Belize, and Roatan Honduras

After we left Cozumel the next stop was Belize City in the small country of Belize. There is no ship dock at Belize city so the ship “docks” off shore. In the case here the off shore dock is about 6 miles from the shore. So you have to get on a small boat that takes you to the city. That trip takes about 25 minutes. The country of Belize is a very poor country located in central America. As we have not seen any of the Maya sites we too a tour of one here. The site we went to was about 30 miles north of the city. Once out of the city there is almost no traffic and while the site looks like they charge to get in there were no cars in the parking lot other than the many tour busses from the cruise ships. The site itself was OK I like history but the truth is there is not much to see here (IMO)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altun_Ha

 

Belize has tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry season, although there are significant variations in weather patterns by region. Temperatures vary according to elevation, proximity to the coast, and the moderating effects of the northeast trade winds off the Caribbean. Average temperatures in the coastal regions range from 24 °C (75.2 °F) in January to 27 °C (80.6 °F) in July. Temperatures are slightly higher inland, except for the southern highland plateaus, such as the Mountain Pine Ridge, where it is noticeably cooler year round. Overall, the seasons are marked more by differences in humidity and rainfall than in temperature.

Average rainfall varies considerably, from 1,350 mm (53.1 in) in the north and west to over 4,500 mm (177.2 in) in the extreme south. Seasonal differences in rainfall are greatest in the northern and central regions of the country where, between January and April or May, less than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rainfall per month. The dry season is shorter in the south, normally only lasting from February to April. A shorter, less rainy period, known locally as the “little dry”, usually occurs in late July or August, after the initial onset of the rainy season.

The day we were there it was sunny and warm a little humid with temperatures in the low 80’s.

The next day (which would have been January 24^th we were in Roatan Honduras. This is a island about 40 miles off the coast of the mainland of Honduras. Unlike Cozumel and Belize that are flat this island is hilly and covered with a rain forest. Roatan doesn’t have a dry season and the tropical weather of the Caribbean allows for the occasional thunderstorm. Off shore trade winds, rain, and overcast are all part of the tropical landscape.

We went to a part were there are monkeys and other wildlife that you can get up close to. To get to the park you have to walk across a foot swing bridge I tell you that is one walk I will not forget you walk across a river it is both fun and scary at the same time. The bridge moves so much only two people can go across at a time. At the park you can hold the monkeys and birds that they have there.

This park is about 30 miles from were the ships dock and is a very rough ride to get there thru the jungle The day we were on this island it started out sunny hot and humid. While at the park it was cloudy but still humid on the way back to the ship there was a big time thunderstorm with tons of rain the kind that floods the road (there is only 1 main road on this island and the island is 8 miles wide and 40 miles long) but this was a fun tour.

 

Here is some weather history from last year

The mean temperature for Grand Rapids last year was 50.3° while cooler than the 51.2° in 2016 it was none the less 1.5° warmer than the 30 year average of 48.8° and 2.1° warmer than the 100 year average of 48.1° That 50.3° is only the 11th time in Grand Rapids history that the annual mean has been 50° or better. The warmest is 52.8° in 2012 and the coldest is a cold 44.6° set in 1917.

The flooding that will/is taking place is more likely than not the worst non ice jam February flooding to take place in Michigan history. At this time the total precipitation here at Grand Rapids for this month is now at 4.82″ this puts GR in 3rd place for the all time most for February and is the most for any February since 1938 when 5.30″ was reported the record is 5.77″ in 1898 but in looking at the daily report for that month I question that amount (there are back to back days with 1.40″ and that is with 6 and 5″ of snow) that would be 2.80″ with just 11″ of very wet snow and on the 2nd day the H/L was 22/18.  For comparison the so call GHD storm in 2011 Grand Rapids had 17.2″ of snow with 0.98″ of precipitation with similar temperatures

Slim