Sunday, April 17, 2011

Western Caribbean Cruise

Last April, my parents and I went on a Western Caribbean Cruise for a week.  We cruised on Royal Caribbean's ship the Voyager of the Seas.  We embarked and disembarked from Galveston, Texas.  The ports of call were Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.  I had never been to Galveston, Roatan, and Belize City.  It was a fun week of sunshine, great food, and awesome memories.
The Love Boat
Dad on our balcony
Formal night
Roatan, Honduras
Mom and I on a boat to the mangroves
The mangroves
This monkey was not very nice.  I probably wouldn't be very nice either if I were tied to a fence all the time!
The pier where our boat journey began and ended-it was behind a private residence

This statue and plaque commemorated the original settlers of the Roatan island
Replica of the original abode on the island made out of clay
I'm shaking it with the locals-good times
This picture doesn't do the view justice-to the scenery and the subjects!
 Our next port was Belize City, Belize.  Mom and I did a tour to Mayan Ruins called Altun Ha and then a boat ride down the Old Belize River.  This was my favorite tour.  The Mayan Ruins were great because we were actually allowed to get on these rather than just walking past them.  On our boat ride we saw all sorts of animals-iguanas, monkeys, yellow tailed birds, bats, dolphins, and a manatee spout all out in their natural habitat.  We also saw termite nests and cotton and cashew trees.
Altun Ha Mayan Ruins
A side view of one of the structures
I call this the Tree of Life
This was the structure we were allowed to climb
So we did!
That black thing in the tree is a monkey.  We actually saw two.
Sleeping bats-thank goodness!
A dolphin-there were actually two or three but I only got the fin of one.
The colorful pier at Belize City
The Voyager of the Seas taken from the tender as I went back to the ship.
Our awesome wait staff-Lina and Julio
No more monkeys jumping on the bed.  I had the pleasure of sleeping on the bunk bed with a monkey, rabbit, and sumo panda.
Is that Shirley Temple?  Nope, it's me!  Nothing brings a smile to my face like food.
What a cute bunch!  We missed Chris and Allen.  Don't feel too bad for them, they got on a week long cruise the day we got off ours.
Caught ya lookin'!
After we got off the ship and drove back to the airport, my parents and I had a few hours to kill.  I called my friend Jen and invited her to come hang at the airport with us.  Jen and her husband Bill (who live in the Houston area) came to the airport and we talked for a few hours.  It was a lot of fun catching up with Jen and meeting her husband Bill.  You might recognize them from the show The Little Couple.

Me and Jen
Bill, Jen and Me
I had a great vacation.  It was well overdue!  I really needed the heat to thaw out from an especially cold winter.  I also needed the week long break from work because really who doesn't??