Belize: Days 3 and 4

I wanted to get back to this sooner, but editing my current WIP got in the way.

Day 3

Anyway, day 3 in Belize was our first (and only) full day on the atoll. Today was a full day of kayaking, snorkeling, and sail kayaking. Today also happened to be our 18th anniversary! (Ignore the date on the camera; it was actually the 26th).

The first part was a 3-mile, 90-minute kayak out to another caye. About halfway there we stopped on a sandbar for snacks and pics.

If you ever decide to go ocean kayaking for 90 minutes, I highly recommend lots of arm and shoulder exercises. Even with all the exercise we do, I still reached muscle failure at one point and had to let my arms rest for a bit.

Once we arrived on the caye, we were told we would be snorkeling for about 90 minutes, which would then be followed by lunch, a short walk (which ended up being cut short for some reason), then we would sail back.

During this particular outing, our guide, Mike, took along a speargun to kill lionfish. He explained that this is a particularly invasive species of fish that was introduced into this ocean a few years ago. He managed to kill three or four while we were there.

That’s not a lionfish. I have no idea what it is, but it looks pretty dumb.

After a yummy lunch–as all the meals were–it was time to throw a sail on those kayaks and sail back. As I was the navigator, that meant I got the awesome job of controlling the sail. Along the way we saw some manta rays and reef sharks. At least I think they were reef sharks. Hard to tell for sure.

We returned home, cleaned up and relaxed before dinner.

Day 4

Our final day on the atoll. There was one final snorkeling trip, but I didn’t go on it because I wasn’t feeling well. Instead I enjoyed a relaxing morning on the beach finishing the book I’d brought along.

After that, we took a boat ride back to the mainland, then caught a van to our next destination, Pook’s Hill Lodge. Along the way, we got our first bit of unexpected adventure. The tire blew, and the driver didn’t have a spare. As luck would have it, his brother happened to be coming from the other direction, so we didn’t have to wait for a Good Samaritan, but it meant the rest of us were left stranded on the side of the road–in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country–while he went to Belmopan for another tire.

But finally we arrived at the lodge.

This place was fantastic. Electricity! Flush toilets! It was like heaven after two nights in safari tents. Our huts were gorgeous, and the grounds were so beautiful.

The managers, Kat and Dave, were fantastic about telling you exactly what you needed to do, what time you needed to get up the next day, and where you’d be. In the evenings before dinner, they had a little get-together with chips and salsa, to let people mingle and enjoy drinks.

Oh, and at night, you can hear the howler monkeys in the jungle. They sound like Darth Vaders.

(This isn’t my video; I just found it on Youtube).

And that’s it for day 4. Days 5 and 6 include zip lines, cave tubing, and rappelling!

More photos here in my Photobucket album.

Belize: Days 1 and 2

I meant to start this blog post earlier, but first Joe got sick, then I did. I’ve also been on a Skyrim kick lately. I think my Minecraft love is finally waning. I can go actual days without playing.

So we returned from Belize a couple weeks ago. By far, it’s my favorite country of the ones I’ve visited. Which isn’t many, admittedly, but it’s still my favorite.

Day 1

Day 1 was all about travel and logistics. After getting the cats to the vet for boarding, then racing to DFW, then being the last on the plane (we were perilously close to missing our flight), we were off. Two-and-a-half hours later, we set down at Belize’s international airport. Or maybe “international” airport would be more accurate. It’s a very tiny airport in a very tiny, very poor country.

From there, we took a charter flight on a Tropic Air Cessna Caravan to Dangriga, a coastal town, where we stayed at the Pelican Beach hotel for the night. It was a nice way to wind down after the hustle and bustle of dealing with airlines and security and customs.

Day 2

Day 2 started off with a nice, if hurried, breakfast by the beach.

 

From there, it was a bus to the docks, where we took a boat to Southwest Caye on the Glover’s Reef Atoll. This would be our home for the next two nights. The safari tents we stayed in were okay, but I have to admit, I could really do without compost toilets. I think I like my accommodations a wee bit more upscale.

After getting situated, it was time to hit the water! The first thing they wanted to do was train us in kayaking. It took a little too long, admittedly. We were there for snorkeling, after all, and making us wait while they showed us how to flip a kayak, how to steer, how to paddle, etc. was a little annoying. One of my first impressions of Belize was that they’re a very safety-conscious country. But I enjoyed the kayaking, so it wasn’t all bad.

Finally, it was on to our first snorkeling. This was a guided “tour” of a nearby reef, where we saw a lot of beautiful wildlife. Here’s the part where I make people doubt my sanity. I found snorkeling merely okay. It was neat. I saw some awesome underwater life. But in the end, it was sticking your face in an aquarium. It was looking at things. I don’t hate it, and I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again. I just simply didn’t think it was the mind-altering event everyone else seemed to think it was. I enjoyed the kayaking much more.

So ends day 2. We returned to the beach to clean up and rest until dinner. The food on the atoll was exquisite. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve never had food that good every single meal. Even stuff I normally might not care for was absolutely delicious.

Next week, days 3 and 4. Day 3 is another day on the atoll, day 4 takes us back to the mainland and into the jungle.

For many more photos, click here to see my Photobucket album.