shops. and stores numerous the browse or cafes different the of any at food the try pool, saltwater the of waters freshing re the in swim cabana, seaside a under drink cool a with the relax Majahual, to opportunity the passengers offers complex cruise of village fishing little the from far Not istothesouth. of country the and west the to is Campeche north, the to Yucatánof is state The Roo. Quintana of state Mexican ship passengers. It is located on the Caribbean coast of the exclusive facility specifically built to accommodate cruise INFORMATIONGENERAL

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of Costa Maya Puerto U.S.A. M uro ot My i an is Maya Costa Puerto iami CUBA - such religious fervor, ferocity and efficiency he was ordered to return to Spain were consigned to the fires as well. Calderón attacked the Mayan empire with All Mayans who opposed the priest and the message he brought from his Pope Inquisition. the of flames the to put was books) small three (save tribe cient an this of record written entire The Mayans. the on turned Calderón Landa de Diego Father Franciscan 1562, In trust. misplaced their of consequences language and way of life. It was too late when the Mayans realized the terrible hieroglyphs, religion, their chronicled and studied them, among widely eled be seemingly friended the Mayans in who the 1500s. He was welcomed and respected as priest he trav Catholic a was Calderón Landa de Diego Father entire people;togetherwitheverywrittentraceoftheirheritageandhistory. an of elimination attempted and subjugation the of story the is This Mayans. the converting of task earthly the with charged bishops, were who zealous monks and and priests sacrifice ritual of story the also is this tragically, But istic fantasiesof“endtimes”prognosticators. precise calendrical system continues to confound experts and inspire the fatal incredibly whose civilization extraordinary an of account the is This hands. amazing bare and tools stone truly than more little using cities remarkable a built who people of account the is This computers. of banks and telescopes massive their with astronomers modern of imagination the staggers curacy time, produced celestial observations and mathematical calculations. Their ac extended and sticks wooden two only using whom, astronomers and priests kings, Mayan ancient of account the is This equal. can few narrative a is this fiction than stranger be truth ever history.If world of stories interesting cally dramati most the of one is civilization Mayan mysterious the of unraveling History Puerto CostaMaya & SHOPPINGGUIDE To date, that which has been discovered or uncovered, the partial the uncovered, or discovered Tobeen has which that date, PORT EXPLORER ------and stand trial for his crimes. In preparation for his defense the priest, they were as a people. His manuscript was eventually misplaced and ing various Mayan deities. countless centuries honey has been an important part of the local diet. the very man who burned the records of their existence, wrote down slowly hidden by the dust of history. The Mayan Ruins of are not far from . A sweet liqueur made from the golden nectar is called Xtabentun. all he knew of the Mayan people; their mathematics and calendars, The story is as complicated as it is interesting. After being lost for At one time this city was a regional power. The beautiful site their pagan cults, idolatry, human sacrifice and worship of the powers 3 Shopping Facilities Located at the end of the pier, the Mayan centuries three small Mayan books were re-discovered. Scholars were includes public plazas, the Temple of the Captives and the Temple of Pavilion Park contains numerous stores and shops. Together with sou- of the underworld. Calderón was not only acquitted, he was promoted finally able to unravel the Mayan hieroglyphic code. The door to the the Owls. to Bishop and sent back to the Yucatán to continue his “good work”. venirs, leather goods, locally made crafts and jewelry are available. mysteries of this amazing people has finally been opened, if only a Many of the shops will bargain. His writing about the Mayans and the attempted translation of their crack. Shore Excursions To make the most of your visit to the his- mysterious hieroglyphs was all that remained as testament to who toric sites and local beaches surrounding Costa Maya we suggest you Local Currency The peso (MXN) is Mexico’s official cur- take one of our organized Shore Excursions. For information concern- rency. U.S. dollars are accepted in the port complex. The symbol ($)

© 2010 maps.com ing tour content and pricing, consult your Shore Excursion Brochure refers to pesos, not U.S. dollars, unless specifically noted. There is an or contact the Shore Excursion Desk. When going ashore, be advised ATM machine at the port complex and a few in town. 1 to take with you only necessary items and secure any valuables on- board. Post Office and Telephone There is no local Post Office nearby. You can buy postage stamps and mail items at the photograph Local Customs Bargaining: Prices in restaurants and stores are store located at the port entrance. fixed. Bargaining is often practiced in some of the stores and shops. Place a call with your personal calling card using the following access Tipping: A tip of 15% or more is appropriate in restaurants. numbers: Local Cuisine AND Drink Specialties Most of us don’t go AT&T: 01.800.288.2872 or 001.800.462.4240 to the supermarket or sit down to a nice dinner and consciously give MCI: 001.800.674.7000 3 thanks to the ancient Mayans, Christopher Columbus or the Spanish conquistadors for that matter. But in a very real way they are respon- Tourist Information There is a Visitor’s Information Center sible for a number of the basic foods we now enjoy and even take for within the cruise complex. granted. Most of us remember back to grade school and learning about Transportation Taxis are not available at the cruise complex how the Mayans were the first to domesticate and cultivate the wild though transportation arrangements can be made. Taxis can drop off grass, maize, that we now call corn. 13101211678954 returning guests. What about the tomato; talk about changing the world. The Spanish were introduced to the tomato in the 1500s by the Mayans whereupon Useful Words and Phrases conquistadors took it across to Asia and back to Spain. The love of Yes - Si the fruit spread quickly and by the 1600s tomato based recipes were No - No 2 already being published in Italy. We say “spread quickly”; that is until Hello - ¡Hóla! the tomato reached the shores of England whereupon English chefs Good Bye - Adiós pronounced the fruit “poisonous” and unfit for consumption. It took Please - Por favor England and her American colonies a century-and-a-half to catch up Thank-you - Gracias with the tastes of the rest of Europe. You’re welcome - De nada. We could mention the Mayan chilies and pumpkins, sweet potatoes and squash, black beans and avocados and the list goes on. But the most important food to reach the Western world which was introduced by the Mayans was chocolate. The Aztecs gave chocolate to the Span- ish, but it was the Mayans who introduced chocolate to the Aztecs. So, can you imagine how very different the world would be without the culinary contribution of the ancient Mayans? There would be no PLACES OF INTEREST Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. because you can’t celebrate Thanksgiv- ing without pumpkin pie. And the thought is beyond comprehension Puerto Costa Maya Places of Interest He explored the site and reported his findings to the Government of that without the Mayan’s tomatoes there would be no such thing as New York thin or Chicago deep-dish pizzas. But the most dramatic The Mayan Ruins of date back close to 1500 Mexico. Two decades later the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e transformation of Western culture would be realized if there had never years. Archeologists believe the settlement itself may have been Historia (Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History) se- 1 been the introduction of Mayan chocolate. In no small part, much of inhabited as far back as 200 BC. In an isolated jungle setting an hour cured and excavated the ruins. Today the protected pyramid temples civilization as we now know it stands upon the culinary contributions or so west of the port of Costa Maya, the ruins are named after a small together with other buildings and gardens are open to the public. of the ancient Mayans. town located near by. The name itself roughly translates as “place of The Mayan Ruins of Kohunlich are located a couple of hours red corn”. Some of the lands surrounding the ruins were cleared in 2 south of Puerto Costa Maya, not far from the border of Belize. What do you get when you combine pepper seasoning, sea salt and the 1940s by a young Mayan farmer named of Serviliano Cohuo. The The site was discovered in 1912 by American archaeologist Raymond lime juice with Worcestershire, Tabasco and soy sauces all mixed in wildly overgrown site became a virtual playground for children of the Merwin. They remained relatively untouched until the Mexican au- a cold beer? The drink is popular and known as Michelada. If you family. It was not until 1972 when Dr. Peter Harrison, an archaeologist thorities began excavation and restoration in the 1960s. The site in- decide to pass on all the hot spice and sauces and just go with the from Tulane University, over flew the area in his helicopter. Dr. Harri- cludes temples, public plazas, ball courts, private homes and gardens. lime and beer it is known as Chelada. The prickly skins of fermented son spotted mysterious mounds rising out of the relatively flat jungle. Especially interesting are the large intricately carved masks represent- pineapples are used to produce a regional drink known as Balché. For