A walk on the beach (2-20-16)

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.

We had been planning our Saturday night dinner for several days. At Pineapples Restaurant the Saturday night special is three kinds of meat (steak, shrimp, and scallops) brought raw to your table where you cook it yourself on an extremely hot stone also placed on your table. It’s the same reason The Melting Pot is so fun but with a stone. The meal was delicious! We sat in the open air restaurant very close to the beach and listened to the entertainment for tonight, a Belizean guy singing and playing the keyboard. He had many original songs that couldn’t help but remind us of Doug from King of Queens. So we were even more entertained than most.

On the way back we noticed that the area of town near the clock tower and beachfront park was closed to traffic so we parked and walked in to see what was happening. Stands were set up selling BBQ and burgers all along the way, with people just hanging out and walking around. It was a fun, festive atmosphere and happens every Friday and Saturday night.

We returned to our cute apartment and sat out on the balcony for a little while listening to the live music being played at a nearby open air restaurant. Perfect ending to a perfect day…

Beautiful sunrise this morning
Beautiful sunrise this morning
We watched a man paint this sign completely freehand
We watched a man paint this sign completely freehand
House at Stella's smile
House at Stella’s smile
Our cute apartment
Our cute apartment
Throwing his freshly caught grouper in his plastic bag
Throwing his freshly caught grouper in his plastic bag
View from our balcony
View from our balcony
A walk on the beach
A walk on the beach
A walk on the beach
A walk on the beach

2 thoughts on “A walk on the beach (2-20-16)

  1. Kay Pigg says:

    Gina,
    Our friends from church just got back from a trip to Belize and we were telling them about you and your trip. In the discussion, they said they were there at the docks for the Lion fish tourney you guys were in. They watched all the people bring their catch in. They probably saw you. She wants me to send her the link for your blogs to see your posts on Belize. They snorkled one day but their trips seemed to be the rainforest and land trips.
    interesting.
    Kay

    1. Gina says:

      That’s great! Too bad we didn’t know. She can just go straight to my blogsite at blogsbygina.com

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