REVIEW: Carnival Liberty - Western Caribbean - 4/5/14 thru 4/12/14

[pghsteelerfan]

Since that was all I was going to get of sunrise, I went back down to Lido 9 and used a coffee mug to fill the tumbler. I found that a mug and a half will fill the tumbler, leaving enough room for cream and getting the lid back on. I then continued down to our cabin and had my coffee on the balcony while DH was getting ready. By this time it was almost after 8:00AM and I took a couple of pictures from the balcony.

Pictures from the balcony...we're still moving:

When DH was ready and my coffee was finished, we went up to Lido Deck 9 for breakfast. By this time it about 8:30AM and we just decided to get in line at the regular buffet without even checking the Blue Iguana since we would be heading down to the Venetian Palace to meet for our excursion at 9:15AM (we were to be there by 9:30AM). We got the typical scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes for breakfast. For the potatoes, it’s usually the same old roasted potatoes but they’ll occasionally mix it up with small, fried hash brown patties. I sure wish they’d change the potatoes around and give us more of a variety. But today I decided to change it up a little. I got two pieces of toast and some American cheese and made a nice, big bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. After we got our breakfast, we went and found a table and DH got up to get orange juice for both of us. I decided not to have any more coffee since we would be doing a longer excursion with limited breaks.

When we finished breakfast, we went back to the cabin and got what we would need for the day. Today we were doing the “Altun Ha Mayan Site & River Wallace” that we booked through Carnival. We booked this excursion a few days after we booked our cruise because we really wanted to do it and wanted to get it reserved before it was filled. We made sure we had sunscreen on and our cameras. I decided to take “Old Reliable” and “Rebel” and DH had his camera and the video camera. To make hauling this stuff around easier, we in our beach bags to take with us, along with some cash, passports (just in case) and of course, our Sail & Sign cards, which I kept in my wallet which I’d keep in my beach bag once off the ship. Our beach bags aren’t that big, which prevents us from hauling every single thing we think we might need. I also remembered our excursion tickets, which were delivered to our cabin two nights before.

The last time in Belize we did the “Beach Break” and never got a chance to get to the Belize mainland since a tender took us to and from the island the beach break was at. We weren’t able to get any souvenirs on this trip since DH told me not to buy at the souvenir shop at the beach since he saw they were pricey. We thought we’d have time to get a tender into Belize when we returned from the beach break and we should have had plenty of time to do so, but on larger excursions, you plans can be at the mercy of others. Without going into details, we were delayed almost an hour by a few other passengers. By the time we got back to the ship, there was a tender getting ready to leave to go to Belize but it was heading to pick up the last group and there would be no time for any shopping. We both wanted more than a beach break this time. Some of DH’s family members did the “Altun Ha Mayan Site & River Wallace” that trip and highly recommended it. I also remembered studying the Mayans in 6th grade, along with the Aztecs and Incas. I was not a student in school and school work didn’t interest me. I did the homework I had to (well, most of it anyway unless I had a teacher that let it slide) and was also fortunate enough to test well (having a decent memory helped with that), but instead of B’s and C’s, I was capable of doing better. But for some reason, I enjoyed learning about the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas and remembered hearing about the huge pyramid like temples the Mayans built. I forget now if the Aztecs and Incas built similar temples. A boy in my class traveled with his family to many different places, one being Mexico. When we were learning about Mexico, the people and their history (Mayans and Aztecs), my classmate’s mom came to do a presentation to our class about Mexico and had pictures of Mayan ruins. I thought they were really cool but at the time, I never thought I’d have a chance to see any myself. Well, this is my chance so we booked this tour. I also like water and knew I’d enjoy the River Wallace part of the tour.

At 9:15AM, we gathered our stuff and went down to the Lobby Deck 3 and made our way to the front of the ship to the Venetian Palace. There was a long line snaking around through the hallways. As we got closer to the entrance, we noticed they were asking people to show their excursion tickets and those without excursions book wanting to take a tender were told to go to the Victoria Lounge to get tender stickers there and wait to be called. When we got to the front of the line, they had tables set up with different tender stickers that were colored and numbered and given out according to which excursion. I think we had “brown #12”. We then went in and took a seat to wait for our stickers to be called. We waited about a half an hour before being called, so I got a few pictures of the Venetian Palace as we waited. Once our stickers were called, we left with our group to get on the tender.

In the Venetian Palace waiting for our tender:

 

Light in the Venetian Palace:

Our tender had two levels of seats, which were below and sheltered and seats, uncovered, above. Since I wanted to get pictures of Carnival Liberty from the tender, we took seats on the top level. It was cloudy but not raining and it appeared very hazy and I could still smell the smoke. Others commented on the smoke smell too. Once the tender filled up, we were off and I did manage to get several pictures of Liberty. I actually enjoyed the tender ride over and it only took about 20 minutes. I got several pictures of Belize City as we were approaching and then more at the marina once we got off.

Carnival Liberty:

[pghsteelerfan]

More Carnival Liberty pictures from the tender:

 

 

 

 

 

Getting close to Belize City:

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More pictures approaching Belize City:

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

Now in Belize City:

 

 

When we got off, there were tour operators with signs so we knew where to go and we were grouped, by tours, on the tender. Once our group for the Altun Ha Mayan Site and River Wallace tour was all together, we were divided into two groups and going in two separate boats. We would be doing the river tour first, a 45 minute stop for break/food/vendor shopping, then board a bus from there for the 45 minute ride to Altun Ha Mayan site with about an hour there, and then 45 minute bus ride back to Belize City. There was another tour that was doing the reverse (Altun Ha Mayan site first and the River Wallace tour afterward). There was a guide for each boat and our guide for the day would be Merlene (I don’t know if the spelling is correct or not) and she asked us to follow her. Before we got on the boat, she let us know the river tour would be two hours long and told us to go ahead and take a restroom break before we left because there would be no restrooms until we took the break after the river tour. She showed us where the restroom were, which were in a large souvenir shop and were toward the back. We all went in, some browsing the merchandise while the rest of us used the restrooms. After we were done, I went to the counter of the store and asked the cashiers if they’d like to trade some Belize money for USA money. The exchange rate is $1.00 USD to $2.00 Belize dollars and I had two $1.00 bills, so one of the guys had a Belize $2.00 bill that he was happy to trade for my two $1.00 bills. I thanked them and told them we’d be back after our tour since they had some refrigerator magnets that I liked. They also had a huge selection of shot glasses, other souvenirs and T-shirts. Several others on our tour were doing a little shopping but we’d rather wait so we wouldn’t have to carry it around all day.

 

Once everyone was finished with bathroom breaks, shopping, or both, we followed Merlene to the boat we’d be taking. There were two rows of seats on the boat and an only adults could have the seat on the sides closest to the water and that was for safety. There were several kids on the tour and they were all seated between adults. We noticed our tablemates (the family) for dinner were in the seats right across from ours. Once we were all in, we had to put the life vests on that were provided and one we all had them on and after a few other brief instructions, the driver pulled the boat away from the dock and we slowly went through the marina until we reached open water. Once we were in open water and out of the “No wake” zone, our driver put the boat in full speed and we were off, slowing down at a few spots for Merlene to point out buildings and other points of interests and told us about them. One was the Central Bank Building and the other was the Museum of Belize, which was formerly a prison. Merlene also pointed out the huge hotel/casino, which she described as the place where people went to make “contributions”. She also pointed out some very large houses then some houses in a lower income area and told us a little about the way of life in Belize. Merlene had a great sense of humor, which made our tour even more fun. Once we passed the points of interest in Belize City visible from the water, it was full speed again until we reached the mouth of the river. As we entered the mouth of the river, we slowed down again and Merlene told us that this is where we’d most likely see manatees. Once we reached the spot in the mouth of the river right before actually entering the river, Merlene asked out driver to stop the boat. She told us how to spot Manatees and we actually saw a few but they can’t really be seen in the pictures since they just stick their noses out of the water for air. The water isn’t clear, so you can’t see the rest of their bodies under the water. She also told us what kinds of wildlife we could expect to see but that wildlife is nature and that nature doesn’t always cooperate, meaning we may not see all the different types of wildlife.

 

At the mouth of the river, where we stopped to see if we could spot any manatees. They did not show up in the pictures:

 

 

Edited May 17, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

After we stopped to see manatees, we headed under a bridge and were told that we’d be going over that bridge on the bus ride from the ruins and once we reached the bridge, we would be back in Belize City within a short time and that’s when the tour would end. The other half of the tour was on the boat behind us, but they didn’t follow too closely. No for the river tour. I’m not going to get into too much detail here since that could get pretty boring. We were able to remove our life vests at this time and Merlene told us that we could either put them in the spot in front of our seats or we could use them as “seat cushions”. I used mine as a seat cushion since the seats were hard. We stopped in several areas where Merlene pointed out different plants and trees and told us what they were. Some that I remember are mangrove, cashew tree, bamboo, mahogany tree, and several flowering trees and a variety of palm trees. She and our driver have an excellent eye for spotting wildlife. We did see several varieties of birds: egrets, cormorants, pelicans, herons, a stork, hanging (suspended) nests built by a type of oriole, and others I can’t seem to remember. We also saw a few howler monkeys, iguanas, a baby crocodile, and several types of fish, tiny bats, and termites’ nests. The scenery was just beautiful, even though it was cloudy. There were several different types of trees blooming that added a lot of color to the dense jungle along the river. Merlene was very knowledgeable about everything we saw that she pointed out. We also passed several houses along the way and Merlene pointed out that the Mayan houses were the ones with the thatched roofs and the problem with those were the thatched roofs attracted snakes. Some of those homes really had beautiful yards and one even had a tire swing. There were many opportunities for photos and I was using both cameras and DH was getting pictures and video.

From here, I'll just let the pictures do the talking for the duration of our river tour. I will try to label the pictures of things we spotted and that I remembered the names of.

The bridge:

[pghsteelerfan]

Mangroves:

 

 

 

In the water, in the center of the picture, is a bird with a fish in it's beak:

 

 

This is a termites nest:

[pghsteelerfan]

I'm going to back up here just a bit since some of my pictures loaded out of order. Sorry 'bout that. :o

 

From the tour boat, just after we made our way out the marina dock:

 

There's Liberty...way, way out there:

 

 

We are out of the "no wake zone" an in open water...off we go!

 

At the mouth of the river again:

Edited May 17, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

These birds are a cormorant (closest) and a pelican:

 

These is tree branches and other debris that make its way from the river to the ocean:

 

A floating log party!!! The dark, larger birds are cormorants and the smaller, white ones are gulls and terns:

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

OK, back to where I was before I got sidetracked.

Mangroves:

 

The termites' nest:

 

 

 

At the bridge:

Getting ready to go under the bridge:

[pghsteelerfan]

Going under the bridge:

 

I forget the name of this tree, but it's some kind of fruit tree (mango???). If anyone knows, please feel free to fill me in - Thanks!:

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

This looks like a neat place to hang out:

 

A lot of trees were flowering, providing a beautiful contrast to the dark greens of the jungle:

 

 

 

This is someone's beautiful yard:

[pghsteelerfan]

A better view of the flowering tree in the yard. Merlene told us what this was, but the name is getting away from me:

 

He's yawning...I think we woke him from his nap. Sorry Mr. Iguana:

 

 

 

Another yard:

 

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This is the house with the tire swing:

 

 

 

These are tiny little bats (the dark spots on the tree stump):

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More pictures of the bats:

 

 

This is a stork (black and white bird in the tree):

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

The baby crocodile was on this log but when our boat was turned around to go back, the ripple from the boat's movement knocked him off. I wasn't able to get a him in this picture since he's too small to show up:

 

After being knocked off the log, baby croc got on a smaller branch. You can barely see him on that branch (the branch in the water on the right side of the picture):

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

This was my favorite part of the river for it's scenery. The water was very calm and still here so the reflections were really something to see:

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

 

 

The next three are my favorites:

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

 

 

 

 

There were suspended (hanging) nests in this palm tree. These are the nests of a type of oriole (the bird).

 

[pghsteelerfan]

More of the tree with the oriole's nest:

 

The bird (oriole) was in the tree and this was the best picture I could get of him (Merlene referred to the bird as a "him"):

 

 

 

 

[pghsteelerfan]

This is where the howler monkeys were spotted. There were four or five but it was hard to see. Even though it was kind of overcast, it was still bright. We were able to see the "dark spots" that we thought were the monkeys. After going through the pictures on the computer after we got home, those "dark spots" were, in fact, the monkeys.

 

This is zoomed - it is the monkeys. There were at least three on this branch, but there may have been a forth:

 

 

They were all grouped together:

 

 

Someone thought they saw another one in this section in the same area, but I don't see any...it is pretty though.

[pghsteelerfan]

 

This is a Mayan house, with a thatched roof. Merlene told us that those roofs attracted...snakes:

 

 

I'm going to stop here for now. I'll try to get the rest of our day in Belize done either later tonight or tomorrow.

Next up: The 45 minute break at the Black Orchid Resort and Altun Ha Mayan site.

[pghsteelerfan]

The river tour was just about two hours long and we stopped at a place called the “Black Orchid Resort”, with our boat unloading first followed by the other boat. There was a large building with a lot of tables for those wanting to eat inside, the buffet line for the food, a bar to get drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol), and restrooms. In front of that building were covered tables for anyone wanting to eat outside and there was a covered area that several vendors had set up at. When we were still on the boat, Merlene told us there would be vendors where we’d have a break and there would also be more vendors, with better selections, at the ruins. She also told us that they only took cash and no credit cards. Good thing we brought cash with us, not a lot, but we had some. DH and I both decided to pass on lunch since we were still full from breakfast and more thirsty than hungry. The lunch was $8.00, plus an additional charge for what you buy to drink. For lunch they served chicken, beans and rice and I think they also had burgers. Since we didn’t have any, I can’t comment on how it was. We each got a large bottle of water at the bar then went outside and looked around. The landscaping around the resort was beautiful and there was also a pool.

The Black Orchid Resort - the building where lunch, cash bar, seating and restrooms were:

Black Orchid Resort:

Black Orchid Resort - pool:

[pghsteelerfan]

The brush fire we saw from the bus ride from the Black Orchid Resort to the Altun Ha Mayan Ruin site:

 

We went over to look and see what the vendors had. They were not pushy at all. We didn’t really see anything that stood out so we walked around again, getting pictures this time. Merlene let us know right before we got off the boat that as soon as the bus arrived with the group that did the ruins first, which would be in about 45 minutes, that once they were all off we would need to board. While we waited, we sat at one of the outside tables and talked to another couple who were in our tour that also decided to skip on the meal. We all agreed that we’d rather spend that $8.00 for some shopping from the vendors at the ruins.

Almost exactly 45 minutes later, the bus with the other group pulled up and unloaded all of them and the rest of us got in line. One of our tablemates from dinner pointed out the thatched roof on the building where they’d eaten lunch (we were outside except for the restrooms and to buy the water), and commented about the snakes and good thing she didn’t notice before they went in. We didn’t see any snakes but there were plants growing out of the roof. Before we got on the bus, Merlene and the guide for the other half of the group introduced us to Therese (again, I hope I have her name spelled right), our guide for the land part of the tour and we all followed her onto the bus.

Merlene and the other guide were still with us but Therese took over from here. Once we were all boarded and seated, we headed out for the ruins. During the bus ride, Therese told us all about Belize, its history, the people, the languages (English is the official language), ways of life, etc. She was very knowledgeable about Belize and also very proud of her country. When learning about the languages and people, she mentioned German being spoken and that took most of us by surprise. She said that the German is the language of the Amish settlements in Belize. They say you learn something every day, sure did because I had no idea that there were Amish Settlements in Belize or anywhere else outside the United States. Therese pointed out a few farms belonging to the Amish. She also had a great sense of humor and spent some time trying to teach us her and Merlene’s local lingo and how common words are shortened, so when they are talking it almost sounds like they are arguing in a different language but it’s not arguing and the language is English, just very condensed. I mentioned smelling smoke a couple of times, we were about to get an explanation about that.

As we were going through the Belize savannah, which is kind of flat and was very dry, not desert like but more burned out grasses, and Therese told us that it was their dry season. They have two seasons, wet and dry. Dry season is beginning of December through the beginning of June and the rest is wet, with a lot of rain. During dry season, there are many spontaneous fires that can be started by a discarded bottles and we actually passed one and went through an area were there had obviously been a recent fire. That explains why the smell of smoke was in the air and also why it was very hazy. The roads were bumpy but I expected that. After going through the savannah areas, we went through jungle, then finally on to the Altun Ha Mayan Site.

Once we all got off the bus, the restrooms were pointed out and we were told to go ahead and take a 15 minute break. The restrooms there are pretty nice and in a large building that appeared to be pretty new. DH went and got us each another bottle of water before we walked over to the ruins since we were empty and it was hot and humid. Again, no complaints from me. Once everyone was back with the group, we followed all of the guides over to the ruins and they told us about them.

Sign at the entrance of the Altun Ha Mayan Ruin site:

Entering the Altun Ha Mayan Ruin site:

The first area of the Altun Ha Mayan Ruin site we stopped at:

 

Edited May 18, 2014 by pghsteelerfan

[pghsteelerfan]

More of the first area of ruins we saw:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2014 by pghsteelerfan