We purposefully had a very slow and relaxing morning since we were catching a plane at 2:30. We wanted to eat all the food we had left so we took an inventory of our refrigerator. Three eggs, two pieces of leftover pizza from a great little Italian place here, salsa, half a block of cheese, three pieces of bread, two tortillas, a little bacon, butter, two oranges, a banana, some mixed tropical fruit jelly, and one beer that was here when we got here. Well, needless to say we didn’t get it all eaten, but we did have an interesting breakfast. Packing was the main goal of the morning, which actually was becoming easier with each time we move to another location. After we packed, we had a little time to kill so we went to a beach cafe we had been meaning to try. It was the cutest thatched roof restaurant with a phenomenal view, we were sorry we did not have time to return. Our Tropic Air flight was scheduled for 2:30 so we headed out for the airport (which was a whole 2 miles away) around 1:45. Just before we reached the airport in the cab, we came to what appeared to be a railroad crossing, only there are no trains in Belize. The bar that was lowered across the street was actually an airplane crossing. The road curves around the end of the airstrip, and when a plane takes off it does not lift up quickly enough to to give the road good clearance. So instead of chancing an accident with a car, they stop all traffic. It was only a minute before we saw a plane taking off and it indeed was still very low over the road. After checking our bags and settling into the spacious waiting room (with 4 sofas) we boarded the plane 3 minutes before takeoff. We settled in directly behind the pilot. It was a very windy day and we were anticipating a bumpy flight in the small 14 passenger plane. I couldn’t help but notice the “pilots operating manual” in the passenger side door and wondered if that was a good sign or not? The flight was relatively uneventful, a little bumpy as we expected, but the breathtaking views made up for that. We arrived in Belize City just after 3:00 and since Kim and Mike would be in at 3:50, we timed it pretty well, or so we thought. We actually saw there plane land at 3:45 so we hurriedly went to wait for them at the doors leaving the international terminal. Of course we know they would have to go through immigration and that would take a little time, but we could wait. 40 minutes later we began to wonder if there was a problem in immigration? We watched as every other person waiting on someone all left after collecting the passenger they sought. Except us, we alone were left. Now we were concerned. It had been almost an hour since they landed. Just before we convinced ourselves they may be the next stars of “locked up abroad,” they finally emerged from the airport. Our sign was not really needed with no crowd left. Not waiting for any explanations, we moved quickly to the car and driver waiting for us. We had a long drive ahead of us to reach Corozal. We had an interesting 2 hour drive talking with our driver Mandy. We convinced Mandy to stop by a supermarket before we reached our destination. We gathered eggs, bread, juice, butter and jelly. Mandy took us to the house we had rented. Jairo, the property manger was there to meet us, and held up a key ring of about 8 keys and proceeded to show me what each key fit and I just shook my head like I was going to remember. It was very dark by he time we got to the cabin so we couldn’t really see our surroundings. This cabin actually has a resident dog named Lila who is very friendly (and Jairo comes everyday to take care of her). After walking us though all we needed to know, Jairo locked the big gate behind him and left. Well, here we were in an unfamiliar place. We had a nice cabin to stay in on a large lot, but we were locked in by a big gate and 12 foot fence surrounding us (we had a key but no car to venture out onto the pitch black street outside). Since we had not had dinner, we got busy cooking eggs and toast. Not the first night’s dinner our guests may have imagined, but we have found it easier to just go with the flow. We feasted on our eggs and toast and had a great time visiting, we were looking forward to morning and actually seeing where we were…

Our alarm woke us up early to meet our group once again to try the outing to Monkey River. I peeped outside to see the most glorious morning since we’ve been here. I dressed quickly and grabbed my camera, heading for the beach. The sunrise was spectacular. The wind was non-existent (which is almost unheard of) and the water was one solid sheet of glass. I yelled for Christian to come out to the beach to see it. We stood for a while on the beach awed by the sight and wished we could take the kayaks out on the smooth water. But Monkey River promised to be a trip worth taking, so we hurriedly ate and started the walk to town. We were in a small boat with 2 other families (both from Canada, as at least half the tourists are here), and a local guide named Brent. Our boat skimmed over a sea of glass for a wonderful half hour ride to the mouth of Monkey River. We stopped at the small village by the same name and ordered lunch from a local restaurant to have on the return trip. We began our slow cruise down the river. On the river we saw birds of different shapes, size, and colors; huge orange or green iguana; large turtle; and even several crocodiles! The ride through the mangroves, palms, cane, and countless other greenery as our knowledgeable guide spouted off facts about every plant and animal in sight, was beautiful. But I kept having the feeling I was at Disney on the jungle boat ride. I literally kept reminding myself this was real, but there didn’t seem to be a spot in my brain for this to be reality. I had not grown up in a tropical paradise like our guide, but in a world where something this perfect and beautiful only exists as a fantasy created by Walt Disney. I always thought Disney exaggerated the majesty of such scenes now I see that in actuality they couldn’t possibly make it as breathtaking as the real thing. As much as were oohing and ahhing at everything Brent pointed out, the real stars of the expedition were still up ahead. We pulled up into a grove of mangroves and found a sandy spot where Brent skillfully pulled the boat ashore. We all got out of the boat and waited on the narrow trail leading into the jungle. Brent actually told us to wait there while he went on ahead to check it out! What?! And then he joked that he left the keys in the boat so if he didn’t return we should try to find our way home. Not funny Brent! Since we did not seem enough like clueless tourists about to venture into the jungle. We started applying sunscreen and bug spray, because I’m sure that’s what all great jungle explorers do. Christian and I may have been feeling a little smug because at least we had on hiking pants and appropriate footwear and not shorts and flip-flops like some of our group. Brent returned and motioned for us all to follow him. We could already faintly hear the ferocious sounding screams of howler monkeys in the distance. Brent led us through the jungle at a pace that said he may have forgotten we were soft tourists and not his childhood friends out on a day of exploring in the jungle. One older lady in our group who became afraid the sucking mud would break her flip-flop actually stopped about halfway in and said she would just wait for our return. This is where the Disney similarities ended. We left an elderly member of our group in the middle of an unfamiliar jungle without hesitation (this included her husband and daughter who were a little irritated that she had the camera and chose not to go on). The screams of the howler monkeys were almost deafening at times. Brent explained that there were 2 families of monkeys arguing over territory. Howler monkeys rarely get physical, but the loudest howling monkey wins, so they increase their volume as the conflict escalates. We finally got close enough to actually see some of the monkeys in the trees above us, we even saw a large female with a baby with her. (This is also a departure from the strict safety standards on which Disney insists – they would never let you come within feet of large angry monkeys in the wild – which turned out to be totally awesome). We moved around a small group of trees for a little while trying to catch sight of the different monkeys making the unbelievably loud commotion. Brent finally told us it was time to go, we were reluctant to say the least. He now actually expressed concern for the elderly lady he had so readily left behind 30 minutes before. So after following him through another muddy trek, we returned to find the stranded member of our group waiting patiently. She was actually a good sport about the whole thing with her only comment to Brent being that she should have asked him if snakes were common in this jungle because she had been hyper aware the entire time thinking she might encounter a snake. I must say she is the most adventurous woman her age I’ve ever met. We returned to the boat and began our trip back to the mouth of the river. We saw more wildlife on the way out, with Brent tirelessly spouting out information on everything we passed. When we made it back to Monkey River Village, we docked at the small restaurant where we had placed our lunch order a few hours earlier. We were treated to a traditional Belizean lunch of fish and beans and rice. This was one of the first times we had been served beans and rice, the different dish of rice and beans was actually much more commonplace. Rice and beans somewhat resembles jambalaya, and the dish of beans and rice is a more similar to red beans and rice. After lunch we began the trip back to Placencia. Along the coastline we slowed to watch for the playful manatee that live here. They are mammals that breathe air so they have to surface now and then to take a breath while grazing on the sea grass beneath. We caught several quick glimpses of them, but catching them in a picture was a challenge. We saw them poke up their heads, even saw a mother and baby come up, but by the time I could get my camera up all I got was their butts. In the picture it may as well be the Loch Ness monster as the back-end of a manatee. But I know what it is, so I guess that’s what matters. We returned to town around mid afternoon. We again “ran errands”, visiting the market, the pharmacy, and the laundry service where we had dropped off some clothes this morning. For $5 USD it was much easier to have our clothes washed and dried by a local laundress that deal with it all ourselves. We stopped in at John the Bakerman’s store and ordered a loaf of Banana Bread, and we returned to the cottage to rest on the front porch, me in the hammock and Christian in the lounge chair. We are getting so comfortable here and I love it more everyday, but tomorrow brings the arrival of Kim and Mike and a whole new set of adventures.

We had another day of relaxation planned, much to Christian’s chagrin. After some time walking on the beach and reading, we decided to take the kayaks out to “the tree”. The tree was a lone tree we could see in the distance near Placencia Island that looked to be a tiny little island all of its own. So wet set out in the 2 single kayaks. After probably 15 minutes of paddling against the current we discovered the tree was much farther away than we had anticipated. Christian pulled ahead of me and I encouraged him to go on ahead to the tree (hoping I could just turn around and head back without having to paddle all the way out there). We had both noticed how shallow the water was becoming as we neared Placencia Island, we could see the grassy bottom and also some rock like things in the water. Christian called back excitedly that he had found a starfish! I suddenly found my strength renewed in my quest to see said starfish. We soon discovered there were many starfish in the water. The water was so clear they were easy to spot once we started looking. I had my waterproof camera with me that I would thrust down into the water to take pictures of them. That’s how we discovered that the rocks we had seen were actually coral formations. We began to look closely in the water as we paddled. We just then noticed that there was a dark cloud right behind us. We began to paddle back as fast as we possibly could (being rained on in a small kayak is a different from walking in town) and just reached our porch in time for the first drops to fall. After another smoothie and some rest, we decided the rain was past and we would go starfish hunting again. The trip did not get any shorter they second time, but I was more motivated knowing that something more exciting than a tree awaited me. We had so much fun paddling around and discover some of the secrets the water held. When we finally made our way back to the cottage, we were worn out. A little more rest and we were ready for dinner and a walk through town. It’s fun that we are beginning to recognize a few people we have met and we stop and talk along the way. We have met some fascinating people on this trip. It’s been a bonus I never would have expected. People from so many different countries (and some from Belize). I’ve gotten a peek not just into the life of Belizeans, but of people of several different countries through those we have met. No one is in a hurry so we always have time to talk and learn a little about each other. We’ve even struck up a conversation with people we were literally passing on the sidewalk and stood and talked for 15 minutes before moving on. Building relationships, even 15 minute ones with people from another country, continue to be some of the most important things we do, location doesn’t change that.

We got up and got dressed to meet our group for our planned trip to Monkey River, but we could tell even as we walked through town toward the docks that the weather may not let us go. When we found our intended guide, he confirmed that we would indeed be unable to make a boat trip in the weather already moving into the area. We walked back into town and made stops at the bank, supermarket, fruit stand (where we got 2 huge bags of fresh fruit for $2.50!), and an open air restaurant in town for a mid morning snack. We were already beginning to feel more comfortable here. It started to rain on us during our last few errands, but just like we have seen many locals do,we ignored it and continued at our unhurried pace. We could now see why they did that, because there is no reason to hurry. It’s that simple. We have a long way to walk no matter what, and hurrying will not make us any less wet. There are so many interesting things to see in town if you take your time and look. Once we were back at the cottage we used the morning to read (yes,even Christian, get him a john Grisham book and he’s a reading fool), and to nap (that was Christian). We warmed a tortilla and some beans we had on hand for lunch and made a wonderful smoothie from all the fruit we had gotten at the market. The afternoon brought sun and we took advantage of the kayaks at the cottage. Dinner at a local open air restaurant on the beach. Pretty successful day overall, I think Christian is just now beginning to let go and learn the art of relaxation

 

We decided to rent a car for the day and take a look around the area. We picked up our Hyundai Elantra at 9:00 and we set off. We are in Placencia Village, which is at the bottom of Placencia peninsula. Further up the peninsula there are a few other villages. About 20 miles up we connected to mainland and went north on the Southern Highway. Belize only has a few major highway (major here means it’s a paved 2 lane road). We passed miles and miles of banana plantations, and orange grove and had stunning views of the Maya Mountain the entire time. They resemble the Smokies with the obvious exception of the monstrous Palms you can see bursting from the rest of the forest canopy all along the side of the mountains. We took a turn to Hopkins Village and after maybe 10 miles the road ended at the sea and Hopkins Village. This does not seem to be a place touched by tourism much, although we see several signs for hostels. The few Americans we do see here look to be backpackers (to whom the hostels cater). The roads were terribly bumpy. We wanted to walk out to the beach so we stopped in front of the town’s clinic. The beach and view of the Caribbean were beautiful but somehow I don’t think the beauty is really appreciated here among the small, simple, often run down homes. The towns police station is being repainted a bright yellow. We joked that we hoped their were no crimes today because the policemen were busy painting. We found one supermarket calls ‘Happy Shopping Center’. Is that true here? It’s hard to tell though on our drive through. We stop at a food stand near the beach and ask the owner, who is busy writing her lunch menu on a board which includes grilled lobster for only a few dollars, if there is a restroom somewhere we could use. She points us to a little outhouse that seems to be used by many surrounding houses because they have no plumbing. It has an old tile shower, a toilet, and a sink. Almost without fail we notice that the people we meet are friendly and willing to help in whatever way they can. They are often interested to know if this is our first time to Belize and if we like it. They are proud of their country, there’s no doubt about that. We made our way back to the Southern Highway and continued north to Dangriga. Dangriga is the biggest city in the district of Stann Creek and so is similar to what we would think of as the Capitol of a state. We were surprised by the conditions in Dangriga as well. But the houses appeared more solidly built than in Hopkins, and clearly with its roughly 10,000 inhabitants, it’s much larger. We were there around lunch time when the schools let the children out for the lunch break. And like in other towns we had seen, young children (some not more than 5 or 6) roam the streets of the town. Each group of children had on different colored uniforms supposedly to designate the school which they attend. It is somehow comforting to see a town where the children run aroun without adult supervision, it makes me think the people here must be good, no matter what my spoiled American perspective tells me when I see the living conditions. We found a small local restaurant for lunch. Most of the restaurants here consist of a very small building where the cooking is done and either a front porch or covered area with picnic tables or tables and chairs. The menu did not offer a lot of selection, we got the traditional stewed chicken with rice and beans and bottled water. The treat at this stand was that she had fresh baked desert, which most do not. We met a friendly man who works with the traffic dept. English being the national language here is invaluable. After we left Dangriga we decided on a whim to turn off the highway at the sign for the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar preserve. We bought our $5 tickets at the Mayan Women’s Center on the highway and asked if the 6 mile road back to the preserve would be too rough for our car. We were assured it would be fine. (That’s what they all say). To say the 6 mile dirt road was rough would be an absolute understatement! It literally took us more than 30 minutes to travel 6 miles on the most isolated road I’ve ever seen. (I’m pretty sure the car rental place would not approve) There were many times we really wondered if we would come out on the other side of a puddle. Once we made it to the visitors center and walked inside, we began to realize even more we were very unprepared for this. But after a 30 minute drive on a horrible road we were not ready to give up. We had long pants and decent shoes on, but no bug spray at all. In spite of this we decided to hike the trail to the waterfall. Well over an hour round trip through thick jungle (but a well marked trail). Much of the terrain was rocky and steep, but somehow we made it. We stepped into the clearing and saw this gorgeous waterfall. We were the only people around and it felt like we had just made our own private little discovery. (Of course I had the trail map in my pocket). We took pictures and waded in the water. If I should return here I will bring more clothes so I can swim in the lovely little spring below the waterfall. It was getting late, so we couldn’t stay a long time. We headed back the way we came. On our way out of Cockscomb, we saw a sign for a plane wreck that we had to check out. It was a tiny plane that had crashed here years before by a scientist who was studying the Jaguars in the area. He crashed just after taking off and was not injured seriously. We had to wade through a little mountain stream to get back to our car, and then we were off down the bumpy road again. After we finally made it back to Placencia Village, it was getting late and we were ready for dinner. We found a charming local place to eat. We had “crack conch” for appetizers (fried conch strips so good they’re addictive) and fried lobster and grilled fish for dinner. The sea food here is wonderful. It has usually been caught the very same day at these restaurants, we finished off with Baileys infused cheesecake. A perfect ending to a long but exciting day

The weather forecast was pretty good for Monday so we decided to go diving. Sunday afternoon we had signed up with the dive center every one seems to like here. We were told the dive van would pick us up from the street closest to our cottage at 7:15. (We’ve never had a dive shop offer to pick us up before). We made it to Splash Dive Center around 7:30. It was one of the more modern buildings I’ve seen here. We tried on equipment and Kirk, our divemaster, checked it all out and took it to the boat for us. We waited in the lobby with the cookies and juice provided until it was time to go. The owner escorted us outside to dock and the dive boat we would be on that day. It was probably one of the nicest dive boats I’ve ever been on. There were about 8 divers and 8 snorkelers. There was a large crew, all very friendly and helpful. We would be going to the Silk Cayes (pronounced KEYS), which were a group several small islands held as a marine preserve by the government but available for diver use. The 22 mile trip took a little over an hour in sometimes rough seas, but our large dive boat handled it easily. The further we got from land, the more shades of blue the water displayed. It was breathtaking. By the time we reached the small island that would prove to be our home base for the day, I thought I must be dreaming. Here was this picturesque little island that, as the captain told us- had a population of 16 Palm trees, 10 picnic tables, a grill, and 2 bathrooms. We let the snorkelers off onto a smaller boat because they would snorkel around the island (the large boat couldn’t get close enough because of the shallow water around the island). The boat continued another 5 minutes to the dive site. The divemaster told us the name of the site, and as much as I tell myself I’m gonna remember it, I rarely do. When everyone was ready, we took turns stepping off the back of the boat. We were immediately facing a sheer drop-off of coral. The wall disappeared into the depths below us. The entire wall was covered with coral or every size, shape, and texture imaginable. Swimming among the coral were fish of every bright color. We even saw an eel swimming freely (they are usually hiding in holes) and when the divemaster approached it to point it out to the group, it swam directly at him. Needless to say he didn’t waste any time getting away from it. He later told us that was a first even for him. The Lionfish (a poisonous but beautiful invasive fish) were hiding among the rocks. They are magnificent looking fish, but having heard the divemaster’s story about being painfully stung, I didn’t want to take too close a look. Sharks lurked in the shadows below us, and we caught a glimpse of a few as they rose from along the wall below us. We were familiar by now with nurse sharks because we had seen so many, even large ones were in no way aggressive. But this dive was the first time that a reef shark was spotted. Christian calls it a “real” shark, I guess the more docile nurse sharks don’t count as sharks to him (although they certainly do to me). After the first dive we returned to the small island for lunch. I was completely enamored by this tiny island. The crew had lunch for us of pasta salad, BBQ chicken, beans, garlic bread, and watermelon. We ate on picnic tables perched under huge coconut trees. The lunch was good, but I could hardly wait to finish to start exploring and taking pictures. While we were eating we discovered there were hermit crabs all around us. There was one trying t climb the leg of our picnic table. The shells were beautiful, but the crabs inside had huge red pinchers. After lunch, we walked around the perimeter of the island. The neighboring island (also one of the Silk Cayes) reminded me of the island I drew as a child. A patch of sand with several Palm trees sticking up off of it. It was beautiful! I think Christian was getting tired of me taking so many pictures, but I couldn’t help myself. The beach, the water, the birds- they were all subject matter – until my battery died. Oh well. The shells that wash up on the shore here were large conch shells mingled with pieces of broken coral. Amazing! In case you can’t tell, I was loving the Silk Cayes, I could have stayed on the island all day, but the time came to go on the next dive. It was again only a few minutes away. The coral this time was in a gentle slope instead of a wall that dropped off. We swam just above it where we could get a good view of the marine life swimming among the formations. We were drift diving today, which meant no hard kicking or swimming, the current would just carry us along for a relaxing and beautiful view. The views and the multi-colored fish never get old. After the 2nd dive, we were getting tired. The divemaster informed us we were going to get a “BOWnus snErkel” in his creole accent. We were honestly thinking, we dove twice, could a snorkel be worth seeing? But then the divemaster told us we were going snorkeling to see the big turtles, Rays, and sharks who come to feed here. Well, that didn’t sound like something we could pass up. We were in a spot near the Silk Cayes where the water was not very deep (no more than 100 feet) and there was no coral. This spot was where the local fisherman brought out their sailboats to free dive for lobster and conch. We saw a small wooden sailboat with 6 tiny boats tied up behind it. The divemaster told us that the fisherman will live out here for as long as 2 weeks at a time and take the tiny boats out during the day to free dive. At this time of day, the fisherman toss all of their scraps overboard and it attracts all kinds of large fish including sharks, sting rays, eagle rays, and large turtles. He warned us to keep our face in the water so we could see if any of the large predators were near us. What?! We jumped into the somewhat rough water and immediately saw a huge turtle. Tame enough I guess. The water was a little murky because of all the sharks and rays fighting for the discarded scraps. I have never seen so many huge sting rays. There were enough sharks that I knew I had seen enough and turned to head back to the boat. Just then a giant spotted eagle ray glided past probably 20 feet below me. I tried to take a picture, but his speed and the murky water made it blurry. I returned to the boat but of course Christian stayed and moved closer into the action than I had dared. I’m sure he got some great gopro footage. We won’t really be able to see that until we get back to the states. When the last of the snorkelers got back on the boat, we began the trip home. I must say the Silk Cayes (and Splash) really exceeded every expectation I had for this dive. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a beautiful place.

Sunday seems to be national BBQ day in Belize. We didn’t think too much of it in San Pedro when on Sunday there were street BBQs and beach BBQs and many the restaurants featured BBQ as their special of the day, but now we come to another Sunday in another part of the country and we see the same thing. Today started off with waves of really heavy rain that pounded so hard on our tin roof that we had to shout to each other to be heard. The rains finally stopped mid- morning and it’s like some switch was flipped in the heavens, there were only a few white puffy clouds, the howling wind died down to a gentle breeze, and the thundering surf became a smooth sea of glass. We never would have thought it a few hours before, but it was a perfect beach and kayak day. Kay has several ocean kayaks available for our use so we chose the 2-seater and headed for the water. Now Christian and I have sort of a history of things like this not going so well and ending in an argument, but we both got into the kayak without trouble and headed out. We stayed within a few hundred yards of the shoreline, wanting to see the village from the water. The kayaking was so much fun, we were reluctant to return. But hunger and the promise of BBQ everywhere brought us in. Kay had washed a few clothes for us in her washing machine. But she did not have a dryer, like 98%of the people here. We see clothes hanging out on lines everywhere we go. The year round warm weather and sea breezes dry the clothes almost as quick as a dryer. So with our clothes hung out to dry, we headed out to get some BBQ. We were not disappointed. We chose a place that we had been to a few times already. Not always to eat, but because they have live music often. Today was beach music to go with the BBQ. Our BBQ plate had meat (chicken or pork), homemade baked beans and a tortilla (which comes with everything). It was really delicious. I don’t know why I expected that they would be unable to do good BBQ here, but I was wrong

 

The rain came in early and then again every so often in waves. We waited it out for a while this morning and tried our hand at our own Belizean breakfast. We had homemade tortillas (made by someone else) scrambled eggs, bacon, black beans, cheese, and salsa with pineapple juice on the side. It was actually really good. With no dishwasher or garbage disposal, cleanup took a little time. (We are so spoiled) we took advantage of the wifi to i-message with the girls and to watch a movie on Netflix. No TV for a week is going to be a challenge for Christian. There was a break in the rain so we went exploring the part of town where we had not been yet. Evidences of a different way of doing things here were everywhere. Scaffolding at a construction site made of limbs (that looked horribly unsteady), a weight bar with literal chunks of concrete on both ends for working out, and numerous shops and cafes in the front rooms of people’s homes. There were also million dollar homes on the beach beside colorful beachside restaurants. When we saw the dark line of clouds approaching again, we hurried back to our cottage. We literally were unlocking the door when the rain began. We waited out the next round and then dashed over to a restaurant just down the beach to listen to some live music. This is one thing the girls do not like ( which I find kinda weird). But we spent the next few hours listening, talking, occasionally snacking, and just enjoying the night.

The weather looks a little better today. We spent a little time walking around town this morning, to the bakery and to the fry jack shop. A fry jack is basically a triangular shaped homemade tortilla that is deep fried, it puffs up and becomes hollow and they stuff it with all kinds of things. The menu board actually had 26 different options and all were very inexpensive. We ordered a couple to take back with us. We then stopped by the bakery. We were there at opening time and there were actually several people waiting at the front door, about the closest thing to a crowd as we’ve seen on Caye Caulker. The bakery had lots of wonderful things. We chose a few that looked good and took them with us as well. On the way back we happened to see the islands large 6-seater taxi golf cart that we would need to get us and our bags to the airport. We stopped him and told him when and where we would need him. He introduced himself and said he would be there to get us. As we walked back I took a minute to appreciate the beauty of this island, on the street by our hotel you can see the Caribbean at both ends of the street at the same time. The island is well under a mile wide and only a few miles long. Back at our room we still had some fresh pineapple and the bottles of freshly squeezed orang and pineapple juice we bought yesterday. I could get used to having all these fresh things for breakfast. We finished packing up and then walked down the beach and took a few pictures. The girls were soaking up as much warm weather as they could because it would probably be below freezing when they got back to Brandon at 8:00. We have been amazed at how few Mosquitos we have seen since we’ve been here. We asked John about it at dinner the other night. He said the government actually sprays regularly and keeps them well under control, he also said that he has never seen a rodent on the island. The only animals here are lizards, crocodiles, and boa constrictors. I kinda though at first that maybe that was a joke, but apparently not. The one thing they have here that everyone “gets” to experience are the sand fleas. You hardly ever see them as you walk around, and they are a little more like gnats that are so small to be barely visible, Christian, Mallory and I haven’t had much trouble with them. A little bug spray and we only got maybe a couple of bites. Olivia, however, seems to be allergic to them. She has large red welts all over her legs. She keeps hemp oil on them (the local remedy that actually seems to help). She tried to count the welts on her legs but stopped when she got to 50. Peter picked us up on his extended red golf cart, even arriving 10 minutes early which is unusual in Belize. After a 10 minute ride to the airport, we left our luggage on the front porch of the terminal and checked in. The entire airport building is probably not even 800 square feet with one long strip of concrete outside for take off and landing. We waited in the “lounge” which would accommodate 6 people max. When it was time to board a lady basically stuck her in and told us it was time to board. We walked about 50 yards to the plane and climbed the short rolling staircase into the 12 passenger plane. The view from the air was spectacular. We seemed to be only a couple thousand feet in the air. The water was so blue is was hard to tell where the water ended and the sky began in the distance. From the time our wheels lifted off the ground until the time they touched down in Belize City was NINE MINUTES! It took longer to get to the airport in the taxi! We got into the airport and got the girls checked in. We had lunch at the Sungarden restaurant in the airport. We dined on local cuisine of stewed chicken with rice and beans and conch soup for Christian and I. It was fabulous. Belizeans seem to only know how to cook fresh, I guess there are no such things as frozen or canned food options for theses dishes anyway. After lunch the girls went through international security and we checked in and saw them once again in the terminal to wait at our gates. Although our departure times were almost the same, they boarded quickly but our flight boarded only 5 minutes before flight time. A tropic air employee led us out across the Tarmac a long way until we finally got to our plane. The man in charge of the steps was sitting on one of the landing wheels of the plane reading a newspaper. He hopped up when he saw our little line coming. The plane was pretty full with only 1 seat still available (of
course that meant there were 11 passengers). We wasted no time taking off. We had both land and sea views this time and it was no less spectacular. 20 minutes later we touched down in Dangriga to let all but 5 of us off. From the moment our wheels touched down to the time we lifted off again was less than 5 minutes! I saw the passengers get off and I saw the crew get their luggage out from underneath, but I still don’t know how they did it so fast. After 10 more minutes in the air we approached Placencia. Because Placencia is a peninsula, there was water at each end of the small airstrip. Of course the pilot does this constantly, but for us sitting right behind him it seemed we would either touch down too soon in the water or fall off the other end into the water. Obviously we did neither. Luggage claim was much like the water taxi, a large rolling cart with 5 bags, we identified ours and they matched the claim ticket. Our landlord for the week, Kay, had asked a local driver to pick us up. Sam loaded our backpacks into his van and we were off. We rode through town toward the cottage we had rented. This town was a little different from the others we had seen. First of all there were cars clogging the street. The businesses were spaced apart a little and each had their own building, unlike the islands. We stopped a few miles later and Sam handed us our backpacks and pointed down a long sidewalk. He said Kay was waiting for us, and we would know the cottage by the white picket fence. We walked into a partially residential, partially small commercial area for maybe quarter of a mile. When we reached the ocean we saw the white picket fence to our right and knew we had made it. Through the small gate we found 2 small picturesque cottages. Kay emerged from one (she lives in one and rents the other) and showed us around. Our cottage has steps leading to a small front porch (where the hammocks go) into a one room space. There is a section portioned off for the bathroom with thin walls, 2 double beds, and a small kitchen. The floors, doors, furniture, and exterior walls are all made of mahogany, simply because this seems to be the most common and readily available wood here. The small front yard has a white picket fence, several Palm trees and lounge chairs, beyond the front fence the beach is about 50 feet wide to the carribean sea. Kay gave us instructions on how to work various things and gave us a map of the area. We went out exploring and found that between the main road and that quarter mile to our beach there was a network of sidewalks (for pedestrian traffic only) that wove in between various shops, restaurants, small guest houses, and a few private bungalows. We eventually found our way to a market and stocked up on a few things for our cottage so we would no longer have to eat out every meal. After depositing our buys in the kitchen we set out along the beach and found a small open air restaurant to have dinner. We just lingered there for a long time. Well after dark we walked back and fell into bed exhausted. So far Placencia is proving to be a great place. So many things to explore and so different from where we have been before this.

The rain pelting our window woke us up early. This is a good day to not be diving. The rain came in spurts all day, it would be hot and sunny for several hours and then a 20 minute rainstorm would come through town. We went to Glenda’s, a great local breakfast spot suggested by John. It was in the front couple of rooms of a small wood frame home, and Glenda was in her kitchen cooking. Homemade cinnamon rolls and fresh squeezed orange juice along with the eggs and beans were all fabulous, and such a bargain. We sat with a great couple from Illinois, someone else who has a story to tell. After breakfast we rented a golf cart for a couple of hours to see the island. This island is entirely walkable, but to go from one end to the other and see everything on every street would take much of the day so we decided to get an overview the quick way. The roads were filled with water, every pothole became a small pond and we zigzagged to avoid them. They were not muddy since the streets are pure sand, just a dirty/sandy water. We visited the small airport and got tickets for tomorrow’s trip to Belize City airport. We visited the northern end of the island known as the split. There is a narrow (maybe a little less than 100 yards) canal between the main part of the island and the north end, which is almost uninhabited. The water is a spectacular blue here and the little beachside bar has a large deck and pier. This end of town is where the local craft vendors gather and the dive and tour shops are here. It is a very tiny version of San Pedro, very very tiny that is. After we returned the golf cart, we found a place for lunch and waited out the next round of rain there. Our lazy day was becoming even lazier, we found ourselves still tired from all the activity of the last week. We decided to have a little siesta back at our room, a movie and a little nap refreshed us and we went out again searching for an ice cream shop we had seen earlier. We wore our rain jackets and tried to act like locals and ignore it. We did pretty good. The drizzle was so off and on we never knew when to expect it. After a little more exploring and some walking down the beach we returned to face the monumental task of repacking everything. We pulled everything out and repacked it more neatly. It went better than expected. After dark we headed out for supper to a little local open air place where we had seen literally half a pig roasting over a fire pit all afternoon. The people were nice and the food was good- all you can ask for. There is some really good people watching here. There are quite a few people from Australia for some reason, as well as lots of young backpackers and of course the crowd of middle aged to older couples here for peace and quiet. Caye Caulker attracts quite a mixed crowd. Before returning to our hotel we stopped by a fruit stand and bought a big beautiful pineapple that they cut up for us right there. Now we have desert and breakfast! We are headed to Belize City in the morning and the girls are flying back home. It’s beginning to hit me that they won’t be with us for the rest of the time and I’m really hating it. We’ve had probably the best vacation the four of us have ever been on and I hate to see it end. They are so grown now but really more fun than ever. Well, I’m not gonna ruin the rest of the time we have dwelling on it. But this has been time with them I’ll never forget.