Emily's Meanderings: Belize

We've both wanted to visit the country of Belize in Central America for awhile, so for our 25th anniversary, we decided to splurge and go for two weeks! Here is the lengthy saga of our delightful time on Ambergris Caye that I wrote day by day, lest the details become fuzzy over time.

Sat. May 15 - We had an early morning (up at 5:30) to get to the Charlotte airport in plenty of time for our international flight. We'd driven the two hours from home and stayed in a Holiday Inn Express the night before to avoid having to get up even earlier. This was our first flight since the new airline regulations on carry-on liquids/gels went into effects, so we'd prepared our one-quart ziploc bags and had no problem getting through security, other than the fact that it's rush rush rush with the shoes on/off, laptop out, all metal and liquids needing to be screened. I guess it gets quicker the more you do it, but we fly so infrequently, I always feel like a fish out of water. Naturally we were checked in and waiting way ahead of time for our 9:45 am flight. It helped that we got to go to the front of the line thanks to upgrading to first class when we checked in online the day before. We were definitely living large!

I was a bit disappointed that we didn't even get a movie; I guess the flight was too short, but we did have nice seats and food that we didn't have to pay for, unlike the unfortunate folks in coach. Our brunch was goat cheese/tomato/basil quiche and a Bloody Mary - yum.

The flight was not bad, even for us who are uneasy fliers. Fortunately the weather was good and there was no major turbulence. When we landed just a few hours later, it seemed strange that we were really in Belize! The Belize City airport was fairly small and un-airconditioned, similar to the one in St. Thomas, USVI. No problems getting through customs and immigration, though we did stand in the wrong line once.

We then had to catch a quick island hopper flight on Tropic Air over to Ambergris Caye. We nearly missed the flight waiting to order a drink, because we didn't know to set our watches back two hours for local time. We knew Belize was on Central time, but hadn't realized that they do not observe daylight savings time, so we thought we had a good long wait, when in actuality, it was time to board. A father and son from Chicago who had been on our Charlotte plane retrieved us in the nick of time, and we were the last ones to board the tiny prop plane! Since we were last on, we couldn't sit together. I sat in the back row with a mother and daughter. Barry looked for the last empty seat and was told that the last seat available was in fact the co-pilot's seat. "Awesome" were his words, and he said it was the most incredible flight he has ever taken. The views were unarguably stunning, but I was glad to land safely. The flight was only 15 minutes to the little San Pedro airstrip on Ambergris Caye, the largest and most populous island off the Belize coast.

Our miniature plane (yipes!)

Barry's view of the San Pedro airstrip from the co-pilot seat!

We caught a taxi to The Phoenix resort, where we'd be staying for the next two weeks, and were welcomed by the staff right as our taxi driver, Oscar, pulled up to the door. The staff paid for our taxi, brought us two of their special ginger drinks, and took us on a tour of the grounds and the impeccable condo that was to be our home for the next two weeks. Everything was immaculate and upscale (think granite countertops, modern furnishings, Belizian hardwood, spare and simple decor -- or just look at a few photos below!)

Kitchen

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Veranda & View

I could get used to this!

Our welcome gifts!

After settling in, we headed out to pool to relax for awhile, then after showers, walked to dinner on the beach at Caliente's. I had grilled, skewered shrimp, rice and beans (a very common dish here), and Barry enjoyed coconut shrimp curry. We split a coconut flan for dessert, then walked back down the beach to our condo, still in awe of this beautiful, tropical paradise found. We enjoyed a Belikin (one of the two locally brewed beers) on our veranda after dinner. There was a great breeze, and we heard a live band in the distance. Collapsed in bed early (9 pm local time).

Typical San Pedro street scene

Eating outside at Caliente's on the beach

Sunday, May 16: We were up at 5:30 am local time (the sun rises early here!) Got ready, walked on the beach, and had an early breakfast at Estelle's. The fresh-squeezed OJ was amazing, as were the banana pancakes. We had an outside table right on the beach, where we could kick off our sandals and feel the sand in our toes. We took a long walk down the beach after breakfast, then headed to the pool for a little while (being careful about sun since it is strong here). The pool is very nice; the water is treated with saline rather than chlorine so doesn't leave your skin smelling of bleach.

Cool pool at The Phoenix - that's Barry under the fountains!

Because we were up so early, we still had time to walk to Richie's grocery for a few items to stock our fridge before lunch. It's interesting paying in Belizian dollars, as we have to divide all the prices in half to determine the US price, and groceries are still very expensive here, at least items that are not made in Belize. For example, the very cheapest off-brand US cereal ran about $5.50 US per box, and they went up from there.

After putting our groceries away, we walked down the beach to find a lunch spot, and on the way had to deal with some very persistant locals trying to get us to tour their fractional ownership resort. They just wouldn't take no for an answer, but we finally got away and had a nice lunch at Celi's right on the beach. I had chicken tacos, and Barry had stewed chicken, rice, and beans.

After lunch we lazed around on our huge veranda, reading, enjoying the breezes, and avoiding the peak sun. I was sleepy and even dozed a little on the comfy lounge chairs. Eventually, once the sun was sinking in the sky and more clouds had rolled in, we headed back out to the pool for one more quick dip before an early dinner.

For dinner we took in "Sangria Sunday" at the resort restaurant, the Red Ginger. We had a delicious pitcher of red Sangria and a large plate of assorted tapas as an early dinner. We then took a nice stroll around the streets of San Pedro after our meal before calling it a day.

Street scene

Cute restaurant!

Monday, May 17: A Rainy Day in Paradise. We awoke this morning to rain...you mean it rains here? Who knew? The weather report shows basically the same thing every day: high in the upper 80s, 50% chance of showers/t-storms, so you really never know what is going to happen. Fortunately, we'd stocked up on cereal, bananas, and other breakfast necessities yesterday, so we were able to make a light breakfast without having to go anywhere.

After breakfast, the rain had lightened up but was still coming down, so we headed up to the gym here at the Phoenix and did a light workout (weights, exercise bike, mats).

After hanging out in the condo for awhile, we decided to don our rain jackets and find the Atlantic Bank, which, according to a web site we found, cashed Traveler's checks for free. We did finally find the bank, but the web site was out of date; it would cost us $1 BZD (50 cents US) to cash each $50 check. There was a long line for the tellers and plenty of security at the bank, and oddly enough, ESPN playing on the flat-screen TV on the wall, which I found comforting, since we were the only Americans in the bank. (Barry was sorry to see it, though; he'd hoped to get even farther away from US culture than that!)

After filling our wallet with Belize dollars, we walked to a grocery store nearby, which ended up having a lot of nice things, including some organic foods, such as cheeses; Belizian coffee, special handmade Belizian chocolates, and other nice items, so we spent freely of our newfound loot. Groceries here are expensive, but still less than eating out at most restaurants, so we knew we could save some by buying some lunch items and snacks.

Our final stop was a nice bakery, where we bought a gorgeous loaf of bread called, oddly, "4 Corn Bread"; however, it was studded with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, appeared to be soft wheat bread inside, and no signs of corn anywhere. We bought it because it looked great, not because of the name, and it was a good choice! We made sandwiches of muenster cheese and natural peanut butter with it upon arrival back at our condo, and had tall glasses of coconut water to accompany them. Delicious!

Some of our haul

Belizian money

After lunch we changed into our bathing suits and spent a little time at the pool. The rain had stopped, but the wind was VERY blustery, and it was still overcast. We were the only people at the pool, in fact. Barry went in the water, but the wind was making me a little chilly (amazing), so I just lounged until he was ready to go back inside.

Blustery day

What, me worry?

We then walked around town some more and ended up buying some delicious fresh salsa to eat with our baked tortilla chips, then coming back to the condo to enjoy it. So far, it seems like this trip is mostly about food. :-)

And in that spirit, for dinner we tried a place we kept hearing and reading rave reviews for, Elvi's. It's not right on the beach, but since this was a cooler, wetter day, that wasn't a problem. And we're so glad we went; we had an outstanding waiter, and the food was the best we've had here in Belize so far. We split a huge seafood ceviche appetizer that I could have made a meal of if I'd known the size in advance. Barry got the special: grilled bbq shrimp and bacon-wrapped scallops, beans/rice, steamed veggies, and salad; and I had a nice fish topped with onions, mushrooms, and green peppers and the same side dishes. I brought half my food home as it was just too much after the huge appetizer, but we still managed to split a piece of Key lime pie and an after-dinner drink for dessert! We did a little walking around town after our meal in a vain attempt to work off some of the many calories we'd just ingested, but I was yawning before too long, so we came back to The Phoenix and hit the hay.

Tuesday, May 18: We once again awoke to rain and are hoping that this is not an early start to rainy season, which normally doesn't begin until June. We ate breakfast in the room, and soon the rain had stopped, so we headed down to Joe's Bike Rentals and rented two beach cruiser bikes for 3 hours. What fun! We discovered that we could ride for miles north, right on the beach, past vacation and retirement homes, rentals of all types, and posh resorts. I've never been in a place where all the beach is open to the public, even that right in front of an exclusive resort, so that was a lot of fun, as we could check out many interesting places by looking one way, and the beautiful ocean by looking the other.

Toll bridge to north side of Ambergris Caye

Riding beach cruisers on sand is fun!

It was another windy day!

Once we turned around to head back south to San Pedro, I needed to find a rest room, so we stopped at the first open air bar/restaurant we found that was open, AkBol, and a great place it ended up being. Barry got a drink made with several types of fresh fruit, including his beloved mango, and I got a cheese omelet and fresh OJ. Even though I'd had breakfast earlier (just cereal and coffee), after all the riding, I needed something more!

After turning our bikes back in at Joe's, we headed to the pool for awhile, but it was back to spitting rain again, so we made our way back to our condo and hung out for awhile, eventually making lunch as the rain got heavier. After lunch the rain just "spit" on and off, so we headed to the Belize Bank to cash a few more Traveler's checks, then did some reading on our veranda.

Our dinner was delicious and memorable. We ate at Wild Mango's on the beach. They had a rain screen down to keep us dry. We'd read about this place before coming down so knew it had an acclaimed chef and imaginative cuisine, and it did not disappoint. We started with tropical ceviche (tilapia, tropical fruits, chilis, and fruit juices) and mojitos. For our entree we both got different pork dishes with various sides and sauces that were wonderfully flavorful. The entrees were large enough that we both brought back lunch for the next day, because of course we wanted to split a dessert! We had the molten flourless chocolate cake made with organic Belizian chocolate and even some ancho chili powder! It was almost like a hot pudding, and the chocolate flavor was intense. One of the best desserts ever!

After dinner we took a walk around the streets of town, and I bought a San Pedro ball cap. We also purchased our traditional refrigerator magnet - we like to get one from every place we visit.

Wednesday, May 19: I heard thunderstorms roll through last night, and we woke up to gray skies and steady rain this morning. We have barely seen the sun in three days and are so hoping for a change. According to the forecast, tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be sunny and beautiful -- we are ready for that.

After breakfast in the condo, we went to the fitness center and worked out, since it was too rainy to do much else. It rained most of the day today, and very heavy at times. The local weather web reports 10" (!!!), and we believed it once we saw the pool here at the The Phoenix flooding, 2" of water standing on the grass and sand, and the monsoon-like heavy rains that came down for hours. We spent time online and reading in the condo during the heaviest rains.

Pools overflowing and new "pool" in grass in front of pool from the heavy rain

We did manage to make it out for a little while when the rain was lighter to get a few things at the grocery store and some fruit at the fruit stand down the road. We bought some bananas and lovely small, but very fragrant and juicy mangos. Yum!

Late in the afternoon, the rain finally broke, and we saw a beautiful rainbow had formed over the water. We got out for a long beach walk, this time heading south from town along the beach for about two miles. Lovely!

Rainbow

Storm finally moves out

We had a great dinner of seafood ceviche and shrimp/veggie pizza (absolutely smothered in shrimp!) at the Blue Water Grill, and shared another molten chocolate cake for dessert. It wasn't quite as unforgettable as that at Wild Mangos, but was delicious nonetheless.

Thursday, May 20: Finally, the sun shines again! What a beautiful day this was after yesterday's heavy rain. We made the most of it, spending the morning taking a long walk north of town followed by some pool time, then a snorkel excursion in the afternoon. We rode on a speedboat with ~8 other folks up to two snorkel sites, Tres Cocos and Mexico Rocks. On the way over, we discovered that most of the others on the boat with us were from North Carolina; in fact, one man and his wife live in Chapel Hill, and he works at UNC. Such a small world it is!
We saw some beautiful coral (though also some white, dead coral, unfortunately) and many interesting fish. The largest creature we saw was a huge stingray, which fortunately was always going the other way when I caught a glimpse of him! The sea was clear turquoise and warm; absolutely perfect.

View of The Phoenix from the dock

Emily & Captain Frank driving the boat

Cool sailboat along our way

Unfortunately, due to shifting and light winds, this was also the day that mosquitos made their first appearance of our trip. First time we've used the mosquito repellent we brought, and it did the job. We sure were sorry to see the little devils arrive!

After showering off the salt water from our snorkel trip, we had a great dinner at Caliente's: mixed seafood ceviche, and different types of snapper for both of us. This was a perfect night to eat there as they were having the famed "chicken drop", which normally occurs on Wednesdays, but due to yesterday's rain, they had postponed until tonight. People pay a dollar to buy a square on a large bingo-like board, and a chicken is placed on it. Wherever it poops, the person owning that square gets a prize (we're not sure what the prize is). Many people gathered around, there was a live band, but we couldn't see all that much. Still, it was fun being a part of the action in town, and the generously mixed drinks (mojitos and margaritas) ensured that we got into the spirit of things!

"Chicken Drop"

Friday, May 21: An absolutely beautiful day! We rented bikes from Joe's again this morning and rode north along the beach even farther than the first day - maybe 6 miles one way. The beach "path" sometimes gets narrow and necessitates going under low-hanging palms, around obstacles, and up and down little ramps, so is not quick going. There is also the issue of sand, which at times gets deep and acts as an automatic brake on the bike, necessitating numerous stops and re-starts. But the ride is beautiful and interesting, with the sea on one side and pretty beach resorts and homes on the other.

Barry riding

Iguanas ahead!

Emily riding

Once we turned back, we stopped again at the Ak'Bol yoga retreat outdoor restaurant and placed orders for their delicious chocolate/banana pancakes and freshly squeezed OJ. There was a wonderful breeze as we sat out under the swaying palms and enjoyed our reward.

After returning to The Phoenix, we hit the pool, which felt even better than usual after our long and sweaty bike ride. We ended up talking with an interesting couple from Arizona who own a condo here. They bought it while still under construction and had to hold their breath and hope that everything turned out okay, which of course it did -- this is a beautiful and fine place, and the prices of ocean-front real estate are very reasonable compared to the US and to many other Carribbean islands, thus attracting many Americans, Europeans, Canadians, etc in want of a vacation home or permanent retirement place on the beach.

We spent most of the afternoon at the pool, and despite frequent re-application of sunscreen, both got a bit more sun than we meant to, but it was a fun day. The frozen mojito from the pool bar was wonderfully refreshing as well!

For dinner we walked to Elvi's restaurant for their Friday night Mayan platter. They normally have a Mayan buffet but have not been getting enough of a crowd to justify the expense of making all that food. The platter was delicious and interesting, with pork, chicken, and veggie dishes, coconut rice, black bean soup, and a lovely little bowl of vanilla ice cream with Kahlua, candied pumpkin, and ginger cookie for dessert. Did the Mayans really drink Kahlua? ;-)

Although I was completely stuffed after that feast, Barry still had a bit of room for another scoop of ice cream, which we bought at a little shop here in town. The owners are expats from the US, and we enjoyed talking to the woman running the place, who had been here 13 years after escaping the Pennsylvania winters.

After walking around town for a bit after dinner and picking up a few groceries, I went for a brief night swim at the Phoenix pool, and we sat in lounge chairs enjoying the wonderful breezes for quite awhile.

Saturday, May 22. Just another day in paradise! Today was a relaxing day with a mix of sun and clouds and plenty of time for just chillin'. We took a couple of long beach walks (morning and late afternoon), went to the gym for some weight lifting, spent some time at the pool, and relaxed and read books on the veranda (in the shade) at the peak of the mid-day sun. Many of the other guests staying here at The Phoenix left today, so there was a smaller (and quieter) crowd at the pool today.

We had an excellent dinner once again at Wild Mango's, including tropical ceviche, chiles rellanos for Barry and a shrimp/avacado tortilla stack for me. Such delicious and intense flavors!

We then splurged on two desserts -- a Caye Lime Torte for me, and Banana Chimichangas for Barry, both excellent! We walked out of there with full bellies once again. Thank goodness for all the walking or we'd be packing on pounds daily!

Sunday, May 23: We woke up to rain today, quite heavy at times. This kept us inside for much of the morning, though we did get out for a quick walk on the beach between showers. The local weather website reports that 1.87" of rain fell yesterday. It finally let up after lunch, so we decided to walk down south on the road. The southern part of San Pedro is the most developed and busiest, so we encountered quite a bit of traffic, mostly golf carts, but some taxis as well, and lots of people on bikes.

Typical San Pedro fruit stand

Very few people walk farther than downtown, so we must have been an unusual sight walking and walking along the road, as the scenery gradually changed to rural and the road changed from cobblestone to sand. We walked past all the development to the point that we saw only a few private homes scattered along the beach side and could see the lagoon side to our west. We finally found a cut-through to the beach to walk back that way.

At one point on our walk, one of the numerous vendor selling beaded necklaces tried the hard sell on us, but neither of us really wear necklaces, so he referred us to a lady up the way for earrings, which I told him I might be interested in. She had her three little children at her stand, and one of the two little girls came right out and hugged me, which was such a sweet thing. The other little girl announced that her name was Emily! So, I told them that that was my name as well. The mother told us she was from Guatamala a year ago and was working on her English. We replied that it was much better than our Spanish!

She had no earrings out on her stand, only necklaces and bracelets, so she sent her Emily inside to fetch a couple of boxes of beaded and wooden earrings. I looked them over, but most were not to my taste, being rather big/long, and I'm just too petite for really large earrings. I did find one more delicate pair in pink and white that I liked, but unfortunately, there was only one of them in her box. She promised to look around the house for the matching one, so we said we'd stop back by another time. There is heavy competition for the tourist dollar here, and vendors selling beaded jewelry, wall-hangings, and carved wooden pieces are a dime a dozen, so I do wonder how she will fare here in a country she probably came to for a better life than in her native Guatamala.

After our walk, we headed to the pool. It was still mostly cloudy, but as we sat and read, the sun finally peaked out late in the afternoon.

After showers, we went for Sangria Sunday at the Red Ginger restaurant in our resort again, and had delicious sangria and a large plate of delectable tapas for dinner.

We followed that with a walk around downtown and the beach. We noticed that absolutely no vendors were out on the beach, the first time we remember seeing that, possibly because of Sunday night church and a large birthday party we saw going on in town. We stopped for a scoop of ice cream at "DandEs" -- I had the peanut butter, and Barry had mint chocolate chip. Yum!

We ended the evening lying on lounge chairs at the pool enjoying the wind, bright moonlit sky, stars, and clouds blowing by. Very peaceful!

Monday, May 24: We took another long bike ride this morning, this time farther north than our previous rides. We looked up the last resort we saw online to determine that our ride was at least 7 miles one way into some pretty stiff head winds on the way up. Once we turned around, though, the tail wind made it seem like going downhill. We stopped at our favorite outdoor restaurant on the ride back, AkBol, and had a delicious breakfast of multi-grain coconut pancakes, breakfast burrito, and freshly squeezed OJ. Yum! That gave us plenty of energy to get back to town.

Petting an island dog

AkBol - an oasis along the way

Can you say yummmmm?

We spent the afternoon languishing by the pool -- such a tough life we lead here. The weather has been gorgeous - upper 80s with a mix of sun and clouds and showers mostly in the very early morning hours before we wake up, plus a brief spritz or two during the day.

Frozen mojitos by the pool - so refreshing

A green iguana has become a resident of a ledge outside our veranda. He must be a juvenile as he is not very large (and I read online that they can reach lengths of 5'). He wandered onto the veranda a couple of times, but mostly stays on the ledge right outside it. What an exotic looking little guy!

For dinner we went to the Red Ginger, the upscale restaurant at the resort. We hadn't eaten a full dinner there, only tapas. We had a delicious meal in an elegant, upscale atmosphere. We started with grouper ceviche with mango juice. Barry chose a grouper entree with black beans and rice, and I had orange-bourbon glazed shrimp with rice and grilled zucchini. Both were absolutely scrumptious -- they do wonderful sauces for the seafood.

We both splurged on their beautiful desserts. I had a trio of carribbean creme brulees (pineapple, mango, and coconut), and Barry had the molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Both were a delight to the eyes and the tastebuds!

Tuesday, May 25: Happy 25th anniversary to us! We had thought about trying to go on a tandem parasail to celebrate, but when we checked with the only company on the island that offers parasailing, their boat was down for the day. So, we took a long walk down the beach, and Barry bought me a beaded ankle bracelet at the Guatamalan woman's stand (she never did find the missing earring in the pair I liked).

After our walk, we spent some time at the Phoenix pool, talking to two couples who were traveling together. They mentioned that they were doing the sail to Caye Caulker on Wednesday, an excursion we had particularly wanted to do, so I ran into the office to get us booked on it as well. We then treated ourselves to a nice lunch at Wild Mangos. Barry got a huge burrito, and I had a nice salad with grilled chicken and other goodies on it (cashews, avocado, etc.)

After lunch, we went to the bank and cashed our last traveler's checks, then we spent most of the afternoon lounging on our veranda, reading, doing email, and watching the action at the pool without getting more sun. The breeze here is terrific almost every day, and the veranda provides shade and a great view, so it's a fantastic place to hang out and watch the world go by.

For our anniversary dinner we went to Wild Mangos again (completely different than the lunch menu). We toasted to 25 years with a couple of great mojitos and had a delicious ceviche (Peruvian style this time) to start, then fish dishes for our entrees.

Celebrating 25 years!

Barry's mahi was tender and delicious, but my grouper was a bit dried out and lacked the flavor I've come to expect here in Belize (and at Wild Mangos) -- my only disappointing dinner here. But the dessert made up for it as we split another of their amazing molten chocolate cakes, and it was just as good as the first time!

We finished up the evening with a long walk around town, and Barry bought me some cute dangly earrings at a street vendor. Jewelry vendors are a common sight around San Pedro, and their wares are very reasonable -- both the earrings and ankle bracelet were just $5 each.

Right as we were about to head back into the Phoenix complex, a man rode up on his bike and started talking to us. We're always slightly wary at being approached by locals as there are many vendors here selling things as well as a few down on their luck folks looking for money, but this man proved to be nothing like that. He introduced himself as Dr. Floyd Jackson, a psychiatrist and Julliard-trained violinist. He has lived in several places in the US as well as abroad and spoke more like an American than a Belizian, since he came here only 11 years ago and currently runs a music school on the island. The chance encounter with this interesting man made our anniversary day complete!

Wednesday, May 26: Sail to Caye Caulker. What a special day this was. After breakfast on our veranda, we got all our sunscreen together and headed to the Wet Willy's dock to grab snorkel gear and board the Lady Leslie, a 38-foot Fontaine Pajot catamaran. In addition to the two couples that we'd already met at the Phoenix pool, there was one other couple from the Phoenix aboard as well -- honeymooners from the DC area. She had graduated from UNC in Biology and then gone to NCSU Vet school, so that was yet another Carolina connection we made! It was a good group, and the father and son captain and crew, Martin and Jody, were engaging and interesting.

We had a wonderful sail to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. There were beanbag chairs and padded floats on the bow of the boat to lounge on, making for a great view and very comfortable ride.

Such beautiful water!

We had a nice long snorkel at the marine reserve and saw more fish than we'd ever seen before when snorkeling, including absolutely massive grouper. Also saw a sea turtle, coral, etc. The next stop after a short sail was Shark Ray Alley, a popular spot where many stingrays and nurse sharks gather. The crew put chum out the back of the boat, which brings many of these amazing creatures around, as well as fish. We were snorkeling literally feet from them as they went for the bait. Wow! That was an experience we won't soon forget.

Large number of nurse sharks go after bait

First Mate Jody holds a huge sting ray

On the rest of the sail to Caye Caulker, a smaller, less inhabited island about eight miles south of Ambergris Caye, rain clouds were building, and we got a little light rain, which turned into a heavy downpour after we docked and got safely into the restaurant right next to the dock. Good time for lunch! Barry and I had delicious veggie burrito and quesadillas, rice/beans, and slaw, and a frozen drink. The lime daiquiri I got reminded me of the ones my grandfather used to make down in Ft. Myers, Florida, so brought back good memories.

Storm clouds gather ahead

Caye Caulker

Great lunch!

At this restaurant:

After lunch, we wandered around Caye Caulker in a light rain. It was a cute and colorful little village with no cars at all, only bikes and the occasional golf cart "taxi". Not a lot to do and quite small, but fun to see. Martin said it was the way now bustling Ambergris Caye used to be.

The boat ride back was motoring into the wind, and there was some sea chop, even inside the reef as we were, but it was still a nice ride back with some good coconut tarts handed out by the crew. Overall, a wonderful, but tiring day, and we're very glad we did it. Here's a photo of the catamaran we sailed on - the Lady Leslie:

Upon our return, we relaxed for awhile on the veranda, then showered and walked down to Blue Water Grill. We'd been snacking all day on the boat so just split a bbq chicken pizza (excellent), which we couldn't even finish. We lounged by the Phoenix pool for a bit before crashing into bed at 9:30 pm. Such a wild life we lead!

Thursday, May 27: Today started with another bike rental from Joe's. We rode north along the beach farther than ever before (approximately 9 miles one way).

We finished at a gorgeous resort (Blue Reef Island), and Barry happened to start chatting with a man, Robert, who was an owner there, from Atlanta. He offered to take us up to his unit to have a look. What the heck, we went ahead out of curiosity. First he took us up to the roof deck, which had a panoramic view of Ambergris Caye from the reef to the lagoon, and all the forest in between.

He told us of all the wildlife he and his wife Kathy see here, and how they kayak all over. He then took us to his penthouse condo, which was absolutely stunning. Beautiful woodwork everywhere, elegant furnishings, and breathtaking views out every window. We met his wife, who had just finished working out. They were extremely nice and interesting folks, just like everyone else we have met here in Belize.

On the ride back, we once again stopped at AkBol for a delicious brunch. I had a HUGE mango smoothie since it was getting near lunchtime, and I knew I still had a piece of leftover pizza to eat back at the condo.

Barry had eggs scrambled with veggies and a lovely granola pancake. We bid our farewells to the sweet Belizian waitress who has been there every time we stopped for breakfast. When we arrived today, she came out and handed us glasses of water before we'd even sat down, since she saw us ride up, hot and sweaty on our bikes.

As we were eating, we saw the honeymooning couple from yesterday's Caye Cauker sail excursion ride by on rental bikes. They had taken our advice and rented from Joe's. They stopped to say hi and to ask us about the Reef Village timeshare -- seems they'd just gotten roped into an hour long presentation there. The Reef Village people had been trying to rope us into the same thing ever since we arrived in Ambergris Caye (they have sales guys in a couple of little kiosks here and there around town, as well as onsite, and we have to ride by there on all our bike rides). We always firmly say no, as we have no interest in timeshares and don't want to waste even an hour of our time here. We figure if a place has to aggressively come recruit YOU, you probably don't want to be there, and they are also not right on the beach. So we told the couple our opinion about that. I guess we are now the "wise elders" at The Phoenix since we've been here longer than practically anyone who is currently staying (most only stay a week).

Emily with Joe - a great guy

In the afternoon we took a long walk down south and enjoyed the solitude of getting out of the hustle and bustle of San Pedro once again. We definitely got our exercise for the day! When we walked by the Guatamalan woman's jewelry booth, she stopped me and showed me that she had found the match to the pink stone earrings I'd liked the first time, but I told her I had already bought some similar ones elsewhere. As we walked on, though, Barry convinced me that I should go ahead and buy these anyway, as the price was so low, and she was so sweet to find the one for me and to remember me. I agreed, so on the way back, I went ahead and bought them from her for $6. She was thrilled!

Dinner was once again at Wild Mangos, where the cute little waitress recognized us with a wave since we've been there so many times. This time, my fish was perfect! I had plantain-encrusted tilapia over grilled veggies, and Barry had a great chicken breast over sausage hash with avocado. Of course we split the flourless chocolate cake for dessert once again. We sure will miss this wonderful restaurant!

On the way out we chatted with Randy, Colleen, Bob, and Corrine, our other Caye Cauker sailing companions of the day before and gave them our recommendations on what to order, as they'd just come in for dinner as we were leaving.

Friday, May 28: Last day in Paradise (sigh....) Today just didn't feel the same because we knew that we'd be leaving soon. We had a good breakfast at Estelle's (huge breakfast burritos and juice), a weight workout in the fitness center, took the usual walks, and spent time at the pool. Chatted with friends we'd made at The Phoenix and couldn't believe our two weeks was already drawing to a close.

Barry working out

Our favorite grocery store

We had another delicious dinner at Red Ginger to end our trip. Barry was still full from breakfast so had a cup (but it was really a bowl!) of black bean soup, and linguini primavera, which he couldn't finish. I had coconut curry snapper served with gingered rice and sauteed red bell peppers - truly delightful. The watermelon martinis went down really smoothly too -- filled with loads of fresh watermelon juice!

We had a delightful chance meeting with an older couple at the next table. They moved to Belize about a year ago from Texas and live in one of the most exclusive resorts up north on Ambergris Caye. We've ridden by it on all our bike rides up there. They had a lot of tips for us about the island; surely wish we'd met them earlier in our trip! It was a lively conversation, and they offered to buy us a drink, but we declined as it was getting late (by our standards in Belize anyway!) and we needed to some packing done. They did provide their email address in case we had further questions.

Saturday, May 29: Today we walked down to Estelle's again for an early breakfast and were done by 7:30. I treated myself to one of their huge cinnamon rolls, along with a couple of eggs, and Barry had the banana pancakes.

After finishing our packing, we checked out of The Phoenix and took a taxi to Tropic Air to begin our trip home. Barry was hoping to sit in the co-pilot seat again, but we ended up in the row right behind the pilot - not bad!

Cool instruments

So sad to leave this aqua beauty behind...

Belize City

We were not able to upgrade our US Airways flight from Belize City to Charlotte on the way back, so had to suffer it out in coach. :-) Still, we had no problems, and made it home safely after dinnertime. What a delightful two weeks it was!

We picked Paisley up at the Bed and Bone on Sunday, and she had lost 2 lbs. but seemed fine other than that and VERY glad to be home. She's been eating ravenously ever since! We'll get her fattened back up much more quickly than we'll forget the wonderful time we had in Belize.

Emily's Meanderings

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Head on over to our Belize blog...

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Back from Belize

Monday, February 28, 2011

New Belize Condo Photos

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Belize blog updated with new photos!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Meet Flor!

Monday, September 13, 2010

New Belize Website

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Can't Belize It's Been 25 Years!

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