Belize 2003

Wander lust is an awful thing.  Sometimes the urge to go someplace just over takes me and I quickly sink into the planning mode.  Columbus Day weekend in October seemed like a perfect time to take a mini-vacation.  After looking at Montreal and Iceland, I decided to head south, to Belize.  It was going to be just me, my books, the beach, and someone to bring me cool frosty alcoholic drinks.  Can you think of a better way to spend a couple of days?

I flew from DC to Miami and then on to Belize City.  From there, I took a Mayan Air flight to Ambergris Caye and the town of San Pedro.  It was a short 20 minute flight, but the view from the plane was spectacular.  We landed on a runway that is smaller than some parking lots I’ve been in.  But I made it safely and then took a cab (okay, golf cart) to my hotel, the Banana Beach Resort.  It was off-season, to I got an ocean front suite for $100, not bad!  My first order of business, other than cranking the AC up in my bedroom, was to change into my bathing suit and head down to the beach.  The beach on Ambergris Caye kind of leaves something to be desired.  It’s not like the big wide beaches found in other parts of the Caribbean.  It had a nice golden sand, but it also had some gross seaweed piled up at the water’s edge.  At my hotel, the “beach” ended at a retaining wall which thankfully kept the nasty seaweed away.  But there were several lounge chairs and I quickly applied my SPF 15, grabbed my MP3 player, my book, and then promptly ignored the rest of the world.  Okay,  that’s not quite true.  I did sit up and enjoy the nice warm breeze, the pretty palm trees, and the beautiful ocean view when it was time to lie on my stomach.  However, it was not the paradise I thought it was going to be.  There was no bar at my hotel where I could get cool frosty drinks brought to me.  So I actually had to walk the 30 feet to the bar at the hotel next door to get my cool frosty rum drink.  Oh the inhumanity of it all!  That night, I walked into town for dinner.  I walked along the beach, between the palms trees gently swaying in the wind, under the most amazing full moon I had ever seen.  It’s reflection in the water was just incredible and it lit up the sky.  It was about a 25 minute walk into town.  But what’s the first place I find in San Pedro?  An internet café!  So I got my email fix and then went to have dinner at a place called Fido’s(pronounced Fee-dos).  I took a cab back and crashed early that night.

Day two was pretty strenuous.  After breakfast at my hotel, I laid on my lounge chair on the beach.  The sun was just brilliantly bright, but I was armed with my SPF 15.  I read my book.  I laid down.  I turned over.  I think I fell asleep a couple of times.  Of course the big challenge was to make sure that I didn’t dehydrate and to make sure I had enough lotion on.   Yes, it’s a rough life, but someone has to live it.  After a hard tiring day of laying out, I hit the beach bar next door for a couple of rum drinks before I headed into town for dinner.  Dinner was fish wrapped in a banana leaf.  Not so good.