Lazy mornings with no alarm are always fun. Time spent sitting on the balcony watching the beachfront come to life and boats zigzagging across the sparkling blue water. We get to cook breakfast now with a kitchen and then we dressed for church. We’d seen a charming little church we wanted to attend this morning. Most everything here seems to be Catholic, and there is a lovely cathedral in the middle of town. We have also seen Mormon churches and a Spanish speaking 7th day Adventist church. Besides those, there are no denominations here, just community churches. So when we found one, we decided to give it a try.

We felt so completely welcome at the church, although most of the churchgoers were locals there were a couple of other tourists attending and at least a couple of expats who are regulars. The music was great and the pastor introduced himself to us and preached from Psalm 100 on joy. After church nobody runs out of the sanctuary but almost everyone stood around for a while and talked.

After church we took a short walk on the beach (really we were looking for a herd of iguanas we had seen from the road) and we found a cute caved palm tree perfect for sitting (and for pictures). Next stop was a roadside barbecue stand to get some lunch to take back. Sundays (and Saturdays too) bring out grills on every street corner at small makeshift stands so that the smell of barbecue really permeates the town. We ate our pork chops, rice and beans, and homemade tortillas on our balcony and then spent some time reading and relaxing. After a while we could hardly stand looking at the calm water and not being in it, so we headed down to rent a kayak at a nearby pier. We paddled up and down the beachfront and saw several starfish, but the really exciting moment came when we saw a beautiful spotted eagle Ray just a few feet from our kayak. I stuck my waterproof camera in the water and came up with the greatest picture! I was so excited, I love these majestic rays.

As we paddled past another pier we noticed a large group of local teenagers hanging out. They were in and out of the water and looked to be having a lot of fun. One boy decided he’d do some stunt riding off the end of the pier on his bicycle, trying to impress the girls no doubt. I loved seeing them out here doing what is only natural for them but is a rare experience for us, enjoying the crystal water and perfect weather on a Carribean island.

After kayaking we walked along the pier for a little while. Even just looking into the water we saw a variety of tropical fish. Parrot fish, box fish, ballyhoo, Sargent Majors, and on and on. Even 15 yards from shore they hide around the pillars of the dock. A couple of young boys had found a large sea slug and were examining it on the sea wall. It was enormous slug at about the size and shape of a cucumber.

Back to the patio for the rest of the day, sandwiches in the condo completed our peaceful and very restful day. Tomorrow we have plans to return to Caye Caulker one more time to dive and spear some Lionfish with scuba sensation. The last few days are passing all too quickly…

Today we would be moving to a beach front condo also in San Pedro. We have done this before, moved to a different location within the same town, because there are just so many interesting places to stay I hate to limit it. We didn’t have to be out until 11:30 so we decided to go to a place on the west end that reportedly has fantastic crepes on Saturday and Sunday morning. At Stella’s Smile we ordered and since it wasn’t yet busy the owner spent some time talking to us. He and his wife moved here from Maryland last year and they were also featured on house hunters international last fall. He told us that they already owned this property and were getting ready to move down full time. The show filmed one day in Maryland and then 4 days in Belize. They had to take the furniture out of the home they were moving into for the “showing” when they filmed and they found two other properties to show them. The show assigned them a budget and described what the conflict would be between them with him saying he wanted one thing and his wife saying another. They actually filmed the “6 months later” shots on the first day before the furniture was removed. Because I enjoy the show it was fascinating hearing him talking about it. I knew it was not what it seemed, but what I like is seeing how people live in other countries anyway, so it doesn’t ruin it for me.

After brunch we headed back to pack up. We were moving such a short distance and only using the golf cart we had rented, that we were a little haphazard this time, throwing things into bags wherever we could. We checked out and loaded the golf cart to make the approximately one mile move to Paradise Villas. Our small second floor condo looked directly over the ocean and the busy beachfront. It was a one bedroom with a small kitchen and a fabulous
large covered lanai where we could sit and watch the ocean and beachfront. We spent some time going to the bakery,the meat market, and the supermarket to get some supplies so we wouldn’t have to eat out every meal anymore.

The afternoon brought a long walk on the busy beachfront. The beach in San Pedro is narrow and some is actually sea wall instead of beach. There are lots of piers dotted along the way, some with restaurants, some with dive shops and others with water taxi services. Many piers have a combination of these things and stay very busy. There are also beachfront restaurants and hotels all along the way with local merchants having also set up small tables here and there. We walked out on piers and saw young boys fishing, often with hand lines. It almost seems too easy, there are lots of snappers and grouper at the foot of the dock and the water is so crystal clear that they can watch the fish as they drop the line in beside it. But more than once we saw the fish clean off the hook without being caught, the boys are learning how to set the hook at just the right time to not let it get away. Being a Saturday morning we also saw local children playing in the water while their parents watched from the beach or playing in the sand with their dogs. It’s not the slow, peaceful walk down an expansive beach as in Florida, instead it’s the beauty of the Caribbean on one side and a wonderful opportunity to people watch on the other. After a few hours up and down the beach, we rested for a while and headed to dinner. Read more

The day dawned bright with a fierce wind making even the water inside the reef ripple and form foamy white caps as they rolled over themselves. We had no plans to going diving today, a decision we felt good about as we watched in the distance small dive boats rocking furiously as they made their way through the rough water leading them beyond the reef.

We sat in lounge chairs overlooking the beach for a while until our stomachs told us it was time for a late breakfast. We ate at the hotel’s open air restaurant while keeping the lush greenery and ocean in view. After we ate we decided to go riding around the southern end of the island. We rode down the bumpy rides in our golf cart and stopped at a few local places. When we passed a lagoon connected to the marina and Christian saw a sign prohibiting the feeding of crocodiles, he swung the golf cart around. He figured that if they put up a sign like that, there must be crocodiles around. At first we looked near the banks and were disappointed, but as we looked farther out we saw the head and ridges on the tail of a large crocodile. We watched as he glided slowly through the water, satisfied that we had seen a crocodile at last (and I was glad it wasn’t too close to us).

Sudden cool winds and large black clouds off to the east made us hurry back to the hotel. After it blew over, more beach time seemed like a good call. We hadn’t felt like lunch after a late breakfast so by 4:00 we headed out in search of dinner. We found a local restaurant we had passed several times in the golf cart where two men waved people down on the street asking them to come eat. I ordered fajitas and Christian decided to try the whole fried fish (a local favorite). The fajitas were literally the best I’ve ever eaten and Christian’s fish was also delicious. The beady eyes and small sharp teeth protruding from the lower jaw were too funny not to take a picture of. Our waitress watched us out of the corner of her eye, surely wondering why we would be photographing our food.

A trip to an art gallery down the street featuring art from solely Belizean artists entertained us for the next hour and we even found a painting of an angelfish that we purchased and had shipped to the states. We found a small restaurant and bar on a deck stretching out over the water where we sat and talked for a while. Two young Belizean boys were fishing at the end of the pier, one with a pole and the other just using hand line. They’d caught several yellow tailed snappers and a small barracuda and were proud to show off their catch.

We finally headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow we would move to an apartment for the remaining 5 days of our stay here. It’s hard to believe the end is getting so close. I’d forgotten since last year just how comfortable and peaceful I feel here, and this trip definitely won’t be our last.

We woke to the most beautiful weather we’d seen since we’ve been here. A sunny day without any clouds and, more importantly for diving, a day with very little wind was on hand. We couldn’t waste this opportunity. We gathered up our stuff and headed for the dock. We boarded a boat with Turiano and Steve and Barb from New York. Our first dive was at Cypress Canyons. We swam through deep tunnels formed by rock and coral that came out as deep as 90 feet. Visibility was good and we floated effortlessly on the current past a myriad of coral and brightly colored fish. After a surface interval on the dock, we went back for a second dive at Cypress reef. Although it wasn’t far from Cypress canyons, the coral formations were different here. Huge fingers of coral stretched up in formations that were at least 20 feet tall and almost as wide. Fish hid inside for protection and scurried away only when we came near.

Both dives today went well, good visibility and calm water on entry and exit. We were happy with our dives and ready to call it a day (as far as diving was concerned) until we learned there was a night dive scheduled! Christian has done one night dive before and I’ve never done one. We tried to schedule a night dive on Caye Caulker but the weather didn’t cooperate. We’ve heard that the Caribbean marine life is different at night thanks to animals that hunt at night and hide during the day. So we jumped on the opportunity to do the dive in this perfect weather.

The rest of the afternoon was spent finding lunch and visiting the marine supply store to find a replacement strap for my broken underwater noisemaker, then back to the room for a little rest before it was time to get ready for the night dive.

We headed to the dock around 5:30. The boat would actually go out just before the sunset to tie off and get ready for nightfall. The currents reportedly can get stronger and stronger underwater after sunset so the best time to go is just as it gets dark to avoid the extremely strong currents. As we sat on the dock and waited while the boat was prepared we saw a spotted eagle ray glide slowly past the dock just beneath the surface of the water. The beauty and grace of the rays never gets old. We boarded the boat as the sun began to dip near the western horizon, and the boat began the short trip to our destination. We tied off to the buoy and Turiano began briefing us on how the dive would go and what we would see. We would enter the water a few minutes before total darkness to ease the transition (especially for me since it was my first night dive). It’s one thing to jump into clear blue water and be able to see for a hundred feet or more in every direction. It’s a completely different experience to jump into black water where your sight is limited by the beam of the flashlight you’re holding.

Once in the water we descended to the sandy bottom. This would be a shallow dive as 25 feet is the maximum depth of the channel in the area with coral formations and walls on either side of the wide sandy bottom. I could already feel the current moving me along and I saw there would be nothing effortless about this dive, it took constant movement to maintain your position or to move slowly enough to search for marine life with the flashlight.

The light quickly faded and all we could see was whatever was within our flashlights reach. Very large grouper with beautiful stripes and patterns followed us around. They’ve learned to also follow the flashlight beams of the divers to find small fish they can eat. My problem was that each time I saw a cute little fish I would move my light because I didn’t want to be the cause of the beautifully colored fish getting eaten. Faulty logic maybe, of course I know its the way it works out here, but I couldn’t help it. We looked above us and saw schools of small fish silhouetted in our lights. We also watched as several majestic spotted eagle rays glided by above us.

The furthers we swam we began to see stingrays lying on the sandy floor, they flap their “wings” and cover themselves with sand until you see only their eyes and the outline of their bodies. Further investigation within my limited beam revealed hundred of stingrays on the ocean floor. In some places there didn’t seem to be any spots without sting rays, and I suddenly became very cautious of not getting too near the sand and disturbing them with thoughts of Steve Irwin in my head. We encountered a large green moray eel swimming very quickly around the coral wall, Christian and I were trying to alert Turiano but by the time he noticed it the eel was almost swimming up his leg. Of course I know the eels may be looking for food but we are not on the menu. That doesn’t make it less intimidating to see a 6 foot eel swimming within a few feet. We rounded a corner and Turiano was motioning with his light to come near him. A cuttlefish (squid) was hovering about a small coral formation. As we came closer it didn’t move, it’s body was an elongated sphere that was somewhat translucent so that our flashlight beams penetrated it. It’s eyes were like dark orbs win the small tentacle like protrusions on top and what looked like a tiny spinning propeller on the bottom, I couldn’t take my eyes off this little alien. It just hovered for several minutes until it decided to leave by the exact path I was occupying. I had a little moment of terror as it swam directly at my face. I was suddenly not sure if the eggplant sized creature was of any danger to me and I flapped my arms wildly to move. It came within a few inches of my head and disappeared. I was stunned. That was the most unusual living creature I’ve ever seen so close. We had only a few minutes remaining in the hour long dive and we came to the boat. At some point we had circled around and come back to our boat, of which I had been unaware. There is no way to safely do a dive like this without an experienced divemaster who knows the way. We climbed aboard the boat excited about all we’d seen. As after all good dives, the atmosphere was electric with the thrill of exploration into a foreign world, especially since we’d witnessed the cuttlefish so closely.

We returned to our room and changed. We were hungry and walked down the beach to find a restaurant for dinner. We had signed up for a trip to Turneffe for tomorrow. It would be a long day with 3 dives near the distant islands of Turneffe Atoll. We’ve wanted to dive there ever since we got to Belize but it’s been difficult to find someone going there or at least find a day without so much wind that it makes the trip impossible, so we have high hopes for tomorrow. For now we need to try to get some sleep since our boat leaves the dock at 6 am.

Just another exciting day in paradise….

Today was our first full day on Ambergris Caye. After we woke up, we decided to head down to the dive shop and sign up for a dive today. We got our equipment and headed for our assigned boat. There was one other couple on the dive with us from upstate New York. They had been diving for quite a few years but their last dive was over a year ago.

As we headed out, we noticed the wind had picked up a little bit. Going through the large gap in the reef here is not usually too bad, but today large waves came right at us and we inched through with our small boat rocking violently. The dive site was near the opening and we braced the tossing boat to roll in. The divemaster had chosen a relatively easy dive due to the other couples last dive date having been a while back. Turiano, our divemaster, was thorough in their briefing and always made, sure we were all safe. But honestly, after our last one a couple days ago for the Lionfish Derby, this dive seemed tame (as a nice way to put it.) We saw an array of colorful fish and I will admit I feel kinda bad that I’ve gotten so accustomed to their beauty that I feel a little dismissive of it. After our dive, we went back to the pier. We opted not to do another dive today with the rough conditions and the less than thrilling first dive.

We changed and headed for the golf cart to do some exploring. After being on Caye Caulker, San Pedro feels akin to Manhattan, something we seem to have forgotten since last year. There is still a laid back island vibe here but it absolutely doesn’t apply to driving. Golf carts are the primary mode of transportation here with automobiles (mostly as taxis) being fairly common also. Add to that the scores of people riding bikes and walking (with no sidewalks), and it’s enough to make me hold the side bar of the golf cart with knuckles as white as cotton. The roads are very bumpy and have giant speed bumps as well, it would seem that these certainly serve to keep everyone alert, whether drivers, bikers, or pedestrians. We went across the bridge to the north end and drove until the paved road ended. We stopped at a small beach bar way out at the end of a pier. The view is stunning out there. The food was pretty good with portions so large we couldn’t finish it (which isn’t common here as it is in the states). We passed scores of resorts and condo complexes with even more under construction. The north end of San Pedro is steadily growing and now has its own variety of restaurants and even a few stores, which is a good thing for anyone staying over here since there is a golf cart toll on the bridge each way.

We passed through town again and headed south. The south tip is pretty well developed but not quite as busy or congested as San Pedro Town. There are homes, stores, roadside stands, and a resort here and there. Finally, the road led us back to Ramon’s to spend some time reading and relaxing on the beach. When dinner time came, we decided on a place we’d seen on the north end. After dinner with views of the sunset on the west side, we returned to the hotel to find live music at the open air restaurant. We sat in lounge chairs by the pool and talked with a couple from Lake Charles, Louisiana. We wandered up and down the pier for a while and talked about our day.

We are adjusting to the faster pace and different way of doing things here. I have to remind myself sometimes when I go from one place to another that just because things are done differently, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done wrong. Ambergris Caye is a beautiful place, and with so much to offer, I’m excited to find out what it holds for us.

As soon as I woke the dreaded reality hit me, I have to pack everything up this morning! I actually enjoy packing before a trip because it’s all a part of the anticipation of a trip, but since we are already here it’s now just a chore. I got up and showered, dressed, ate toast, worked on my blog, pretty much anything to put off packing a little longer. When I finally just did it, I was actually finished pretty quickly. I’m usually not a procrastinator and this helps me remember why, things are rarely as bad as the dread of them.

We spent some time out by the pool visiting with John and Susan, of course hunting Lionfish is always a main topic of conversation. We joke that other people are probably going to get tired of us talking about that, but we never tire of this conversation with each other because we know how outrageously fun it really is.

The time came to call a golf cart taxi and load up. John and Susan met us at the water taxi pier to see us off. Even though we are only changing locations and we have lots of fun in store on Ambergris Caye, I’m feeling sad to be leaving Caye Caulker and all the fun we’ve had here.

The water taxi ride was pretty smooth today and we arrived without incident in San Pedro. We waited on the busting beach with all its colorful buildings for the luggage cart and found our ride from Ramon’s Village, where we are staying. Ramon’s village is a network of cottages with tall thatched roofs with immaculately landscaped grounds. They’ve given the impression when you walk through the talk arched entryway onto the grounds that right here in town you’ve entered the rainforest and you are staying in a traditional wood and thatch cabin in the midst of it. The execution and beauty of this place make me think of Disney. If they had a resort on a tropical island, it would look just like this. The main building has a fantastic winding pool with lush greenery and palms as if it a small stream in the jungle. The restaurant is open air and looks over the ocean. On the beach you reach a pier with a palapa on either side that serves as the dive shop. A long dock with multiple pristine boats of all different sizes stretches a long way out over the sea.

After we were settled in our quaint room, we walked down the street to rent a golf cart. These streets are much too narrow and crowded for me to want to either walk or bike. We explored the town a little and ate at a favorite restaurant for dinner. After returning to our hotel we walked down the beach in front of hotels, restaurants, bars, and piers with dive shops or tour operators on them. The beachfront in this part of town resembles the beachfront of a tourist town in Florida, only on a smaller scale with a decidedly Caribbean flair. And although the beaches in Florida are more expansive and well groomed, the water here is infinitely more blue than the gulf. And being able to look out and see the waves breaking over the reef just offshore is just a bonus.

The sadness of earlier in the day is gone and I’m thinking we are going to have a lot of fun on this island, that although close to Cay Caulker, really couldn’t be more different.

We woke up early today after we fell into bed exhausted last night. We had no plans for today, we had not been able to think past the Lionfish Derby, so after we got dressed we headed out in search of breakfast. Many restaurants are closed on Sunday so we checked several places before we found one open. Amore y Cafe is a quaint wood frame restaurant on front street with brightly colored tables and mismatched chairs and stools. We sat on the front porch to take advantage of the breeze and to people watch while we ate delicious homemade waffles with fresh fruit.

After breakfast we returned home and spent some time talking with John and Susan. We had hoped to do a night dive today but the gusting wind and scattered clouds were going to make that an impossibility. At midday, we all four rode our bikes through town and stopped at a little Mediterranean restaurant with an ocean view down near the split. The wind was howling as we ate at one of the outdoor tables and keeping up with my napkin became my main objective at lunch. A few errands after lunch and back home again.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and talking and laughing. We’ve had more fun with John and Susan than I ever could have even expected. They pulled meat out of their freezer they’d gotten when they were inland from one of the cattle farms, and we feasted on steak, pork loin, corn and potatoes for dinner. We’d even made a strawberry cake in celebration of Valentines Day.

As I look back at this blog, I think it looks pretty typical of social media these days- stories of what we are eating. But the real story in every one of these meals is the experience with the culture of the island and with good friends. One of our favorite parts of Belize is the people. Whether old friends, new friends, other tourists we talk to for only a few minutes, or Belizeans we’ve had the pleasure to get to know, every experience for me is framed by the people we were with. There is a different brand of camaraderie here. With people who are vacationing here, expats who live here, or locals who are doing their jobs, there is a more casual atmosphere that puts everyone at ease and makes conversation easier and conflict less conflicting. So while we love the adventure of exploring a cave, or kayaking, or scuba diving- it’s the prevailing attitude of friendliness and the willingness to stop and invest in relationship that draws me in. The 10 minute conversation we had with a young couple from Wisconsin last night to the hours spent this week getting to know the divemasters, to the days visiting with John and Susan- I just can’t get enough of the joy of getting to know the people.