Cruise Day 5: Belize City, Belize

Again we had some morning rain, but it ended by the time we reached our destination.

Today we visited the ruins of Cahal Pech, the remnants of a small Maya city. Unfortunately most of the site is gone because over the centuries grave robbers stole the artifacts and local people dug up the stones to use in the construction of their houses.

What remains of the site is in fairly good condition and it seems that a lot is still buried. The government of Belize doesn't have the funds to finish uncovering everything, so unfortunately they're dependent on outside help to complete the project.

There were only two downsides to today's activities:

• It took two hours to get to the site and two hours to get back so there was no time to shop in the pretty port-side shopping village.


• Because of the rain the steps of the Mayan temple were really slick so I didn't want to risk climbing up there and busting my ass.

Highlight of the day:

• An elderly man told my mother he never met a "real" black person before his father took him to see a Negro League baseball game when he was 11. It's always great when people consider my mother and I to be part of whatever entertainment they're getting from being on vacation. This always happens to us.
  
  WTF?
  
  It's usually people over 50 who do this. They seem to leave the Chinese, Filipino and Mexican guests alone, but they love to come up to us.
  
  There are only two things more irritating than this:
  
  
  1. People who assume that I work on the ship. That REALLY pisses me off.
  
  
  2. The toxic thing that happens when the non-white guests get together and everyone is compelled to say that they've been to more countries, they make more money, they are better educated and they have a better job than the other non-white people.

Other highlight of the day:

• An old man tried a spin move on the dance floor at a cocktail party and his hearing aid fell out. It wasn't the same guy that was fascinated with my mom, though.