Our stop at Harvest Caye, Belize was a bit contrived. Norwegian Cruise Lines owns the small island just off the coast from Monkey Town and it is essentially a tropical theme park with stone castle gates into a magic kingdom filled with a colorful shopping village; zip lines off the faux lighthouse, zipping over the beach and through the mangroves; small boat rentals; an endless expanse of lounge chairs on the manicured beach, the Wildlife Experience animal zoo with its flitting birds and butterflies; thatched-roof beach side bars; and an amoeba-shaped pool the size of a football field, ending at the Land Shark poolside bar, blasting Jimmy Buffett and Bob Marley on tropical rewind. Who could ask for anything more?
It was pure Disney. But I must admit that the tropical landscaping was out of this world.
We were essentially captive consumers because the concessionaire set the prices, and there were no other choices.
We knew we were in trouble when we walked onto the island and saw an advertisement for sunscreen and they were charging $20 on sale.
This was supposed to just be a beach day for us and the sun was shining brightly when we first arrived on the island. It was about 80 degrees and there was a stiff breeze blowing onshore. We claimed our blue lounges on the beach and then went for a walk along the seaweed-draped beach. Crews of local young men in khaki jumpsuits were mindlessly raking up the green weed and putting it in wheelbarrows to be hauled away. Waves were pounding the shore and the water was rough and muddy.
As we got to the east end of the island, storm clouds were looming on the horizon. A few minutes later it started to pour. We quickly headed to for cover in the Laughing Bird bar where we struck up a conversation with a friendly couple from Canada by way of Cyprus. Beers cost a surprisingly reasonable $6 and we sampled what we were told was the best Belizean beer called Belikan. It was okay but nowhere near as good as Imperial in Costa Rica. I like the fact that each country brews its own beer.
After the rain moved on, we checked out the Blue Morpho butterfly zoo where brown on the outside and blue on the inside butterflies flirted through the air. The poor little buggers only live for three weeks so they are constantly on the move.
It remained overcast and storm clouds were building to the north. Inna headed over to the pool and I walked around the island, marveling at the difference between this make believe tropical park and the real deal. I half expected to find an animatronic poison frog. Needless to say, there was no poverty and the locals were all dressed neatly in blue and yellow polo shirts and spiffy shorts.
Everything other than the beer was overpriced, but the boat people didn’t seem to mind. They were buying everything in sight and laughing like little children in the playground. I chalked it up to boredom. People on cruises are happy to buy anything with the words Duty Free attached to it and the cheesy native trinkets are a way of saying, “I was there.”
After a few hours of exploring we had seen pretty much everything there was to see, so we strolled black to the ship and hung out on our balcony, which to be honest, is my favorite thing to do on a cruise. The ocean never disappoints. Dolphins frolicked below our lofty perch as we sat there sipping our boat drinks and reliving the memories of a wonderful cruise.
After eleven days on the high seas, visiting Central and South America, I came away with four overarching paradoxes.
Paradox #1 – All the locals will tell you that there is very little crime. But there’s barbed wire around many of the nicer buildings in every town and armed guards at almost every store.
Paradox #2 – The people in the nations we visited took great pride in the fact that they have no army. But they all had a police force the size of an army that seemed to be everywhere we looked, and yet the people seemed to be scared to death of the cops and still felt the need protect their possessions with razor wire and guns.
Paradox #3 – The locals are quick to point out the importance of protecting the environment. They tell you that preserving their natural resources, like clean water and the rain forest, is the most important thing in their lives. And yet the people live in squalor and there’s trash and pollution everywhere you look, other than the expensive resorts where the tourists go.
Paradox #4 – The places we visited are considered tropical paradises, and yet they are ALL surrounded by incredible poverty.
It’s always nice to find closure with any special event in your life, and a long ocean cruise qualifies in this regard. And by pure chance, I closed the cruise loop in the early evening of the day we left the ship.
I had just come from a sunset swim in the turquoise Atlantic and took a seat by the poolside bar at the Miami Beach Resort & Spa where we were stayingyh.
I ordered their equivalent of my favorite boat drink on the cruise, a Mango Meltdown, and then kicked back in a comfy chair overlooking the ocean as the day-glow sun was setting. And what to my surprise was steaming out of Miami harbor? It was the Norwegian Jade heading south to Aruba.
I raised my glass and said, “Adios, my friend. I’ll see you on the fun way.”
