Author: Dackel Princess

I can’t believe that this is the last day of our vacation. Perhaps it’s because we have had so much rain. Anyway, here is a short montage for now and I’ll be writing more later.

Finally, on Thursday we woke to sunshine! Apparently the “Sun Gods” of Mexico were smiling on us. We gathered our totes for the day, and then off we went to take a ferry from our ship’s birth to the mainland of Mexico.

We met up with our guide, Lily. She was a sweet young woman, who works hard to get ahead in this world.

I admire her dedication to learning all the history of the Mayan’s, and be able to explain it.

Now we did stop off to visit some of her friends shops, but they were well laid out and the prices didn’t gouge a person. I bought nothing. I have decided that the last thing I really need is more kitch!

The Mayan Ruins were spectacular! We were not allowed to climb on them, as they are becoming additionally fragile.

But the real surprise was when we went around the back and found the big secret to the Ruins. They have a sheer drop off to the beach below, making them nearly impossible to breach from that side.

There were no trees or anywhere to escape, when the sun began to beat down so heavily on our heads! I thought I would simply dehydrate and perish on the spot You know, “New England Woman Dehydrates in Mexico and Perishes”!

I made my way back to the buses, and stopped to get the largest bottle of water I could find! I’m not a fan of water, but on Thursday, nothing tasted so good!
We were driven back to the ferry and off we went to board our ship. Somehow, after a week of rain, everyone showed up at the formal dinner, rather informally. Everyone, including me are just plain exhausted! So tomorrow it’s a good thing that we are having a full day to rest and relax!

Dear Diary,
Today when Hubby and I woke up for a new, adventure on our cruise, we pulled open the curtains, and saw the one thing that has plagues us for the last 4 days. RAIN! Since most of our day was to be spent in a tour bus, we thought perhaps we could handle it.
I was wrong! We got off the bus quite a bit, and then when we visited the ruins, well, that soaking was nearly as significant as a full on shower!

The ruins.

In this picture you can see a Howler Monkey and the rain!
I will say this, Belize is a complicated place. Mostly I saw terrible poverty, but then these people would be sitting on their steps laughing and joking, and two or three kids would be playing, unaware that they were missing anything at all.
Our guide stopped at his cousin’s fruit stand and they provided us all with freshly ripened bananas! Now that was a real treat!
The Island is loaded with dogs. Now I did see a few purebreds, but mostly they were Caribbean Mutts, skinny and almost to the point of falling over dear. This really impacted my view of the Island. As you know, I am a great dog lover, and would share my meal before I would allow my animal to be in this terrible condition.
However, I did find this a fascinating trip, even if it was in the rain!

Both Hubby and I were tired last night so we were in bed by ten o’clock. Not too unusual for me, but definitely unusual for Hubby, who needs just 5 or 6 hours at night.

We have had our breakfast and now wait to dock in Roatan. The biggest problem today are slightly rocky seas, and although we were due in today at 9 AM, it’s looking like we will not make that, and perhaps not be able to get in to Roatan at all

Later:

Well, the seas calmed and the sun came out here and there, so we got to go on our excursion. We docked, today and we were picked up by our bus. A nice tour guide, named Sheila, gave us a tour. My biggest impression is that there is a great deal of poverty, but also that the people work hard to get ahead. Our guide has children to feed and eight dogs!

Our tour left late so by the time we got back Hubby was ravenous, and wanted a big meal. We went up to the buffet and he filled his plate. I still wasn’t too hungry, so selected some cheese and crackers and was happy with that.

While we were touring the Island, however, there was a sweet little girl. She was probably no more that 2 or 3 years old.

While her Mommy dances and Daddy played the bongos, she danced her little heart out in the back.

I got out my camera with the telephoto lens can caught this shot. Isn’t she precious?

We also took a boat trip, and ended up getting soaked, and it was entirely my fault. You see, I packed my rain jacket and not his, and I forgot his umbrella.

I did check out a few shops on Roatan, but it is the same kitch that end up cluttering my house or some one else’s

Tomorrow we will be in Belize, and I am hoping for better weather. We have had nothing but rain on this trip and I am pretty tired of it

I would love just one whole day with no rain! Oh well, at least isn’t snow!

On to Belize tomorrow!

I woke early on Monday, as I was feeling so excited about meeting my dolphin friends!

Hubby slept soundly, but around 7 AM the alarm call came, and I happily leapt from the bed and started my day.

We went to breakfast, threw on our bathing suits, and headed to the tenders to get to shore. I have to tell you that the seas were so choppy, that I was really worried someone would get hurt. We all grabbed a seat, and then prayed that we would get to shore.

Our tour was met by our guard, who drove us out to the Dolphin Encounter. He did his very best to explain ting to us. The first is that Grand Cayman best resources are the large bank accounts here. The second is tourism.

We finally made it out to the Dolphin Encounter, where it was once again, raining.

Now we didn’t allow a little rain to spoil our day, and we both enjoyed the time spent with the dophins!

I looked at Hubby and told him, who cares. Getting in the tank with these special creatures would find us getting wet anyway!

I raced through the gift shop and right out into the pen area, seeing the trainers feeding them for the first meal of the day.

My heart fluttered so, as I saw those beautiful creatures swimming so effortlessly. If they let me, I would have just jumped right in!

Alas I had to wait until the trainer was done and then he came over to talk.

We had been told that no pregnant woman would be allowed to swim with the dolphins. Well, this just piqued my curiosity!

“Okay, so why can’t a pregnant woman swim with the dolphins?

Well, you see, they use sonar to feel things around them. If they sense the baby inside the mother, all the dolphins will focus on protecting the mother and baby. Even if this baby is human.

We all participated in the event, and I felt a real sense of peace out there with those beautiful, gentle, creatures!

Then we went to the Turtle Farm, and I was amazed. There were many species of turtles, and I was allowed to wade in and pick up one of the babies.

Our tour was so short. I could go back and back and back, and play with the dolphins! That was the best ever!!

One more thing to cross off my “Bucket List”!

We woke fairly early today. I’m not exactly sure why, because we didn’t have any place to go or pups to feed! I guess our internal clocks are just set to 7 AM.

We wanted to get a few things done today, as this is a sea day. One was to do some laundry and the next was planning our activities. Tonight is the show in the Crown Princess Theater.

The theater review shows are really fun to watch and we’ve always enjoyed them. Also tonight it is formal night, which means I need to wear a nice dress (the only one I brought!) and poor Hubby must once again don his suit!

Breakfast this morning was quite good. Eggs and half a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon! The best of all, we had lots and lots of coffee.

Sunday also proved to rain on our parade…quite literally. Just after we finished breakfast, the seas got very rough, and the winds blew and then the rain fell. It’s not a big deal because; we both have books to read, and things to do, like eat! Lol!

Our room is wonderful and our Steward, Apolonio is also a super nice man. He always seems to get everything done, without us knowing he has been here!

Last night we met out table mates. I thought it very amusing that they are also from New Hampshire, just about 50 miles from our town! Yes, it is a small world. The other couple are a young British couple, and they are very nice. As we are on The Crown Princess, (the

As you read this, I will be fulfilling a lifelong dream…swimming with Flipper the Dolphin! Growing up, one of my favorite shows was Flipper. I’m sure I never missed an episode. Putting this part of my trip together, I thought I would remind you all of what Flippers theme song sounded like.

I’ll report in later on, about woman meeting Dolphin!

Saturday morning, as soon as we could, we got out of that horrible Hotel. We arrived at Princess Cruises, and people began welcoming me back to the ship. You see, I am a frequent cruiser, and I have a little button letting people know this. And they sure do. I felt special as people smiled at me and made me feel welcome.

Once we found our room, and settled in, we headed for the buffet lunch. Oh, my goodness! The desserts were fabulous! But, I have given cake and cookies up for lent, so I did not eat any of those. I had scallops, lima beans and a few home fries.

We sat with a lovely couple. He was German and she was Danish. Now they live in Canada and cruise often. They were real delights and I hope we run into them again!

I still need to go down to the Internet café and arrange my Internet times. I also want to get some sodas for Hubby and I to have in our room, as we both are very thirsty being in the warmer climate.

I have also found that as soon as I did my hair this morning, my little ringlets popped out. So, actually, I’m having a good hair day!

We will be attending our “Muster Drill” shortly so that we know where to go, what to do and how to get off this ship in the event of disaster. Trust me, I plan to go and take careful notes!

We’ve now had our safety drill, so no one needs to worry abut me. One thing I have always thought is how safe I have felt when I am on a Princess Cruise!

They’ve set sail, and I stood at the balcony and watched us drift off, away from Ft. Lauderdale, and the USA. How relaxing that was.

What a day! It started at Oh-dark-thirty in the morning when we both opened our eyes just before the alarm clock went off. We were pretty much ready for our departure, but as we dressed and made coffee, I noticed that the three dackels were still in bed! We got them up, one by one, and made them face the start of the day, even if it was 3:30 AM!

We managed to get out the door by 4 AM and head toward the airport. We’d been driving for 15 minutes when I suddenly was struck by the fact, that I might have forgotten my cell phone! Oh, what would I do without my beloved and much used cell phone?

I climbed into the back seat, dug around in my bag and located the phone, my wallet and my extra glasses. Thank goodness!

Our trip to the airport went unbelievably well. The roads were clear, and no one was out. We parked at the airport, and then off we went to the terminal.

Hoping to make the Atlanta flight out of Manchester, NH we were unlucky enough to miss by two seats! We looked at the schedules and the loads on them, before deciding to go to Detroit where we had an abundance of choices.

I’m here to tell you that those choices were not so very good!

We flew on a CRJ 50 seat airplane from Manchester to Detroit. Then we waited and went from gate to gate to gate to gate. The Terminal A is the largest one I have ever seen! And we were rushing trying to wait on standby for a seat!

We arrived in Detroit and went in to a gate in the C concourse. Naturally, our flights south would be on Concourse A. From one end to the other.

Concourse A with 1.5 miles of moving walkways serves American Airlines. Additionally, the Express Tram stops at the South station near gate A11, the Terminal station in the center near the water feature, and the North station near gate A67. Concourse A has to the left gates A1-38; to the right gates A40-75, and at its center the tunnel connecting to Concourse B to the left and Concourse C to the right.

By 2 o’clock, there was a lull in the flights, and as we walked down the concourse, I saw it…THE GOLDEN ARCHES!!! I hadn’t had much to eat all day and by two o’clock my blood sugar suddenly did a nose dive. We went in and got a cheeseburger, fries and diet Pepsi! You know what? It tasted so good!!! I haven’t had a McDonald’s cheeseburger in YEARS!

We waited for yet another Fort Lauderdale Florida flight, and at 5:30 in the afternoon, we made it!!!

As I write I am currently sitting in the back of a 757 heading south. It’s been a bumpy ride with a little two year old behind me, whose poor mom doesn’t know what to do. I think this kid has her all figured out and is running the show!

But I do not care! We will get to Florida tonight, and be there to get on the ship tomorrow!