Belize
During our second night on board the Armonia we set sail from Havana and spent all of the next day at sea. It was a great opportunity to find favorite places on the ship and get to feel at home. This I described when telling you about the Armonia earlier. It was out of sequence but it made sense to discuss the ship all in one place.
After our day at sea we made our first port of call: Belize City. Well, we didn’t sail into the City because they don’t have a dock big enough. We anchored a long way off shore. I quess the water is shallow there. It was a beautiful green and against the sky of blue and clouds of white, it was a treat for the eyes.
We put our names in for a place on one of the tenders to go ashore. We did not use ship’s boats but tourist boats from the City which were very nice: the botas were excellent and we got to interact with local people. I like to see our money go to the pockets of the folks we are visiting and not simply swell the coffers of the big shipping lines.
We had breakfast in the morning and walked around the ship waiting for our turn on the tender to the City.
It was an amazing day! The weather was incredible and the colors so intense. And warm, about 28 to 30 degrees.
First thing we did was have a good breakfast.
This is one of the tenders that came out to pick us off the ship. They were good stable boats and well handled by their crews.
The Armonia towers over the tender along side. This is a big ship and you get a real impresion of her size from the water.
As soon as we left the Armonia’s side the next tender moved right in.
I got Susan to turn and look at me as she entered our ride to shore.
Rose and Real were on the tender with us. You can see its a big boat with lots of room.
The tourist enclosure as we approached the shore.
We had breakfast in the morning and walked around the ship waiting for our turn on the tender to the City.
The tender that took us ashore was large, clean and very nice. But we were a long way out and the trip took almost half an hour. The dock was in a tourist enclosure with lots of shops and a great restaurant/bar. Once on the dock we looked around a bit and I bought a great hat. While Susan browsed I went off to the bar and had a local beer. Great local beer!
Outside the tourist dock there was this small market area with shops of the local people. Not much to see. Local made jewellery, shells and beads, combs, sun tan lotion. One table had a local Belize 2 dollar bill and it was pretty. So I bought it. Not a good bargain at $2.00 USD but it was pretty. That’s it below and to the left.
Along the water was a small park and this oversize sign. What a wonderful photo opportunity. I love these kinds of props. They make for great photographs!
Another great prop. This was a real test of the photographers art considering that I was behind the camera taking the picture!
We walked into the town proper away from the tourist shops and market tables.
Looking down a lane we found this wonderful display of Bougainvellia
We stopped in this little shop for a hot chocolate and a break from our walk.
Belize City was interesting. Central American to be sure but with an English twist.
There I am in my new Belizian hat.
Of course Susan found the shoe store.
Now that is a multi national sign!
Boats on Haulover Creek.
The main street in Belize City.
A market stall on the main street.
There were stalls on every corner..
The last boat back to the ship was at 4:00 so we had to cut our day short. That is the problem with these short ports of call: you just don’t have enough time to really understand a place, to meet the people, to taste the food, to listen to the music. Like the proverbial fourteen countries in ten days, it is most unsatisfactory. But even a few hours is something.
Well, looking back over the pictures I guess we did see a lot. It seemed so short at the time and before we knew it we had to be back at the tender. About 4 hours at the outside. But it was a good time.
Getting back on the boat to go out to the ship Susan stopped with two of the crew for a picture.
Back at the Armonia Susan pauses on the gang way for one last picture from Belize.