2005 Caribbean

Our genealogy program, The Master Genealogist, had a cruise to the Caribbean in November, 2005. About 3 weeks before the cruise there was an opening so we decided to go. Here we are in Tampa just before boarding on Nov 6, 2005. As the ship left Tampa Bay I found a place to sit and do Sudoku. The pool area of the Carnival Miracle as we get under sail in Tampa. The coast of Florida as we left Tampa. Florida is really FLAT! Looking west into the sun from the deck of the Carnival Miracle. The pirate snagged us when we went out of the dining room the first night, Nov 6, 2005 This was our first formal night dinner. Here are the Aqua Boats we rode to get to the snorkel sites in Grand Cayman Islands. Rich drove the boat while I hung on for dear life to the ropes you see on the edges of the boat. We had 2 guides for the trip, thank goodness. The one in the background had to give us his boat after our motor quite twice. There were some fish on the reef, but most were too far away for the underwater camera to capture. Next we went to a shipwreck in the middle of the harbor. You can see more of the ship here. We had a good time snorkelling! Just a wave saying I'm OK. In the afternoon we took a boat out to a sandbar to feed the sting rays. Here comes that thing with its eye staring at you, wondering if you are its dinner... The guide explained the anatomy of the sting ray to us. The guide has a bucket of squid pieces about the size of your thumb. Just put the squid in your hand, tuck your thumb in and lay it in the water. Whoosh, and it's gone! Another guide holds a ray close so we get a picture of it. Rich spent all his time holding onto me, as the water was just deep enough, the swells were high, and I went up and down like a bouy with each wave. A ray on the bottom. It's a female because it's about 3 feet across. The males are only about one foot across. Go, girls! There must have been over 100 rays swimming around waiting for food. One of them thought Rich's thumb was a piece of squid - oops! A lazy way to end a great tour. Do you see me in the big white hat and yellow cover-up? To get back to the ship we rode a tender to this portable dock on the side of the ship. Our table mates for dinner. I have on a blue pouch given to us by TMG to let them know we could attend the lectures. Getting ready for tubing in the cave, Nov 10, 2005 We rented water shoes for $3. The trail was very wet, slippery, and muddy. We had to carry our own inner tubes with a life vest tied to it. That is not me in the background! We had to cross this river where the current was much stronger. The guide took my tube so I could use both hands, thank goodness! The river goes into this cave. And we're getting ready to go into it also. Did you notice the flashlights around our necks in the previous pictures? Ready, set, go! The guide is explaining the proper way to join the tubes together - the guy's feet under the woman's armpits. The photographer from the tour took our picture as we floated along. After we left the cave we floated lazily down the river. What a life! When we got done we returned our tubes; they must have had hundreds of them. We got a Belizian lunch of chicken, rice and beans, potato salad, fried plantains and a sweet drink. The Belizian beer was extra. In Costa Maya we visited the Mayan ruins called Chacchoben. The tour, of course, had their photographer take our picture. I took Rich's picture on the side of the same ruin. Our tour guide showed us many artifacts in the bus before we got to Chocchoben and had a large backpack of more artifacts. This is a cloth map of Chocchoben. It's to the left of the boat on the right side of the map. Rich took a picture of me climbing one of the ruins. He' s using the underwater disposable camera, which didn't take especially good pictures. Rich's feet are not on the ground - there are buried ruins below him! Since Costa Maya is flat, this "hill" is an unexcavated ruin. Here the archeologists have protected part of the ruin that still had plaster and red paint. This is part of a stone which the Mayan people wrote on. I was fascinated by the tree roots, which are very shallow and buttress out from the trees. This tree appears to have many small roots like a broom. Look at the long buttress on this tree! Our guide had us smell the leaf in the middle, most guessed cloves, but it was allspice. Rich in his favorite position. Notice the tree roots. This is the strangler fig strangling the life out of a palm tree. One last look at the Mayan ruin. That night was the last formal night. Our table had a lot of fun together. Standing: Jack Ricketts, Rich and Priscilla Parr; Seated Pat Ricketts, Bary Suber and Nancianne Suber, Nancy O'Conner. This is the room where we had all our lectures. The floor slanted so people who got there late were sitting on uncomfortable chairs. The staff of Wholly Genes, the makers of TMG. Bob Velke, president is on the left. Dorothy Turner, who has helped me in the past, on the far right. Our room, no window, next to the bridge, rocked and rolled, jerked and swerved the entire trip. I was seasick the whole time, thank goodness for Dramimine and Bonine. After we left the ship we checked our bags at the airport and rented a car to visit De Soto National Memorial in Bradenton, Florida. De Soto landed in Florida May 30, 1539, my birthday just a few years before I was born. We took a walk along the shore. I bet this conquistador was a little warm in his armor. And then, the arrows from the Indians went right through the iron mesh. How do I look as an Indian slave carrying food for De Soto and his party?