Roaming with the Rollers

This trip was a series of firsts.

Lily left the U.S. for the first time.

She also went on her first cruise.

This was our first international vacation since Lily was born. I was surprised that we got back in the game this fast and glad we did.

Lily and I got to see Cuba from a distance for the first time. (Heather has already been there. I, meanwhile, have no desire to go there until the Castros are out of power and the embargo is lifted.)

This was also the first cruise where we crossed time zones. We learned that whenever crossing a time zone in the Caribbean, we stay on the ship's time, which was set to its' home port of Miami.

Unfortunately, this was also the first vacation where the weather played a major role...in a bad way.

So, our original itinerary was to take us from Miami to the following stops:

Cozumel, Mexico
Belize City, Belize
Mahogany Bay - Isla Roatan, Honduras
Georgetown - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Looks like somebody doesn't know how to read signs...

We made it to Cozumel just fine. As a matter of fact, the entire voyage from Miami to there was the smoothest ride we ever had on a cruise ship. Absolutely no rocking at all!

We enjoyed a day at the Paradise Beach Club in Cozumel despite about 30 minutes of rain in the middle. If you're looking for a place where you don't have to pay admission, this is it. The beaches in Mexico may be free, but to use any of their stuff (bathrooms, beach toys, etc.), you will need to pay.

Then, we returned to the boat, had dinner, left port, and noticed a rather significant rocking of the ship. "Okay, the waters are just a little different here," I thought to myself...

WRONG!

Around 11 PM ship time, the captain got on the public address system and broke the bad news to us. The Port of Belize had closed due to a tropical depression that had formed between Belize City and Mahogany Bay.

As many may know, tropical depressions are sometimes the precursors to tropical storms and/or hurricanes. This tropical depression turned out to be the precursor to Tropical Storm Barry. So, apparently tropical depressions consist of winds less than 34 knots (or 39 mph), which does create waves significantly larger than the typical wave on the open water. Rather than bypassing Belize City alone and heading on to Mahogany Bay, the cruise line decided not to take chances.

Our cruise line, by the way, was Carnival. As many in the U.S. and other countries in the region are aware, Carnival's reputation has taken quite a beating from the mainstream media in recent years. So, they had to weigh the risks of making a bunch of people mad because they were not going to see half the places they expected to see OR making a bunch of people seasick (or possibly worse).

We understood Carnival's need to keep everyone safe, but we were disappointed that we were going to miss out on eating a gibnut (a rodent delicacy) in Belize and seeing monkeys, taking zip lines, and eating iguana in Honduras.

So, our new itinerary after Cozumel turned out to be:

Georgetown - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Ocho Rios, Jamaica

It took more than a full day to get from Cozumel to Grand Cayman. So, we got an unavoidable extra "fun day at sea."

The Cayman Islands were great! We went out to Stingray City, which has a sandbar about 3-4 feet in the water. The water was a crystal blue--straight out of a Corona commercial.

Heather and Lily got to touch stingrays...willfully. I didn't want to touch one and got touched by them, anyway. (Growing up, I habitually avoided contact with animals after I unintentionally infected my eyes from my only and last trip to Grant's Farm in St. Louis when I was six or seven.)

A stingray...underwater!

My wife getting a back rub by a stingray...
whether she wants it or not!

We even saw a chicken that was either:
(1) naive
OR
(2) having a death wish!

Jamaica, however, made me wonder if someone had secretly tattooed dollar signs on our foreheads overnight. Here were a few warning signs that Jamaica's tourism bureau should look into:

Within five minutes of getting off the ship, the tour guide said, "Nah ting (Nothing) is free in Jamaica!" The tour van then immediately stopped at an ATM that issued out American money.
Nearly every makeshift shop owner had her/his hand extended out for a handshake, saying, "Respect!" I made the mistake of shaking one guy's hand, believing we were going to do the "down low, pull up, let go, snap, fist-bump, and fingers waving at 90 degrees (with sound effects optional)" handshake. Nope. After we got to step #2 (pull up), he did not proceed to step #3 (let go), and tried to sell me something--all while my wife and daughter have moved onto another shop and were about to leave my sight! Thankful that he didn't "respect" my legs or feet the same way he "respected" my hand, I walked away, explaining I was about to lose my family.
Then, there were the permanent shops... We walked into one, looking at T-shirts. One of the ladies there (which I assumed worked there) said they were all five dollars. We found one for Lily and took it to the register. The cashier rang it up at ten. We explained that we were told five. She offered eight. "We're leaving." "Okay, five!" If Lily already had a shirt from somewhere else, I would have walked away, but I went ahead and bought it.

The bright spot of Jamaica was Dunn's River Falls. For those unfamiliar, it is a 600 foot waterfall/staircase. To climb the falls, it is recommended to rent their water shoes at $7, buy them at $17, or bring your own shoes/sandals with decent traction on them. I had my own, but after feeling the ice cold water on my feet and seeing people in it waist-high in a pool about 25 feet away, I decided to take pictures, instead.

Later that night after we left port, we paralleled a thunderstorm and got a shot. It also happened to be delivering some nasty waves. The boat rocked so much that night, I was getting nauseous, which is a rarity with me.

In the end, despite the disappointments, going to the places we could see safely were well worth it. We are certain we will be back for another cruise and get to Belize and Honduras someday.

Today, we are in Miami, celebrating five years of marriage! Tomorrow, we are leaving on a cruise! So, what is there to do in Miami that's family friendly, isn't the beach, and doesn't involve much in the way of Miami traffic?

How about a gator tour?

Well, Heather happened to stumble across a Groupon deal for the Sawgrass Recreational Park for half off admission for the boat tour. The admission also included their little wildlife park that could be viewed any time--preferably after the boat tour. Our tour guide was an entertaining guy by the name of Captain Disco. He looked about late-20's to early-30's. So, it's questionable as to whether Disco is his first name, last name, or stage name. Anyway, I'm not trying to disparage him in any way; I just thought that was an unusual name to have.

So, we boarded the boat and Lily was very suspicious of it all. I think she liked the motion of the boat, but did not like the noise. I can't say I blame her one bit. Her world is used to being very quiet and controlled by comparison.

So, we got to see some gators in the wild...

Meanwhile, Lily was just busy processing everything...

We even got a scenic shot from within the Everglades on our boat...

Afterwards, we walked into their wildlife park to see other various creatures...

Like peacocks!

Panthers!

Turtles!

As Lily would say, "Bird!"

...

Ducks!

Hogs!

And, oh yeah, baby gators!

Anyway, two thumbs up for this value-packed excursion, which was valued at $20 per person, but sold for $10 per person on Groupon. I am not certain how long the Groupon deal will remain, but to see if it is still available, be sure to copy this into your search string on your preferred search bar: Groupon Sawgrass Recreational Park.