I had never been to Mexico before our Disney cruise last month. I did know that Mexico has Mayan ruins and I have been wanting to see the ruins for awhile, so our excursion included San Gervasio. We also saw and tasted chocolate at the Mayan Cocoa Company and had lunch at Discover Mexico.
San Gervasio
The largest ruins on Cozumel is San Gervasio, however it is small when compared to the ruins on the mainland of Mexico. San Gervasio is a very important archeological mayan site because it was purely religious with several temples and statues of Ix-Chel, the goddess of fertility, childbirth, medicine, moon and weaving. Mayan women were required to visit once in their lifetime from the mainland Mayan empire to pray and make sacrifices to the goddess.
The settlement dates back as far as 100 B.C., and was continually settled starting in 200 A.D. During our visit, we got to see several temples, many missing roofs or the top parts of the structure, and the famous Las Manitas, where red hand prints are still visible (to the right of the column in the photo below).
The San Gervasio ruins are well worth a visit to learn more about the Mayans, but it did make me want to see some of the larger Mayan ruins even more.
The Mayan Cacao Company
At The Mayan Cacao Company, you get to discover the origins of cocoa, how the Mayans used their beans as currency and of course taste the chocolate.
You will get to watch traditional appliances and ingredients come together to make chocolate like the Mayan would have and then experiment by adding additional ingredients. Be sure to stop by the store to taste the different varieties of chocolate that the company sells. I love the 70% cocoa chocolate bars – so tasty! We each picked up our favorite.
Discover Mexico
This stop I could have done without. We were rushed through which did not help, but there are many handmade art items on exhibit, a walk-through with miniature Mexican buildings, a snack bar with Mexican food and a gift shop.
All in all we had a good day in Cozumel! Be sure to check out my other Disney cruise posts and Caribbean destinations.
Have you ever been to Cozumel? What did you do?
I have always wondered about Cozumel. I’ve wanted to explore the Mayan ruins for a long time and I didn’t know you could do it through a Disney Cruise. I also like the cacao company you were able to explore. I’m sure my kids would love that (obviously I would to). Pinning this and stopping by from the Pretty Pintastic Party! Happy weekend.
Thanks Kirsten! Both were great stops in Cozumel!