Year 2 Day 353 – “Living the Dream”. Monday, 4/17/2023. Day 3 (Progreso, Mexico) of 21-night Radiance of the Seas Galveston TX to Los Angeles, CA cruise. Today we are in Yucatan (Progreso), Mexico from 7am to 2pm.
We have the Rum Tasting and Merida Highlights Excursion.
This is our first time at this port. The world’s longest pier is located off the Yucatán Peninsula in Progreso, Mexico. It measures 4 miles long and was extended in 1985 from its original length of 1.2 mile. The original section was built in 1973 and has no walls. The Extension has walls. The purpose of this long pier is to allow luxury cruise liners and occasionally container ships to dock at the small port city. This port city sits atop a very gradually sloping, shallow limestone shelf. One day about 65 million years ago, a comet or asteroid only about 6 miles in diameter streaked toward Earth at a speed of 55,000 mph on a collision course. It approached from the southeast at a low angle, striking Earth in what is today the area of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. When you get off a boat at this port, there is a small, hand-painted sign that points to Chicxulub, a Maya name for a local village. But to geographers, Chicxulub means the end of one era and the start of another. Here the asteroid’s impact produced an explosion equivalent to about 100 trillion tons of dynamite, forming a crater approximately 110 miles in diameter, 40 miles deep, and encircled by a geological fault about 20 miles beyond, all of it buried today by sediments. We were one of the first ones in the Windjammer at 6am. It was a good time to take pictures. The plain yogurt is fantastic.
Look at that smile. Most employees have big smiles on this ship. They seem very happy to be here.
I have noticed that there are a lot of officers everywhere walking around in the early morning inspecting things. I like that. After the Windjammer we went to the Diamond Lounge and watched them raise the flags in the front of the ships before docking. The country you are docking at is on the left (Mexico in this case) as you look at the front of the ship, the country the shop is registered at is in the middle (Bahamas for us) and the cruise ship logo is on the right (Royal Caribbean for us). We met in the theatre on deck 5 at 8:30am. We left the ship after 9am and met up with Gerry. The end of the pier has a shopping village and then the four miles to the mainland. Gerry was our tour guide. We were sniffed by the dogs,
took some pictures,
and waited for everyone to arrive.
We then boarded a large bus.
Our tour guide was excellent.
Whenever you get off at a Mexican port there will be security with dogs sniffing your bags. They are looking for food items. You are not allowed to bring fruit, vegetables, or anything else off the ship into Mexico. It was a 15-minute drive to the mainland. We Sat in the front seat beside the guide. The front windshield had a crack in it from the top to bottom. The last step to get on and off the bus was huge, Steve had to keep swinging me down.
Mexico has many churches and cathedrals. The difference between them is that a cathedral has a bishop, and a church has a priest. 83 percent of Mexicans are catholic. The main activity is fishing in Progreso. Only one cruise ship a week stops here. Tourism is not the main way people make money. Tour guides starve here. One of the big exports are sea cucumbers. They are exported to Asia and are not eaten here. Most of the inner city is abandoned. January is the coldest month at 70 degrees. May is the hottest month with 118 degrees and dry. Summer is the hurricane season. We went from Progreso to Merida, the capital of Yucatan. We saw many different types of architecture on our drive. These homes people live in today. They are huge.
There are 31 states in Mexico. Downtown areas in Mexico are always the oldest part of the city. There is heavy traffic in Merida. There are no Taco Bell’s in Mexico. Here you find authentic Mexican food. There are also no hard-shell tortillas or burritos. They are not Mexican. In Merida everyone learns Spanish and the Mayan language. We passed a Costco, a Burger King, two McDonald’s, a Home Depot, an OfficeMax, and many other stores we have in the United States.
Gas prices are in pesos for 1 liter. Lemon, oranges and limes are all green. There is a cenote in the Costco parking lot in Merida. It was discovered during construction. It’s surrounded by a garden and a fence. It is beautifully lit at nighttime. A cenote is an on the ground sinkhole with clear water. The rain forest is 45 minutes from the city. Cinco de Maya is not celebrated in Mexico. Mexico defeated a French Army on Cinco de Mayo. 9/16 is celebrated as their Independence Day. We found our style of home construction in the French part of Merida. The houses have basements out of the ground. You go upstairs to get to the main level. You cannot have basements, or anything below ground including sewers, but these houses were designed in France. Blue Agave is used to make twine. We stopped at the town square. Many people were sitting on the benches eating and relaxing. There were an amazing number of birds chirping. We went through the Cathedral
and then to the Governor’s office. The main cross in the cathedral was made of mahogany. Police do not carry guns or tazers in this state only a baton. This is the safest place in Mexico. There were policemen at the entrance to the Governors house but no baggage checking. There we used the restrooms. They had no toilet seats. Yup good thing I do squats every day.
Steve bought a sandalwood fan aka a Mayan Air conditioner in the square. The smell of sandalwood is strong and can last for decades.
We left the town square area and headed to the Casa D’Aristi rum factory.
We passed by a Mexican military base that military personnel come to get away with their family. The Mexican military service assists the community. They’re not prepared for war.
We had to go through a gate and security to get into the Casa D’Aristi rum factory and drove past an old, deserted building.
Sugar cane comes from Veracruz for the Rum factory. We had nine different tastings. Steve drank most of mine. The first tasting was Mayan Lemonade. It didn’t taste like alcohol at all. The second tasting was Licorice Rum. It was 60 proof and was really yummy. The 3rd was aged in used Jim bean barrels for five years and was 80 proof. It was way too strong for me. We were told that rum aged one to five years old you can use to mix in drinks. Older you would never use to mix. You want to taste the Rum. 4th was Huana. It was okay bittersweet 60 proof. 5th was a Huana cocktail with milk and mango juice. It was ok. 6th was orange liquor 80 proof. 7th was a mixed drink with the orange liquor and juices it was very good. The tasting was done by our tour guide with the assistance of a rum factory employee. Our tour guide actually tasted the rum with us as he explained about the rums. The bus driver did not — Thank goodness.
In Mexico oranges, Limes, and Lemons are all green.
8th is Kalani Rum which was very very strong.
After the tasting we stayed until everyone made their bottle purchases. We found it was better to wonder around the grounds. Very nice place to take some pictures.
On the way back to the ship, we passed the 90-MW Progreso wind farm on the way back to the ship. The wind farm is located by the road connecting Yucatan capital Merida and the port city of Progreso. It is made up of 36 turbines with 55-metre blades installed on 120-metre towers.
The steering in the bus was very loose and we were going fast with no seat belts. Differnt countries have different standards. The interesting part of this area is that for our total tour we were in the Cicxulub Crater. How freaking cool is that.
Our excursion ran late, and we didn’t get back to the ship till 2:45pm. All aboard was at 2:30pm. There was no food on the excursion just alcohol. Everyone was starved and I think a little tipsy.
The daily event flyer compass on our bed tonight has this statement about Sanitization from Bow to Stern fogging between 3am and 5am in guest corridors. They request you stay in your rooms at that time. WHAT is that??
Today’s product recommendations are for traveling by car. 1) We always carry this Igloo Playmate cooler in our back seat. She is always belted in. We carry water, lunch and snacks. We never go anywhere without it. https://amzn.to/41rWJNa 2) A first aid kit is also a necessity when you could be on the road far from a town. This is a great one. https://amzn.to/3Uyo2Ty 3) We also keep wet ones in all our vehicles. Using rest areas or eating snacks require the use of good antibacterial wipes. https://amzn.to/3UCWhJS 4) I also always keep these toilet seat paper covers in our vehicles. I hate those interstate rest area seats. Men have it so easy. Not us ladies we have to sit on those seats. Sometimes they are really wet from other people’s bodily fluids. How gross is that. These work great. Keep them in your vehicle or purse. https://amzn.to/41qjz7J
To see more about Radiance of the Seas, click here: Radiance of the Seas – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count
To view the complete daily diary, click here: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count