Today was
my day . . . meaning I picked the shore excursion. We were tendering into Belize City to go explore the ruins of
Lamanai. Once we got to shore we boarded a bus for a 80 minute ride . . . which really reminded me how poor people in Belize are . . . we did see a lot of new construction so that was good but also saw a lot of children on the side of the road without shoes; sadness of course. We then took a speed boat for another 80 minutes (about 26 miles I think) on this peaceful river named
The New River . . . creative isn't it!
Along the way the guides would stop and show us the wildlife. We saw crocodiles; this one is about 5 feet long . . .
. . . and a few monkeys . . .
. . . and then we finally arrived! We were one big wind blown mess but excited to explore too.
All the online reviews mentioned needing to spray down with bug spray. Our guide laughed it off and said it wasn't necessary so we did not fumigate ourselves even though I came prepared . . . he was right! None of us were ever bothered by any bugs but maybe it was the fact we stood by a group who used an entire can of spray before we departed? Oh and I am serious they were going to town spraying themselves and each other. The ruins are located in a jungle . . .
. . . I found the trees amazing!
We had an amazing guide who met us at the dock and talked the entire bus and boat ride to the ruins . . . the entire time; he never stopped talking until the end! He was very knowledgeable and it was not annoying. You could tell he loved his job and took every minute to make sure we knew what we were seeing . . .
Surprisingly, Colin did not seem bored at any time of the walk around the ruins . . . I was sort of shocked because I'm sure it was some what boring to him. He told me he really liked the boat ride.
. . . and then he got to climb to the top of one of the pyramids . . .
. . . oh and there was NO safety railing at all and it was a long, steep fall down. Notice the other fearless little boy behind Colin. I was terrified but of course I am very scared of heights too. Colin did get into trouble (by me) for "
accidentally making a small pebble fall over the edge" . . . gravity my child . . . gravity can really hurt someone which thankfully it did not. Our time was zipping by us and the return trip was to begin so we did not miss the big boat. We stopped for one last wildlife viewing of this big guy . . . think he was between 7-9 feet . . .
We did the 80 minute boat ride back to a local stop for a traditional Belize meal; it was YUMMY! Yes, we ate the food but drank our own bottled water and none of us woke up sick either! Then the 80 minute bus ride to the tender area. The last tender was at 4:15 and we arrived at 4:17; we were all sweating it a little but until we turned the corner and saw at least 200 of our fellow shipmates waiting in line too! So they had to get another tender . . . we were the last group back to the ship! The excursion was hurried and all day we were on the go . . . I wanted more time to sit and relax and maybe climb the big ruins but it was educational and glad we went.
Along the way the guides would stop and show us the wildlife. We saw crocodiles; this one is about 5 feet long . . .
. . . and a few monkeys . . .
. . . and then we finally arrived! We were one big wind blown mess but excited to explore too.
All the online reviews mentioned needing to spray down with bug spray. Our guide laughed it off and said it wasn't necessary so we did not fumigate ourselves even though I came prepared . . . he was right! None of us were ever bothered by any bugs but maybe it was the fact we stood by a group who used an entire can of spray before we departed? Oh and I am serious they were going to town spraying themselves and each other. The ruins are located in a jungle . . .
. . . I found the trees amazing!
We had an amazing guide who met us at the dock and talked the entire bus and boat ride to the ruins . . . the entire time; he never stopped talking until the end! He was very knowledgeable and it was not annoying. You could tell he loved his job and took every minute to make sure we knew what we were seeing . . .
Surprisingly, Colin did not seem bored at any time of the walk around the ruins . . . I was sort of shocked because I'm sure it was some what boring to him. He told me he really liked the boat ride.
. . . and then he got to climb to the top of one of the pyramids . . .
. . . oh and there was NO safety railing at all and it was a long, steep fall down. Notice the other fearless little boy behind Colin. I was terrified but of course I am very scared of heights too. Colin did get into trouble (by me) for "accidentally making a small pebble fall over the edge" . . . gravity my child . . . gravity can really hurt someone which thankfully it did not. Our time was zipping by us and the return trip was to begin so we did not miss the big boat. We stopped for one last wildlife viewing of this big guy . . . think he was between 7-9 feet . . .
We did the 80 minute boat ride back to a local stop for a traditional Belize meal; it was YUMMY! Yes, we ate the food but drank our own bottled water and none of us woke up sick either! Then the 80 minute bus ride to the tender area. The last tender was at 4:15 and we arrived at 4:17; we were all sweating it a little but until we turned the corner and saw at least 200 of our fellow shipmates waiting in line too! So they had to get another tender . . . we were the last group back to the ship! The excursion was hurried and all day we were on the go . . . I wanted more time to sit and relax and maybe climb the big ruins but it was educational and glad we went.
No comments:
Post a Comment