So, where do you travel when you have a limited income and live in Florida? Cocoa Beach to catch the next Carnival Cruise ship set for sail! Matthew and I saved pennies and budgeted ourselves eating endless boxes of Hamburger Helper and Ramen noodles to pay for our first adventure together outside of the US. Our 7-day cruise on Carnival Glory was scheduled to port at the following locations: Cozumel, Mexico; Belize; Roatan Island, Honduras; & Freeport Beach, Bahamas. Leading up to the departure day, I applied for my US Passport and was excited to receive my first official international stamp. Little did I know, Carnival did not require stamps to exit or board the cruise ship in port. The vacation, however, was absolutely splendid! Crystal clear, bright, turquoise-blue water surrounded the ship as we parked in Cozumel. I can remember standing on the cruise ship deck, looking down into the water, and seeing straight through to the bottom of the bay. Mind. Blown. Our adventures included snorkeling with strangers, Coronas, swimming with barracudas, and mopeds. Talk about living life to the fullest!
Our next stop was Belize. We landed in Belize's Tourism Village which serves one purpose: to receive cruise ship boats. From here, we had to take a bus ride inland to explore a Mayan town called Xunantunich. Climbing to the top of the tallest temple gave you sight over Belize and Guatemala as well as the sacrificial grounds below where people were pushed off the temple to their death in honor of their gods. They even played their version of football with a stone ball and court. The winning team was sacrificed at the end!
Roatan Island, Honduras was a diamond in the rough. Because our first moped experience in Cozumel went so well, we decided on an encore performance during our third cruise stop. This time, we traveled out of the tourist landing pad on the beach and explored the native side of the island. The level of poverty we witnessed while cruising around created a realization within me that Hamburger Helper and Ramen noodles wasn't so bad after all. When we returned our two-wheeler to the rental facility, the owner began sharing with us his journey from New York City to Honduras. He even invited us back to his house to eat dinner with his family. After a quick risk assessment, we decided, "Why the hell not?" Entering his small shack home and walking on the dirt floors was humbling. His wife cooked a dinner of coconut chicken, beans & rice with fried plantains. While eating, children of the neighborhood recognized our American speak and transformed into flea market salesmen right before our eyes. Of course, I supported their business and bought some homemade bracelets. Capitalism, baby!
Freeport, Bahamas was our final port and last opportunity to soak up rays on the sugar-fine sands of the beach. The environment was peaceful but windy! Lining the shore was a fleet of windsurfers ready to deploy at a moments notice. Cabanas and beach chairs were waiting to be filled. The tourists weren't oiled up and frying in the sun. In fact, they were missing. Notice the picture above to see how empty Freeport was that day. Call it a blessing to be away from humanity after spending the last 5 days on a crowded boat migrating from food stand to pool to casino back to food stand. Much needed.
Other stand out features of our cruise were the midnight chocolate buffet, Captain's Gala, & free drinks in the casino. Lessons were learned on this boat - alcohol is not free on Carnival! Stay tuned for another Carnival story that includes me (thinking I'm smarter than I really am) Amaretto, a tube sock, and a walk of shame......to be continued.