Manatee Springs Fl and a night in an historic inn

14, 15 Dec 2019

We have developed a pattern for our journey home after a cruise. This includes visiting some interesting sights and staying in a bed and breakfast for one night.

On this return trip, we stopped at Manatee Springs State Park to check it out as we have not been here before.  It is a first magnitude spring, which means it must produce an outflow of an average of at least 65 million gallons per day.  This spring's peak flow is 150 million gallons per day. 

It also has walking trails and boardwalks along the spring to the river.   There is a campground and hiking and biking trails.  We enjoyed viewing the spring and walking the scenic boardwalk to the river.

We spent the night at the Allison House in Quincy, Fl.  The house was built in 1843 by former State Governor Abraham Allison.  The current owners, John and Bek, are very nice and accommodating.  We had a very pleasant stay.

The owner recommended a Mexican restaurant in town that proved to be very good.

Costa Maya, Mexico

13 Dec 2019

Costa Maya was our last port of the cruise.  This area has grown into a popular tourist trap as a result of the construction of cruise ship docks.  The village at the head of the pier is supposed to represent a Mayan village.  Surrounding it are several other tourist attractions.  There are also numerous excursions you can take from the port.  The village is, like most cruise port activities, trying to separate you from your money.   We did a quick walk around and returned to the ship.

George Town, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico

10, 11 Dec 2019

Since we have been in this port before, we opted to just take a stroll around the town.  Grand Cayman is well-known for its offshore banking services and very expensive shops.  On our last trip here, we took the submarine tour and saw that it is still in operation and actually looked in better condition then when we were on it.

Cozumel is another stop we have been to before and if you love being harassed by street hawkers, this is your town.  We just walked a few of the streets and the town square and returned to the ship.  There is a ferry that takes you to the mainland and one of the big attractions is several choices of Mayan ruins.  We have visited a few of these in the past and are definitely worth the visit.