Kim and Mike were leaving today. It seemed they had only arrived a couple days before. It had been a busy but at the same time relaxing week. Most of all we’d had an incredibly fun week. We had done and seen a lot but not as much as I would have liked. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will ever look at a weeks vacation the same way again. A week is so short! I woke up earlier than everyone else so I got dressed and decided to go get breakfast. I biked to the fruit stand and had a fresh pineapple cut up and got a couple of bottles of fresh squeezed juice. Then to the fry jack stand just next to the fruit stand. I ordered a couple different fry jacks, stuffed with eggs, cheese,  beans and ham. The bakery was not yet open, but when it did open I was there to get cinnamon rolls, donuts, and bread pudding bars (something new to me). Everyone was up when I returned and we spread out our feast. I spent a total of $15 USD on all of this. Everything was great. We chatted about the trip, especially about our dive trip yesterday. Eventually it was time for Mike and Kim to pack up. We rode our bikes to the water taxi pier with Mike and Christian carrying their luggage (an advantage to packing in backpacks). Kim and I checked luggage and bought tickets as the guys returned their bikes. We met on the beach so they could have one last look at the turquoise water before returning to the frozen Midwest. We ran into John on the way back to the water taxi (it’s amazing how often you run into people on this tiny island). It was a good chance to say goodbye. We made our way out to the end of the water taxi’s pier. We gathered with other passengers into something that crudely resembled a line. At the last minute, the employees yelled that Belize City passengers were actually boarding on the other side of the pier. Ok, that would’ve been good information for everyone to have had earlier, but we ARE in Belize. They crossed to the other side and after our hugs and final pictures, they got in line for the smallest water taxi I’ve ever seen. And on top of that it looked to already be filled to capacity before they even got to the front. Somehow every single person in line was crowded onto the boat. Oh no! They had an hour long ride to get into the city! I was saying a prayer for them, I certainly didn’t want this to leave a poor impression of their trip. The diving yesterday had ruled out the possibility of taking the small tropic air airplane to Belize City because there is recommended 24 hour no fly window after diving for safety. After leaving the water taxi pier we decided to walk down Front Street. We soon came to a small booth set up with puppies! And we definitely can’t resist puppies! It was the Caye Caulker Animal Shelter. They actually are looking for homes in the US or Canada to take the puppies, where they’re able to have the puppies flown to the nearest airport very inexpensively. We held and looked at the puppies and listened to them talk about the shelter. They also want people on the island to take their adult dogs out for walks for a little while. Sure! We like dogs! We had seen people everyday walking these cute, well behaved dogs through town with little “adopt me” vests on. That would be fun! We followed the director back through the yard to the pet play area they were building. They’re really trying to help the overpopulation of dogs and cats here on the island. Most of the dogs were already out on walks. But there were two left, Blackie and Sophia. Christian was assigned to Blackie because he neeeded a man to walk him because he’s a strong dog. (We should’ve caught on to that clue). Blackie also needed a harness instead of a collar because he liked to pull (uh oh). And Sophia had to have a chain leash because she chews up everything. We were also instructed not to go toward the split because Blackie doesn’t always like other dogs. (What?!) So we started out, going AWAY from the split, and things were ok for the first few minutes. Several local Belizeans thanked us for what we were doing. We took a few pictures and walked a little further. Blackie saw something he wanted and began to literally pull Christian down the street. Sophia, not wanting to be left behind, also began to pull on her leash. What Blackie wanted was to play in the ocean (which they said would be ok) so Christian took off his leash and let him go. Sophia, again not wanting to be left behind, pulled her leash right out of my hand and went in after him. We watched and laughed for a few minutes until we began to wonder if they were just going to keep swimming out and we may not be able to get them back. The next 20 minutes was spent wading into the water trying to get dogs, getting ourselves covered in sand and water in the meantime. When we finally got them under control, we decided we had had enough. We returned the dogs in their wet and dirty vests, and promised to donate some dog food. Ok, that was a disaster. It was time for a rest day. After yesterday and then the dog fiasco, I was worn out. The rest of the day was spent laying on the lounge chairs by the pool outside our cabins. We read, napped, I wrote some in my blog. It was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon. We had dinner at Pizza Caulker. I know, I know, we are in the Caribbean. And we had actually resisted having things like pizza and hamburgers at first. But really they are very common here, there is a lot of what we think of as American food everywhere we go. But we were glad we went to Pizza Caulker. Greg, the owner originally from Canada, came out to greet us and sat with us for a little while. He was an interesting character to say the least. And the pizza was fabulous! Good ending to a day that started a little sad (to see Kim and Mike go) and then became disastrous (with the dogs). Things tend to work out if you just keep moving forward…