Valor 1/8-1/15/06 Quick Review Pg 2

[beasfriend]

Ports - Grand Cayman. We've been before, so we just got off the ship around 11am, did some shopping (good prices on watches) and had a few drinks at Breezes a bar overlooking the port. Roatan - we did the Tabyana Beach day thru Carnival. The beach was lovely - but there wasn't much else to do there. If you do not have an excursion planned, don't even bother to get off the ship...there is nothing right at the port. No shops, restaurants, or points of interest. Belize - we went cave tubing thru Carnival and loved it. You travel by air conditioned motor coaches for about an hour to the cave tubing area - you have an opportunity to rent water shoes and change your clothes and then on to the staging area. After about a 30 min hike through the rain forest (not too strenuous) you get to the point on the river where you enter. It takes about 30 min to go through the caves and then about another 30 minutes on the river. At times there are small rapids and the current is quite strong, but they have people posted at all the danger areas to keep you safe.

our bus had about 30 people and two guides, who tlked about Belize for the whole ride out and took very good care of us on the trail and in the water. After the tubing we changed into dry clothes and had an OK lunch. We didn't get back to the pier until 3:45 and the last tender was at 4:30, so even though there are shops and restaurants right aroung the pier area there wasn't time to do much of anything. Costa Maya - we loved this port. Rented a golf cart and drove to Mayahaul, stopping where we wanted along the way. Mayahaul is a little village with nothing but Mexican cafes and street vendors lining a very nice beach. The vendors were acceptably aggressive and eager to negotiate, the beer cheap and the food fresh.