Dec. 7. Harvest Caye, Belize. 80, overcast with showers.

I don’t know what the captain was talking about last night. It was windy, but the seas were relatively calm. Today we’re are in Harvest Caye, a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. It’s a very small island, just a few acres, but it has been made into a tropical cruise paradise resort, complete with shops, restaurants and bars and all the water sports imaginable, a marina, a zip-line, a huge lazy River pool and beaches with at least 1000 lounge chairs, as well as many private beach cabanas for rent. It is clean and very well done. No one except security guards lives on the island. All the staff commute by boat. We went on a 90 min. Eco-Cruise on a small boat holding 36 passengers. We first went in search of manatees, who hang out near the island. After 1/2 hour we saw the tip of the nose of one. Then we cruised into the mangroves and saw many birds, most of which are indigenous to South Carolina, and several iguanas. We cruised through a mangrove lined canal on an island with small resorts and inhabitants. Just as it was time to head back across the bay to return to our island it started to rain, pretty hard. Being in an open air boat, we all got pretty wet! Fun fact:  the ratio of women to men in Belize is 4:1, having something to do with single mothers immigrating here some time ago. Back on the ship the weather had improved and we had a 2 Maggie lunch outside, followed by a 2 Maggie nap on our balcony. Earlier in the day I did complain to the Concierge about our “gift”. The standing excuse seems to be that they always had issues with sizes with the jackets. We met for drinks in the Observation Lounge, lingered over dinner CR long enough so it was time for the show. L&O passed on the show but we went. It was a very good one gal diva going Dianna Ross like songs..

Dec. 8. Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala. 80, showers morning, clearing afternoon.

Our tour today was just a trolley town tour for 1 hour. So, after breakfast and puzzles (I’m just doing them to keep my mind active; not competing for Regent points, because I have all of the Regent logo stuff I can use),  we got on the 10:30 tour. The trolley held 24 people, but not American sized people. George couldn’t fit his legs and knees in so had to sit sideways! The town is not pretty or clean. Lots of scooters. There was a classroom of beautiful children just outside the entry to the port. Apparently when cruise ships come in, schools take turns to do a class trip so the kids can see what a cruise ship looks like, from a distance. Most interesting fact we learned is that due to the constant rain (250 days per year), the natives have to paint their houses every 2 years. Also due to rain, cemeteries are all above ground. So, when one repaints the house, they also go to the cemetery and repaint the “house” storing the remains of their family! Picture of the cemetery was the only picture worth taking on the city! On a positive note, education is very important here, with many public and private undergraduate school. Trade schools are numerous and free, and there are many free as well as private Universities. In fact the oldest university in all of the Americas is in Santo Thomas, established by the Spanish in the 1500’s. We had another 2 Maggie lunch, and, I swear that’s the last one. Afternoon, George napped and I walked a few miles. We met the usual  place and people for cocktails, dinner in CR, followed by the comedian’s 2nd show, which was apparently not as good as the first. I wouldn’t know, as I nodded off at some point during the show!

Dec. 9. Roatan, Honduras. 90 and sunny.

We had a really nice tour this morning from 8:45, returning around 1:30. In a group of about 20, first we stopped at a market and chocolate factory and sampled the chocolates. Next we traveled quite a ways to a dock by French Caye, where we boarded a small boat for a 45 min. tour of the harbor, mangrove islands and also passed several beautiful resorts. The Island of Roatan is completely circled by a barrier reef, making for great diving and snorkeling, and also making the incredibly clear water absolutely as beautiful as the waters around Bora Bora! I’ve been to Roatan 2nd before and never realized just how beautiful the water is. From out boat we reboarded our little bus and drove to a high point for a scenic stop. We then went to a resort for a short performance of native dancing, then over an hour of “beach time”. I don’t think anyone from our group actually went in the water or even say in a beach lounge chair. We all went to the open air restaurant and bar. George and I were entertained for the hour watching the bartenderess making tropical drinks. She made margaritas by hand squeezing fresh limes for the mixer. We just had to try one of those, and they were delicious. Back at the ship, we had lunch with iced tea!! Then on to nap and catching up on paperwork.