belize
Earlier this month I trekked to Belize with a few guys from my section. There were a few girlfriends with us as well as a few people in and out from other sections. We stayed in a condo on the beach on Ambergris Caye, which was about a 20 minute flight (in a 10 seat plane) from Belize City. Ambergris Caye is home to San Pedro Town which may better be known as “Last night I dreamt of San Pedro…” from the Madonna song “La Isla Bonita.”
The town is cool, very “island” and what seemed to me to be mix between Miami and New Orleans, only tiny. There are few cars and fewer paved roads on the island. Most people get around in golf carts. For better or worse, I was made “driver” for most of the trip. Most of my pictures are posted on Flickr (link) and I think they tell most of the story, but I’ll fill in with a few highlights. (I was also traveling with a new HD Flip camera, and am waiting for the new iLife to arrive so I can cut down a video of the trip…)
First of all, the food on the island was fantastic – mostly, I suspect, because it was all prepared fresh (not a lot of frozen/processed food on a remote island, it turns out).
Belize is a place for activity. The beaches are not actually the greatest in the world, so the motivation to sit around and do nothing (while still great) is not as I’d imagined. Of the things we did:
Snorkeling – The waters off Belize are home to the second largest barrier reef in the world. I am not a certified diver, but it turns out you can have almost as good an experience just by sticking your face in the water. We did two drops for snorkeling, the first at Hol Chan, where we swam for about an hour observing a ton of different fish and two huge rays (a leopard and an eagle). Awesome.
Then we went to Shark Ray Alley where our guide summoned several nurse sharks over (in the range of 4-5 feet each) and we were able to touch and hold them. Not sure this was the best idea, but in the moment it was pretty exciting.
Zip lining- We took a day trip to the mainland and did some zip lining through the rainforest. This is where you climb up into the tree tops and, sitting in a harness, go gliding across lines from platform to platform. Truly exciting and at times a little nervewracking.
Cave tubing – I’d never even heard of this before Belize. There are miles of cave systems in Belize with rivers running through them. We got into one such river on innertubes and took it through about a mile of cave. It was pretty cool. The darkest natural dark I’ve ever experienced. Also bats. It’s sort of like the lazy river at the waterpark, except the opposite. Exciting, natural, and spooky.
The nights were filled with entertainment at bars, clubs, or at the condo. Stories that will likely persist for quite some time.
A great trip for me, and a highly recommended destination for you…
let the games begin…
Today I begin the trek to Chicago for Thanksgiving. I say trek because I’m not sure when it will end.
Currently the headline on Drudge reads: TRAVEL NIGHTMARE TO SPOIL THE TURKEY
Presently my flight clocks in as “on time” but under notes it reads “flight subject to flow control”
Don’t know what “flow control” means, but it’s making me wish I’d downloaded a movie onto my laptop before leaving for work today.
UPDATE: Flight is delayed from 6:00 to 6:25. It’s on.
UPDATE: Flight now scheduled for 6:55. 55 minutes late.
UPDATE: on board. Hoping for a 710 wheels up.
