To distract from the (now rapidly melting) piles of white outside, here's what I was doing during the two big snow storms of Feb 2010.
CAYMAN ISLANDS!
In the Caymans I went kayaking among the (decimated by a hurricane and really no longer there) mangroves, then snorkled off of a platform in the marine sanctuary. I don't have many pics as my camera is most decidedly not waterproof.
An example of what the hurricane did to the mangrove trees. This is where we took off in the kayaks.
Cayman Island lizard on the coral that was littering the beach.
I didn't think much of this "pirate ship" (pic taken from the tender boat) until I got back to the ship and was chillin' with my achin' shoulder/arms/hands. I heard some loud booming cracks and went out on my balcony to see the ship pulled alongside the cruise ship next door, looking absolutely tiny, and firing cannons at it. Keen. It quickly made a hasty retreat - funny that since the sails were still furled. I call shenanigans!
In the foreground is my ship, in the back is the ship that faced the wrath of the swarthy pirates, matey. I kept staring at the water, thinking that the color looked so fake. If the Jersey shore has taught me anything, it's that the ocean is a dingy grey, dammit!
MEXICO!
Finally, what I came for... ruins! This beats the socks off of the colonial houses that constitute history in my neck of the woods. Specifically, I went to the ruins of Tulum. The place was huge and I have a ton of pics of all kinds of crumbly buildings.
Why, what's that in the distance? Awwww yeah.
It's temple, baby, and I ain't talking about my college. There are gorgeous murals up inside this temple, but idiot, destructive tourists ruined the fun for everyone and now it's closed.
Sup, yo? There's original Mayan paint here, homie.
Even the paths were out of this world.
Two places on the sides of the main temple and the door of this temple to the side of the large one all have areas that light up during sunrise on the solstices and an equinox (or the other way around, can't remember). Awesome and unexpected. You can just see the light of the opening through the doorway here.
And where are these ruins? Right on the beach, man. Those groovy Mayans loved a good vista.
A stairway down behind the large temple took you to a stereotypical white sand, tropical beach.
My lizards can beat up your lizards, Cayman! Iguanas were everywhere.
BELIZE!
Now what would I want to do in Belize? Let me think... let me think. I know, more ruins!!! Xunantunich to be specific, all the way across Belize and close to the Guatemala border.
No big lizards here, but our temples are larger than yours! Oh, and we have howler monkeys. It's fun listening to a tour guide trying to talk over the monkeys. Just don't step in the monkey poo.
What is the secret to keeping your carvings so young-looking and smooth? Botox? No, it's fiberglass covering/protecting the originals. Shhh.
Mexico taught me that if a temple can be climbed, it better be climbed before it is closed! Hey ma, I can see Guatemala from here! And you could... but in the other direction from the other side of the temple.
Ball court!
I gotta have a horse picture somewhere in here, right? There were horses tied next to the road all over. This is next to the river leading to the ruins.
HONDURAS!
Well, Roatan Island to be specific. No ruins here, but there was a tour of the native culture so I was there.
Imagine going out to your balcony in the morning and being greeted by this.
First we took a boat ride, and got a closer look at the ones that didn't quite make it.
A much closer look.
One shipwreck, two shipwrek. We didn't get as close to this one.
This has got to be the awesomest hammock ever (better seen if you click for the larger version).
Photo op! The white line across the water is the famous reef. In Mexico, Belize, and Roatan they boasted about their reef - the second longest in the world. It's all the same reef, but each guide acted like it was their country's and their country's alone. :3
No asphalt shingles here, dude.
And no convection oven with a flat top range, either. This is a demonstration on making bread from taro root. It was trippy - you just put a pile of grated and squeezed dry taro on the griddle - looking like a pile of flour, and soon it formed a little pancake. They also danced and sang, but I took video of that, not pictures. :)
USA!
Low bridge!
3 comments:
Very cool pictures!
Did you eat the taro pancake? Did you eat fabulous local food or fabulous cruise food?
I bet those wrecks would be hella fun to dive.
Thank you.
We did eat the taro pancake, and could have bought more. It tasted... like a taro pancake?
We ate fabulous local food in Belize since our excursion was 7 hours. Rice and beans, chicken for the non-veggie folk, and salad for me. Oh, and might I mention full-sugar soft drinks? I broke my no-soda rule for once. :)
The cruise food... was sort of fabulous. It's hard when you're veggie.
I don't know if the wrecks would have been much fun to dive - they were in pretty shallow water. Besides, I am a chicken when it comes to all things diving. I had to stop panicking when I snorkeled in the Caymans before I really enjoyed myself. :)
Mmmm, sounds like good food.
I like shallow water diving a LOT. If I'm in less than like 30 feet of water and catastrophe strikes, I can just breathe out and swim up and not die in the inky depths. Deeper diving is way scarier and darker and colder.
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