07 July 2011

I'm Off a Boat

We weren't always on the boat amidst its cheesy decor. Sometimes we were amongst the ridiculous cheese that is a cruise port. I'll take you through our excursions chronologically. First off was Grand Cayman. The indisputable thing to do there is go to Sting Ray City. Big D was psyched - he loves all sorts of animal encounters.Our guide and sting ray specialist gave us all the dos and don't to sting raying. It was crucial to pay attention cause those things can and will sting you big if you mess around. Don't mess around.The fam, lookin' go0d and getting ready to sting it up on the ocean floor. Caitlin was a little bit nervous because she had been stung by a small sting ray during her recent visit to Puerto Vallerta with the Mulcock family a few years ago.We got there and they weren't messing around...sting rays were abundant.The helpers would help you wrangle up a sting ray to hold and kiss and touch. It was awesome. At first we all freaked when they would swim up against your body - especially Caitlin. But then we started warming up to our friends and eventually made out with them.Mike - cheating on his fiance with a fish.
Pam, cheating on Big D with a fish. Dude staring at her awkwardly is my favorite part of this picture.Now, here is the sad story. This is one of the last pictures I have before my camera died. I thought, "my camera has been rained on...I'm sure it will be fine if a few drops of water get on it as I take pictures in this still water." I was wrong. It began malfunctioning and acting weird, so I turned it off and put it in the bag. Over the course of the trip it never came back to life so I ran it in to the shop and found out that SALT WATER WILL KILL YOUR CAMERA. It corrodes the metal, even if just a few drops get on it. It literally was just the wetness from my fingers and now it is beyond fixing. Dang. Were these pictures worth $800? You tell me.Our next stop was Roatan, Honduras. We didn't have anything planned for this port, but just assumed we would do a kayaking excursion with any random group off the boat. Wrong. We got sucked into the gorgeous beach that was right there. Yes, the beach was fabricated and reserved only for tourists...but man was the water and the sand nice. We couldn't resist. Naps were taken, books were read.In some ways I feel lame for not exploring more of Roatan. By far it was the most beautiful of our destinations. Mountainous, green and lush.But did I mention that the beach we went to was right there next to the boat- and free???
Don't worry about us - we had a blast swimming and playing. And taking family pics near the boat.2262 - the pimpinest cabin room ever dude...know that. There is just no question bout it.Our next destination was Belize City, Belize. We decided to split up because interests varied when it came to Belize. Big D, Mike, Stephen and Devin decided to take a bus a few hours towards Guatemala to see some ruins. Shell, Caitlin, Jeff and Pam decided to go cave tubing. We have no pictures of our tubing adventures, but the men got some rad pictures of their ruins trip.If Mike were alive in Mayan times, he would have been king. Or prince. Or the artist formerly known as Prince.But his brother Stephen might have tried to have him killed to take over the thrown.Good lookin' bunch.Apparently they had to cross a hand crank bridge to get to the ruins - sweet! Belize has many ghetto things about, but I guess that is part of its charm. I believe their driver also fell asleep at the wheel.Next station - Cozumel! Devin shopped for a few things for himself before we went over to start our dune buggy excursion.We got in our buggies and started a day full of Cozumel exploration. Mulcocks had been there before, but only at the port to do some snorkeling.Don't fret though, we did some snorkeling as well...just off the road where we were cruising.We drove and drove and drove and sang until Stephen wanted to punch his co-riders.
We made a family pit stop at a small village to check out their church. It brought us together.The mood may seem somber...but inside we were becoming the strongest family ever.Thuggin' and dune buggin'.As we came around the backside of the island, we were blown away at the beauty and serenity that was Cozumel. There was practically no one back there and the beaches were insane. We all sat quietly and took it in.We stopped for lunch (tacos, chicken, guacamole, beans, yes!) and swam in the ocean and took pictures with Stephen's new camera.Caitlin and I - we really had a great time even though we missed Max like crazy.Big D and Pam - I swear he's not sucking in...And the fam. An amazing day - probably my favorite simply because I got to play in the ocean waves for an hour and body surf and just soak up the sun. I'm pretty easy to please on vacation. We had a great time and I think we chose the perfect cruise itinerary for our family. Amazing.

3 comments:

Cunningham Clan said...

I did this exact same cruise with my mom and sister a few months ago. I wish I had gone to Sting Ray City. We did some lame dolphin encounter! I agree with you that Roatan was the most beautiful! I swam with some sharks there. Glad you had fun!

Pamsky said...

Sharks could have been fun! And the guy in the photo is looking a little bit creepy.

Bek said...

i usually don't like cruises, but i'm way jealous of this one. why wasn't i invited?