Day 6: Belize

Day 5 was another day at sea. We slept-in for a time, having stayed up so late the night before. We lounged on the deck, ate lunch, got ready for dinner. Then I went to Karaoke again for the 6pm session. I believe it was the second formal night of the cruise. After dinner every night Theresa and I watched the Theater show. She went immediately to bed after that because she wanted to make sure she was well-rested for what would be the highlight of her cruise: diving at Turnefee Atoll.

I was going to see the Mayan Ruins, and knew I had a long bus ride to get there. I wasn't concerned about my sleep. I did Karaoke until 1 am and then went to Medusa's Lair to dance. Again Tommy and Alex, the young ones, were there with their usual crowd. The night before I had met Michael from Connecticut who is an Attorney. I danced most of the night with him. This night, though, I danced with What's'isname from Boston. We said good night and went our separate ways, but when I got to my floor, he was coming down the other end of the hall with his "roommate" (male--remember I said he was from Boston, and that's how he talked). He didn't stop until he was at the door across the hall from mine. Funny.

The bus ride was very relaxing. I found a family (mother, father, son, daughter) at the ruins. I don't remember their names either. That's what I get for posting 3 weeks after my return. Here are some facts and pictures about the location.

http://www.delange.org/altunHa1/altunHa.htm

I was not really impressed with the tour guides, as they put a lot of emphasis on the practice of human sacrifice. To me, that was a very small part of Mayan culture and was not common until the decline of the civilization--hence the decline. My favorite part of the trip was on the bus back. We were stopped at one of the 4 stoplights in the whole country and I looked out my window and saw, amongst the minimally cared for buildings there was one with a bright coat of white paint and muted orange trim bearing a polished brown sign with the familiar golden words, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. It was mission headquarters, and there at the door, atop the stairs, were two sister missionaries. No one noticed it, and I didn't point it out. I just enjoyed the feeling of being home in a foreign place. I belong to a worldwide church. That is real to me now.

In the evening, the after dinner show was a hypnotist. A number from our group sat in the front row so that we could be picked. Most of us rushed the stage when he simply said that he wanted anyone to come and fill the 20 chairs he had on stage. Not a single one of the 20 of us gave an authentic show. I got pulled front and center to order food from McDonald's and get really mad at the guy for messing up my order. At best, it was a nice little drama exercise. It was fun, though because people recognized me after that. As if they didn't already know me. There were just a few channels on the cabin TVs, and one was where they played video of ship activities. I was on there twice for the survivor and fear factor. But my grand performance would not be until tomorrow.

Stay tuned.