COSTA MAYA, Mexico — One of the reasons we’ve been anticipating this stop on the Norwegian Epic’s journey into the Western Caribbean is the simple juxtaposition of the ship and the shore. If you’ve made a port stop here, you know how small the place is, and if you’ve seen the Epic, you know how big the ship is.
There never was much to this south Yucatan village, and less after Hurricane Dean blew it up in August 2007. Yet it’s an occasional if not regular stop on the cruise calendar, even for the Epic and the biggest ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.
For us, it’s been a mystery, one that is now at least partially solved.
“It’s all ecotourism,” says Lisbeth Choc-Rodriguez, the educated and articulate guide for the shore excursion we took to the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins, an hour from the port. “It was a combination private venture and the government. The governor wanted to bring more tourists to this part of the Yucatan, because everybody was going north.”
That led to private-venture construction of a pier, opened nine years ago, that was big enough to handle any cruise ship in existence or on the horizon.
“Everything is eco,” she adds. “Everything is protected here, and we have the second-biggest coral reef in the world, after Australia, so there is lots of snorkeling and scuba diving.”
It would be nice to think that cruise companies just wanted to help these poor victims of Hurricane Dean rebuild, but there always has to be an economic factor. The government must have 
made it attractive for the cruise lines to bring tourists here by the shipload, because they’re coming, and so are the entrepreneurs.
The government is hiring people like Lisbeth to tell the story of the Mayans, or to take tourists zip-lining, diving and snorkeling. It’s turned Costa Maya into a jumping-off place for other parts of this state, called Campeche, where locals also had their homes wiped out by Dean.
Our last visit here was almost exactly a year ago. At the base of the pier, there was construction. Today, there are more upscale shops, a Senior Frog’s and a Hard Rock Cafe. The pier is becoming the town. Costa Maya is a short cab ride away, clearly visible from the pier, and attractive to cruisers who just want a beach and a beer.
At the current pace of development, soon they will be one, and this will be a more attractive port created by the big ships that come here.