February 5th and 6th
Sunday is definitely a day off in Belize- tourists or no tourists. There are a few restaurants open and lots of BBQ-ing on the beach going on (much of which is for sale), but generally it’s a low key day. No diving, just relaxing. We rode our bikes around the south end of the island. It’s much less developed with houses here and there that all have their solar panels, wind turbines, and water catchment systems thanks to being totally off the grid. Once around the south end we came back to the airport and into Bahia, the neighborhood where many local Belizeans live and a few ex-pats.
Seeing the way different people live always interests me (also one reason I like home health). Very few locals seem to have air conditioning, which is hard to imagine in this climate, and leave doors open and spend time outdoors (esp on a Sunday). Some houses leave me with the feeling that’s there’s a strong sense of community, but the houses in poor condition and often with trash in the yard are a little sad and seem to be surrounded by a cloud of hopelessness. Of course I think the same thing about homes I sometimes see (or visit) in rural Mississippi during a workday.
The Super Bowl was the big event for the evening, so we went and got pork chops and chicken from one of the guys who grill down on front street (what we jokingly refer to as beach meat). The game was, of course, exciting. But we were probably more excited about our day tomorrow, we seem to have a little different perspective here.
Monday morning was maybe the most beautiful one yet. Clear skies, warm air and a slight breeze greeted us as we rode our bikes to the dive shop. We “parked” our bikes in the little lot and stood around talking to Burt before we headed for the pier. Out dive spot today is a spot just south of the island but is not frequented by many divers for some reason. The short boat ride took us to what looked to me like the same spot of water as we’d been before (of course the short ride told me differently). I wonder how in the world Burt and Mike can tell one piece of gorgeous water from another, but they say they’ve been doing it so many years it comes easy- guess I’ll just have to take their word for it.
The dives were once again spectacular! Much the same but also completely different. Different types of coral formations but an abundance of every kind of tropical fish imaginable along with Lionfish, eels, turtles, rays and more. In between dives as the guys were making Lionfish ceviche, I couldn’t help but jump back into the crystal turquoise water with mask and snorkel. Not in any hurry but just floating around. We stop inside the reef for the interval because the water is calmer, and there is a largely white sand bottom with small rock formations covered in coral with colorful fish around them. Sting rays tend to glide along these sandy bottoms and a large one hung around the boat eating the Lionfish scraps as they were thrown back into the water.
After returning to the island we took a bike ride around town and down side streets just to explore. We stopped by our favorite fruit stand for some freshly squeezed orange juice and went by the market before returning home. These days can be very tiring and dinner in the guest house and a Netflix movie ended the night perfectly. I wonder if it would even be possible to tire of this…
