I was worried that Jace was not going to be happy about the water, but surprisingly enough it wasn't too cold for him. He didn't like the waves so much. But he was rather content to just stay in the water and float around with Paul or myself. I got to go out snorkeling with the first group, (Paul is so great. He just let me go and swim around while he played with Jace). After I was finished, I took Jace and Paul went out. Jace and I played around in the water until he got fussy. By then Paul was back and we somehow managed to get him to nap. Paul took him and napped under the coconut trees for several hours, (such an amazing husband I have), so I could spend some more time snorkeling. I absolutely LOVE to snorkel. Its like being in a whole new world and I love it. So Paul gave me some extra time to go out with my family and just look at how beautiful everything is.
After our time on the beach, we took our taxi back to the city center. The boys dropped our snorkeling gear off on the ship while the rest of us went out shopping. My translator brother got us some great deals on real chocolate, and pan dulce from the markets. We were supposed to meet up with the boys, but we never found them after they dropped off our gear. Eventually we met up with them on the ship. The welcome reception from the crew members is great. They all stand outside the boat with drinks and cookies and play music and dance for you. It was pretty great.
Silly Jace just doing his thing sitting in the stroller while we wait to play in the water. He loves to play with his feet so its no surprise he is doing it in the picture.
He also loves to eat the lanyard for his bink. for some reason it tastes better than the bink itself
Enjoying the 80+ degree weather!
Jace's first reaction to the sand. He wasn't quite sure what to think....
Then he thought, oh ok, "I can handle this. Its kinda squishy and stuff!"
"...And then oh boy, I bet this would taste good!" We were cleaning sound out of his mouth for quite a while. We weren't quick enough to get it before he got a good fistful in his mouth.
Jace deciding if he likes the water.
My two brothers getting in the water to snorkel. The water was so blue!
Enjoying the beach!
After a long day nothin' tastes better than the water in Mom's camelback!!
The next stop on our cruise was in Belize. My family planned to go tubing in a river that goes through some caves. Paul and I really wanted to go, but they said that we couldn't take Jace with us. My dad said, just come talk to the people and maybe you can do ATVing instead. So we came with them and the guy said we could bring our baby on the tubing trip. So we ended up going with my family on an excursion. We took a bus an hour away from the port. Drove into pretty much the jungle and then got to our destination. Everyone else in our group did a zip line excursion so we were going to meet up with them, but they were delayed and we didn't end up catching up with them. It was such a bummer, but We still had fun. Jace was unsure about being in the dark, so for most of the trip I had to nurse him, but once we were out of the caves and in the sun light, he loved it. He was cooing and smiling at everyone. The company we booked our excursion with fed us a homemade lunch. We had authentic chicken tamales cooked in banana leaves. Finding bones in my tamale was a new experience, but other than that the food was good! While talking with our tour guide, we asked how they felt about tourists. They said tourism makes up a huge part of their economy so they are grateful for all of the white people that come to visit their country. He also said that 70% of Belize is undeveloped jungle! It is crazy to think how much land is available in places like that. He also said that more and more Canadians and Americans are buying property down in Belize for super cheap, developing it, and reselling it for a profit. It is just crazy to see how everything works in different countries.
Because We had to drive so far to get to our excursion we didn't have a lot of time to look around or go shopping when we got back into the port town. We hit up a few stores just perusing. The tender ride back to the boat was 15 minutes long. They said it was a 5 mile trip because there is a reef just off of the coast of Belize so they can't bring the ships in too close. Jace didn't like it. The boat engines were too loud for him, and he cried most of the trip back. but lucky for us the noise was so loud no one could hear him crying for 15 straight minutes. Poor kid had to put up with a lot. But he did great, and as soon as we were off the tender and back in the quiet ship he did great.
We didn't get any pictures tubing because we were worried about the water, but after we met up with the family for lunch I snapped a few.
Tallus chillin in a hammock chair
We look so sunburned!
He was so zonked out from the long day. It was nice for him to actually sleep!
Jace and Aunt Nena! She bought him his Hawaiian shirt and he loved it!
Jace crawling with the dinosuars!!
or just destroying them!!
We walked up and through basically a neighborhood in search of a market that was run by locals for locals with hopes of getting a better price for food than what they were making the tourists pay by the port. We found a small little market on the side of the road, and Tanner translated for us and got a great deal on some lichees. We sat in the humidity and ate our delicious lichees before heading down into the city center to find some shopping places. It was so nice to have Tanner with us because we were able to get great deals because he knew the language so well.
My family wanted to have an authentic Honduran meal so we asked a girl to show us where she would go to get a traditional meal. We sat down and had fresh squeezed orange juice, chicken, rice, plantain, and beans. All of that food for just under 2 US dollars. Crazy! It was super good. I felt so bad though because I couldn't eat all that food. I felt so bad wasting it because there are so many hungry kids there, but I just could not finish. We had our lunch, did a little more shopping, and then headed back to the ship.
I can not tell you how many looks we got for having a blonde haired, blue eyed baby. It was like a wonder of the world I kid you not! If Paul and I had a dollar for every time someone either took a picture of Jace or asked to hold him, we would have easily made $100! People were just in love with him. It was super cute, but you better believe I made sure that we were near him all the time and could see him so he didn't disappear. Jace loved it though. He gave high fives and smiled is super cute smile, and let them hold him with out a fuss. I do just want to mention how poor this little city was. We talked with one of the locals, and she said that people here just have no way to make money. They are all so poor. She said that the cruise ship stopping here has been so great for their economy. People can make money for their family, and it gives them something to do rather than sit around doing nothing and being hungry. It made me truly grateful for the wonderful country that I live in, and all of the commodities that I am privy to.
Thankfully this tender ride was only about 5 minutes long and on a smaller boat so it wasn't so crazy loud for Jace. We made it back to the boat and got a huge glass of ice water. Paul and I didn't realize how hot and dehydrated we actually were because it was more humid than hot so we just sweat out all our water without even thinking about it.
Our last two days were at sea. We had to cruise from Honduras all the way back to Texas. We sure made the most out of them though. We played lots of shuffle board, bored games, and the girls even did pedicures. When we docked back in Texas I was both happy and sad. It was nice to be of a rocking boat and on dry land, but it was so much fun to be surrounded by family, and away from technology for a whole week. I got to see sides of my siblings that I never see because one of us always has a phone or tablet to distract us. I was sad to leave all of Jace's new friends behind also. Every single one of the cooks, waiters, or staff that ran into Jace just loved him to bits. But I was grateful to be able to put Jace back on a schedule again. We got off the boat, into our Taxi, and to the airport without much trouble. After our 2 hour wait, we boarded the plane, got home, then had to rush right to a family party for Paul's side of the family. We both tried to be pleasant, but we were so tired from traveling all day that we may have been less than pleasant to deal with. After the first family party, we had a second one with Paul's immediate family to go to. By then Paul, Jace and I were just EXHAUSTED! We made it through that family gathering and headed home. We finally got home, to our very own home and our very own beds by around 11:00 PM. Talk about a long day! Our vacation was great, but now we have to get into the Christmas mood. It is only 5 days away!
Drinking some delicious young coconut water!
Lena's face is kinda interesting, but we had to get a picture in front of one of the biggest houses we found. Of course it was gated and the fence had spikes on the top. This is not uncommon in places like this. If they aren't wealthy enough for spikes on their fence, they mortar crushed glass in the tops of the walls to keep their families safe.
The both of us enjoying a lychee. Jace actually liked eating them more than I thought.
The both of them enjoying being fawned over by the locals.
Sitting down for lunch.
The boys. Trying to get wifi service. Typical
The girls, just enjoying the culture
And then there is me and my daddy
This is the massive plate of food that cost us less than 2 dollars. It was really good!
Paul pretending he liked the food. Just kidding he enjoyed it quite a bit actually.
This thing was just posted on the wall. We took a picture in front of it just because it was cool.
Not too excited about taking the picture with the crab tonight.
Even more not excited about it.
Luckily dad is there to help him feel a little better
maybe he is kind of a little happier
Took off his clothes and gave him some paper and now he is happy as a clam!
I think things are going to be ok
Waiting for dinner.
Day at sea. We were trying to tan, but it was so stinking cloudy
Everyone attempting to enjoy the somewhat sun
I know this one is just about the same as the one above, but Jace is actually smiling and looking so I had to keep both.
Nena just being Nena
Apparently boys have to have their electronic devices to enjoy the sun
Like I said, electronics....
Enjoying the hot tub because the waterslide was closed.
We actually got to cuddle and spend some time with no baby.
Jace loved the water until we pulled him out and the wind was cold.
Last day on the cruise we stayed up late playing games. Thankfully we got this guy to konk out on some chairs so we could play.
We leave the country for a week and he learns how to crawl. I can't believe it!
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