Belize

Of all of our stops on our cruise, Belize was by far our most adventurous excursion. This was the only place we stopped where we had to take tender boats from the ship to shore. The 2nd largest barrier reef in the world is off the coast of Belize and the ships can only get so close without endangering the reef. We were herded like cattle in the belly of the ship onto tiny tenders with about 25 other people.  It was a quick 20 minute zip to port and being on the small boat gave us a beautiful vantage point as the Belize coast came into view.  The tender dropped us off at Belize City and we boarded a bus for the hour ride into the jungle to Cave Branch Outpost for a day of cave tubing and zip lining!  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day (in the rain forest, imagine that) so I didn't take very many pics but here are a few I can share. 

Pulling into port at Belize City.  The small boat on the left is the tender boat we rode in on

We spent an hour tubing down this river

The river goes through a large cave system and when it gets shallow you have to lift your booty

The ceiling was covered with bats and beautiful rock formations

Zip lining through the rain forest was awesome!

After our adventure we went to the tree top restaurant for lunch and to try the local beer, Belikin

Back in Belize City we had time to kill before heading back



Enjoying the warm sun and a cool drink before boarding the tender

Back on the ship, a view of another ship also stopping in Belize

Cave tubing was amazing!  We hiked through the rain forest and our tour leader was a young man named Alfredo that grew up swimming and tubing through these caves.  He pointed out various plants, insects and animals as we hiked and told us a little bit about himself.  We were grouped with a family from Texas (a wealthy family) that found it amazing that Alfredo had never been outside of Belize and had never eaten at a McDonalds before.  He loved asking us questions about America and told us his dream was to one day visit the US.  Zip lining was awesome.  I've always found the rain forests to be beautiful but to see them as you're soaring through the canopy is another thing.  It is such a rush as you fly through the trees and even more of a rush when you realize you have to stop before crashing into the guy that catches you!  Breaking is not all that easy.  The people of Belize were extremely friendly and eager to show off their country.  I'd like to come back here and see the tropical beaches you always hear about or see on the web.  Our adventure was inland so we didn't get to see the nicer parts of Belize. 

Stay tuned, final stop is Roatan, Honduras!