Summer-Part 3

So here it is...our pics from our awesome cruise.
Just before Dan entered Basic Officer Leadership Course with the Army, we went on a Caribbean Cruise for a week. For years we were talking about taking a cruise to Hawaii for our 10th year anniversary trip, but with the recent events in our life we had to settle for something cheaper.
Who said settle? The Caribbean are just as amazing and we loved every minute of it. The first 2 days we spent at sea and just slept in, ate great food, relaxed in the sun, read books etc. We really needed that. Our first port was Jamaica and we booked a tour to one of the big plantations. We rode in a bus for almost 2 hours and it was interesting to see how Jamaicans live and how beautiful their country is. The plantation was breathtaking with thousands of trees and so many different fruits, some of them we even had a taste of. The one thing we were really shocked about was how poor the country is. We did not expect that and it was sad to see how people have to live and what they have to endure. All in all we had an incredible time in Jamaica and the people were just so nice.
The next morning we arrived at our next port, the Grand Cayman Island. Here we booked a tour to go to a turtle farm and swim with sting rays. Honestly, this was our favorite port. The island was very clean and you could tell it is a rich part of the Caribbean. Playing with turtles, watching dolphins and swimming with sting rays was very unique and we loved every minute of it. That day we also met a couple from Germany which we befriended and spent a lot of time with the rest of the cruise.
Our last port was Cozumel, Mexico and there we booked a tour to see Tulum, the Mayan ruins.
What an amazing place to go and explore. Although the weather was a little too hot for my comfort and I barely survived that heat, we had a great time sightseeing and swimming in the ocean.
It was unbelievable to see the beauty of three different countries like that and I am grateful that God made this earth so beautiful for us.
Our last day we spent at sea and we did some more relaxing. Although it was rain season in the Caribbean and it did rain quite a bit, we had the chance to enjoy the pool and the lounge chairs a lot.
Of course we were glad we didn't have to cook and could go eat whenever we felt like it. The food was very tasty and I'm sure we gained a bit of weight during that week. =)
As you know, on a cruise ship there is always something going on. We mostly enjoyed the variety shows, karaoke and the bean bag competition. On our last evening Dan was even part of the show, performing as Frank Sinatra. He did an amazing job and the crowd loved him.
Since this was our anniversary trip, we used one of the formal dinners as an excuse to dress up and celebrate our special day. I surprised Dan with a new dress, which he loved and we also exchanged new rings, which we had already picked out a year ago. That evening was very special and will not be forgotten.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time on this cruise and we can only recommend it. It's the best way to vacation.