Day 5: It’s unBELIZEable!

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For this excursion we actually went directly through Carnival. Some of us decided on cave tubing and others chose snorkeling so the group will be split up today. We went through Carnival this time because on all the excursions you have to travel away from the port and if you book from Carnival and the tour is late the ship will have to wait for you.

This is a tendered port but since we booked directly through Carnival we did not have to get a ticket to get off. Our time to report to the auditorium was 7:30am. That was an early wake up time! We all ate breakfast and arrived on time. Can’t say we were all in the best moods but we made it and we were ready for an adventure.

Roatan and Belize share the second largest barrier reefs. It is home to more than 500 species. Cheryl and the girls did snorkeling in Roatan and loved it. I’m sure the group snorkeling today will have a great time as well.

For the cave tubing we boarded a bus and headed through Belize City. Our tour guide Bruce was way more awake than we were. His presentation had a lot of questions and none of us knew any of the answers. For some reason he kept focusing on our group and not the other 12 on the tour. It was kind of annoying.

As we drove through town he explained the area that we were passing through. I found it interesting how the churches and the schools worked together. He said every school has a church on campus because the government provides the funds for the school but the church runs the day to day operation.

After we drive through the city we headed down what he called the interstate but it was more like a two lane back road. Ever seen an Astro bus pass someone on a two lane country road? Well our driver Morris did not mind doing that at all. Oh boy!

We transferred from an Astro bus to a little school bus that took us up and down a pretty steep hill into the tubing complex. Man, if you own a brake shop in any of these countries you probably stay pretty darn busy.

The tubing complex had drinks and snacks to purchase, water shoes to rent, lockers and a buffet lunch for after the cave tubing.

Bruce led us to meet our two tour guides, Brian and Greamer, and we got on our gear. We had a life vest, helmets and a head lamp.

To get to the starting point of the tube ride we have to take about a 15 minute walk through the forest. The walk was mostly up hill but the tour guides made several stops and explained all the vegetation. They tried to stress how you could survive in the rainforest and how the native people use the land for medicinal purposes. It was very interesting and by the time you got to the entrance of the cabe you didn’t even notice you had walked so far.

They kept talking about how ‘refreshing’ the water was. I didn’t find it that cold. I was expecting Wakulla Springs cold but I found it pretty nice feeling.

While the tour guides tied us all together the kids got into the water. The tour guides were so funny because they would splash water on the kids and laugh with them. Not sure who was having the most fun.

There is a little current that brings you into the cave. Some parts of this river are more shallow than others so when they yell ‘butts up’ you need to get your butt up so you don’t get scrapped on the rocks. That didn’t happen very often though.

They guide us into the cave and they point out some of the formations that they have named. One of as a mom holding a baby. Maybe a little Kirby wink.

As the daylight fades into the cave we were told to turn on our headlamps. I had never used one before. It was funny watching everyone look around and the lights going everywhere. I was surprised at how much the headlamps helped.

As we went along the guides told stories and pointed out formations and provided lots of scientific facts. They did an awesome job at keep them engaged.

You could hear the sound of a waterfall. We all got scared that we were going to end up going under the waterfall but it turns out that it was just flowing flat over rock into the river. The guides splashed us with the water as we passed by. The guides were so playful and fun. The one that was closest to me was Brian and I think he made himself laugh a couple of times.

After the waterfall Brian jumped up under a rock and came back with a handful of mud. He instructed the ladies to but it on their face as a mud mask. He said that this mud pulls out toxins and it great for the skin. We weren’t 100% convinced but we were 100% immersed in the experience so we slapped some mud on our face and laughed.

You can tell that this operation was a very well oiled machine. They had everything timed out so well. You didn’t feel crowded or rush and their presentation was awesome. It was really a great time.

At the end of the cave system we swam a little bit and had a brief walk back to the camp. When we got back they had a DJ playing fun music and the buffet and the bar was open. We roamed around for about 30-40 mins and then got back on the bus to head back to port.

It was a quiet ride back and almost all of us took a brief nap.

They dropped us off at the end of the port terminal where several stores were set up and you could shop your way to the boat. There were also a couple of restaurants also if you want to stoop for a snack and a drink.

Back on the boat everyone headed in different directions and then we met up for dinner. Every night our bartender Nikko provides a different shot. The shots come in different colored shot glasses so obviously we need the entire set. The shot this night was Lemoncello and it was the absolute worst. We all suffered through it and survived. Don’t think any of us will ever purposely ever order this awful shot on purpose.

The adults headed back to our room to watch arch the sunset from the balcony. Oh my goodness, we had the best time laughing and enjoying the sunset. I was the perfect way to end a pretty fantastic day.

After sunset we all kind of split up. I think that is the best thing about this group is that we like being together but we also don’t mind when people go on their own.

Me, Jeff, Beth, G and Abby went to the late night comedy show. It was ok. Nothing really to write home about.

Our last port day is Friday in Cozumel.

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