Saturday, January 4, 2014

Norwegian Dawn.....Western Caribbean

Well I came home for a week and left again.....this time it was the western Caribbean on the Norwegian Dawn with my cousin.



This 7 day cruise from Tampa included stops in Honduras, Belize and Mexico.  First up was Roatan, Honduras on a miserable rainy day. 

 
 


This is the kind of stop that the beachgoers enjoy on a pretty day and there is not much else to do.  We did a little shopping, (I bought a carved box I love), and got back on the ship.

Next stop was Belize City. 



What a nightmare!  We messed up and bought a tour from a local outside the port.  Let me tell you, never, ever do that!!  We were very happy that we were not the only people in the van.  Our supposed 90 minute tour was 45 minutes which was fine by me. 

We knew we were in trouble when he stopped and bought one gallon of gas!

We drove over the worst roads, in the worst neighborhoods and literally flew through the streets which is why most of my pictures are off kilter.





I was shocked when we ended up in the 'hood and our driver stopped the car and got out leaving us in the middle of the road!!! After a couple minutes he came back and off we went then a few minutes later, same drill.  Apparently he was making some kind of pick up and delivery while he was taking us on our supposed tour!  Never again!





Next stop was Costa Maya which is just a small fishing village in Mexico with a big pier,  The weather was awful so we passed on this stop.

Our final stop was Cozumel which was my favorite. 

 

 

We booked a tour to Tulum which is by far my favorite Mayan ruin. 



It takes a while to get there.  First there is the 45 minute ferry ride followed by an hour on the bus but it was worth it.  The setting is absolutely stunning, nestled by the sea, and we had an excellent tour guide.

 
 
 


It was a nice cruise but frankly I like the 14 day and longer ones.  They are more relaxing and usually have more exciting stops.  My next one will be Norway and Iceland so stay tuned!!