Helpful Boy Scouts

The boys had a boy scout activity this morning. To earn the leaving no trace award they have to participate in a variety of environment activities. Today they went to Dunbar Cave to help clean up the Christmas trees and get them ready for mulching.

Foot Issues

I had a doctors appointment scheduled about the spots on my foot for today. According to him it is a virus that doesn't go away easily. He said the only thing that really works is to have a minor surgery and get them cut out. Of course all I can think of is a melon baller going in my foot and what kind of holes are going to be left!

The Joys of Boys

Tyler (in the shower) "Tanner just peed on me!"
Thomas "Well rinse it off!"
Me (after Tanner gets out of the shower) "Did you pee on your brother? Why did you pee on your brother?"
Tanner "He was just lying there and it just popped out!"

Vacation Day 7 - Isle Roatan, Honduras

Today is our third stop and we are going to Honduras and the beach!  The kids love the beach and we are all looking forward to visiting it today.  As we dock at we can see the hills of Honduras, many of the stops have been pretty flat but not this one!

Today the boat is being cleaned and as we walked along the pier we see this worker whose platform is not quite straight!  He must have pulled one of the ropes a little to much!

Specifically we are in Mahogany Bay, Roatan.

We booked an excursion on a private island.  To get there we had to take a boat from the pier.  It was a two story boat and we didn't get the top, so we sat at the back!  BIG mistake!  The boat went so fast and we were right on the end, I felt like we were going to fall off any minute...the driver was going to hit a bump and booop off we go!  Luckily that didn't happen and the kids loved the fast ride!  As we rode by we got a good picture of the boat. (Notice the picture of the boys and how close to the back they are!)

We made it to the beach!  This private island included many different areas and was a wildlife preserve also.  So, with our time we can play on the beach, in the pool, or we could see marine wildlife or other wildlife.  And still there is more!  They also have a replica of a Mayan ruins to visit and a reef to snorkel at!

The kids found tons of hermit crabs and created a hermit crab habitat in a beach pail.

Another thing we were able to do was an animal encounter where we could have a monkey sit on our shoulder or we could hold a crocodile.  I let the kids choose which they would like to do, if any.  I mean how often can you say you did that or were even given the opportunity?

How funny, Tapanga and Thomas are the only ones to hold both!  Tyler wasn't going to hold any until we got right up there and then he decides he'll hold the crocodile!  The monkey was very interesting, it was eating lettuce and dropping the lettuce all over me!

The kids could spend hours just digging and playing in the sand and water!

I love to snorkel, its sooo beautiful.  Thomas does not like to snorkel, because he can't stand the salt water.  They had this cool dock area to snorkel out from.  Tanner went with me, but as we got out to the snorkel area I notice that its very windy and the waves are somewhat strong.  As we were heading toward the dock, we passed many others who had snorkeled and many were scraped up where they had hit coral.  I was a little worried I didn't want to get banged up and I definitely didn't want Tanner to.

When we got out there I was talking to the guy and asking the best place to go so that we wouldn't get bunged up.  He suggested the guide come with us and I am so glad he did!  He was a great blessing and I had to tip him!  He took Tanner and I out safely to many beautiful areas, he let Tanner hang onto his buoy (the waves were really strong and I was afraid Tanner was going to float off), he pointed out great sites and got a sea urchin for Tanner to touch!

He brought us out to the deep waters and I said, "Ok, time for us to head back!"  We seemed so far away from the beach, I definitely didn't want to be lost out to sea!

(What a neat picture of Tanner!)

After snorkeling, we headed to lunch (which was included) and swam some in the pool.  Our time was almost up!

Tapanga and I ran around and saw the animals.  The jaguar, was a little scary...he was ready to pounce and he saw Tapanga as lunch.  Thankfully, there was a fence to stop him!

On our way out we walked to see the turtles...this turtle was so funny.  He was very floppy as he came up out of the water for air.  Since this is an animal sanctuary many of the animals were rescue animals, I wonder what happened to this poor turtle!

The boys checked out the turtles, many times!  Of course, they had to bring Grandpa with them!

Tapanga enjoyed laying out on the deck waiting for the return boat.

A day at the beach and look at Thomas' hair!

For the boat ride back we got to sit on the top and man did the boat driver GO!  I don't know if he went faster this time, but we felt the wind and the spray that was spraying up to us!

 At one of the shops on the pier, Tapanga saw feathers and she wanted some.  I wouldn't let her buy some feather earrings which is what she really wanted, so she had to settle for this headband.

 Monkeying around tonight.  (We have the girl monkey and Mom and KG the boy.)

 Pirate night at camp carnival and I bring one back!

Tomorrow we have our last stop in Costa Maya, Mexico and another beach day!

Vacation Day 6 - Belize

Today's port of call, Belize.  Belize, formally known as British Honduras, is a country in Central America that was once governed by England but who gained their independence in the 1960's. 

The waters around the country were two shallow to allow the cruise ship to dock, so we had to be tendered in.  This is actually kind of fun.  A tender is a smaller boat that pulls up alongside the cruise ship and brings us, in this case 5 miles, to Belize's port.

Our excursion today is a combination of boat ride down the river Wallace and a visit to a Mayan ruins site.  For our group we boarded another boat, speed boat, at the port that brought us into the ocean, before getting to the mouth of the river.  While speeding through the ocean we stopped a few times to look at sights along the way.  Once our captain spotted a dolphin playing in the water nearby and then at the mouth of the river we stopped to watch manatees.  These were actually hard to spot, because they don't actually come above the water you have to watch for their noses to pop up out of the water.

 

 

 

 Once we got into the river we were on the hunt for wildlife.  This was to include iguanas, monkeys, and whatever else we saw.  I tried to use this country as a learning experience for my kids.  They don't realize how much more they have then others all around them, but as we traveled around Belize you can see the differences in our lives versus theirs.  I tried to point out the differences in the houses and lives.  As we traveled down the river we saw a women standing in the river washing her clothes while her children stood by and watched. 

 

 This tree was very interesting...those ball sacks hanging from the palms are actually birds nest.  The male bird builds these nest and the female lays the eggs in the sacks.  Then its the males job to watch the eggs, but another type of bird sometimes sneaks into these nests and lays their own eggs.  At this point when the original bird comes back it becomes their job to care for both sets of eggs!

  These birds end of raising the others and then their own often end up not surviving because the 2nd type of bird is more dominant and out survives the originals...crazy bird story!

Once we got off the river we stopped for lunch at a little restaurant before boarding a bus to the ruins.  Our guide talked a lot at the ruins, I wished he would have allowed us more time to just explore.  Although, there aren't a lot of signs that tell you what is around and the guide helped explain that to us.  The kids did get bored standing around waiting to go.

When looking at these mounds its hard to believe these use to be buildings! 

This was a temple where the leaders were buried as they died.  Each of the levels represented a dead leader and their burial level.  In all I believe there were 8 leaders buried here!  We were able to hike to the top of this temple.

 

 Here we are on the top of the temple...if you look next to us you will see a couple of the blind people that were on the excursion with us.  Yes, they hiked to the top also and I took their picture at the top for them!

KG, being the goofball that he is, talked about needing to sacrifice for the gods and Tapanga played along for him!

 Mom didn't want to climb to the top, but she took our pictures for us!

I think one of the reasons our guide stayed with us and didn't let us wander to much for ourselves was because of these kids that were hanging around.  They had crocodiles and other creatures wanting the tourists to take pictures with for money.  That was one warning the guide gave us, for us NOT to touch the wildlife!

 After, the ruins we rode the bus back and grabbed a tender back to the boat.  Tyler was really cute on the boat ride back.  The plastic was beating against a girls back he was sitting next to so the whole ride he held it away from her as he watched the boat get closer and closer to the cruise ship.

 

 

 

Tonight at dinner the magician stopped by our table and entertained the kids.  Tanner even got to do a trick!

 In the atrium after the dinners they did a big Mardi Gras bead toss, there were tons of people!

 

Tomorrow, we are heading to Isla Roatan, Honduras and a beach excursion!