Ha! Thought you'd escaped?

More pictures, of the ports this time. The first place we stopped was Costa Maya, which is basically a small shopping center built and owned by Grand Princess. Just beyond it is...jungle. We didn't sign up for a cruise-run tour, so we shopped for a bit, snapped a couple of photos, and got back on the ship.

Belize was a different story. We spent almost all our allotted time in port. We signed up for a city tour with one of the locals at the dock. Belize City...isn't pretty. It's poor and rough-looking, and the jungle looks like it is constantly encroaching on the city. It actually reminded me a lot of the Philippines, although it didn't strike me as being very crowded. I think my favorite part was, after the tour, walking along the street where a shanty town of vendors had sprung up to entice the tourists. There was a little more local color there.

I think the eco-tourism does better here: Belize is supposed to have a killer reef. However, we contented ourselves with sightseeing and shopping. I enjoyed learning a little about the country, since I knew almost nothing about it. They have only been an independent country for 20 years and there is a mixture of African, Mestizo, Creole, and Indian blood. There is also a large Asian population (signs in Chinese everywhere) and we also saw some Menonites in their overalls and straw hats. Quite the mix!

( Costa Maya and Belize )

Only three more hours of work (tomorrow morning) and I'm free free free for another week! wOOt!