The Third Port: Harvest Caye, Belize

The third stop was intended to be a full day of relaxing at the beach of a private island.  Well, the mangrove island was recently acquired, developed, built up, and opened by Norwegian Cruise Line.  Completely man-made, but at least it is clean and pristine.

Watch out Harvest Caye, T-Rex is on his way!

I would love to explore the mangrove portion of the island, but unfortunately it is next for the chopping block :o( 

Once again, I don't think this brief stop counts as "going to Belize", but I did manage to get my passport stamped (the only stamp during the whole trip).

Brand new man-made beaches with imported sand.  At least it was really clean.

I sometimes wish I were more of a beachy/summertime person.  The beach and even this pool were super inviting (ignore the fleshy characters).

The butterfly house was really calming.  However, I hope the staff eventually inform visitors to watch where they step; when I was there one poor butterfly got stepped on.  It was the second butterfly fatality of the day, and not even 10:30 am yet!!

Baby iguanas doing what they do best.

Keel-billed toucan enclosure.

A little rain washed the beach-goers back on board the ship.  I stayed on land to walk around a bit more but the island is small and only really has the beach, the butterfly house, and ziplines...

 

Next stop: Roatan, Honduras

This day had a little something for everyone: a walk around the neighborhoods of Roatan (where real local folks live!), followed by a quick drive around the island, and finally a beautiful beach.

Good morning, Honduras!

A view of the port from the ship

Exploring just beyond the ship.  A portion of our group was a little unenthusiastic.

Mom, Dad, and I continued to check out some of the neighborhood.  I didn't know what to expect but it reminded me a little of Penang or even Saigon, but with tortillas. 

It was great to stretch the legs and see what the island has to offer!

Nice bananas... and meat.

Those hand-made tortillas looked awesome!

Something familiar.  Mom showed great strength and didn't rush in for a sweet tea fix. 

Perhaps the most awkward location for a massage.  You'd think the boy spearfishing right next to them would ruin the zen moment. 

We returned to the ship for a quick lunch and an outfit change.  However, when I tried to meet back up with the group I realized they left without me!  At least they arranged taxi in the port to give me a ride.

Fernando.  A good driver but he couldn't speak English and couldn't explain to me where we were going.  I only knew I was going to some scenic locations for pictures before going to the beach where my family was hanging out.

Scenic location #1: a lookout at the top of a hilly mountain thing.

The view of the port.  It is so crazy how the ship dwarfs the town.

Another scenic location: a fun beachy place

Final destination:  West Bay Beach and my family.

All kids know just what to do with sand

Shells and coral!

Ignore the shirt.  We don't know any Norwegians.

This beach was particularly fun since it was public--locals and tourists share the space, but if you want a chair and need to use the facilities you pay $10.  The ocean, on the other hand, is fee ;o) 

I do like this place!  I'll need to come back eventually for a proper visit.

First port of call: Cozumel

After a full day at sea we made it to Cozumel, an island off the coast of Mexico.  I have never been to Mexico before.  Do ports count as seeing a new city/region/country?  They are kinda like fancy layovers for flights...

We piled into a van for a 5 hour driving tour of the little island.  My favorite part was seeing the neighborhood behind the port of San Miguel.

The castle in the background is "just for lookin'."

A nice stop at a local chocolate factory.

The patchwork beastie of Cozumel

The driver asked if any of us like coconut.  Mom and I gave a wholehearted "yes!" (the others just made some little grumbling sounds) so the driver brought us to his own house, jumped out of the van, grabbed a machete, and chopped down some branches of coconuts.  I hope it was in fact his own house.

Our next stop was the Mayan archeological site of San Gervasio.  I really love these roots!

Mayan ruins

Carter spotted a band of coatis (the locals call them raccoons).  They seem really mischievous!

The iguana king

When we got back to the van the driver treated us to the coconuts. What a refreshing way to cool off after walking around in the sun!

Mom was pretty excited.

We stopped at a few scenic beach lookouts.

El Mirador is famous for the rocky arch carved by the sea.

After completing our lovely grand loop of the island we returned to the port which was festering with a high concentration of Spring Breakers.

Family Trip 2017: Mexico Cruise!

Spring Break calls for another family trip.  Last year it was Orlando, this time a cruise!  I said good bye to single-digit temps and hello to Mom and Dad and Andrew's family in New Orleans to depart for 7 days on a ship. 

Meeting the rest of the family in New Orleans over brunch.

The cook at the Grill told us the restaurant and adjacent apartments are haunted.  I can't see why any ghosts would want to live here.

We soon boarded the Norwegian Dawn cruise liner.  I was surprised that it took at least 7 hours to float down the Mississippi river.