Costa Maya is a port where we never know if it will work out or not. And that has to do with the fact that the pier is just built into the open sea with no protection whatsoever. And thus it gets damaged at regular intervals. To reduce damage and the wear and tear, it is an open pier and that means that the waves can roll freely under the pier and onward to the beach. It reduces damages as the pier does not have to absorb the energy of the waves when it hits the concrete. For us it is less pleasant as the ship, while alongside, can still roll on those waves coming in under the pier. And we never exactly now what we will find until we get there.  The local pilot is a larger than life optimist and even has nice weather when the waves are rolling over the dock and thus we wait until we are there to have a good look.

The good old days. The way it looked when opened in 2004. Not much has changed apart from the fact that the piers have been extended.  We were docked today where the ship with the X in the funnel is docked.

There are three berths and sometimes there are three ships in port but today only 2 were scheduled as the 3rd berth is under repair. It sustained damage during one of the hurricanes last year and is also being strengthened with extra pillars at the end where it takes most of the force of the sea. I tried to find out what they were doing exactly (not much today as the swell was not good for much work) and I was proudly advised by the local security that they were making the pier so “bigga” that it would never be damaged again.  Well if they manage to do that then they can sell and export that construction to a lot of places in the world.

Rebuilding berth 3 which sticks out the furthest into the sea. Work is a slow process as the swells do not always allow for work to take place. Today was an average day with low swells.

Today things were nicely in our favor, there was wind but the in rolling swell was low and we had nice protection by means of a RCI ship which was on the east berth. For docking that is the easier berth as you simply stop near the pier and let the wind push you alongside while controlling that movement with the ships power. Going on the west side is more complicated as the dredged width of the underwater area is only about 2x the width of the ship and thus we have not more than 40 meter room to play with. The advantage is that you have a ship next to you which act as a breakwater for wind and waves. We do not like competition when we are in port but sometimes other ships do have their uses. So today we were quite content to have a bit more of a challenge to get in, but once there, it was nice and quiet.

This yacht was carried a considerable distance inland during last years hurricane season. We have a saying in the Dutch language: A ship on the beach is a beacon for those at sea.

Costa Maya is an artificial port, hence the location of this T pier which is just sticking out of the coast. As mentioned yesterday the prime focus is going on tour or enjoying the resort. Option for those who do not mind to walk a few miles, there is a small fishing town just to the south of the resort. The resort is dominated by a fake Mayan Pyramid and surrounded by everything the Tourist might like. Also here there are still repairs in progress. There is also an amphitheater where at regular times, a sort of Mayan show is given to offer the resort guests a bit of culture.  I find those shows always fascinating and also always wonder how that they know that all those dances and rituals are authentic. The Mayan culture did not have the written word, nor photo camera’s and the stone inscriptions reveal a lot but not every detail of dress or cultural routines.  But that does not mean it is not enjoyable and at least it gives mom and pop from another country some sort of insight into the cultures of Middle America.

The ship is now returning to Tampa and tomorrow we will be at sea. The captain is a little bit concerned about the weather as there is a cold front with thunder storms expected on Sunday around noon time. His concern is “around noon time”. So a close look will have to be kept on its progress. I think that we will be ok, as we normally dock around 06.00 hrs. and the weather gurus are normally not six hours off schedule when we have less than 48 hrs. to go. Still stranger things have happened and thus we are vigilant.

This what s expected over Florida by Sunday lunchtime. Rain with wind.  On early Sunday morning the cold front is still laying between New Orleans and Jacksonville and if it does not speed up, we should be happily docked before the wind reaches Tampa. (Thank you Weather Channel)

That means that tomorrow we still have a nice day at sea, at bit cooler because of the sea breeze, but it should be dry and sunny.