One of the good things about this seven day cruise was we stopped four days out of the seven.  This was a good thing for me because  I was able to get off the boat instead of dealing with too many days at sea.  I don't like being at sea for long periods of time.  I was also able to visit a café or restaurant at the ports and use the internet.  I typically spend a fair amount on using the ship's internet which can be a lot or a little slow.  I have been on a few cruises where the internet was very costly and did not work very well.  This was especially true of my trip to Antarctica but that is to be expected as we are very far from land at some points for a very long periods of time.             

Before I went on my excursion to the Bacab Eco Jungle Park, I visited a restaurant called "The Wet Lizard".  I talked to the server about how fast the area is growing.  She said they expect that soon cruise ships will be able to pull right up to the coast.  When that happens people visiting via a cruise ship will not have to take a small boat from the ship, but will be able to just walk down a pier. 

I feel I made a good choice in visiting the Bacab Eco Jungle Park.  This excursion cost $55 USD andfor children 13 and under the price is only $35USD. The price if I had gone kayaking would have gone up to $109 for an adult and $65 dollars for a child 13 or younger.  If one chose to go horseback riding the price would be $119 USD for an adult and $89 for a child 13 or under.  The price included a lunch consisting of rice, beans, potato salad, and chicken and fruit punch.  The lunch was really good but I didn't eat the chicken because I am a vegetarian.  There was canoeing and horseback riding available at the park which I chose not to do.     

 If I were to return I would choose to do the kayaking even though I saw a baby crocodile in the water.  I love all animals but horses have always scared me a little bit - only because of their size so I have never gone horseback riding.  The park was a very nice, peaceful and pretty place to spend a few hours. 

Our tour guide was very informative on the 20 minute drive from the airport to the park about the culture and the people of Belize.  In Belize the people believe that it takes a village to raise a child so if a parent's friend or neighbor sees their child misbehave they are allowed to step in and say or do something.  So a child who is misbehaving may get in trouble with a neighbor and then again with their parent later when the neighbor reports back to the child's parent. 

Children in Belize are required to attend school until they are 14 years old.  Parents who do not make their children go to school face six months in prison.  The students wear uniforms and the girls skirts must come 3 inches below their knees.  I enjoyed getting to see what Belize  was like beyond port.  I saw some of the locals' houses, businesses and schools as well,  It was fun for me, as a former teacher, to see the children walking home from school and they're cute uniforms.

The kids seemed to enjoy the very large pool, waterfalls and slide;

the kids seemed to love sitting in the cave behind the waterfall!

the kayakers:

I love all animals but have always been a little fearful of horses because they are so large.  I thought this mother and baby were absolutely adorable though.  They let me walk up quite close to them to take a photo.

The Bacab Eco Park had a nature walk.  A lot of natural medicines are grown in this area.
There were hear mix for people to relax and I will admit that I spent sometime here :)

This sign is one of the first things you see when you visit Belize via cruise ship:
This little boy is standing in front of a local restaurant
I thought the kids looked so polished and neat in their school uniforms
The locals houses we're all very colorful and many had a lot is beautiful flowers surrounding them


I will leave you with the sunset that I sigh as we were cruising away from Belize on our way to Costa Maya, Mexico

Overall, I found the Bacab Eco Park to be a wonderful destination for all people including families, older, younger as there were activities for all to enjoy.  Thank you so much for visiting my little piece of the internet please know that I treasure your comments and will happily answer any questions.  I hope you all are having a wonderful week. 

~Michelle