Fun in Belize!

My husband and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Belize recently. My sister and her boyfriend are currently managing a resort there, so we were fortunate enough to arrange a trip to visit.

Our my first day looked a little something like this.

Yep, that's right. I was lucky enough to use the "motion discomfort and baby diaper disposal" bag. Seriously... that is printed on the bag?! The ascent from Minneapolis went just fine. The descent to Dallas was awful. I became ill (hot, sweaty, nauseated, dizzy), but did not vomit. Our layover was short (and the tram ride exceptionally hot and long), and despite not having anything in my belly besides ginger ale and water, my body wasn't having anything of our second ascent. Yay for white paper bags and entertaining elderly neighbors loudly whispering, "I bet she's pregnant" as I was trying my very best not to sprawl out and lie across them in the fetal position. I managed to vomit two more times. Once in the airplane bathroom (I'm just going to call this another one of my adventures) and once more in Scott's paper bag on the descent. By the time we arrived, the bulk of the gross feelings had passed, so we were able to proceed as normal (I did get lots of, "I hope you feel better" and smiles as we exited the plane). Talk about embarrassing! 

Once in Belize City, we made it through customs and to a podium painted with the words "taxi." Just what we were looking for. We paid the $25 US to take a taxi from Belize International to the Belize Express station, the water taxi we were riding to Ambergris Caye, the island my sister lives on. The water taxi cost around $34 US each, which was cheaper than a 15-minute puddle jumper flight.

Our first evening at White Sands Cove we had meals from the restaurant’s kitchen. My sister knows my cravings, and after a long day of travel, I had a delicious shrimp alfredo dish, while my husband had chicken curry. The next day was rainy and overcast, but we managed to get in a long walk down the beach as well as a nap in a hammock. We had lunch at Palapa Bar, an awesome restaurant/bar located at the end of a dock. The drinks were strong, and us lightweights, which made the entire walk home a joyous giggle-fest by the girls. My sister even convinced Scott to do ten pull-ups on a palm tree. After he complied and completed the challenge, despite injuring his hands, Jenna replied, “Well I didn’t MAKE you do it, Scott.” Oh, man. I’m glad my sister and husband get along so well. :) 

Wednesday the four of us took a trip into town to meet the captain of the boat we were planning to sail on. Upon arrival, the captain suggested we wait out the weather. This was perfect, as we didn’t have time to eat breakfast before we left the condo. Just as we started ordering, the downpour began. We were hopeful the weather would pass, but an hour later, one of the crewmembers met us in the restaurant to suggest we go sailing Thursday instead. We didn’t know this was an option (as the captain previously said he was booked), but we readily agreed to Thursday as it was supposed to finally be sunny and warm! We ended up spending the morning perusing the shops in San Pedro, having Bloody Mary’s, and eating warm, gooey cookies at a local chocolate shop. We caught a ride back with a driver (of a boat) from another resort and spent the afternoon relaxing and catching up. For dinner we dropped into the ever-popular Lazy Croc for pork sandwiches and hopes to see a crocodile (no luck).

Thursday was by far the best day of our vacation. Thank you to Jenna and Ward for making the day possible and for spoiling us newlyweds with a once-in-a-lifetime sailing day. The morning started out … wait for it … SUNNY! Yay! I couldn’t have been more excited to wear a bikini. The boat including captain and crewmembers was ours the entire day. This included snacks, lunch, and drinks, as well as any adventures we wanted to embark upon. The boat had snorkeling gear, fishing equipment, and spears, as well as a dingy (a small boat towed behind the sailboat). The day was ours and we could choose where to go and what to do.

The boys wanted to spear fish, so we drove to a spot near the reef outside of Caye Caulker (another island). On the way, everyone saw two dolphins swimming with our boat (I was in the bathroom and missed it). Huge BOO! Once the anchor dropped, Jenna stayed in the boat, but the rest of us hopped into the dingy with snorkeling equipment in search of a better spear fishing spot. I feared I would get motion sick, and after a few mouthfuls of water, I was already nauseated. I’d been following the boys around, watching in disbelief at Giovanni (one of the crew) diving and fishing underwater for minutes (I can’t even hold by breath for one minute). They caught lobster, conch, red and yellowtail snapper, grouper, among others. They did this for hours. I didn’t last long out in the rougher waters with the bouncing waves, so I joined Jenna back on the boat. We decided to fish with the poles we brought. Using sardines as our bait, we sought big fish. After what seemed like a hundred attempts on my part, my goal changed to catching just one fish! It was hard to feel a bite on the line with the wind moving the water so much. That was my excuse. My sister didn’t have one, as she was showing me up, just as she always did fishing on our boat Memorial Day weekend or with grandpa. Eventually, I caught two fish! I couldn’t have been more proud of myself. The captain made us a delicious lunch from the fish everyone caught, as well as prepared veggies, tortillas, cucumbers, pineapple, and plantains. It was the best meal we had the entire week.

After fishing and sunning, we eventually headed back toward Ambergris Caye toward a popular snorkeling spot called “Shark-Ray Alley." The waters here are filled with nurse sharks and stingrays with wingspans of two-to-four feet. The story behind this mimics Pavlov’s dog theory. In this instance, fisherman would consistently clean their catch at this particular spot. Soon, the sound of boats became a trigger for the sharks. When the boats were near, food was also near, and thus the sharks could eat. Years later, this theory remains intact, and when boats approach, the six-foot sharks appear in the eight-foot deep waters.  Both rays and sharks are tolerant to humans, thus allowing visitors to swim with them. Holding a shark and touching a stingray are two memories I won't soon forget.

We then took a ride to the southern tip of the island to Belize’s oldest marine reserve, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The entire reserve covers three square miles and due to its protected status, is filled with sea turtles, sting rays, moray eels, 160 species of fish (we saw puffer, barracuda, lion, parrot, angel, grouper, snapper, grunt, lion, horse-eye jacks, among others), dolphin, manatee, shark, conch shells, coral, sponges, algae, and sea grass. The eels were the ridiculously creepy and the stingrays were a close second with their long and lethal-looking tails. Giovanni took Scott and me snorkeling. He would swim deep below the surface, point to a fish/eel/turtle/stingray, swim above water, and tell us the name of the species. It was a really amazing experience to have a personal guide show us around the reserve.

The evening ended cuddled in beach towels on the bow of the boat watching the sunset with my favorite people in the world. Despite the seasickness and sun burn, it was one of the best days of my life.

The remainder of our time on the island involved more resting, kayaking, walking, eating, and drinking rum or Belikin (Belizean beer). We ate at Legends (an amazing hormone-free grass-fed burger place with great live music), Capricorn, Ak-bol, as well as a Mexican place downtown.

Sunday we all took the water taxi back to the mainland. We rented a car and drove to Altun Ha, site of an ancient Mayan city, located 30 minutes north of Belize City. We paid each paid $5 US to enter the site, and then spent $25 US on a private guide. Our guide, Wilfred, was incredibly knowledgeable. We were fortunate to have met him, and to have the site essentially to ourselves for the first 30 minutes (the site typically averages 800-1200 visitors a day). It was a surreal experience. We then drove west, toward the border of Belize and Guatemala, to a city called San Ignacio. This was an incredibly beautiful drive (on the way back, as I fell asleep on the way there) as the vegetation changes upon entering the jungle. We only spent one night here as our flight departed Monday, but we highly recommend making the trip west (not too far west to Guatemala) if you ever visit Belize.

Overall, our vacation was an amazing one. The best part was being able to spend time with my sister and her boyfriend (and my husband), but it was also nice to have time off work and spend a few days in temperatures 80 to 100 degrees warmer than home. We returned home to negative nine temps, work, and prep for school (Scott). Oh happy day!

If you are planning to travel to Belize, let me know and I’ll give you tips for your travels!

My main recommendations ... bring bug spray and sun screen, ladies wear long dresses (guys bring pants), bring snacky foods if you can (trail mix, granola bars, peanut butter), bring a light jacket (in case of rain or a cold front), bring cash and a debit card (a credit card too, as some places take them...check to see if your card will charge you international fees before you go), and pack LIGHT! You really don't need much in Belize. The atmosphere is casual. We often wore the same clothes multiple days in a row. Have fun!