Harvest Caye, Belize: manufactured paradise
On our fourth day in port, we had a beautiful day in Belize. That's because Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) created a private island called Harvest Caye in Southern Belize. Here is the description that NCL uses in their marketing: "Harvest Caye is a 75-acre oasis featuring an expansive pool, lagoon for water sports, exclusive beach, shore excursions and access to the world’s second largest barrier reef."
It was an abbreviated day in port, only 8 a.m. - 1 p.m., so we decided not to spend the money on an excursion. There was plenty to do right there at the beach.
We ate breakfast on the ship, then headed out around 9 a.m. Mike used his manual wheelchair and we each brought a backpack for our gear - beach towels, sunscreen, cameras. The walkway was long, but shaded. The sky was clear and the temperature was about 85 degrees.
After looking around a bit, we decided to set up camp on the beach. Without having to look very hard we found the beach wheelchairs that are available at no charge so Mike could get across the sand.
Mike used his slide board to easily slide into the beach wheelchair, and we hit the sand to find a shady spot under the palm trees. The boys got in a spat about whose turn it was to drag Mike's manual chair through the sand (there is nowhere provided to store it) and ended up leaving the chair for a while. But a few minutes later we got settled and went back for it.
From that point on there was nothing left to do but swim in the ocean, swim in the pool, play beach soccer, read in the shade, sip virgin daiquiris, and nap under the Caribbean sun! (And take selfies, of course!)
We packed up around noon. There were a few shops located along the path back to the ship, and it was there that we picked up our first trip souvenirs. The boys even convinced me to "treat yourself!" and I purchased a beautiful silver pendant in the shape of a Mayan sun to commemorate the trip.
Harvest Caye was undoubtedly a manufactured paradise. NCL wanted a place that was pristine and inclusive and accessible and they invested millions to create it. In another life (or another trip) we might seek out an adventure that would take us deeper into the heart of Belize, the local culture and countryside. But sometimes a little manufactured paradise can be a good thing, too.
Thus endeth the blog posts about our cruise. We have two sojourns in the works for June 2018 - join us!
Bellin 10K Run - Green Bay, WI - Saturday, June 9, 2018 - www.bellinrun.com
2018 Leow Strong Bike Ride (Old MRC Ride) *Family Fun 9 Mile Ride* - Sunday, June 24, 2018 - https://www.bamc.org/foundation/leowstrong/
If you're not available for running or biking fun on those days - get in touch and suggest a sojourn we can take together this summer. We all MUST get better at that thing called "leisure time". Grab your family, grab your friends, grab a map - and go! I know our family will. And as we do, I'll keep blogging about it. Thanks for reading!