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.
