September 21, 2016

Dunn's River Falls and Blue Hole, Jamaica (September, 2016)

The third stop on our cruise was Jamaica. Again, we took all of the kids off the ship and headed out for some adventure at Dunn's River Falls and Blue Hole. We had to buy some water shoes before heading to Dunn's River (we were told that we could not do it with bare feet...and we were glad that we listened, as the mud and rocks on the falls are very slippery and there likely would have been some accidents with our group had we not bought the water shoes). We had a fun hike up the falls, basically starting at the beach where the fresh water enters the ocean and hiking up to the top of the falls. We took our time and stopped for photos, natural waterslides, and just to play in the water whenever we could. It was a beautiful area, and although it was packed with tourists, we had some very cool guides that pretty much let us do whatever we wanted and take our time (instead of just getting into line and following the other people).

The kids, at the port in Jamaica.

 Family picture at the bottom of Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica (where the fresh water heads into the ocean).

 Zander, going down the natural waterslide at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica.

 Sawyer, going down the natural waterslide at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica.

Ryder, going down the natural waterslide at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica.

 Ezra, giving Ryder a push off the ledge at at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica.

 Group photo at at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica.

 Family picture at the upper falls at at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica.

After Dunn's River Falls, we hopped back into the bus and headed out to a place called Blue Hole for some cliff jumping and rope swings by waterfalls in the Jamaican jungle. We all had a great time there and there were platforms for jumping as well as cliffs, there were a few waterfalls and a fun rope swing. Everyone got in on the action and we had a fun afternoon swimming in the river.

 Eliza throwing a backflip off the platform at Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 Sawyer, rope swing at Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 Zander, rope swing at Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 Nash, rope swing at Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 Ryder, rope swing at Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 Cody, throwing a backflip off the rope swing at Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Video of Eliza, doing a backflip off a higher cliff at the bottom of Blue Hole near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Eliza somehow managed to sleep in the bus (in potentially the most uncomfortable sleeping position any of us had ever seen), and, of course, we took advantage of the photo op.


September 20, 2016

Snorkeling and Stingray City in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (September, 2016)

Our second stop on the cruise was in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. We had booked a tour with a local tour company for all 21 of us to go to Stingray City and do some snorkeling as well as swimming and interacting with the stingrays on the sand bar, so this time we brought all of the kids off the ship with us. It was a beautiful day and the water was clear. 

 Zander, just off the ship in the Cayman Islands.

Sawyer, with her newest cousin, Capri on the boat headed out to Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

We started out by having a snorkel near the sandbar by a local reef. The kids enjoyed seeing some of the fish and checking out the coral. Then we were off to Stingray City to play with the stingrays. There were dozens of stingrays on the sand bar both small and large and the tour guides taught us how to hold them and catch them. The larger females were much easier to catch than the smaller males. Cody got pretty good at catching them and since he had a long-sleeve rash guard he was immune to the "hickeys" the sting rays would give if they sucked your skin. The guides gave us pieces of squid to hold in our hands and the stingrays would swim over and suck the squid right out of our hands. It was a very unique experience to interact with these animals. There were a lot of people from many boats trying to interact with them, but there were enough stingrays to go around and it was very cool and personal for everyone.

A small male stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Ryder, Nash, Cody, Sawyer, Eliza, and Zander with a large female stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Family picture with a large female stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Cody, bringing a female stingray that he caught to Sawyer, Jovi, Zander and Mac on the boat.

Zander, touching the stingray for the first time.

Nash, holding a female stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Nash, giving the stingray a kiss.

Cody, with a female stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Uncle Ian showing Zander, Eily, Jovi, Sawyer, and Mac a big female stingray.

Sawyer, snorkeling over a reef in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Nash and Cody holding a female stingray.

Cody, trying to hold on to a female stingray that is escaping his grasp.

 Cody, hunting for stingrays at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

 Ryder, holding a female stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Eliza with niece Tessa on the boat at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

 Cody, with Zander and Kip holding a female stingray at Stingray City, Grand Cayman.

Cody, with a female stingray at Stingray City in Grand Cayman.

September 19, 2016

Scuba Diving in Cozumel, Mexico (September, 2016)

Our first excursion on the cruise was in Cozumel, Mexico. We left the kids in the kid's club on the ship and found a diving company at the port that would accommodate 8 divers with varying levels of experience (Scott, Kyle, and Whitney were already certified and the rest of us were not), as well as 2 snorkelers (Toni and Ian) and we were on our way. We had a good dive, exploring some reefs and caves with some interesting coral and fish. It was a good day out. It was Loni, Kip, and Emily's first time scuba diving and they provided some basic skills training before we headed out. 

Heading out for our dive.

Cody, getting ready to get in the water.

Eliza, all set to go.

 Cody and Eliza scuba diving in Cozumel, Mexico.

Cody, diving in Cozumel, Mexico.