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February 21, 2007
Caribbean Getaway: Wednesday Feb 21st
We got up ungodly early to be breakfasted and at the meeting spot for our snorkel trip at 7:30.
Moments before we expected to disembark, we learned that the catamaran had mechanical trouble and we could either (a) cancel our trip, (b) exchange it for a different tour, or (c) go on the same trip at 12:30. The delay wouldn't have been a big deal had we not gotten up at the aforementioned ungodly hour to be ready.
We ended up tendering into Belize city (well, "Tourist Village") around 10:30 - we walked around the shopping mall long enough to want to get out of it, and managed to find a free "Pirate Museum" - all we had to do was run the gauntlet of locals wanting to offer us tours, taxi rides, braided hair, coke (the white powdered kind, not the beverage) and weed.
After sampling local rums and cashew wine (and buying some of each) we headed down town, into the CBD (central business district). Pictures start here.
Belize's roots as a former British colony are still apparent in the attitude, architecture, and language. Belize dollars are fixed against USD at 2/1, so buying things was easy - made even easier by the fact that all the merchants around "tourist village" priced in USD. We walked 'till the heat and humidity of the day had started to wilt Dawnise and made our way back to the compound where we found a light meal at a place called the Wet Lizard. Very touristy, but still tasty stuff. I had a local beer, Belikin, which like the beers I had in Far North Queensland was light and easy drinking enough to enjoy in the hot humid climate.
After lunch we killed a bit more time before embarking on our snorkel adventure along the barrier
reef (pics start here). While not quite up to the level of "The" Barrier Reef, the sights were excellent - and the
underwater housing for the Canon A70 worked great. Got some good pictures during the hour we were in the water. Got back on the boat and made the short trip to the second dive site - a sting ray sanctuary.
Words don't do those creatures justice - they're amazingly graceful, and disturbingly primal. We saw dozens - within touching distance (but to my pleasant surprise all the snorkelers obeyed the "do not touch" rule), as well as a 7' nurse shark and the largest puffer fish I've ever seen - not to mention the only one I've ever seen in the wild. Got more pictures, and several folks on the boat asked if I'd share them which, of course, we will.
The dive operator dropped us off at our boat, and we dropped our gear and headed upstairs for a light snack. Ran into some friends and ended up chatting for a while before coming back to the room to shower and change for dinner. Dawnise just emerged from the shower. My turn...
...
Dinner was again slightly improved. We ended up sitting at our regularly scheduled dining table, and had another very serviceable meal. I had the lobster - just for Dawnise's mom - it was ok, but lobster's over-rated, in my book. Jodi (Alfred's wife) has a theory that they've got a fixed budget per meal, (rather than per diner) and so we're reaping the benefit of attrition in the dining hall. Could be true - but whatever the reason, the food in the dining room has gotten progressively better over the cruise.
If only the food in the buffet would follow suit.
During dinner we got word from the travel agent that booked us all that Valve had organized a beach party for Thursday at Playa Mia - a private beach resort in Cozumel. We already had plans for another snorkel trip, but took tickets to the party just in case. According to the tour office on the boat, our snorkel trip to Palancar reef wouldn't pass Playa Mia, so our best bet would be to return to dock, and take a cab to meet up with the group.
After a full day in and under the tropical sun, we made for bed pretty soon after dinner again.
Posted by dberger at February 21, 2007 11:59 PM