The Polar Vortex has us in its grip. Fortunately, we've made it our practice to escape to the sunshine every February so that we don't succumb to the winter blues. This year, Rick booked us on a 7-day cruise aboard The Norwegian Dawn that took us from Tampa down to Central America and back again.
Sunday
After staying up until 1:30 a.m. packing and cleaning, we rose at 3:00 a.m. to drive through a snowstorm. We carefully made our way to Detroit, and from there flew to Atlanta, and finally Tampa. We were shocked by the warmth and sunshine we found in Florida. I couldn't stop grinning during our taxi ride to the port. Getting on board was a breeze, and we quickly found the food and the hot tub. Ahhhhhhh
Monday
We spent the day at sea. Our number one priority was to catch up on our lost sleep and UV rays. We slept, we ate, we soaked, we read. It was totally relaxing and totally necessary!
Tuesday
Roatán! We had to rise early for our very first scuba diving experience in the second largest barrier reef in the world. We spent and hour in class, then some time in the shallows mastering the gear. We only went down 40 feet, but it was incredible! Among other things, we saw a manta ray and several sea turtles.
Belize was our next stop. Our ship had to park 5 miles off the shore because of the coral reef and shallow waters. We took a tender to shore and sat next to one of The Second City actors who performed the evening before (think: a young John Lovitz). He took this picture:
Once we reached shore we met the most wonderful guide named Edgar. He taught us about the local economy, the landscapes, the wildlife, etc. while we took a 45 minute bus ride. He took us to the western part of the little country and led us on a journey through some of the limestone caves of the area. We had to hike a little ways, carrying our tubes and wearing hard hats.
Once we reached the river, Edgar had our group make a human chain so he could pull us through the caves. He took us to a waterfall and pointed out bats along the ceiling. Lucky for us, the water wasn't too cold!
After the tubing, we enjoyed a delicious buffet of local dishes. I got to try star fruit for the first time - yum! We also took the opportunity to buy handmade jewelry for Emma made from seeds that grow there in Belize. Rick also made a friend in the restroom!
Edgar's last adventure for us was the zipline through the jungle. It was especially beautiful flying over the very river we just tubed.
Now for the unexpected part of our day...while waiting in line for our tender, who should we meet but LDS speaker/author, John Bytheway! We discovered he was on our cruise, leading a group of 90 to various Book of Mormon lands. He was so nice and talked with us for quite awhile.
Our day in Costa Maya started out a little grey, but things soon brightened and warmed up. We were bussed to a little day resort/play area that was cleaned up for tourists. Rick and I went on an ATV ride that took us along some less than tidy beaches. That made us sad to see so much trash in such a beautiful place. The water was still clear blue though! And, when we went out on the sea kayak, we could see clear down to the bottom.
Friday
What's more romantic than being on a cruise for Valentine's Day?! I'm such a lucky, spoiled rotten girl! Cozumel was our last port, and by far the biggest. There were so many things to do and see, but we chose to rent a speed boat. I had never "captained" a boat before and it was a total blast! We also snuck in some snorkeling in that amazing blue water!
We spent the afternoon shopping for souvenirs and searching for an internet signal. It was strange (and liberating) being so disconnected throughout the week. For our Valentine's dinner, we dressed in our fancy duds and got our pictures taken. It was like prom all over again!
Saturday
On our way back to the states, we reflected over our experience with Norwegian. We decided that we prefer Royal Caribbean when it comes to food, service, entertainment, and demographic. However, we had a fabulous time relaxing and being together, and we had no regrets about our excursions. It was a perfect get away that we'll remember forever!
