January 13th – Belize City Belize1 ½ hour bus ride from Belize city, followed by an hour journey by boat through the jungle up The New River to the Lamanai Ruins site. Saw crocodiles, iguanas, and many varieties of birds during our river journey. Arrived at the dock for the Lamani Ruins site. Howler monkeys greeted us with their large cat like roars as we walked through the jungle to the temples. Climbed 125 feet up the stairs while hanging onto a rope to reach the top of the Large Temple. Unbelievable views! Couldn’t locate the cache, suspect it may be missing, but dipped the TB’s we brought along because they were at this amazing site. Ate a traditional Mayan meal of rice, beans and chicken which was prepared by the locals. Back on the boat and bus, arrived at the dock just in time to catch the ship – 10 minutes before departure. What an amazing day.
January 14th – Costa Maya Mexico Unable to find any caches listed in this area, so Mexico will not be logged but know your TB was here. Beaches and snorkeling. A local took us by boat out to a wonderful coral reef. The water was calm and clear and we saw a large variety of fish, coral, plants and other sea life. On the beach lots of women were offering (for a fee) to give massages. Did some shopping (bartering) with the locals.
January 15th – At Sea Lounging on decks and soaking in the hot tubs.
16th – Great Stirrup Cay - NCL’s private island. Snorkeled and had the opportunity to see a clown fish. Had a picnic on the beach. Also picked up some rays on the island’s sandy shores.
17th – Returned to Miami Florida. Weather has warmed up, scattered showers throughout the day. Visited Everglades National Park. Saw alligators, a wide verity of birds (many of which were buzzards feeding on dead fish), and many dead fish floating on the water. The record cold temperatures of the last two weeks killed many of the warm water fish that live in the waters of the Everglades. Enjoyed an airboat ride through the waters of the Everglades. Spent the night sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport waiting to board an early morning flight back to Utah.
Some of the TBs which traveled with us will be taken back to Utah and placed in a cache there or will soon be placed in a TB Hotel we will be opening up.