Beautiful Belize

Our trip to Belize was so amazing. We left late Sunday evening, stayed in a Vegas hotel for a few hours to catch some sleep before leaving for the airport at 3 am to travel to Houston and then Belize. Our 11:30 am arrival time was pushed to 1:30 due to lightening and rain in Houston. That was a hot wait on the tarmac! We went through immigration only to discover our one checked bag with our scuba stuff was still sitting in the rain back in Houston. The Southwest guy was very accommodating, he found the bag and got it to San Pedro the next day via airplane. A shuttle was waiting for us in the tropical rain to get us to the ferry. We thankfully made the very last water taxi (aka ferry) to San Pedro with just minutes to spare. I quite enjoyed the 90 minute ferry ride from Belize City to San Pedro City. It was nearly dark by the time we arrived to the port, the sun sets around 6:30! A family with younger kids was sitting nearby, I about lost it when the eldest son donned welding glasses to admire the setting sun. I can totally see Phillip doing the same thing! Belize was an English colony until the late 80’s so nearly everyone speaks English. We stopped in Caye Caulker (pronounced “Key) to offload boxes and tourists before arriving at San Pedro City. Another shuttle from the resort met us at the dock to help get Justin and I to X’Tan Ha (pronounced as Ish-tan). We had about a 30 minute ride from the city north up Caye Ambergris. I learned that a Caye is a type of island formed by ocean deposited sand, coral, and other organic material, essentially an island formed on coral reefs. The resort is so cute. As we checked in I was screaming, “so cute” inside and muttering adorable on the outside. Our little cottage had a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Our luggage was carted to our cottage in a wheelbarrow. The little restaurant was still open, I was starving after no real sustenance all day. We sat out on the dock’s bar area with several iguanas and Emma the barkeep/waitress. It was fun to chat with the kids at home surrounded by a completely foreign ambience eating fish and Belizean food. I contacted White Sands Dive Center to arrange some excursions, most communication is done via What’s App. 

Our first full day was an adventure. Emma and the iguanas met us at the dock for breakfast of fry jacks, eggs, and salsa. We flipped through the book of adventures and decided to try for a snorkeling trip at 1 pm with a guy named John. I arranged for a golf cart through Rio Adventures to be delivered for the duration of our stay. We were soon literally bumping down dirt roads to the dive center and the gas station. We booked a 2-tank dive for Wednesday morning with tentative dives Thursday and Friday. At the gas station we paid $8 per gallon for gas, yikes. The glass-bottled Fanta and Cokes were calling our names. I opted to try the raspberry ice cream bar dipped in butterscotch, does not sound like a fit but it was delicious. Justin and I had red drips down our new swim suits from the melting treat. John took us on a tour of Mexico rocks. He calls himself the turtle whisperer, he was aptly named. We saw at least 7 sea turtles, 4 of them babies! The reef was teeming with all sorts of marine life. It was like we saw our own family in sea turtle form. Mexico Rocks is a marine preserve so we could observe in awe and joy. The water was perfection at 82-85 degrees and quite clear. I was super bummed my prescription goggles were still with our checked bag. I had a really fun time with the scuba case for my iPhone. We went a bit further to a naturally shallow area near a break in the reef where fisherman clean their catches of the day. That area was a magnet for sting rays and nurse sharks! The animals swarm when they hear a boat motor. We decided to check out San Pedro for dinner. It was a really bumpy 40 minute ride, Justin and I joked it was like Mario Kart IRL. Honestly, I was feeling nauseous after all those bumps. All the golf carts on the island have the same key so locking the steering wheel is imperative. We ate dinner at El Fogon with beans and coconut rice, seafood stuff, and curry. Yum. The smells and state of the streets and buildings reminded me of Praia, Cape Verde. We were both taken back to our missionary days. We grabbed some trinkets for the kids and snacks before trekking back north to X’Tan Ha. 

White Sands met us at the dock bright and early at 7:45 am in a boat to shuttle us back to the shop where we were fitted with BCDs, regulators, weights, and tanks. There were three students diving and three divers. Our guide was Rick. As we got closer the reef the waves really started to rise. Once past the break in the coral the waves did not get any smaller. It was go time, I trusted my gut, checked my gear, and somersaulted over the side. It was glorious! Our first real dive was a deep one at 60+ feet through a coral canyon called Mata Canyons. Regulating your buoyancy can be quite tricky, it took me a hot minute to remember how to breathe without popping myself up 6 feet at a time. We saw all kids of cool corals and marine life for 31 minutes. We returned back to the beach for a 40 minute break then back out for the second dive. Justin needed a bit more weight to help him with buoyancy, he did much better the second dive at Tres Cocos. The current was clipping us along at a decent rate. I started feeling nauseous at the surface, the waves and boat got to me. I fed the fish a few times before we made it back to shore. The afternoon we rested and I lallygagged about the resort trying out the pools, playing chess by myself, chasing iguanas, and reading my nerd book. Our golf cart decided to quit working, Rio Carts had a replacement cart sent up before they closed for the day. Phew. We checked out a place called the Truck Stop, basically a bar setting with lots of food choices. We tried the pizza, which was legit. The live music was also very entertaining. We watched the planets and stars setting up the sky before heading back. We downed some Dramamine before bed and again the next morning hoping for better results. 

It was too windy the rest of the week to dive beyond the reef, or Rick did not want to chance more gringa barf…so we went to Mexico Rocks again this time diving. I loved seeing all the beautiful sea creatures and coral up close this time. We only spotted two sea turtles but managed to spot a squid and eagle ray. The coolest find was a spotted trunk fish, which reminded me of a cowfish. It was trickier to manage buoyancy at 12 feet deep than 60 feet deep, one breath would almost take you to the surface, ha ha. The resort was nearly empty, only 4 other couples were around. One couple told us about the not so secret, Secret Beach, that it was a tourist trap. We went anyway! We parked at the main stretch and immediately the music was raunchy and too many characters about. We headed up North a ways until the road ended to find a spot between two resorts that was open. I had the time of my life in 3-4 foot crystal clear water paddling about with snorkel and mask collecting empty seashells for the girls. I put my glasses into my pocket for safety, until they went missing. My pocket was not a safe option. Thankfully, the water was clear, however my glasses are clear, thankfully my sunglasses were hugging my glasses. Those I spotted a few yards away, phew. We visited a little restaurant down the road for dinner. I was very sad lobster and conch were not in season, none were available to munch on. It was tempting to grab a few while diving but the lobster police would probably arrest me. The stinky sargassum seaweed was not so much fun, it piled up on all the beaches smelling gross. 

Friday we decided to go check out San Pedro City and do a night snorkeling trip at Hol Chan Preserve. It was nice to sleep in and enjoy the pool for a while. It was hot, windy, and muggy that day. We actually caught breakfast which was nice. The city was hot at 3 pm. We walked around sweltering in the heat batting away street vendors. I pawed through lots of bracelets at the artisan fair looking for souvenirs to bring home. We decided to have an early dinner even with snorkeling a couple hours later. The restaurants are air conditioned, that made up my mind. I had shrimp ceviche, a most excellent dish. I was excited to try out night snorkeling. Three other girls joined the tour as divers, they were all about the party life. I’m glad we missed out on busy season for that reason alone. We waited on the boat until 6:45 when the sun was completely set to jump in the water. We had flashlights and our guide! Hol Chan is basically a protected cut in the reef about 25 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Swimming the in dark out in the ocean feels a bit risky. Whenever some sea grass brushed my leg it was all I could do to not thrash about like a wounded Manatee. We saw a Spanish lobster, some fighting lobster (it wanted me to eat it’s combatant lobster enemy), eagle rays, and the cutest squids spurting about with their frilly wings. Some parts of the reef we swam over were inches from our bodies, that concerned me a bit.  

Our last dive was at Hol Chan again. White Sands boat picked us up at the dock then ferried us back to their stretch of beach. We had a few more folks join us. One lady, Theresa was there finishing her cert dives. She also lives in Idaho up near Sand Point. We got to dive the channel which was a little deeper at 26 feet max. This time Ricky’s friend was our dive master. We explored the grass beds then headed to channel. It was a very busy place! We hung out for 5 minutes under a rocky coral shelf, the fish were everywhere! So many fish, parrotfish, hogfish, barracuda, angelfish, rainbow fish, bar jacks, snappers, groupers, triggers, wrasse, etc. I spotted an enormous eagle ray in the channel. That was honestly, magical! The second part of the excursion was to the nearby shark-ray alley, which was the nearly the same as the spot near Mexico Rocks. These cute unicorn horn fish (Ballyhoo halfbeak) were in abundance near the surface. It’s quite an experience to be inches from nurse sharks and stingrays. The rest of the afternoon we spent lounging at the pool until it got too hot. Justin took a nap in the AC, I wandered the resort taking photos of the flora and fauna in between pool plunges with my snorkel and mask. We explored the Northern road going a few miles past no-man’s land. Most of the northern shores are deserted with half-built dwellings now abandoned. We found a locals fishing spot and the last bar for miles. We stopped for dinner at a different resort on the way back down, surprise….Emma was there! I tried the local Pibil with coconut rice and beans. She had the chef make up a dish with Pibil and banana leaves just for me. It was divine. Justin had the cashew encrusted snapper, yum. 

It was pouring rain the next morning. We arranged to drive the golf cart back to San Pedro, nixed that idea once the rain showed no signs of stopping. The front desk was able to get the taxi back and we arranged for the golf cart company to come fetch their cart. The way home was much easier than the way to Belize. It was a loooooooong day with travel from 8 am until 2:30 am the next day. We caught Amelia’s phone call for Father’s Day in between the water taxi and transport to the airport. She is doing very well. It’s been quite rainy in Mexico during her stay. She is making strides with Spanish and will take a test next week. I love the photo snippets on her google photo page. Justin had a large cuddly lady sit next to him, she took up any extra space he was unwilling to cede. The Chinese food at the airport actually tasted like heaven. We walked into our home around 3:00 am….the kids were awake and waiting for us! That was sweet. The girls made beds on the floor while the boys lounged and watched TV until we got home. Hugs after a week of video chats were delicious. Not much feels better than sleeping in your own bed! The bed at the resort folded in like a taco, that was tricky to sleep on an incline. 

Justin’s favorite memories: naming the iguanas (Sir Reginald), scuba diving, soda in glass jars, the quiet, water time, seeing all the fish and aquatic life, coping with golf cart travel, memories of coconut rice and beans, the super cold air conditioning, reliving his mission, and most of all having Jenni to himself.  

The kids survived at home. Josie had the time of her life with Kara over the weekend. She got to go boating with Kara and Stella, sleepover two nights, attend the rodeo, and help out with Kara’s Rodeo Princess duties. Evelyn loved spending time with the Grow family! The boys made it through 5 days of welding class. The first day of class I got a text from Phillip saying he was going to throw up and wanted to cancel the class. I urged him to go and try it out before quitting the class. He was just nervous about being alone and starting something new. He went and learned a lot about welding. Everett was also in the class so he had his brother to bike with and for moral support. Phillip got upset Thursday because Everett was doing better than him and completed the assignment for that week. Phillip didn’t ask for help when he needed some extra guidance, when the demonstrations were given he could not see properly, his teacher gave him some videos to watch which he did not do. He does things slower than Everett but usually does a better job in the end because he takes his time to really learn all the steps and does all the steps where Everett skips steps and fails later on. I had a color-coded schedule for the kids to follow with activities each day to get them out of the house for a little while. Mrs Gingerich took the girls to a beading shop and Aunt Fawn collected the girls to do some service at Wilson Pond picking up trash. Josie played with Lucy one day and Evelyn had a birthday party with Delyla. Sara said she did not do much except make three dinners for the kids! They slept at home because they love their beds. I am so proud of them for being strong when Justin, Amelia, and I were all gone. 

A few more thoughts: We are so blessed. The people who live on San Pedro rely solely on fishing and tourism for income. Fuel was extremely expensive. Electricity comes from the mainland via buried cables in the ocean floor. Water is scarce, there is a saline plant that provides washing water, all potable water comes from the mainland. You eat what is in season, fish and the few fruits (mango, melons, coconuts) the region can produce. All supermarket goods are imported which means you pay $20 for a bag of flour. A box of crackers is $10-15 dollars. The residents pay the same prices tourists pay at the grocery stores. Life is decent when tourists are around. Sargassm seaweed season is killing the tourism between May-October each year.