Our third stop was Honduras, but not the mainland. We docked at Roatán Island and hopped on a bus to a resort, where we boarded a barge for the short trip to another island called Big French Key for some snorkeling and kayaking. Continue reading
Nature
Las Escobas Springs Reserve (Guatemala)
Our third stop, and my second new country on this trip, was Santo Tomas, Guatemala. Here, my husband and I went on different excursions. I chose a visit to Las Escobas Springs Reserve, which is part of the Cerro San Gil Protected Area, one of the last remaining tracts of very humid tropical forests within Central America. The Nature Conservancy and its partner, Fundación para el Desarrollo y la Conservación (FUNDAECO), are working to conserve this incredibly important rainforest.
Belize City
After Cozumel, we cruised overnight and arrived in Belize City the next morning. Here, we boarded a bus for a guided tour of the city. Unfortunately, we also witnessed a terrible accident: Continue reading
Cozumel (Mexico)
After boarding our cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Friday night, we had a day at sea before our first stop on Sunday. Cozumel is Mexico’s largest Caribbean island, located east of Playa del Carmen, and is famed for scuba diving. Cozumel is an entirely touristic destination; as our guide explained, the inhabitants produce “nothing but smiles and babies.”
Florida Everglades
Since we had a few days in Miami, we knew we had to visit the Everglades. We originally booked a motorboat tour but that got cancelled and so the operator rebooked us on a tour of the Ten Thousand Islands for bird and dolphin watching (cool!), as well shell collecting (yawn). This required an early start (6am) and long drive (2 hours) but once the sun started to rise it was lovely.
The Angel’s Flight
My husband and I rented a car for 2+ weeks in order to visit a few parts of Italy that we don’t know well. We’d been to Puglia before, but only briefly: a post-ferry-from-Dubrovnik night in Bari and a few days in Monopoli. This time we spent three days in Polignano a Mare and another three in Lecce, and we also drove around exploring other villages and interesting places. Continue reading