Caribbean Cruise: Belize

The ship was projected to arrive at 8:00 AM. We could not get into port so we had to anchor above 5 miles out and tender into the port. It was a pleasant 15 to 20 minute trip. Once again, we had good weather.

We went to breakfast and had a leisure breakfast. We were given numbers to use to board the tenders and since we had a excursion we reserved through Holland America, we were scheduled to be one of the first groups to board. We arrived at the collection point; got our boarding numbers; and were waiting to be called when they announced that our excursion had been cancelled because the bridge we had to cross to get to sections of the jungle and caves had been damaged beyond use. Of all the excursions available on this cruise, this was the one we liked the most by reading the description of the excursion. It was described as a 45 minute fast boat ride up the river to a dock; walk through the jungle across a swinging bridge; tour of caves; entrance to a protected valley (through the caves) that Mayan Indians used for protection and religious sits; and a ride back to Belize City in a truck through the jungle. All other excursions that we liked were already booked and we were told to try to book a tour on the dock. We were advised to not deal with anyone outside the port area. We did manage to get on a guided tour of Altun Ha, a Mayan Indian archaeological site with a local guide.

Of all the guides we could have gotten, I think we got the worst. He told us to form up at a sign at the beginning of the ruins while he parked his van. Linda and I went to the sign and waited and he did not return. We finally looked at the entrance to one of the buildings which was a long way away from the sign and he was sitting there. I asked him why he did not come to the sign as he had said and he stated that it did not look like there were very many people there so he decided to change locations--unfortunately, he never told anyone. That was probably the best part of the tour. It was down hill from there. We did enjoy the ruins, but not the tour guide or the ride getting there.

We left the ruins and returned to the port. When he picked us up, he was on the docks. When he dropped us off, he let us off in the city. Needless to say, we had vendors, beggars and others trying to take our money. We managed to get through them without too much problem and went back to the ship to rest awhile and get ready for dinner.