Cruising

 We got flowers.        Shipwrecks. Us dressed up for dinner. Us not dressed up on the snorkel boat. And towel animals.  Every night, the turn-down service included the expected chocolates, but also towels folded into animal shapes. We got an elephant. An Eskimo (or maybe an Inuit). This might be a dog. And a frog. A different animal every night.  Where else but a cruise could you get that? 

Cruising birds

 We didn’t bird much.  Our cruise wasn’t about that.  Couldn’t help spotting a few though. American Redstart. Myrtle Yellow-rump. Northern Waterthrush. Palm Warbler. Magnificent Frigatebirds galore.  Yellow-throated warbler. Yellow Warblers here have a rufous cap. Life bird, a Bananaquit! And a Tropical Mockingbird. We found a new hummingbird for us, the White-eared Hummer. We think this one is a Canavet’s Emerald. It was fun to add a few Central American birds to our life-list.  

Honduras/Belize/Cozumel

 I made a Google Map of the trip. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=201563872774147443355.0004d4748d540c1ff45ab&msa=0&ll=24.726875,-92.8125&spn=23.926695,53.569336 The snorkeling from shore in Honduras was good, and the beach was nice. The best snorkeling was offshore in Belize though. Nice reef. Plenty of coral.   Lots of fish.  Only 15 feet deep, so very comfortable underwater.  Easy to get eye-to-eye with everything. First time I’ve snorkeled since my cardiac issues a few years ago.  I’m happy to report that I still can. 

Carnival Magic

 The first pictures I sent out didn’t have many people in them.  We weren’t on a ghost ship.  It was full.  4,000 passengers.  Some times and places were crowded.  I guess Judy and I just gravitated to places and times that weren’t. There was a basketball court. Miniature golf. A high rope course. A waterpark. And an outdoor bigscreen for movie night.  We spent a fair amount of time on the Serenity deck. Some time at the Red Frog Pub playing dominoes.   There were spiral staircases. Glass elevators in a 12 story atrium. Restaurants, cafes, clubs, and a casino.    We thought it was a big deal a while back when we found a million dollar motorhome that was fitted to float and go out on lakes.  The cruise companies build entire cities that float!