Rhonda Bracey: At Random

We arrived in Belize this morning and anchored quite some distance from shore. The tenders took about 15 minutes to go each way into the port at Belize City, but from the moment we stepped on board there was a different—and much friendlier—vibe than in Honduras. Don’t get me wrong, the Honduras people we met were lovely, but the Belizeans have a great sense of fun. They also speak English as their main language (Belize was called British Honduras from the 1700s to about the 1970s), with Spanish the secondary language.

Our ship-organised shore excursion was to the Lamanai Mayan ruins via a boat ride on the New River. This was a 7-hour round trip, starting with an hour-long bus ride to the place where we got onto the boat for the hour-long ride along the river to the ruins (the return journey was the same).

It was a hot and humid day and expected to rain. Fortunately, we got no rain. And even more fortunately (for me anyway!), the bus was air-conditioned and the boat ride was mostly fast, so the wind blew away any hint of humidity. The tour guides were great, especially Dino who gave us a potted history of Belize for the first 20 minutes of the bus ride. Adrian, the other guide, was our nature guide for the boat ride, but we didn’t see a lot of animals, so there wasn’t a lot for him to do.

Some general facts and figures about Belize (summarised from what I remember of Dino’s talk):

• approx 180 miles long and about 80 miles wide, with a total population of about 340,000 (7 sets of traffic lights in the entire country, with 4 sets working, one of which we went through twice!)
• melting pot of colonisation and resulting cultures—first the Mayans, then the Spanish, then the British. In more recent times, the Chinese have made a name for themselves as the owners of the supermarkets, food shops, restaurants, etc. and there is quite an Asian population here. Mennonites and Amish settled here some time back after being hounded out of Mexico, and now provide most of the dairy products in the country.
• main industry is tourism, employing about 20% of the population directly and indirectly; agriculture is next. Little mining, though some petroleum extraction industries.

Some of the animals we saw on the boat ride included these birds: white egrets, cormorants, jacana, kingfishers, osprey, and lesser nighthawk; and these mammals and reptiles: howler monkeys (not howling, thank goodness!), one crocodile, and two iguanas at the place where we caught and disembarked the boat.

The river has many many tributaries and diversions and deviations, but our boat captain was absolutely terrific and was able to negotiate his way through with ease and without the use of any navigational device other than his brain. (To show the global nature of world markets, the boat captain was wearing Billabong board shorts, an Australian brand!) The river is surrounded by thick vegetation, and many plants have epiphytes (‘air plants’) attached to them. And along the way, there’s a settlement of Amish whose farms we saw and some of whom we saw fishing in the river on the return journey.

We got to the ruins about noonish, and it was SOOOO hot and humid…. I discovered sweat glands in places where I never knew there were sweat glands. By the time we got to the first ruin (a couple of minutes easy walk), I was soaked with perspiration and feeling very heat stressed. This was the Jungle Temple and those feeling energetic could climb it. Not me! I was happy to keep my feet on terra firma and let others climb the steep stone staircases to the top! (no hand rails!!).

After another short walk through the incredibly lush vegetation on each side of the walking path (I would have appreciated it much more had I not been dying of heat and humidity!),we came to the Ball Court and the High Temple behind it. Again, those without a fear of heights and a game stomach and who weren’t dying in the humidity could climb it via a staircase at the side. The rest of the group remained behind on the benches!

The final stop was the Mask Temple, which you couldn’t climb. And then it was a 15-minute walk on the neat, clean and tidy walking paths back to the boat for the ride back to the drop-off place for a late (2pm) lunch (chicken with rice and beans cooked in coconut milk—really lovely).

Many people slept on the bus ride back into town—not me; I was more interested in what was going on in the slice of life I saw outside the bus windows.

After a quick stop at the duty free area at the port, it was back on the tender for the return trip to the ship.

Dinner tonight was at the Terrace Café . We were so tired we went to bed pretty much straight after (well, after I had processed my photos for the day and written this blog post that will be published after we return).

Snake plant

Skechers Go Walk shoes (mesh). BEST. WALKING. SHOES. EVER.

Jaguar Temple

High Temple

Mask Temple

Overnight we cruised from Cozumel to Trujillo, Honduras, arriving there around 10am. The wind was up a bit, so there was some gentle rocking and rolling overnight, but nothing to be concerned about—sufficient to gently rock you to sleep.

We anchored offshore at Trujillo. This place has only been hosting cruise ships for the past six months (since October 2014), so there’s no pier for ships to dock at, and not a lot of tourist infrastructure beyond the port. We were tendered to shore on our lifeboats, and then, as we were on a ship-based shore excursion, we were directed to our tour bus for our trip to Campo del Mar Nature Park, which has only been open a few months too. The bus ride was over some very basic roads.

At the nature park (which is very well manicured), we went on a 2+ hour guided walking tour of the main tropical food plants (jackfruit, cashews, mangos, papaya, bananas and plantains, pineapple, and many more) and the ‘sort of’ botanic gardens. After that, we saw the cages where they keep some rescued animals and birds. Our guide was at pains to emphasise that these cages were NOT a zoo, but were only a place to keep rescued animals until they could be released into the wild (if that was possible—some animals were rescued from private situations and would never survive in the wild). They had some different varieties of monkeys (white-faced capuchins, howlers, and spider monkeys), some other mammals (coati, 2-toed sloths [unable to be seen]), and some tropical parrots, including the scarlet macaws that are native to Honduras and are the country’s bird. The macaws, especially, were just beautiful. Almost none of the plants were currently in season, and some of the newer and smaller plants were looking a bit straggly. Our guide was very informative and spoke very good English. The headsets he gave us to use to listen to him speak were brilliant as we could wander off a bit and still hear every word he said to the group. They sure saved him shouting, and/or gathering together 50 or so people to listen at once.

After we were dropped back at the pier, many people went back to the ship, but we stayed and grabbed a taxi to take us to the central market square. Well, that was an exercise in communication. Fortunately, Sue speaks a little Spanish, and the driver spoke a little English, so we were able to communicate to a degree. We saw plenty of the back streets, and went past the market three times before he stopped and we got out to check out the wares of the local artisans. I never felt in any danger, but I was concerned that we seemed to be going around in circles because of the communication issues.

The back streets of the town showed how ill-prepared the town is for cruise ship tourism. Roads are in a bad state of disrepair (big holes in the middle of some roads; chassis-twisting lumps and bumps in many others; detours; etc.), and there are few paved roads in this town of some 50,000 people. Electricity supplies look very basic, and there are few hotels and restaurants. Taxis are plentiful near the port, but the state of the vehicles leaves a lot to be desired. English—the language of much tourism—is not spoken by many people. In many ways this is a third-world country trying hard to make a go of it with cruise ship passenger dollars.

No doubt the nature of this town will change dramatically over the next 12 months or so with the influx of tourism. This sort of change is a double-edged sword—those in the tourism industry will prosper, while those outside it will battle to make minimum wage (currently about US$60 a week, with the average wage about US$100 per week, according to our guide). Hotels and restaurants will pop up, bringing with them western values and goods and services. Homes along narrow roads may well be resumed to make way for wider, 2-lane paved roads, with subsequent displacement of those who live in those homes. The infrastructure will try to keep up with the demands made on it (roads, water supply, waste disposal, electricity, telecommunications, etc.), and likely have problems doing so. People who have livestock (we saw pigs, goats, sheep, horses, and cattle) roaming in their yards may well be asked to keep the livestock away from the front of the house if it is on a tourist route.

And after all this money is spent on infrastructure, if the cruise ships decide not to come here any more, it will all be for nothing. Trujillo is not on the main tourist map. According to our guide, it’s three hours to the nearest airport that services other parts of the Caribbean and eight hours to the nearest airport that takes people to international destinations. (I assume those times are based on how long it takes to drive, and, based on our experience of the local roads, a short journey by western standards [e.g. 30 minutes] may well take three hours in this part of Honduras.)

I was cognisant that just being tourists here, gawking into people’s homes and yards from the air-conditioned comfort of a tour bus and waving at the children waving to us, we are contributing to the problem—and possibly the solution too. Every tourist dollar spent in the local community hopefully goes back into that community and ultimately does good for the people who live there. But I’m not so naïve to think that that is the case, or will always be the case even if it is now.

Back to the cruise…

Once back on board ship, we relaxed for a bit, had our afternoon canapes on the balcony of our stateroom while watching the Trujillo town start to light up for the evening, then had dinner for the first time in the Grand Dining Room. And very grand it is too! Full-on service and superb food (the sweet barbecued pork chop I had was the second best pork chop I’ve ever had in my life!). The surroundings were opulent and sumptuous, as was the food. Just brilliant.

We had no room for dessert!

We reset the clocks again tonight (this is the third clock reset we’ve had in as many days, with another one to come at least—some places are on daylight saving time and some aren’t, and there’s at least one time zone change between the places we’re visiting.

This is a ‘candy’ mango tree — it’s MASSIVE!

The Oceania Riviera, a 1250-person (max.) cruise ship

Before dawn, we spotted several other cruise ships nearby, all heading for Cozumel. Eventually, there were six in port for the day.

After seeing the dawn break over the ocean, breakfast was served in our room by Jemeesh at 6:30am. We were due to arrive in Cozumel at 8:00am, anchor for the day, departing at 5:00pm.

We were right on time, and those departing the ship met in the Riviera Lounge to get our tickets for the tenders. It all went very smoothly, and we grabbed a cab once we were onshore to take us to Nachi Cocom, a private beach resort some 20 km south of Cozumel.

Supposedly Nachi Cocom only takes 100 guests, but just after 9am, I did a quick head count of just those on the beach under the palapas (thatched shade structures) and in the water and there were already more than 60 people (they open at 9am and it’s not a hotel, so no-one can stay there overnight). More came over the next hour or so, so I think they lied about the ‘maximum 100 guests’. The US$55 rate is an all-inclusive rate, except it’s not. It includes all drinks (including alcoholic drinks) and food, use of the pool, beach palapas, and lounges, but not the water activities or the mats you can put on a sun lounge to protect your butt (US$7 per mat per day). We had no intention of drinking much or any alcohol, so that part was a bit wasted on us – not so on other guests, many of whom were well and truly getting into the booze in the hot sun at 9am…

When our lunch came (we ordered off a menu), it was a MASSIVE amount of food. And it all came at once, so we got everything we ordered served on one tray. The food was good, and the salsa was exceptional. However, the cheese enchiladas Sue ordered were actually chicken, so she couldn’t eat them.

Our waiter, Carlos, was serving too many people so we got missed for drinks (fruit juice and bottled water) several times, and our food remnants weren’t picked up as they were for others. If you were into drinking alcohol and eating LOTS of food, this place would be good value. While the location was perfect, I felt the lack of service and the possible exceedance of the 100-person limit detracted from the day.

The palapa we were under offered plenty of shade for this pale body.

As far as the beach goes, it was very clean, as was the crystal clear water—a picture-postcard perfect Caribbean beach.

On our return to the ship, we were served our afternoon canapes as we were leaving port (5pm), and then had dinner with two other ladies in Toscana, the specialty Italian restaurant. The food was excellent and the service was amazing. Similarly to the Polo Grill, Toscana offered a quintet selection of their desserts, which was a great way to have a taste of various delicious dessert offerings.

The ship was less smooth this evening – a small amount of rocking and rolling, but you get used to it. It’s very gentle for rocking you to sleep at night 😉

I was notified about 24 to 48 hours before my flight to Sydney that I’d received my points upgrade request to First Class on the long haul from Sydney to Dallas Fort Worth. Woohoo! I’ve travelled First Class between Australia and the US just once before (last March ), but that notification only came at the gate as I was boarding. This time I knew in advance, so was able to take advantage of the Qantas First Class Lounge–and all it had to offer–at Sydney International Airport.

What an experience that was!

As a First Class passenger, I could check in at any time on the day of departure. The flight left at 3:30pm, but I’d stayed overnight at the hotel at Rydges at the Sydney International Airport terminal (just 50 m from hotel reception to the departures check-in area), so I decided to check in early and take advantage of the First Class Lounge.

The day before, I’d booked a spa appointment (back massage) in the Lounge, so I knew that was going to happen. The rest of the day was mine to enjoy! And enjoy I did.

Check in for First is a whole new level of experience. In addition to extra luggage and very personalised service, you have a private area to fill in any immigration forms etc. as well as express passage through to immigration and security screening. Once airside you have access to the Qantas First Class Lounge.

That’s another level of experience altogether! There are the free spa treatments, restaurant-style meals served by wait staff at proper dining tables and chairs (none of this balancing food and drink on a tiny low table as you have to often do in the Business/Qantas Club lounges), fabulous food, sublimely quiet atmosphere, attentive service, and super comfy chairs. I’m sure there are other things too (like business meeting rooms) but I can only report on the things I tried/experienced.

My back massage was wonderful, the food was fabulous, and the entire experience was memorable.

Spa treatment room

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon

Steak with chips

Mini pavlova in a glass, with pashmak!

Spicy salt and pepper squid

Heirloom tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella

Marble bathroom/shower in First Class lounge

Eventually it was time to board the flight to Dallas Fort Worth (that SYD to DFW flight is the longest commercial flight in the world, I believe, at an average of about 16 hours, though head or tail winds can add or subtract about 90 minutes either side of that estimated time).

As I had experienced First Class once before I knew pretty much what to expect—an area of only 14 individual and roomy ‘suites’, with fabulous food, lambswool mattresses, crisp cotton bed linen, plenty of space to store your stuff, etc.

Only 14 ‘suites’ in the First Class cabin

Despite all these accoutrements, I upheld my usual pattern of not sleeping on the flight. My best effort is very light cat napping. And so it was for this flight. There was NO turbulence at all (a first), which was a bonus, and we landed in Dallas after 14.5 hours flying time.

First Class gets no more or less privileges than anyone else on arrival into the US. However, we are first off the plane and thus to Customs and Border Protection. DFW has the automated kiosks for Visa Waiver countries and they were a breeze to operate. It took me 30 seconds to cross the border into the US!! First and Business Class bags come out on a different baggage carousel, and after collecting my bags, and getting through Customs (also super quick) I was in my hotel at the airport in less than 15 minutes after getting off the plane. That was a record for me!

Update: I got a First Class upgrade on the DFW to SYD flight home too! How lucky is that????

The ladies at Quilting Adventures who saw the pictures I’d taken at Sydney Airport of an A380 were amazed at its size. Here’s one of those photos (note the size of the truck in the foreground).

The second photo I took from the SkyLink at DFW Airport, showing an A380 (Qantas) parked next to a Jumbo (747; British Airways livery) to give you some idea of the size of these aircraft.