After yesterday's long day in Chichen Itza, I scheduled a brief (but informative) half-day Field Program in Belize City, Belize today.

The Mangrove Tunnels and City Museum tour promised a tour through the Mangrove swamp on a tributary of the Old Belize River and a visit to the City Museum of Belize,

We met our guide, Lizzette, right at the dock after tendering in from the ship. After the whole group gathered, we boarded a small open air boat and took a 15 minute ride along the coast north to Haulover Bridge, making a brief detour to see the private island (and "yachtie" haven) Moho. Along the way, we briefly saw Dolphins and Manatees (though both eluded my camera) and learned a lot about the eco-system in Belize.

We entered the Mangrove Tunnels and Lizzette turned from guide into wildlife spotter, pointing out many different species of birds, lizards and butterflies. My photography skills are lacking, so I wasn't able to snap any good wildlife pictures. We also saw numerous termite mounds high in the air, attached to trees. The termites only eat dead trees, and they do a very good job of keeping the Mangrove swamp free of dead trees.

An unexpected log in the river necessitated  our turning back rather than continuing up river. We disembarked at the Princess Hotel for a brief restroom/bottled water stop, then boarded a bus for the short ride to the City Museum of Belize.

The Museum is housed in the old prison and contains exhibits about the history of Belize City and Belize (formerly British Honduras) in general, including  displays about the 1931 and 1965 Hurricanes, a chronological list of major fires in the city and a history of oil exploration in Belize. The upper floor offers a Maya exhibit with artifacts and a lot of interesting displays. Though small, the Museum (and in particular, the Maya exhibit) is well done and presents the history in an interesting an engaging manner.

We spent about an hour at the Museum, then re-boarded our bus for another brief ride back to the tender dock. It was an interesting morning, and I learned quite a bit about a place I knew very little of. As is often said, the guide makes the trip, and Lizzette was great -- knowledgeable, friendly and eager to answer questions. I'm very impressed with the quality of the Field Programs so far.

Other passengers took part in a variety of other Field Programs in Belize; to give you an idea of the wide range of offerings, there were tours to the both the Xumantunich and Lamanai Maya site, a cave tubing and rain-forest walk trip, Snorkeling on a private island, a wildlife adventure along the River that also visited the Belize Zoo, and, the extremely popular Ariel Trek, aka the Zip Line. There will be another Ariel Trek (Canopy Tour) opportunity in Costa Rica, and if we're really lucky, we may have a guest blog entry from a participant on that tour. Stay tuned later in the week.

Back on the ship, a relaxing lunch awaited and I spent a few minutes catching up on the latest news in the computer lab. As I've likely mentioned, Internet Access is free onboard the MV Explorer during Enrichment Voyages, and it's an extremely popular amenity.

Evening brought dinner (a tasty pork cutlet served with potatoes and vegetables and ice cream for desert), a pre-port Enrichment Session for Honduras and Perry Dickison's first featured performance, Songs from the Heart, in the Main Lounge, He has an incredible voice and was an excellent addition to the entertainment line up.

Tomorrow we arrive in Puerto Cortes. Honduras. I have a full day tour to San Pedro Sula scheduled. In addition to the city, I'll visit a banana plantation and a mahogany  factory. It should be an interesting day.