Day 4- Beautiful Belize City, Belize

We did not dock but set anchor in the Caribbean Sea.  We traveled to Belize City via a "tender" to get from port to port.

This is a view entering Belize City from our tender.

What is a "tender"?

A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship. Smaller boats may also have tenders, usually called dinghies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship's_tender

If you didn't know, this is where Belize is located.

Our shore excursion in Belize City took us down
the Olde Belize River,
then to the Altun Ha ruins.

Shops along the pier of Belize City.

The temperatures today climbed to 82 degrees with a warm tropical breeze.

  It was a beautiful day in Belize.

BELIZE CITY- (Population: 58,000 approximately) 

Founded some 300 years ago by pirates and seafarers turned timber-men, Belize City straddles the estuaries of the Haulover Creek, Belize River. 

To begin with, there were two streets, conveniently named Front Street and Back Street.

The City has a quaint 'old world' atmosphere with timber dwellings perched high on posts in order to make the most of the prevailing winds and to allow for easy expansion as the need and opportunity arises. 

You will find the oldest Anglican Cathedral 1826 in Central America in Belize City. Here, in great splendour, Kings of the Mosquito Coast were crowned. 

The Belize International Airport is ten miles away. 

You will find the people, mostly Afro-creoles, warmhearted, English-speaking and eager to assist strangers. 

http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/factsbze.html

This is the river boat we boarded to cruise along the Old Belize River.

Our guide told us a little history of the area.
The average wage is $1.75 per hour.

Views of Belize City.

We spotted manatees in this river.

This bridge is one of the main roads across the river.

Wildlife along the river.

One of our guides, looking for wildlife in their natural habitat.

We also saw some dolphins. Here is a photo of the fin.

 An iguana sun bathing.

Yes, this is a crocodile.  We spotted several along the river.

 We spotted several howler monkeys.
Here is a link to listen to them...Howler Monkeys

 We stopped for lunch and did a little shopping for souvenirs.

We had an authentic Belizean lunch.
Rice and black beans cooked in coconut milk and chicken.
It was delicious.

 Open air shopping.

 Doug is standing by a mahogany tree.

A view of the countryside from the bus.

 We are traveling to Altun Ha Maya Ruins.

Altun Ha is Mayan for "Rock Stone Water".

 Altun Ha was a relatively small Mayan community, estimated from 3000-10,000 people but was affluent and important as a strategically located trading and ceremonial center.

 This ancient city thrived as a trading post to the Mayan world during
 the Classic and Post Classic periods.

Altun Ha dates back to 600BC and was an active Mayan town until 900AD,
the end of the Mayan era.

 We climbed to the top of The Temple of the Sun god.
It was about 54 feet to the top.

Altun Ha
 is an example of the Mayan architectural accomplishments well over 2000 years ago.

This site was made world famous by Dr. David Pendergast of the
Royal Ontario Museum upon his discovery of the world's largest carved Jade Head,
depicting the sun god Kinich Ahau. It weighs about nine pounds.
The Jade Head is no longer at the site.

Mayan Ruins

 We are traveling back to the Norwegian Dawn by tender.

We had a great day experiencing the culture of Belize.