You better Belize it!

My Belize caving tubing and zip line experience was by far the best excursion experienced on this trip. We met in the Belize Tourism Village where we were introduced to the most energetic, funny and knowledge guide team possible. We had to take a 1.5 hr bus ride into the rain forest. On our way there, the tour guides showed us places of importance to their country, gave us history lessons, the break down of the many cultures and people of the island and much more. Their jokes and antics made the pothole filled, hour long drive bearable.

Our zip line adventure consisted of 8 zip line platforms located within the rain forest canopy. Some platforms are as high as 85ft into the canopy and as far apart as 250 ft. It was quite an exhilarating experience by itself but taking in all the wildlife and nature you're surrounded by makes it 10 times better. We even got to see their national bird, the Toucan.

Then we were off to do some cave tubing

In order to get to the cave entrance you have to walk about 40 mins through the rain forest with your tube. Thank God for Nelson who carried mine the entire way

Let me tell you, it's kind of hard to maintain your sexy wearing a bulky life vest and a flashlight on your head...lol

Finally we arrived and boy was the water cold but refreshing. The entrance of the cave was so beautiful. We were all attached to each other, with our guide leading the way. Unfortunately the caves were too dark for me to capture the true essence of their beauty. We explored the cave system and formations (that's where the headlights come in).

At the end our tubing experience, we were separated and able to pick up a little speed and floated along to the end

After all the activity, we had a the most FANTASTIC Belizen lunch buffet ever... YUM!!

Roatan

For our shore excursion of Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, we decided to take a tour off the beaten tourist path. I thought this would be a great plan especially since Nelson is really into different cultures and spending time with the locals

We were able to see authentic fish towns and villages on stilts

Fishing is one of the major industry's and the fishing season here begins in July and ends in February

We took a motorized canoe called a Cayuco into the mangrove tunnels

On our way there and back we saw children being transported by boat on their way home from school. What a cool way to travel!

Mangroves are a natural defense against coastal erosion, found at the ocean's edge. They are a nursery for marine organisms and provide a feeding ground for many endangered birds. Mangroves are threatened and it's illegal to cut them down.

The view from on top of a hill

Afterward we went to Sherman Arch's Iguana Farm. He started this hideaway 18 years ago to protect the species.

Imagine almost 3000 iguanas, cocks, roosters, and lizards just roaming around freely. Who knew bananas would be the snack of choice for iguanas.

Seeing all those reptiles just trotting by was a little creepy but interesting nonetheless

He also had a pond with turtles, talking parrots, and monkeys in cages

Unfortunately a lot more was suppose to be included in this tour, including a beach break at Turquoise Bay and the authentic Garifuna villages: the native people of Roatan but we had a lazy, swindling tour guide but don't worry I complained to the company we hired and we're actually getting a full refund.

Because we were a little disappointed, we headed over to Fat Tuesday's for a little pick me up and silly fun

Swimming with Stingrays...

First stop: the beautiful island of Grand Cayman where we had an amazing day planned. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and not a cloud in the sky. The first thing I noticed about Grand Cayman is it’s not like most Caribbean islands I’ve been where most of the citizens are poverty stricken. I saw people riding around in Range Rovers, Porsches, BMWs, etc, not to mention $1 Cayman is worth $1.25 US. I guess it’s all that off shore banking..lol jk.

We met our tour guide at the terminal and hopped on a van to Georgetown where we boarded a beautiful, ultra comfortable, spacious 50ft Catamaran. We relaxed and lounged on the deck as we took in our gorgeous surroundings. Here let me show you:

After a 30 minute ride we arrived at Stingray City Sandbar. It’s an amazing site. Imagine being in the middle of an ocean and suddenly you’re in shallow waters. Well that’s exactly what we experienced. The boat was anchored out in the Caribbean Sea and as we climbed down the ladder and off the boat, we had to swim because the water was obviously deep. 6 feet out and 10 seconds later, we were standing up in the middle of the ocean while friendly sting rays encircled us.

Loving my new underwater camera

Kiss a stingray for 7 years good luck

I kissed a girl and liked it ;-)

Afterwards we got back on the boat and headed to Coral Gardens, a coral reef formation with vibrant coral and sponges, tropical fish, eels and even sea turtles, to do a little snorkeling. I tried it for the first time but I wasn’t that good at it. I just couldn’t get my breathing right! I was really disappointed because the little time I spent under, I saw some beautiful colorful fish. While back onboard I did see a sea turtle which was pretty cool.

If you ever visit Grand Cayman, Stingray City is an excursion you can’t afford to miss!