Belize

Gluttons for punishment, we got another early start today. We woke up in Belize this morning, but you wouldn't know it by looking out the window. Belize, as you may recall, is a tender port. Because Belize City is right above sea level, the waters are too shallow for a cruise ship to dock. It is necessary to take a smaller boat (a tender) from the ship to the shore. Although Carnival had recently renegotiated for larger and safer boats with the tender operators in Belize, the moms opted to stay on board the Dream today. Since we didn't have an excursion planned today (Bib's sisters were going cave tubing), we had to go to the Burgundy Lounge to get a tender sticker (get assigned to a boat). This is the lounge where the comedy shows were held, so we hadn't been here yet. The decor was really interesting with masquerade masks hanging all around.

Since we were docked about 5 miles from Belize City, I didn't think it was unusual that we couldn't see land, but I did notice it was really hazy and there was a faint smell of smoke in the air. As we got closer to Belize, the smell was stronger.

Our first look at Belize City.

You can barely see the lighthouse on the left side of this photo.


Here is a shot of the lighthouse from my previous trip to Belize. This give a little perspective on how hazy the day was. We found out later that there was a forest fire in nearby Guatemala that was impacting our weather. According to Mom, the smell of fire got stronger on board, so the captain and/or cruise director made several announcements throughout the day to make sure passengers weren't worried that the smell was coming from the engine room.

Cruise ships stop here because of interesting and adventurous excursions (cave tubing, zip lining, Mayan ruin climbing, snorkeling, diving), but the port itself has less charm than the Milton Flea Market (sorry, Bib!). However, much like a flea market, you can find bargains here. We finished our shopping (i.e. - purses and luggage) and headed back to the Mother Ship.

We rounded up the moms, had lunch, and went to a mask making activity in preparation for a Mardi Gras party/parade later in the evening. Among the feathers, glitter, stickers, etc, we found photos of the cruise director, Butch, so we incorporated those into our masks. The parade was at 11:30 pm (complete with a dixieland band), and since Bib's mom was in bed, Flat Deana borrowed her mask for the festivities. We didn't win any prizes for our mask design, but it was fun.

I think we started a "Battle of the Bar Waiters" tonight. We ran into the Atlanta girls, and we finally got to meet 911. He and Jason were both working at Ocean Plaza tonight, and of course, when Jason brought our foo-foo drinks, he folded our straw papers into hearts. Little Louise was immediately fired up because 911 doesn't do that for her. Then, Jason whips out a napkin and a pen with a cap (like a bic pen) and manages to make us a rose, using a straw as the stem. It was really cute, and I thought Louise was going to come unglued. Poor 911! Louise was giving him down-the-road and insisting that Jason teach him how to make the flowers. Bib and I wore ours in our hair for the Mardi Gras parade.

Tomorrow is our big excursion to Roatan, my favorite place. I have daydreamed about my return for a long time. One possible hiccup...I am told that due to the size of the Carnival Dream and the location of the dock, the ship has to turn and back in to port. If it's very windy, the captain has to make the tough choice to drive right on by. Now that would be a cryin' shame. Keep your fingers crossed.