Costa Maya 4/1 APRIL FOOL

[Charlie2na]

I'll probably catch a lot of **** for this post,but i feel the story needs to be told.We booked the dune buggy tour on our visit to this "unspoiled wilderness, the way Cancun used to be" port.VERY DISSAPOINTING!!!. I'm aware, now more than ever, that there is poverty and hungry children worldwide.I wasn't prepared to have it on display.After hours of research, BUT BEFORE finding these boards, i booked an excursion at this port thinking i was going to see unspoiled beauty. Toucans, monkeys,flora etc.What we saw was disturbing,depressing and the complete opposite of what i'd enjoy while on vacation.Ak-47 armed guards at the dock,Trash strewn beaches and roadways,unclothed children chasing after our vehicles,a starving puppy at Pelicanos beach,made me wish i never got off the ship!

How very sad and unfair this world of ours is when we have so much and so many have nothing at all. Tar paper ,3 walled shacks or buses without wheels to live in and smack dab in the middle of this is a concrete palace of shops,pools and a host of other money grabbing capitalist pigs like myself.I felt so disturbed by all this that i went back to my 1000.00 room to grab a nap before our forth meal of the day!!WELCOME TO COSTA MAYA!!!!

 

Chase the following sea...

Charlie2na

[HERDFAN]

Hey Charlie,

 

Don't beat your "capitalistic pig" self up over your good fortune. Why don't you sell everything you have and move to the nearest socialist/communist location and wrap yourself in the secure and comfortable blanket of the "state".

 

The port of Costa Maya is realatively new and in time the dollars from the cruise passengers will uplift the local economy and benefit all of the local population. It's called capitalism,

it works, I'm a firm believer in it, and kinda resent being called a pig.

 

It is true that we here in the US enjoy unparralled prosperity. The reason why is 200+ years of CAPITALISM!

 

If what you saw on your cruise truly bothers you, maybe you should do your vacationing a little closer to home.

 

"LET THE WINDS OF TIME BLOW OVER MY HEAD, I'D RATHER DIE WHILE I'M LIVING THAN LIVE WHILE I'M DEAD" - J. BUFFETT

 

 

[Texan Cruiser]

You don't have to travel to Costa Maya to see all that you described. It's everywhere. Just stings a bit when it stares you in the face.

[nitrogenaddict]

Charlie2NA,

Lets ask you about your lifestyle. You have money in the bank Yes or No?

You live a lifestyle with a lot of Stress Yes or No?

You probably have at least 2 automobiles????

You do not walk to the store you drive??? even if it is only 50 yards away. What a waste you and your kind are to the environment????

You have all the convenience of having everything you need round the corner.

You are ready to judge everyone else by YOUR standards. As you quoted they seemed HAPPY. We are happy here. We have no telephones. Can YOU live without one????? I can, no one like you to phone me and complain in my ear just because it did not fit your STYLE of living. I am SO glad about that.

 

What we ask is you go on vacation and go with an open mind. Not every place in the world is the Good OLD USA. Take a look around your own country and see what you have for poverty. It is just too easy to judge others without knowing what you are judging.

 

Not every place is JUST like home, that is why people travel - to discover and APPRECIATE how others live.

[churchplanters]

I agree Nitro. Charlie my husband and I sold all we had and moved to Majahaul to minister to the locals. We suffered culture shock for about 6 wks. but by then we had learned to do without TV, Phone, Electricity, Hot water, W/D Refrigerator, ect. I even learned to bake cookies in a cast iron dutch oven (with coals on top of the lid and under the pot) for the kids. As we got to know many Mayan and others we found they are the LUCKY ones. They have no stress. No smog (our allegeries cleared untill we returned stateside). There is a relaxed easy way of living with family the most important thing in their lives. They really care for their children unlike many parents stateside. If I could I would spend the rest of my life in Majahaul helping all who wanted my help. Majahual - great for the blood pressure!

[ahracer]

Charlie,

There is always Disney World if you don't want to see what the rest of the world is really like.

 

Scott

[Charlie2na]

Well at least they {Disney} know how to present a product. As for me, Nitro; I'm a self- employed tradesman who works hard for my money. I don't have two cars, just one truck and I'm still paying for it. We live in a very modest mobile home park, not far from everything we need, THAT MUCH IS TRUE! As for "me and my kind being waste's"!!not true. I respect the environment and do my part and more to re-use, recycle and keep our little corner of the planet presentable, and functioning properly.

There's no excuse for litter, trash, abandoned vehicles and the like. It doesn't take a federal grant to make a place presentable, just a little effort! I didn't just jump off a cruise ship and make judgments about your way of life. I envy the simplicity of your little town, it's the trash that's inexcusable. We too are a coastal town, dependant on tourism. Our beaches don't look like that! Furthermore, the other ports of call didn't look like that either. I understand that you're offended by my comments, but that was not my intention. Either people don't get out to the area's where we were, turn a blind eye to it, or just plain pretend it doesn't exist. THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR A PROMOTED ATTRACTION TO BE FILTHY!!

I felt sad for the children, glad to hear they're happy. I felt compelled to feed the starving puppy, hope others do too. Would love to come back in 5 years and see the "unspoiled wilderness", a reality, but with the attitudes so far, that's doubtful.

I forgot to mention I also dive! If the beaches look like that, I can only imagine what 75 feet of visability on a coral reef might show!

 

Chase the following sea...

Charlie2na

[churchplanters]

Charlie the next opportunity you have to come to the Yucatan go to the Biosphere Suab Ka'an north of Majahaul and south of Tulum and east of Hwy 306. It is a reserve that is unspoiled beauty with toucans, monkeys, flora, jaguar etc. You will find it untouched expect by the Mayan who live in it (grandfathered in under the law that won't allow any others to settle there). The Mayan still use it's medicinal herbs, animals and fruits to live. Scientist are allowed in to record plant life never before recorded or studied, hoping to find cures we need. The world you seek does exist-contine seeking, Charlie.

[churchplanters]

sorry (sic) should be Sian Ka'an

[ahracer]

 

Charlie,

 

You are going to be seriously disappointed when your travels allow you to see the rest of the world.

 

Scott

[Texan Cruiser]

Charlie,

You're mad because the place was cleanud up for you? Selfish

[Texan Cruiser]

Sorry, I mean't wasn't cleaned up for you.

[nitrogenaddict]

Dear Charlie,

(Tuna of the Sea)

 

I am sorry the taste of Mahahual was not good in your mouth. I am sure if I was looking for good taste, I would not find it all of your neighbourhood.

 

Like Starkist used to say we want tunas that taste good not tunas with good taste.

 

P.S. How is the diving at "Disney"?

Have you found NEMO yet??

[Knights on the Beach]

Personally, I can't wait to visit Costa Maya. When I found out our ship's itinerary was dropping Key West and adding CM for our cruise, I was very happy. I travel to see different places and cultures. If I wanted every place I visit to be just like home, I could save a lot of money and just STAY home.

 

Beth

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Countdown to Glory

 

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[hlfdzn]

Obviously Charlie has not swam in the Gulf of Mexico anywhere near Gulfport MS. The last time I took my kids there to vist my relatives who for who knows what reason, settled there, I had to grab a used condom out of my son's hand to throw it away..( he was a toddler) Soo talk about the states not having trash on their beaches? Heck as far as I know they DUMP it in the gulf.

I appreciate the people in other countries , Yes, even the people in the Bahamas who bug you to see their store. I have enjoyed showing my children other cultures and learning about them myself. Remember, Poverty is no crime.

Maybe he should volunteer his time to the less fortunate instead of complaining about their presence.

I have seen plenty of poverty in this country also. We have generations of people living in the projects of Chicago who don't value their homes enough not to ruin them, urinating in the hallways, spray painting graffiti. Worst of all they kill each other. I feel less threatened visiting a poor foreign country than I do traveling into Chicago to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. Melissa

[hkolln]

Melissa,

You said it so well! I felt more SAFE in Costa Maya then I did in the USA! They all seemed to care about us and welcome us no matter where we went (restuarant, schools, etc...).

 

And I should get my hubby on here too to talk about the places he's been in the Navy! OMG...he told me about going to Africa and cleaning up one school there. He said they urinate in the streets and the garbage was so piled up by the school it was disgusting but he felt like he did a great thing while there as they played with the kids and painted the school and cleaned up the trash.

 

There is so much more then material things...giving and loving each other is more important!

 

Helen

http://kollnfamily.com

Premier Oceanic 5/92

CCL Sensation 2/99

CCL Triumph 2/03

CCL Inspiration 3/04

[hlfdzn]

Thank you Helen,

 

While I have never been to Costa Maya, I do look forward to seeing it hopefully next year.

I did find that even though the people in Belize are very very poor, they are proud of their country and take better care of their natural resources than we Americans do. The people are genuinely happy that we are there and they can share their beautiful Country with us. While I saw very poor small houses, I also saw pride and clean happy children.

 

My own kids are guilty of being spoiled and I wish I had the nerve to take them out of school for a year and let them minister to another Country.

 

Thanks for the reply Helen....God Bless you and your Wonderful Husband for serving in the Navy. My Mom was a Navy WW2 vet ( gunnary instructor) and my Dad served In the Army (Battle of the Bulge). Melissa

[northerner]

Hi Charlie,

I know this is a late reply but I really need to do it. I have traveled all over this big world of ours, and by far Americans are the biggest culprets of litter I've ever seen. I went to Africa, yes they are poor and hated women there(Morocco(sp?) but I did not see litter, I believe because there are very few Americans and English. I lived in Italy for 2 years and all of us G.I.'s brought rakes with us every time we beached it so we could clean the beaches where all of the American, English and French holiday vacationers would leave the beaches trashed. Same scene in Greece when we went there on our cruise, trashed beaches and streets from the vacationers, but the locals had our mess cleaned up by the morning. In Italy my room mate would go once a week to a town called Astuni(sp?) and fed all of their stray anmials, she'd take a 50 l.b. bag of the cheepest dog food she'd find on base and pour it along the curb. Dogs and cats would swamp her car when she drove into that town and 30 or more cats and dogs would eat that dog food up in minutes, toghether! My landlord in Italy lived on 130$ a month and paid over $5 for a gallon of gasoline. The poor in Italy and France were every where, mostly due to extremly high taxes. In Toronto Canada we saw homeless and very trashy streets right down from the sky dome. I truely could go on and on...

But I didn't need to leave home to see those things, because in most cases these things were caused by uncaring Americans who left the countries they were visiting a wreck. These same Americans make messes right here, dumping their ashtrays out in the parking lot of the local store, or throwing the Tacobell bag out the window and the freeway, or not cleaning up trash that fell out of the ripped bag on garbage day. I was often sad to hear of filthy Americans on my journies, but was never suprised at what I heard.

But thank God all Americans aren't pigs, some are willing to pick up the trash left behind by other Americans. They clean up our road ways, parks and shelters just because it feels good not to complain about things all the time. It feels good to pitch in and help.

I know I don't have to mention our over packed homeless shelters or point out the poeple in big cities that stand on street corners with signs that say "will work for food"

I am heart broken to mention our over crowded anmial shelters where anmials are euthanised (sp?) on a daily basis with no remorse.

I am grateful for your posting though, now I know that when I go I need to bring dogfood along with my typical garbage bags and school supplies, and I won't dare forget some extra clothes in case we run into one of those naked children(in Italy and greece most of the children were naked on the beaches) This trip sounds like it was perfect for you, and myself alike. We all need<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> to see outside of our comfort zones and realize that the world in which we live is diverse and in need of much love. Thanks for the posting, I can't wait!214 days till I can do my best to make a difference.

 

"Jesus wept"