Cruise

I made it back after being gone for a little over a week. That was a great vacation and was just what I was hoping for.

Most importantly (to me), I got to do / see a lot of stuff I've never done before. I got to:

...take a cruise

This is the most obvious. I'd recommend a cruise to most people. It can be not-too-expensive and most things are taken care of for you. You just have to show up.


Empty deck about an hour before sunrise

A cruise is generally what you want to make of it. They have plenty to do on the ship if you want to be active, or you can just lounge.

As for off-ship activities, they have a ton of pre-selected activities for everyone. Of course, I ran from those as fast as possible to create my own adventures.

...be far enough out to sea that I can't see land

This is obvious as well, but I've never done it before.


Sunrise on day 3

...visit Mayan ruins

This was my first individual outing. Part of the excitement was that I only had a few hours to do this and get back. If I didn't make it in time, the boat would leave without me. (they don't hold a boat with ~2,500 people for one idiot that can't read his watch)


Beaches of Playa del Carmen

That was compounded by not even docking on the same landmass that I wanted to visit. To get where I wanted to go, I had to:
1) Take a taxi to another port
2) Take a water taxi from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen (~30 minutes)
3) Get to the Tulum ruins (~45 minutes south of Playa del Carmen)

Of course, I could have taken a bus for that last step. Instead, I used a common form of public transportation in Mexico--the local van.

This is how it works: a company drives several minivans from one location to another. If you want a ride, you just flag them down and get in. When you get to your destination, you tell the driver and get off.

It's the same general theory as a bus, but they run all the time and are very cheap. My ride from Playa del Carmen to the Tulum ruins was about 45 minutes and only cost about $3.


Main temple at Tulum

The ruins were amazing. Very well preserved, but you aren't allowed to climb through them.

One of the other reasons I wanted to visit these particular ruins was for the beach and swimming. That beach was beautiful and the water was perfect.


Beach at Tulum ruins

I made it back to the ship 15 minutes before departure. That's a little close, but that was my schedule.

...visit a tiny, secluded island

This was the adventure I was most looking forward to. Via Lonely Planet, I learned about a key off of the coast of Belize that sounded like somewhere I wanted to visit.


Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker is a 45-minute water taxi ride from Belize City. There are only about 1,000 residents on the island and it's small enough that there aren't any cars.

This is a tiny little island that generally only well-traveled backpackers visit. I don't think I've ever visited a more quiet and relaxing place.


View of west coast

I walked up and down the length of the island in about 20 minutes and then laid in a hammock at the Lazy Lizard for a couple of beers. I think I'll go back there.


My new favorite spot

I was able to do several other things new to me (snorkeling, airboat ride through the Florida Everglades, hold baby alligator and croc), but I probably need to wrap-up this overly long post.

I'll just say that this has strengthened my resolve to travel more and take more risks. It was the risky parts of this trip that I'll remember forever.