Paddling in Belize-December 2006
Mark Andrus

I went on a cruise on the Norwegian Dream the first week of December 2006.
The ship left Houston with stops in Progresso, Mexico (Merida), Cozamel, and Belize City. I used a chart going down Galveston Bay to spot my position. My sister, Lynne, had brought a VHF radio so she listened to ship to ship communications. After it got dark we figured our position as we passed by Galveston by comparing the navigation light angles to where they were located on the chart. I took the Merida city tour after we reached its port of Progresso. I went on an electric submarine as my tour in Cozamel and saw a coral reef at a 100 foot depth. There was a steep drop off the shelf to much deeper water that the submarine captain pointed out to us. Cozamel has a good museum that had exhibits on the coastal canoe traffic that the Maya had along the coast, which included a dug-out canoe.

Lynne and I took the tour in Belize that had a chance to paddle for about one hour in a creek in Belize. They had sit-on-top kayaks for us to paddle. The creek had orchids and other fauna and flora that we do not have around here. The creek was on a preserve that is about 35 miles northwest of Belize City. We were served lunch after the paddle and then we had a chance to swim in their swimming pool. The pool had a very fast water slide that went down around ten feet and the water was even warm in December.
Lynne Andrus paddling sit-on top