Day 3 Already?

Day three was to be another day at sea. Sea days are my favorite part of cruising as being on the ship is what I really enjoy. Alot of people would probably say, "what is there to do on the ship all day?". My response to y'all is anything or nothing. Let's face it, what would you be doing at home? Working around the yard or in the house, watching TV or something equally exciting? Remember, I am on vacation and I have been doing all of those things and I am here to do nothing. How much more different could it be than to be on a very large ship out in the ocean [alright the Gulf] with no land in sight and no lawn work to worry about. I am not here to do something but to do nothing, and I am excelling at that endeavor. With that said, lets continue with our vacation story. Most of the day consisted of eating, watching, eating, napping, eating, reading, eating and relaxing. Is there any wonder that I gained five pounds during this cruise.

On the fourth day we were scheduled to arrive at Belize. We got up early in the morning, sort of, and again I walked the short distance to get my coffee. The ship was stopped for our departure to the island of Belize. While I was getting coffee I noticed that there was still no land in sight. Why was the ship stopped in the middle of the ocean when we were supposed to be getting off to visit an island? Wait a minute, there were a bunch of little boats coming toward the ship. With a little straining of the old eyes I could see what looked like land way off in the distance. But the little boats seemed to be bouncing up and down quite a bit. Uh-oh, this was not looking good. I went back to our room with the coffee and proceeded to wait once again for Kim to get ready so we could go for breakfast. We were scheduled for a tour on the island so we needed to be ready to board one of the little bouncing boats at a specific time. We enjoyed a nice breakfast, got everything we needed to go to the island and proceeded to the lower level of the ship where we would leave our beautiful home on the water and enter what to me was a glorified rowboat. Now in case you are wondering, I don't like boats unless it is somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred thousand tons in size. It is not about getting seasick which has never bothered me, it is just that putting fifty plus people on a piece of wood or fiberglass in five foot seas with no land in sight is not my idea of a good time. But, we were on our way.

As you can tell because you are reading this blog after the fact, we made it to our destination. We once again stepped on solid ground. For me it is either a VERY large ship or God's green earth, the little bouncing boat just doesn't cut it for me. The first order of business was to find a bathroom. We were getting close to our time to start the tour but some things could not wait. Apparently many others had the same idea so by the time we found our tour group we were on the last bus which was kind of an overflow bus into which ten people were crammed in a space reserved for six, or so it seemed. Our tour guide/driver, Robert, was really great. We went to a couple of different places and learned some of the history of Belize. We saw some of the typical tourist rip offs, some local dancers and culture and had a very enjoyable day. We returned to the pier and after a deep breath boarded another little bouncing boat for the return trip to home base, the Triumph. When we finally got back to the ship it was to late for lunch so we settled for a between meal snack. Now it was time for a nap. Hey, we're on vacation. After a short nap it was time to get ready for dinner. After five minutes I was ready and proceeded to watch some TV while I waited for Kim to get ready. Love that Brad Paisley song; "waiting on a woman". Dinner was once again very good and our waiter, Kelik, and his assistant, Ethel, were the best. After dinner we went to a show and then wandered the ship in search of entertainment. As those of you who know me understand, I am not a night person. Maybe it is my farmer roots, but once the sun goes down and the work is done it is time for bed; but I was determined to overcome those roots and see what actually happens when the sun goes down and the lights come on. We watched some karaoke, held hands, walked around the ship and decided nine o'clock was pushing it and headed for our room. Tomorrow we were going to visit Roatan Island off of Honduras. We scheduled another tour and as much as I enjoy being on the ship, we were looking forward to visiting an island we hadn't seen before. Good night and pleasant dreams.