by Pam Kane

Andy's Note: Written in May, 2003, this article was unpublished at the time of Pam's death. Although Pam took two more solo cruises on the Cheasapeake Bay in the Spring, this February, 2003 cruise was the one final we would take together. Her illness began shortly thereafter.

Armed only with snorkels, masks, fins, and cameras, my husband and I advanced upon the beaches of Belize and the rivers of Guatemala.

The Grande Caribe

Our landing craft was the 68-passenger Grande Caribe, a ship of the American Canadian Caribbean Cruise Line (ACCL). Why a landing craft? Because its unique bow design (shared with two sister ships in the fleet) was based on the design of World War Two landing craft used in storming the Normandy Beachhead.

Our landings at remote islands and ports were somewhat gentler and the only purple hearts awarded came in the form of a cocktail after someone got into a battle with a piece of coral.

Mayan ruins at Xuanantunich

We swooped into Belize City two days before sailing to eliminate the possibility of being caught in a February snowstorm and take advantage of an all-day pre-cruise tour ($99 in addition to the cruise fare – the ship is the pre-cruise hotel.) The bus blasted through sleepy Belezian towns on our way to the Mayan ruins at Xuanantunich.

As ruins go, it was a particularly pleasing one with an appropriately bloody history.

Mercy Across a Ferry

Getting there was half the fun, on a hand-hauled ferry across a small river.

I had to ask and, for certain, one of the rope-pullers was named Manuel.

Lonely at the Top

The day’s treat, though, was the Belize Zoo. Twenty years ago, after filming documentaries about tropical forests, the film crews simply abandoned the animals and the zoo began.Today, the left-behinds and their offspring, orphaned animals, and gift animals populate almost 30 acres of tropical savannah. All are native to Belize. Crunching down crushed-stone paths, laughing at the hand-painted signs, we were treated to arias by a howler monkey who was quite displeased at being separated from his lady love. The guide said she was very tired.

Unlike the ultra-sanitized zoos we’re all accustomed to, this is nature at its best.The animals’ enclosures are simple wire cages. The brightly colored birds are hard to miss, but some of more shy animals – the jaguars, particularly – are adept at playing visual keep-away. The high-personality critters like kinkajous hang on their cages and chatter at the visitors in light conversation.

Birds of a Colorful Feather

Wanna Play?

Can't You See I'm Sleepin' Here?

Our guide, extremely knowledgeable about both flora and fauna, kept mumbling about the “tapir surprise.”

Do I Have a Surprise for You!

Approaching the tapir enclosure it was charming to see these hippo relatives come close to the fence to inspect us. One tapir turned his back on us. “Uh. Oh.” said the guide. “He’s fallen in love with somebody."Funny way to show it.Since I was closest to the fence, making what I imagined were tapir sounds, the guide grabbed me and said, “Run!” I ran, and managed to be just about a foot out of the way when Mr. Tapir showed his affection by releasing about a bathtub full of urine in my direction.

Our Naturalist - Luz Maria

To most people, a winter vacation in the Caribbean means sand, sun, and cerveza. Those we had in abundance. We also had Luz Maria Hunter, our on-board naturalist, whose lectures were laced with wit and good, solid information about everything from the ecosystem to how to keep a snorkel mask secure.

Late in the cruise, I was shocked to discover that Luz Maria never bothered to graduate from high school. Her knowledge was wider and deeper than that of some Ph.D.-type marine biologists I have known.

There are hundreds and hundreds of cayes (pronounced “keys”) in the Belizian waters and the second longest barrier reef in the world. Once we left Belize Harbor, Captain Mike steered a steady course to the caye he thought would be the best for water exploration on any given day. Lots of folks snorkeled, others took the comfortable route in the ship’s glass-bottomed boat.

Captain Mike at the Mike

The Author in the 80 degree water

Launching the Glass Bottom Boat

In fifteen days, we visited exactly three little towns: Punta Gorda, Placencia, and Livingston. At the Internet Café in Punta Gorda, we learned that two feet of snow had been dumped on the Eastern Seaboard. It was with snarky smiles that we had a second cerveza.

Rio Dulce translates easily to “Sweet River,” and sweet it was.We were on the only passenger-carrying ship that can navigate its shallow waters. The only other craft we saw were a few semi-modern fishing boats and dugouts made in the age-old way. An eerie silence crept over our usually noisy crowd. It was like being invited guests at the beginning of the world.

Entering the Rio Dulce

Grande Caribe in the Rio Dulce

Invited Guests

The passengers voted for a return to Goff Caye where we’d enjoyed our first day’s water glories.About to order the anchors down, the Captain sputtered. Coming up from behind us were several fast boats, laden with vacationers from a Big Cruise Ship. Not only were there people, there were portable toilets and lunch.The anchors stayed up and we sought a more agreeable location for our final sea day.

It was an experience never to be forgotten and, with luck, to be repeated.