Another Big Vacation - Part 3

"If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, 

why oh why can't I?"

— E.Y. Harburg 

The next morning we woke to the twists and turns of the massive ship winding its way past the reef and through a narrow channel cut into the shallow waters of the Belize coast.  The water glistened a light turquoise and the horizon was dotted with submerged islands of Mangrove trees, fishing boats, and other cruise ships making port.

We were happy to see one cruise ship in our anchorage, as planned, the Carnival, Magic.  It carried our friends from Corpus Christi, TX to join us in our Belize Adventure.  We had scheduled cave tubing and zip-lining in the Belize jungle through cavetubing.bz, and were extremely excited to start this adventure.

The shallow waters prevent docking, so all ships have to tender in their passengers.  The large tender boat piled us in as a tropical downpour reminded us why everything is so green in the tropics.

Once in Tourism Village (Couldn't they be a bit more creative with the name?), we scrambled for a few ponchos for the less insulated of our group and found our shuttle bus.  The shuttle was supposed to be reserved for us, but oddly some lost people jumped in, not knowing where they were supposed to be and the owner of the business, not wanting to pass up a sale, sold them their seats. It was no problem since they were a great couple.  In no time our friends Corey, Vanessa, Melissa and Trey had joined us and we were informed of the bad news:  the river was at flood stage and our float was canceled, but zip-lining was still available.  Saddened that our top adventure was canceled, we decided to enjoy ourselves nonetheless; besides, with friends like this, how could we not have fun?

An hour inland, our surroundings went from coastal savannah to lush jungle.  The rain had stopped, but since we all wore mostly our swimsuits, it wasn't a concern.  As we waited under the thatched prep area to be equipped, they calmed our nerves by introducing us to a tarantula... (Link if your browser has trouble, best if viewed on YouTube)

We all were strapped into harnesses, put on musty helmets, and handed soggy gloves from the last group.

  Last to be equipped was little Zoey.  I looked around for the child's harness and found none.  I asked, and they said it's one size fits all, as they pulled the straps tight and tied the excess in knots around her. 

Super excited and bit nervous (especially the littlest among us and me, her mom), we began to climb the hillside, ready to fly through the treetops.

 We all loved the exhilaration of zipping along the sturdy wires as the beautiful tropical jungle whizzed past us.

Zoey did amazing.  She refused to ride with anyone and each ride ended in a tear trickling down her cheek, but with determination to go on.  As she slid along line 5 of 7, she failed to have the weight and momentum to reach the next platform and was sent sliding back towards the center.  My little girl had to be rescued.  A little shaken, she decided to call it a day and wait for us at the bottom.  I was so proud of her.

Lunch was Belezian-spiced chicken, rice and beans in coconut milk, and coleslaw.  It was all delicious. During the ride back we were topped off with rum punch and the driver even made a special stop for us at the liquor store for some hard to find One Barrel Rum (super good and cheap).

Back a Tourism Village we shopped for some souvenirs and settled into the seaside bar for ceviche, drinks, and to leave our mark on Belize.  We were all sad to have missed the cave tubing, but happy to be with each other and have shared the adventure we did. Here's my super cool video documenting the whole experience: (Link if not viewable on your browser; best viewed on YouTube)
 

   

Having planned the first two stops, we left the last one open.  We planned to meet our friends again, and wondered what could Cozumel bring?

(to be continued)