Post Cruise

Ron and I have been back to the real world for a week now.  It sometimes takes that long to recover from a holiday...unpacking, laundry, groceries, naps and more naps.  It was great to get away and enjoy some beaches, great food and lots of relaxation.

Our first day on the ship was a "Day at Sea" which means nothing to do but eat, sleep and eat some more.  It happened to be Valentine's Day. 

Day 2 found us in Grand Cayman.  We were tendered off the ship to shore where we boarded a bus to Seven Mile Beach.  The "beach" was very interesting.  It consisted mostly of a huge reef than ran right in front of where we were dropped off.  Ron grabbed his snorkel and was anxious to explore.

I wasn't quite that excited.  The beach looked a little intimidating to me with so much reef.  I wandered further down the beach and found a good place to float in the waves.

 This beach had lots of people and lots of iguanas.  You had to be careful where you walk because you really didn't want to step on one of these guys.

Thankfully when we got back to the ship the only creature that we found in our cabin was something that looked like this:

Day 3 and we made it to Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan.  Again, we had booked an excursion to a beach.  I mean, why not!  After we docked we took a bus ride across the island to the resort area.  There was a huge security presence to keep the area safe.  It was a little unnerving seeing a guard with a long gun. 

Once we arrived at the beach we were taken to the area to choose our beach chair and a security guard introduced himself and said that our belongings would be safe.  He constantly wandered up and down the lounge chairs making sure that no one was harassed with the locals trying to sell their goods.

It was a beautiful warm day and Ron got busy exploring underwater while I went for a couple of dips in the ocean, read and relaxed.

 I even got my hair braided at the beach and we bought a couple of paintings from a local artist.


Day 4 was a very interesting day for us.  We were in Belize or kind of.  The ship anchored far away from land since the water was so shallow and there were so many reefs.  People that were going into Belize took a long tender to there.  We, on the other hand, took a 45 minute tender ride to a tiny island where we went snorkelling.

 

 

 

 

 The snorkelling was very interesting here.  They split us up into groups according to how comfortable we were with it.  I chose the beginner group.  We followed our guide around who would point out different fish and coral to us.  I was reasonably calm until some jelly fish floated by my hand.

Day 5 -  Our ship arrived in Cozumel, Mexico.  We took a ferry boat to Playa del Carmen and that was interesting.  The water was rough and the waves splashed up to the second level where we were sitting.  The boat rocked back and forth and a few people were overcome with the motion.  Thankfully Ron and I were okay.  Once we arrived on shore we took an hour bus ride to the Ancient City of Tulum.  It was really hot and our tour guide was a tad bit annoying.  It was one of those days that I was glad that I did it but now that I have, I don't need to do it again.

Day 7 brought another day at sea which was just perfect.  Ron came down with a cold and needed a day to rest up before our trip home.

Miami

It was another good cruise.  I've already been on line looking at other options but it won't be for awhile.  We soon need to get new tires on the motorcycle and start planning some bike trips.  Retirement is good for me....poor Ron!