Belize

The second port we stopped at was Belize. Travis kept making fun of me because apparently I say it like a southerner. Like the last port, we didn't have an excursion planned here either. Because the water was so shallow, the ship had to anchor a ways out and then we took ferries over to the dock. While we were waiting for our turn, we started talking to the couple next to us about what their plans were for the day. The were going cave tubing and taking 4-wheelers through the rain forest. When we were looking through the excursions, we thought about doing that. They were doing it through an independent company for really cheap, so we decided to go with them.We started by taking a bus over to the river where we would do the tubing. On the way over, we had a tour guide that told us a lot of facts about Belize. He was hilarious! Belize was a very poor country. He showed us where the rich people lived and the ghetto. It was a very humbling experience for me. The children walked around with no shoes on and we saw families washing their clothes in a nearby stream. I literally had to remind myself that people lived in those run down shacks that we were passing.
After getting to our destination, we took a short walk through some rain forests and caves. It was absolutely beautiful. We saw wild pineapples and coconuts everywhere. Then we floated down the river and through a cave. (pictures on the water camera)
On our way back, they stopped and fed us lunch. And Belize me, (get it? believe me?) it was delicious! That was the joke of the day. It made me laugh every time the tour guide said it too. We continued back to the city center where we looked at the shops. This is where everything was super cheap. Belize is the one place we didn't buy anything though. Then we got back on the ship and headed out for the evening.The biggest surprise for me was how poor it was. Like I said, it was very humbling for me to see. I have never said "no thank you" so many times in my life because they are very aggressive in trying to get you to buy things. The country was beautiful, but I felt like the city was dirty. English is the primary language but they also speak a Swedish Creole.

Back on the ship headed to the next port.

There was a beautiful sunset after dinner, so of course we had to take some pictures!