Rambling Chronicles: Day 3 – Cozumel, Mexico

We docked this morning in Cozumel, Mexico. Surprisingly, this is my first visit to Mexico.

Viking Sky, Docked in Cozumel

Welcome to Cozumel

Tim and I both selected the included excursion today, “The Ruins of San Gervasio,” a sacred Pre-Columbian Mayan religious site. This is the description of our tour:

Discover the ruins of a pre-Columbian Mayan religious site during a visit to San Gervasio. Located on the northeastern side of the island of Cozumel, San Gervasio is a Mayan site dedicated to Ix Chel, goddess of the moon and fertility. Mayan women would make the pilgrimage to this site and present offerings to the goddess. Take a tour of the remains of this expansive complex; today, the stone structures are missing their roofs and upper walls; and view Las Manitas (“Little Hands”), which was the residence of the Mayan ruler of Cozumel.

Moy, our excellent guide, began our excursion with an introduction to Cozumel. We learned that in 1961, famed undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau came to Cozumel and discovered the Palancar Reef, the second largest coral reef in the world. This discovery helped put Cozumel “on the map,” and today, more than 1,400 cruise ships visit each year. Luckily for us, there only appeared to be two others in port.

While we were on the motorcoach, Moy, who described himself as a mestizo, half Mayan and half Mexican, introduced us to the history of the ancient Mayan culture and prepared us for what we would be seeing at San Gervasio, a 1,000-year-old Mayan ruin in the middle of the jungle.

San Gervasio is a small, but significant, pilgrimage site, and it is thought to be one of the premier pilgrimage sites in all of Mesoamerica. Here the Maya worshiped the Goddess Ix Chel. San Gervasio became the administrative and religious center, as well as the seat of government for the entire island of Cozumel. The site consists of four primary groups and numerous residential complexes joined by a network of roads.

As we visited the structures at San Gervasio, Moy described their functions and significance. Our first stop was the Little Hands Elite Residence, thought to have been the home of the supreme ruler. The small, red handprints on the inside walls gave the building its name.

Little Hands Elite Residence

Next up was “The Arch,” which spanned the sacbé, or white road. This structure was the main entrance from the north and west to San Gervasio‘s Central Plaza Group.

"The Arch" and the White Road

We then reached the Central Plaza, the principal center in San Gervasio. The Plaza Group consists of San Gervasio’s most important temples and structures arranged in a square around a central altar platform.

The Central Plaza

Moy also demonstrated Mayan mathematics and how any number from zero to infinity could be expressed using only three symbols, the shell, a dot, and a horizontal line. He also emphasized the importance of the numbers seven and thirteen and how they are lucky numbers.

Moy Explaining Mayan Mathmatics

The tour was excellent and very informative. Afterwards, Moy then encouraged our group to go shopping. Tim and I rarely shop when we travel, but I did buy the tourist photo that was taken on our way into the site.

Our Cheesy Photo at San Gervasio

When we returned to Viking Sky, I spent a bit of time making a few more tweaks to our room. Yes, I did rearrange some of the furniture, and we have a more open area near the sliding glass door.

Our New Arrangement

Tonight, Tim and I had dinner at Chef’s Table, a specialty restaurant that features a multi-course tasting menu. Tonight’s menu was La Route des Indes described as follows:

This five-course menu had been designed to feature a variety of spices; each dish highlights one or more, allowing you to discover nuances of taste and the very essence of these amazing plant materials.