Saturday was off to Chicago then Miami.
Chicago O’Hare was ready for Christmas
Sunset to Miami was intense for three hours.
Carnival ‘Valor’ leaving Miami on Sunday.
What? This reminds me of Alaska!!
It was Christmas time in the City.
I would rather be in Hawaii – Not.
Long before the AMA was this other way.
We made friends from Middleton, Ohio.
Bernice and Douglas, great company.
Tuesday – Cozumel – Coba Mayan Ruins
Tour guide most informative & knowledgeable,
maybe because he is part Mayan, definitely.
He told us how the Mayan empire collapsed
before the Incas took over the area. There was
a family/clan of people who became the ruling
class and they ended with trying to maintain
control of the Nation by Inbreeding.
One mystery we found was that there is
a form of obsidian that looks like gold –
in the sunshine. It was used for the making of
many works of art. Much of this was stolen by
the Spaniards: They thought it was gold,
because of the shiny luster in the sun.
The pyramid that we climbed was like a
forest ranger lookout – view above treetops.
We got to ride in a ‘taxi’ made of a three
wheel bike with a seat in the front. Just
a little bit scary with no seatbelts. But it
was fun with nothing blocking our view
as we go through the woods.
Other sights were carvings in rock
and the game site like on Survivor.
And then this beautiful structure.
Many other stories about lifestyle;
you’ll just have to plan a trip for yourself.
Wednesday – Belize – Barrier Reef
Nice to see they have a Christmas Tree.
Here it is reported to be the second largest
barrier reef of coral and variety of fish.
We did not stop a place that was impressive.
We were restricted to the shallow water;
where the fish are all the same, like minnows.
Vickie got some pictures of various coral.
Side trip afterwards to a small sandy island.
Never enough time explore everything.
We just have to make plans to come back.
Thursday – Isla Roatan – Spider Monkeys
The park we stopped at used to be a safe
harbor for Pirates. For us it was a small zoo:
Parrots, Spider Monkeys, Black Iguanas and
some funny rabbits that looked like guinea pigs.
Quite a collection of indigenous butterflies.
Termites mounds are found frequently.
Never mind the size of the ants.
Can’t even get enough pictures to share.
Friday – Grand Cayman – Dolphin Swim
First we see a turtle farm that is used for
restoring the population of turtles in the
ocean and some are for Eating!
Completely safe place for turtle eggs.
Our final event was with the dolphins.
Besides all that we saw movies outdoors.
On the ship is a large digital screen.
Kung Fu Panda was on our first day at sea.
And Green Lantern was on our last day.
Like a drive-in theater with popcorn too.
We had various towel folding’s each day.
Great ‘Ice Cream’ that lasted all week.
So much more, we don’t have time.
End of Post from Dec 18, 2011
Love you Doug and Vic.
