The Everglades, Florida

When I was looking for flights for this cruise, the two cheapest times were early morning and in the evening.  Since early morning wasn't an option, we got a flight out of Fort Lauderdale for 630pm.   That meant we had 10 hours to kill after docking in Miami.

They offer tours with airport transfers for people with flights after 4, so we decided to do the everglades tour because Josh was dying to see alligators and I wont turn down a visit to a National Park.  I had read that it was a fine tour - nothing spectacular but definitely a good way to kill time before a late flight.  I agree.  It was a cool tour and a good first look at the Everglades, but it definitely wasn't a lot of time.  I would love to go and see more of the Everglades, but this was a good introduction ... and Josh saw plenty of alligators.  We also got to see a little alligator demonstration and learn a bit about them which was cool.  Once the tour was over we dropped people at MIA and then headed to FLL to catch our flight - and I'm pretty sure I was holding back tears the entire way to the airport.

The Time I Held Monkeys

This is one experience I definitely wasn't expecting.  I got out of the water after an amazing tour of the reefs to find Josh taking photos for a guy on the beach.  I ran to see what was going on ... and he was HOLDING MONKEYS!!!  To say I flipped out would totally be an understatement and you bet I paid my $5 to get a chance to hold them!!  The guy Josh was taking photos of took my photos and he snapped like 20 photos, and I'm glad he did!

I do cringe a little looking at these photos.  They definitely inspired me to go back to the gym ... I really should have thrown a shirt on.  But I can't not share these!  I also included a photo of the guy who Josh was taking photos for.  He was on our excursion in Belize and I told Josh that, that guy is him in the future.  He could talk to and be friends with anyone.

Snorkeling at Tabyana Beach

What surprised me the most about Tabyana was the amazing snorkeling.  You could rent equipment for $10 for the day and go out on your own.  There was an area where kayakers sat because at that point you need a guide.  They kayakers have a floatation device which you hold on to and it pulls you behind the kayak.  They do this to protect both snorkelers and the reef.  There are some areas where it is dangerous to touch the reef.  The cost of this tour??  A good tip!  I gave my guy a very good tip because that little tour was incredible.  It was actually much better than what I saw in Belize.  All of these photos are taken with my underwater camera - best investment ever!  Also, to say I am obsessed with snorkeling is an understatement!  I would love to try scuba diving next and have found a place to get certified, hopefully by next cruise!!

The photos above where taken when I was snorkeling alone.  The following are ones I took while on the kayak tour of the reef.  This isn't even a quarter of the photos I took (by myself and on the our), I had a very hard time narrowing it down!  Also there is a photo below that I took about halfway through the tour that shows how far out we were.