dimplesndillpickles: Cruising for a bruisin' ...or just cruising

The kids really wanted to go on a big trip for spring break this year. With the wedding coming up, Ken and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. (Weddings are expensive!) So we ended up going to California...it was a fun trip, but not quite what the kids had in mind. We told them we would go on a bigger better trip after the wedding. Well, they did not forget this promise. They kept asking and asking where we were going this summer. Tyler was set on going to Costa Rica. But for some reason I didn't want to go there. We talked about going to the Canary Islands or some place that we had a time share. We went back and forth between several places before we decided to go on a cruise to the Caribbean. I found a good deal online and thought it would be fun, adventurous and fairly inexpensive. Well 2 out of 3? It was more than we had expected... but hey it was fun and adventurous!

We flew to Miami (Ken and Tyler together on one airline and Teegan and I flew with frequent flyer points on another) We arrived within a short time of each other. We stayed the night in a hotel and caught a free hotel shuttle to the port.

The first day which was Sunday, we spent at sea. Mostly eating, exploring the cruise ship and eating some more. As on most cruises we did a lot of eating. Monday was or first port of call in Cozumel. We took a taxi to a place where we spent most of the day snorkeling.

We also saw a lame seal lion show and saw some dolphins. This was a good taste of snorkeling for the kids. We had a nice chair on the beach with shade to relax and snokel at our leisure.

Tuesday we stopped in Belize and went to the ancient Mayan ruins in Lamanai.

We hired a tour guide ahead of time and he took us to the ruins. We spent about an hour going down the river to Lamanai. We saw 3 ruins and hiked the tallest one, which was really steep. It was a great view. After returning from the ruins we ate an authentic lunch of stewed chicken, rice and beans. It was delicious. The guide talked to us a little about the significance of the Book of Mormon and these ruins. He was not LDS but knew a little of our beliefs.

Day three was Roatan Honduras.

Zip Lining was way fun!

Monkey head!

I think this was our favorite stop. It was really beautiful. We Went zip lining through the Jungle, got to hold monkeys, toucans, and other animals, and had a beautiful spot on the beach to snorkel. This location also had a boat that had been placed in the ocean with a big rope swing to jump from. we had a great time. Our guide told us about how they love to eat iguanas. He told us about how you need 4 people to catch one. A seer to spot it, A climber to climb the tree to see where it goes, a runner to run after it, a catcher to catch it and a dog. He also told us about how he ate his friends pet iguana. I didn't believe him about all this stuff but he swears it is true. It isn't legal to sell them so you can't find them in stores or restaurants.

Our last stop was Costa Maya Mexico. It was our least favorite and we didn't spend much time there.

every night was a new towel animal waiting to greet us on return from our dinner.

After our cruise was over, we spent a couple days in Miami. It was so humid and hot that it was somewhat miserable. We got tickets for the hop on hop off bus and drove around Miami some. We also went to church. and on the last day Ken and the kids went kayaking. They saw a manatee and a little shark. We also ate stone crab for the first time. It was soooo delicious but really expensive. It cost $60 for 5 stone crab claws!