Carnival Dream Picture Review, December 10th-17th, 2011

[01 Cobra]

OK, I am not really an acquatic maniac or anything, but I loved the pictures you posted from the dolphin excursion. I know you didn't take most of those, but you did a nice job cleaning them up. My DH and I have now decided that the dolphin encounter is worth doing....your photos convinced us to spend more $$$!!! It looked like you were having so much fun.

The children on the back of the truck was amazing!!!

And backing up, the picture of one of the couples from your meet and greet...they were a well seasoned/mature looking couple and their faces were lovely!!! Just an awesome picture.

Umm...let's see, the pictures with the monkeys were way cute...very happy photos.

You have an amazing talent and I know lots of people have said that already. I hope you will be able to continue on with your review with more photos included. I have surely enjoyed what you have been able to share to this point and I would love to read about the rest of your cruise.

Thank you for your positivity and the absolute most darling review I think I have read in a very long time. :D :p

[PartyAnimal]

Your pictures are just unbeliveable, I find myself thinking of them through out my day. You are a very talentive young lady. Can't wait until the next installment. I have several favorites so many great shots, I think if I had to choose it would be the children on the truck.

[flalady29]

I like many others love ALL your pictures, but the ones that capture the meaning I guess you would say of the picture is the ones of the local kids and the monkeys. The kids because it shows a part of the day to day lives they live and the monkeys because it captures how much you and Latanya really enjoyed the interaction as did the monkeys :-). Hapy belated birthday to Latanya and I hope you both had a great day at Universal.

[Ladybug75]

So, while everyone is waiting, I'd love to know what your favorite part of the review has been so far and even your favorite 1 or 2 photos. I am flattered that so many people love the pictures as a whole but would love to know which ones speak to you and why! :-)

 

Girl you are the bomb diggety! Okay my favs were all of the ones that had Trevor in them! HOT-T! Got me sweatin' up in here. Okay anyway...I have been sharing this review with my 8 year old. At first he didn't want to cruise and now he does because of the picture of you with the monkey sticking his tongue out. He is an animal lover so he loved the dolphins and the bird. He now wants to go on a cruise! Thank you!

 

I wish I could take you on my next one to take my pics! Keep it up girl. You have a precious gift!

[T C 2]

Like everyone else think your pictorial review is awesome! That is what I look for in a review ... I like the visual.

 

My favorite picture would have to be of the two children on the back of the truck. That picture speaks volumes!

 

I think the best scenery picture is the one of the pier .. that one belongs in a travel magazine.

 

Ready for more!

[Mist_ynight]

My favorite are the pier with the children on it, and the kids in the back of the truck. You are a phenomenal photgrapher!

[otowncruisr]

Great review. Here's my vote:

 

Most Poignant:

 

 

Best Pic (despite being shot through the dirty windshield!). I'd love to know the topic of this conversation and what the kid on the right is laughing about. This pic captures a great moment.

 

 

I love pictures of the locals in their daily routines, particularly kids. One of my favorites was from Majahual/Costa Maya before Hurricane Dean wiped it out. For about a half hour we watched these two young boys, who were kids of one of the vendors, play on the beach. They jumped off this palm stump over and over, laughing the whole time. I took some shots, but I wish I had your skills and eye to capture it better.

[steven93921]

My favorite picture would have to be of the two children on the back of the truck. That picture speaks volumes!

 

Best Pic (despite being shot through the dirty windshield!). I'd love to know the topic of this conversation and what the kid on the right is laughing about. This pic captures a great moment.

 

What did I tell ya kiddo? This was an incredible shot regardless! You could say that being taken through the windshield might even ADD to it. It could not be more obvious that this was a candid moment caught in time! The genuine, playful smile from the man on the right (I thought it was a kid too otowncruisr).

 

Other than that... my favorite would be the three of us at the M&G. The only thing that could have been better was if we could have gotten a shot of all four of us. ;)

[bdann]

Your photos are stunning, thanks a lot for sharing them.

 

I bet you sold some "Chef's Table" seats for Carnival with these! :)

[italianfemmy]

Sorry that it's been days since my last photo post!

 

We left off in Belize.

 

 

Our excursion had been rained out and we decided to book a city and country tour with a native, Handsom Victor (although I am pretty sure his name is just Victor and he fancied himself as handsome :-) ).

 

There were like 10 or 13 or something like that of us on this tour in Handsom Victor's van. Everyone let me sit in the front seat so that I could take photos through the windshield and roll my window down to take photos out of it too if I wished (so nice of them.)

 

Victor driving us towards our first destination..

 

 

In order to get through the first main road, Victor had to get out of the van and get tickets for us that had our destination on them. The police here were very intense and serious and I would have hated to wind up locked up in a Belize jail cell. I don't get scared very easily but the thought of being stuck here actually made me slightly nervous!

 

 

Victor talked to us as he drove us, explaining things to us about the culture and heritage of Belize, talking to us about the economy and the police and the local government.

 

We passed a produce stand and I just thought it was so interesting because of the way the bananas were strung up.

 

 

We had a very long drive down lots of windy roads...

 

 

Finally, after about 45 minutes or so, we arrived at our destination. A quick photo of Latanya and Handsom Victor before we set off on foot..

 

[italianfemmy]

Destination reached - Altan Ha Mayan Ruins

 

Latanya had originally wanted to do a ruins tour before we booked the Captain Your Own Boat excursion. I never had wanted to go to them though because I've been to some really awesome ruins in my life and it just didn't interest me very much. But, I didn't want to sit around on the ship so I decided to do this trip (mostly because we got the most time out of it). The city tours were only like 90 minutes long. This one would have us out all day.

 

Okay, so we begin walking and Handsom Victor makes a pit stop at the beginning for everyone to use the restroom. The lines were long (there were tons of tour groups there.) All of a sudden, I start choking really badly and then feel my lungs closing in. Gasping for air and not knowing why, Latanya tells me it's the smoke from a couple of ladies who were smoking right infront of me. I actually didn't smell it which is weird but it set me off. Latanya had to run back to Victor's van to go into my bag and get my inhaler that I was silly enough to leave behind. A couple of puffs on it and a minute of resting and everything was back to normal.

 

The ladies that were smoking felt awful and apologized a gazillion times. I didn't really blame them. I blamed myself for not paying better attention and for not having my inhaler with me. Someone else in line got really mad at them though and started making obnoxious comments loudly trying to make them feel bad and how they shouldn't be smoking in line where people are forced to be in line with them. I guess I see that point but I still wasn't mad.

 

Anyway, moving along...

 

 

 

HOLY MOTHER OF STAIRS.....

 

 

Whew... we're not climbing those.. thank goodness. Our destination is over there though.... Ummm that's kinda high up too...

 

 

 

[italianfemmy]

We don't have to climb that, right? I can just stay down here on the ground and take photos, right? I ask Handsom Victor "Is there really any benefit to climbing up there? It doesn't look like the views would be that amazing or anything." Victor chuckles and says, "The benefit is that you can say you climbed to the top of the ruins where the largest piece of natural jade stone was ever found." I look at him with bugged out eyes and say, "I think when we get there I'll just stay on the ground and take photos and meet you guys on the other side."

 

So, we trekked onwards through this little path...

 

 

And we come out on the other side...

 

 

I stop at the base of the ruins and lay down on the ground to shoot up...

 

 

The group starts heading towards the stairs to make the journey up to the top. I tell Latanya to go on without me. But... as she starts to walk away, I say what the heck and decide to go too. If you've read all of my review up to this point, you know that my ankles and feet have become one and I've been limping all week as a result. So the thought of making it to the top of this thing is really quite a daunting mental image. However, the thought of leaving and saying "I should have tried" makes me feel like I would not be proud of myself.

 

So, upwards I go. The first platform on the way up provides a nice view so I take a photo and a moment to catch my breath.

 

 

I turn around and look at the next set of stairs

 

 

I know I can make it now as I am half way there. So up I go...

 

 

Yay! Latanya and I at the top!!

 

We

 

Made

 

It!!

[italianfemmy]

I decide it will be fun to lay on my stomach at the edge and hang off of it to take a photo looking straight down.

 

 

 

Then we make our way back down another set of stairs on the back of this thing. The steps going down were very steep and I had to hold on tight to the rails. Lots of people looked like they were having trouble going down. It sure put a lot of pressure on the knee joints.

 

All in all, the climb was worth it because I felt proud of myself. The views were "ok" in my opinion.

 

On our way walking out, I noticed this tree that I would call "The Naked Tree" and I said to Latanya, "This will make a great black and white photo."

 

 

Latanya saw this plant and decided to take a photo of it..

 

 

We stopped on our way out and got some Sugar Cane. It was absolutely declicious. We never were able to finish the whole bag of it before we got off of the ship at the end of the week so we had to throw it away which made me super sad :-(

 

Before I forget, Handsom Victor showed us some money which I had to take a couple photos of!

 

 

 

Time to leave the ruins... we head back to the van...

 

.

[smurfm69]

Glad to see you're back and posting more great pictures. Great work!

[TriciaEMTB]

Yay! You're review is back!

 

I kind of know the feeling of the "crap... I have to climb stairs.." when I got to Nassau and got hopelessly lost, got back on track, trecked all the way to the queen's staircase and saw it..

 

I have lower back problems and my back was having spasms and I was like "eff that..." but then I really wanted to climb it to be able to say I did it.

 

And I did, and the picture was great!

 

I am still so in love with your review! The pictures are amaaazing and your writing is great.

[gapearl]

Welcome back!

 

 

In order to get through the first main road, Victor had to get out of the van and get tickets for us that had our destination on them. The police here were very intense and serious and I would have hated to wind up locked up in a Belize jail cell. I don't get scared very easily but the thought of being stuck here actually made me slightly nervous!

 

 

Two friends of mine DID get locked up in jail in Belize on their last cruise. It was a result of 2 other guys on their tour having some "illegal substances." They got put in a cell, had to see a judge and everything. They got out about an hour after the ship left. Carnival had left their passports at the port and they caught up with the ship the next day in Cozumel, but went through hell to get there (bribing taxi drivers, border crossings, etc). It was the craziest vacation story I've ever heard. They insisted we all have a drink in our hands before they began to tell it, lol. They said they will NEVER get off the ship again in Belize, IF they ever go back! :eek:

[shaharis1701]

LOving your review!!! Your pics are the best!!!! :)

[italianfemmy]

Welcome back!

 

 

 

Two friends of mine DID get locked up in jail in Belize on their last cruise. It was a result of 2 other guys on their tour having some "illegal substances." They got put in a cell, had to see a judge and everything. They got out about an hour after the ship left. Carnival had left their passports at the port and they caught up with the ship the next day in Cozumel, but went through hell to get there (bribing taxi drivers, border crossings, etc). It was the craziest vacation story I've ever heard. They insisted we all have a drink in our hands before they began to tell it, lol. They said they will NEVER get off the ship again in Belize, IF they ever go back! :eek:

 

 

Yeah see, that's nothing to play around with! lol. Thanks for sharing your story!

[italianfemmy]

Within a couple of minutes of heading back down the long dirt road and departing the Altan Ha Mayan ruins, I spotted a shack on the side of the road. For me, this shack had loads of character and looked as though it were barely holding itself together. I was so drawn to it and wanted to photograph it. So, I asked Handsom Victor to please pull over for just a moment so I could take a photograph out of the car window.

 

I rolled down the car window and took these two photos from the car.

 

 

 

Pretty nifty little place, right?

 

Well... as we pulled away, Handsom Victor decided to tell us the story behind this character filled shack..... and it made me really glad that we'd stopped to take a photo of it.

 

A man, Gilbert Usher resides in this tiny shack. He goes by "Gilly the Snake Man" though. You're probably already figuring out that he has a love for snakes. His love for them, however, has proven to be a dangerous affair.

 

Victor went on to tell us about how Gilly catches these snakes out in the wild and brings them into his home and how he shows them affection by stuffing their heads in his mouth. Gilly has an anteater, a boa constrictor and several other snakes.

 

Then Victor went on to tell us about how Gilly had ended his relationship with a woman because he wouldn't give up the snakes. They were the true love of his life, not her. Bizarre, right? Well bizarre would be the word that landed Gilly and his shack (pictured above) on "Bizarre World" with Andrew Zimmerman, and CNN, and numerous other interviews and newspapers.

 

Gilly would become most famous for finding a "Fer De Lance, also known as a "Tommy Golf", one of the deadliest and most venomous viper snakes in the world.

 

Gilly reportedly selected the Fer De Lance for the purpose of an interview. Gilly decided to keep it after the interview though and he would go on to keep it as a pet and to show it off to tourists that would stop at his shack.

 

In June of 2008 while showing the Fer De Lance to a group of tourists in front of his humble abode, he was explaining to them how deadly this particular viper was. And in the midst of explaining it, the viper bit him on the nose and nearly killed him.

 

While it isn't outlined in the article, I believe it to have been a miracle that this family was there so they could get help (it doesn't say that they went for help but one must assume that they did.) If Gilly had been home alone playing with the viper and this had happened, nobody would have found him in time.

 

There is a story with more detail (and a photo of him covered in blood) so don't click on it unless you want to see it... http://www.amandala.com.bz/index.php?id=7237

 

And another story from an interview done with him that shows him stuffing a snakes head in his mouth and also shows the same shack.

 

http://blog.joshuaberman.net/09-04/my-final-day-in-belize.html

 

Needless to say, when I got home and googled this, I was elated to find out that this wasn't a myth.. it was a real story and this home that I photographed has history behind it. I just wish I'd had more time to have Gilly come outside and photograph him as well.

 

Hope you enjoyed the story!

[italianfemmy]

LOving your review!!! Your pics are the best!!!! :)

 

Thank you very much! Sorry I am so slow about finishing this review up. I am super busy with work!

[SuntanaGirl]

Wow, what a story. Your picture gives that place so much more life, way more than the professional photo in the article. That should show you something about how your pictures really touch people and others are sometimes just photographs.

 

Well done! I can't wait to read more. And just think, you would have missed out on this wild adventure otherwise as the next time (if ever) you get back to Belize he might not be around to tell his story.

[italianfemmy]

Wow, what a story. Your picture gives that place so much more life, way more than the professional photo in the article. That should show you something about how your pictures really touch people and others are sometimes just photographs.

 

Well done! I can't wait to read more. And just think, you would have missed out on this wild adventure otherwise as the next time (if ever) you get back to Belize he might not be around to tell his story.

 

The photo of the shack in that article was a behind the scenes photo and since it's not watermarked with a logo, I am assuming a non professional took it. It would have been nice if they'd edited it to make it have some more punch though. I agree mine is way better but I don't think a professional took that other image.

 

And I agree.. the story is pretty incredible. I love discovering things like this while I am on vacation!

[Hogladyrider]

WOW that story is amazing and worth the price of the cruise itself to find a local true factual story like that is just amazing!

 

I love the fact that you took the time to look up and share a link as well.

 

Many people do not realize that actual humans like you and me live in those homes in Belize and other countries that are not as fortunate as us here in the US - and they don't complain, they are grateful.

 

Take all the time you need to work on this review, it is great having something to look forward to, and well worth the wait.

 

Love your talents!

Susan

[otowncruisr]

You could say that being taken through the windshield might even ADD to it.

 

I agree with you...I'm not sure who's more dirty, the windshield or the guy on the right. The windshield kind of adds the the grittyness while allowing the guys personality to cut right through it.

[smurfm69]

Cool story, and amazing picture of that shack.