Caribbean cruise, Post 4: Belize

Thursday's port stop in the small country of Belize was another one where we didn't do much except wander around, and we don't have many photos to show for it!

There was a serious tourism zone in Belize - the port area was fenced off and had security personnel posted at the exit. They didn't stop us as we did our usual beeline out of there though... it seemed that the purpose of the tourist zone was more to keep locals out than to keep tourists in!

Outside the touristy complex of generic souvenir, jewellery and t-shirt outlets, there were locals manning makeshift stalls along the streets near the port, selling souvenirs, offering to braid hair, etc. One man followed us for a while, trying to sell us hip hop CDs and then circular Belizean number plates.

There was a school where all the children playing in the yard were wearing school uniforms (a sight that stands out to us now, as it's not the norm in Canada). There were horses and carts taking cruise ship passengers on tours of the area. Mostly, I remember it being very hot, and fairly run down in the residential streets.

We stopped for a cool drink and dessert at a restaurant, and then headed back to the port to line up for a tender to take us back to the ship. I don't feel like I learnt much about Belize!

To be continued...

Caribbean cruise, Post 2: Grand Cayman

On Day 3, Tuesday, our first port of call was Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands. As a British Overseas Territory, the Cayman Islands didn't count as a new country for Ben and I (see our rules for counting countries in this post)... but it DID count as a new country for Finley, since he hasn't been to the UK. This meant it was Finley's 10th country!

During our few hours on Grand Cayman (which we accessed via tender, as our ship was docked a little way from the shore), we strolled the island's back streets, getting out of the tourist zone. It was a hot day and we didn't find too much of interest in the area, except for a few chooks...

On the tender

View of the Conquest from the tender

Taking a break on shore

An island resident

Street art

Our two priorities were finding a barber shop and a pharmacy. We achieved both!

Ben got a very thorough haircut for $10

Soon it was time to take the tender back to the ship.

Tourist zone

Immigration office at the dock

A tender

View from the tender

On the tender

Back at the Conquest

I can't remember too much else about Grand Cayman, but we've always said that visiting somewhere for a few hours off a cruise ship isn't the way to really get to know a place. :) At least Ben got a haircut!

To be continued...

Central Europe trip, Post 7: Zagreb

From December 28th to 31st, we spent three nights in Zagreb, Croatia's capital city. This is the point at which my detailed trip notes, typed on my phone as we drove, come to an abrupt end because my phone became the primary navigation device due to Ben's phone having issues. Thus, as I'm blogging this 3.5 months and another holiday later, these Europe entries might be a little less wordy from now on! ;)

In Zagreb we stayed in the most excellently-located hotel of our trip: Hotel Dubrovnik on Ban Jelačić Square, the city's central square. From the window of our room on the fifth floor, we looked down at a pedestrian street filled with a bustling Christmas market, while trams and people dodged each other in the square around the corner. During our stay in Zagreb we didn't need to use our car at all, but could simply step out of our hotel and explore on foot. It was fantastic!

Unfortunately, however, Zagreb saw us encounter some issues with colds and tummy bugs that affected one or more of us for most of the rest of the trip. As a result, our explorations of Zagreb were not what they could have been, but here are some photos from what we did see...

Evening stroll on the first night...

Zagreb Cathedral (tallest building in Croatia!)

Crowds watching an open air nativity play

Statue in front of the cathedral

Ban Jelačić Square

A living statue busker in the square

Daytime sights in Ban Jelačić Square...

Festive tram conductors...

...and driver!

Flower sellers

Miscellaneous Zagrebian sights...

Fritule from the Christmas markets outside our hotel

Some rather large sandwiches being prepared at the market!

Pizza delivery motorbike

Zagreb Cathedral entrance up close

Another door in the same wall of the cathedral

Eroded stonework from the cathedral,
replaced in a 1990 post-Communist-era renovation

Cathedral statue

A highlight of our stay in Zagreb was our wander through the colourful Dolac farmers' market on December 30th... which happened to be our 7th wedding anniversary, and the day Finley turned 11 months old! :)

We also wandered through a nearby indoor market...

And the flower market near the main square...

...And later on I got an anniversary rose (Ben got some anniversary chocolate). :)

And that was Zagreb... vibrant, colourful, busy and festive!

On New Year's Eve we set off for our next destination: Budapest, Hungary. To be continued...