Bon Voyage- Part 2

After we got settled, we headed to the very front of the ship to watch it leave port. And yes we had the prime spot to watch from! It took about 2

(Heading out!!)

It took 2 hours to get our of the Bay! But it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We saw dolphins, went under this super cool bridge, and saw one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen. Enjoying it all with my best friend and favorite person in the world!

Once we hit open water we headed to dinner. I would like to say here that basically this cruise is an all you can eat 24/7. And no, I am not exaggerating. Dinner was quite the experience. This fancy hostess seated us by pulling out my chair for me and unfolding my napkin into my lap. I don’t think I have ever had someone do that to me before. Then they gave us a menu which had no prices because its all free! You could have anything and literally everything on the menu!! The food was amazing and we had 3 waiters just for our small section. They addressed us by name the whole time! Crazy! As soon as we finished the last bite on the plate it was whisked away and a new plate was out in front of us. It was like a choreographed display of pure awesomeness! Here is a picture of the dining room before dinner started.

I ordered this dessert that was to die for! It was a hot chocolate melted lava cake with ice cream! Oh my heavens it was amazing!

One funny thing is when we told one of the waitresses we wanted milk for dinner she looked like she didn’t undersatnd us. “You want milk"?” uh, yes please. then we looked around and realized we were the only ones ordering milk. Everyone else had alcoholic drinks and coffee. I guess we are weird.

After dinner we continued to tour around the ship, hang out on our balcony to enjoy the fresh air and breeze and when it was too black to see anymore, we came in watched some fun TV bob had taped on my computer. Also, our room had been cleaned, our bed turned down, an adorable towel animal and mints left on our pillows. We have our own room attendant too. Even the guy cleaning outside our room knew our names!!

I thought I might get sea sick but I really haven't had any problems so far. The ship is pretty steady. It does have a slow sway so sometimes you feel like you have vertigo.

We are absolutely LOVING it so far!

Bon Voyage

Bon Voyage

We boarded the Carnival Cruise line about 12:30. We had to go through several levels of security but the lines moved surprisingly fast! It was an AMAZING site when we first walked in.  It has this ginormous room with glass elevators.  I must say for the 1st hour we were overloaded with information!  We toured the ship, which is WAY bigger than I ever would have imagined. How in heavens name do they fit all of this on a ship???

(At Tampa Bay port)

At 1:30 we were able to check into our room which again, was AMAZING!!  It was much bigger than I was expecting.  And the view from our balcony is to DIE for!

(the view as you walk in)

(solid ocean view- too beautiful to describe!)

At 3:15 we had a mandatory safety check.  They played the emergency (ear-piercing) siren and we all had to go out on deck for a safety briefing in case of an abandon ship.

Belize–Part 2

Isn't this so beautiful!!!???

By the way, our tour guide ate termites- apparently they taste like crunchy mints.  We declined the offer to try them!

He did mention that there are definite signs that the Mayans here just disappeared, but the Mayans at the “Lamani” flourished until much later.  I wanted to raise my hand to tell them what happened!

This is the inside of one of their homes.

Here is the largest temple at Altun Ha

Here is the view from the top of that temple!

Here is looking down from the top of the temple

We had some guys with crocodiles.  They were begging for money and they were scary.  I said they had to take a picture of Bob and then we gave them a couple of bucks.  Wouldn’t want to meet them in a back alley- see their faces?

As we left, there were locals selling souvenirs.  We met this neat lady who carved all of this stuff herself.  She was so sweet.  We bought a couple of things from her and took a picture of all her art.

There was a vendor with this BEAUTIFUL baby boy.  I was smiling at him and she came right over and handed him to me.  He was so dang cute so I am irked that it turned out fuzzy.

We took the speedboat back to the ship, had a fancy amazing dinner, and went to a cartoon trivia contest.  Very fun day planned in Mahogany Bay tomorrow!!

Belize- Part 1

BUCKET LIST: Taking a speed boat 20 minutes to Belize, taking a guided tour through Belize City, visiting AND climbing the ancient Mayan Ruins of Altun Ha- CHECK!

After teaching about Belize and the Mayans when I taught 6th grade Social Studies, I was VERY interested in seeing it all in person!  I was also VERY interested in the Mayan structures because of what we know from the Book of Mormon.

Belize boasts the largest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere, 2nd largest in the world.  It is protected so ships cannot go in too far. So, we have to “tender” out where they take us in groups on a speed boat to shore.

(Seeing Belize from the speed boat)

Belize is very different from Cozumel.  It has more of a Jamaican feel.  It is a VERY poor city that has been devastated by 3 horrible hurricanes in the past century. 

We took a bus ride through Belize City (which reminded me so much of Tijuana!)  Our guide grew up 2 miles from the Mayan Ruins.  He is Creole.  He was very funny and REALLY knew so many things about Belize and the Mayan Ruins.  I learned a TON from him.  I wish I could write it all here.  It would have been invaluable when I was teaching.  The history of the country is fascintaing and they are working so hard to help their country develop and prosper.

Richard, our guide, told us that these ruins were only discovered in the 1960s and began to be excavated.  There are over 500 “mounds” (buried temples, homes, etc) in this area and only 70 have ever been uncovered.  They are waiting for expert archaeology students to come in and help with the excavation.  Here is a picture when you 1st walk in- see all the mounds? I told Bob I want to be an archaeologist so I can come back and excavate!!

These are the steps that lead to the White Temple

(That’s our guide, Richard, on the bottom left)

This is the All Spice Tree.  Did you know that’s where all spice comes from??  He got us some leaves and they smell like all spice.  I'm bringing one home.  If you chew on them, they will numb your lips.

This is the Green Temple where they found tons of Jade buried with all the bodies.

That’s right, I touched the EXACT stones the Mayans did and it was awesome!

Here is one of the tombs- see the face?

Cozumel–Part 2

For our excursion, we took the “Mexican Limo” to the other side of the island. Our tour guide, Jose, was hilarious! We noticed that once we got past the tourist part of the city, it turned poor fast. It reminded me so much of Tijuana. So many poor families, but such beautiful, happy people. And the drivers are just as crazy as they are in Tijuana!

We got in these 4x4 Rhinos to do extreme off-roading through the jungle. This was not an exaggeration! We flew! We went over rocks, hills, sand dunes, you name it. Bob was an awesome driver- he didn’t kill me! We got up close to some palm fronds (they high-fived us in the face). In some places we got up to 30 miles an hour!

(My camera couldn’t capture the stunningly gorgeous view! Deep blue, turquoise surf!)

We stopped for a small break in this gorgeous area! It had a small Mayan Ruin there. There are only 2 of its kind. Much of it, along with most of the eastern coastline was severely destroyed a few years ago during hurriane Wilma. Jose told us that this was a Mayan Temple dedicated to the goddess of love and fertility. Mayans would travel to this small “lighthouse” and crawl on the stone steps from the ocean. They would go through cleansing rituals there. They even invented this really cool way using conch shells to predict hurricanes.

The ocean down the steps was amazing and reminded so much of Hawaii. The waves splashed hard against the rocks and there were tide pools everywhere. It was, again, stunningly beautiful!!

(That’s me standing over the tide pools)

(an awesome sponge we found by the tidepools)

Then we went back the same way. So much fun! Then they took us to this resort where we ate an authentic Mexican lunch- fajitas with handmade tortillas! Then, right next to the restaurant, there was a walk way down to the beach. I didn’t want to come all the way to Cozumel without swimming with the beautiful fish! So, I went in and these great guys were throwing in pieces of tortilla by me and all of the sudden there were HUGE gorgeous fish all around me!! It was crystal clear water so I could see everything! But, Tyler! I missed my snorkeling buddy! I HAVE to go back there again with you and we will snorkel ALLLLL day ok??

Cozumel- Best Day Ever!!!- Part 1

BUCKET LIST: Extreme 4X4 off-roading into the jungle of Cozumel, see an ancient Mayan ruin, and swim with the fishes in the crystal clear sea?  CHECK!

We disembarked early in the morning, ready for an exciting adventure.  It is still shocking to me how giant these cruise ships are!  We walked off the dock into this GIANT shopping center.  It was crazy!

We had time to relax and enjoy while we waited for our excursion.  Here is my view…