Mars: Belize

December 27, 2025December 27, 2025 ~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

This excursion had many different things going on. First off, the ship could not dock in this port because of the fragile coral reef. The Mars had to anchor over 30 minutes away from port. This meant we had to get into little boats and get taken to shore. Then, we were gathered by group # to get on a bus. Our tour guide, Shanna, was quite the bubbly fountain of information. We know more things about Belize than we ever wanted to know. I mean political, economic, you name it. A few things struck me as surprising…

They are the only Caribbean country where English is the primary language.

They have security checkpoints that we had to clear before we could proceed. Shanna told us that they are constantly looking for contraband. Things like Ham, Turkey, Alcohol, Cigarettes, anything from somewhere else. They tax all imports 12.5%. If you bring anything in that doesn’t go through customs, it’s contraband. She explained that because Belize did not produce anything, everything had to be imported. Tourism is the country’s number one industry, supported by cruise lines, snorkeling, and deep-sea diving companies.

The purpose of our 1 1/2 hour bus ride was to see the Altun Ha, Mayan Temples. These were not ruins, but partially excavated pyramid-like buildings.

These temples are only 2 of the many temples that were built in a circle surrounding a large flat area. I would have liked to take a photo of all the temples, but alas, there was no vantage point. There may have been one after climbing one thousand stairs, but we had to get back on the bus. We did have 10 minutes of shopping time on the way to the bus. I was disappointed that the wares were mostly trinkets and not clothes or hats.

Stay tuned for our last port, Cozumel, Mexico.

Mars: Day Four

November 30, 2025 ~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

I was so excited to see Jamaica! We did not get to see much of it. Our excursion to the green grotto was over 30 minutes away, we were on a tour bus. The scenery was from the highway and most of it were buildings and houses trashed by the hurricane. It was very sad. Our tour guide was very chatty, like most of them, but he taught us some Jamaican words. “Yea Man” (Yes) and “icky, icky” (No).

The green grotto was underground and so was our tour. I was so thankful that I changed my mind about my skirt and wore my jean shorts and a cool blouse. Because the steps that went deep into the cave were mismatched with each other. The passageway was not made for tourists, but for copper miners. The deeper we went down the more trouble I had with the stairs.

And, the heat. Caves were supposed to be cool, even cold. Right? Not this one. All of us were drenched with sweat, huffing and puffing. I worried about Bruce’s heart and he worried I would fall. Apparently, so did one of the tour staff because he kept asking me if I was okay and he let me take his arm when there were no handrails. The grotto was very awesome, but not worth all those horrifying stairs in the dark.

I suspected we would have to climb back up the same stairs and I was right. Climbing stairs is easier than coming down them – usually. But now we are tired, hot, and thirsty. It was torcher. I put a note in the suggestion box that the tour be rated ‘intermediate’ and NOT ‘Easy’. Managed to take a few pix along the way…

The moment our tour group returned to Mars, the ship departed. They had waited for us, since we were like 15 minutes late.

Stay tuned…

Mars: Day Two

November 29, 2025January 5, 2026 ~ JodiLea ~ Leave a comment

Fun time sunning on our veranda, painting my toenails (they are going public today with my sandals. Did not stay in the sun long, heat and humidity in small batches is the best. After 15 minutes, my feet were well on their way to become tan.

A whole day at sea! I have been dreaming of this moment for months. Now that it was here, I could not decide what I wanted to do. Sun by the pool? Read in the library? Knit?

We met cool people at every meal. We explored the ship and took photos. So the morning I spent goofing off and not writing or reading. I took some notes, nothing really exciting. Until…

My phone got an alert that my handbag had been left in Cuba, and I was nowhere to be found. We were sailing close to Cuba at the time. I finally was able to figure out that my “air tag” sent out an alert because it no longer knew where I was. I had changed purses and did not have the tag with me anymore. I forgot I even had one, it was so buried in the lining of my purse. Obviously, it was tracking me. Not only that, but telling on me to my phone. A conspiracy going on between my handbags and myself. None of us were on Cuban soil, but it was the only landmass the tag could register. The ship is approaching Jamaica now. I’m guessing that if I leave it in the stateroom, I will get another alert. I’m curious now.

The sunset over Cuba

For dinner night two, we had reservations at “The Chef’s Table”. A very high-end restaurant. I wanted to share this dinner with my readers, so I took photos of each course and attempted to describe what the heck it was…

A pallet preparer dish, “Amuse Bouche”, was our beginning dish. It was a Goan Potato Chop: semolina-crusted potato, surrounding vegetable cheese cake over a sambal spinach base. It tasted strange, but sweet. The neatest thing about it was how cute it was. It looked like a mini tangerine.

First Course: Chili Soft Shell Crab
A crispy crab in a tomato-chili gravy. It was delightful. The dumpling thing on the left of the plate was also good. I have no idea what it is.

This palette refresher is called Red Lotus. It is lychee & guava, cranberry juice & lychee liquor, all blended up and then soft frozen. I thought it was the best part of the meal!

Main Course: Thai Spiced Rack of Lamb.
The gals had the alternate dish – roasted salmon. Forgot to take a photo – sorry!

Dessert was Yuzu Cheesecake. This cheesecake was enhanced by Japanese flavors of green tea, plum, and sake, and exotic citrus yuzu (a lemon alternative)

As small as the portions were, we were surprised at how full we all felt. We went back to our cabins and got p.j.’s on. I would love to report that we danced the night away at a rock ‘n roll club. Even I did not have the energy to dance, which is unheard of!

TTFN