I'm baaaackkkkk

We reluctantly returned on Sunday from our week-long Caribbean cruise. I'll admit to seriously wondering how hard it would be to become licensed to practice law in Roatan.

Cruising was awesome. I wasn't sure if I would really like it, but I loved it. We had 3.5 sea days and 3 port days. I wouldn't want any more sea days, but there was plenty to do on the ship. We went ice skating, rockwall climbing, saw concerts and did a scavenger hunt all on the ship. Any we earned medals for winning classic rock trivia (all that credit goes to DH--and for the guy who decided Nirvana was classic rock (WTF?)).

And I am so glad we went for the balcony. It was awesome to sit outside sipping a cocktail and reading. And it worked out especially well because it was very windy on the pool deck for most of the trip, and the balcony offered more protection from the wind.

I will say that anyone who says cruise ship food is gourmet is just flat out lying or has no taste buds. The food was plentiful but mediocre. Any average chain restaurant has better food. But mediocre food certainly wasn't going to ruin the experience, and our waiters were more than happy to bring us something new if we didn't care for what was served (or three desserts if that is what our hearts desired.)

My only other complaint is that we were about 30 years younger than the vast majority of our shipmates. Maybe because the kids are in school? But we were seated at dinner with two younger couples who were a lot of fun, and we laughed a lot about being the youngest group on the ship.

The port days were the best part of the trip, though. We stopped in Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico. My favorite port was Roatan. It was just gorgeous there. We went zipling and snorkeling. Our ziplines had breathtaking views of the rain forest and ocean. (Some friends recently went zipling in Hawaii and their course looked downright ugly compared to ours.) Snorkeling was off a reef in the Blue Channel, and it was stunning. Roatan is supposed to have some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world, and I can certainly believe it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking a long dirt road known as West End, that is dotted with bars, restaurants and dive shops. I had a cheeseburger in paradise and danced with native schoolchildren.

I was lest impressed with Belize City. The city was very trashy and not pretty, and we had to pass through a security checkpoint manned by soldiers with very big guns. We took an hour-long bus ride, followed by an hour-long boat ride to see the Mayan Ruins at Lamanai. The ruins were amazing. We climbed a huge temple that dates to 100 B.C. I'm so glad that we got to visit this site, although I'm left with little desire to return to Belize (but maybe we just didn't see the best parts).

Our final port was Cozumel. We had pre-reserved at an all inclusive beach resort called Nachi Cocom. The beach was beautiful and the drinks were plentiful. Maybe a little too plentiful. DH got smashed and doesn't even remember how we got back to the ship. It was his first time ever to get drunk--and I learned that my husband is not a mean drunk or a funny drunk, but a horny drunk. I had to keep shushing him as he loudly slurred inappropriate comments.

Overall, I'd rate it the best vacation we've ever taken, and the most relaxed I've been since I had the twins 9 years ago.