Belize Vacation
Joan and I stayed
overnight Sunday in the hotel Hacienda (stay & park) close to LAX to make our
early-morning commercial flight to Belize via
Houston, Texas. Upon arriving we rented a Ford SUV Escape 4 wheel drive but If I
had to do it again I would rent a car online and have them pick me up at the
airport. We took a short drive into Belize City and rented a low priced hotel
because our first choice had no vacancies and we were ready to collapse from
heat and shock. We had Chinese food because our first choice, Mediterranean,
wasn't open until 6 pm (did I mention we were starving?) It proved to be fine,
and we beat the crowds of locals getting off work to line up for take-out, We
liked the local beer, Belikin.
Day 2 Tuesday
Shopped around the hotel area close to Belize City to get gasoline,
Belize dollars pegged at 2 to 1 of U.S. $ at a bank ATM, and snacks and wine at
a big market. Then we finally headed off on the Northern highway to look for a
Jungle Lodge or B&B at the bird sanctuary, Crooked Tree. The Crooked Tree Lodge
was the first place we found but was all locked up. When we turned around a man
told us that the owners just had a baby so no wonder -who wants to manage a B&B
with a newborn??? Fodor's Guide told us to go to the Bird's Eye View Lodge. And
we are staying here for a few days to take in lots of bird watching and enjoy
the views and meals in the dining room.
The manager is a great hostess and very helpful. We have been eating lots
of another local delicacy, cashew nuts, and I had good salad with local hot
sauce and balsamic vinegar. We are resting now and trying not to think, what to
do tomorrow?
Day 3 – Wednesday
We stayed around the Birds Eye View Lodge resting up which is Joan’s FAVORITE. We found some interesting walks on the swamp’s elevated boardwalk and saw birds and a foot long lizards that run on their back feet and climb trees. We were lucky to spot a 2 foot long Iguana eating his lunch of weeds on the side of a road. These walkways extend for several miles and this time of year are not swampy, but dry. Some of the people we talked to were from New York, England, and Petaluma Ca., all here on a bird watching tour. I took a walk into the close-by village and returning it started to rain so hard I ran under a tree but I still got soaking wet. I hoped the camera and my hearing aids would be ok and they were. We ate all delicious meals here, the cook was talented, and all the staff were helpful.
Day 4 -Thursday
We got up early and took off on our next adventure. Our destination seems to have been Dangriga to the south. Our plan was to go to Placencia but with all the kids traveling in packs most of the hotels are booked there. We will drive there tomorrow for the day as it is only about 30 miles. Before leaving the northern area, we stopped at Altun Ha, the best Mayan temple and ruins in all of Belize. They were amazing though not as extensive as Tikal in Guatemala. Joan finally followed Don after he climbed the rock stairs to the top of the highest temple and we looked around at the layout of pyramid structures and the beautiful jungle surrounding us. We took lots of pictures and left there with mango slices, cashews, and sweet potato chips to sustain us on the long drive south. We decided to take a short cut to bypass the town of Belmopan. Big mistake. The road was a dirt-logging road with big holes full of rainwater. We passed lots of trucks going the other way loaded with huge logs. There was only one lane that was drivable and the ruts switched back and forth between the right and left sides of the road. It took us about an hour and a half before it joined the good highway south. Remind me to ask about short cuts next time before I take them. We now know why they only rent 4-wheel drive SUV’s.
The back end of the SUV was covered with red mud and you could not tell what color it was. When we got to Dangriga we were starving and looked for a restaurant. An old guy told us where to park and where to eat lunch I thought he said he would watch our car but when we got back he had completely washed it and, of course, wanted to be paid. I gave him some money but he was unhappy that it was not enough. We drove through town to the small airport and found Pelican Beach Resort, the best (and only) hotel here in Dangriga. It is great and we are used to planes taking off flying overhead. There are many daily flights, as well as boats taking passengers to the Cayes from here. The resort has a dining room, bar, and beachfront patio to enjoy the sound of the waves, and balmy breezes while sipping a Belikan beer.
Day 5 Friday
Today we drove down to Placencia, a "miniature Key West". It was full of
tourists, foreigners like us. We ate lunch, and took a long walk on the
sidewalk that meanders through peoples' backyards and is made of concrete
pressed to look like boards. We enjoyed the many beautiful plumeria,
bouganvilla, and hibiscus, as well as purple flowering trees in bloom. Joan
had her cappuccino gelato and Don got to talk to a pilot from Sacramento who
was with his Columbian sweetheart. They were on the sailboat he had just
purchased in Guatemala. We drove back up the peninsula, which does look a
lot like Key West's, only the upscale mansions and resorts were only near
Placencia itself. We were glad to get back to our hotel on the beach in
Dangriga, after a nice day.
Day 6 Saturday
It was a long day as we drove back to Belize City. We didn't take the
shortcut from Hell and, although longer, it was a much better ride. We
stopped at
several places in Belmopan which is the capitol, and a busy farming
town.
When leaving we gave a ride to a Belizean man. He spoke English with
such a
heavy accent that we had to switch to Spanish as that was
understandable. Hecommented on different things about the country. He
said that he had worked
in construction but didn't make much money in Guatemala, better in
Belize.
We drove to the International airport in Ladyville and turned in the
rental car. The young man there was nice enough to take us to the Belize
City Ferry Terminal where we paid him $25. U.S. (which is just what the
taxis charge). We had to wait about an hour until our water taxi left for
the one-hour ride to Caye Caulker. We got a reservation over Skype for Caye
Caulker Condos, and were shown the ropes from a lovely little local gal.
After we rested up, the manager, Barbara, gave us a tour of town in her golf
cart (no cars here, lots of bicycles). She showed us where some of
restaurants, bakery, and grocery stores are and we were able to buy a few
veggies, and a pineapple from the home business of another local.
Day 7 Sunday
So far we are taking it easy. I took one of the loaner bikes and rode out
to the airport and bought our tickets for the flight back to the
International Airport for our return flight home on Wednesday. Joan took a
walk and found the cool breeze was only on Front Street which borders the
ocean. Don discovered the roads are full of many bumps, holes, bikes, and
golf cart taxis, and rental golf carts with drunk drivers. We met up at the
water taxi dock, and when we couldn't find a place for lunch,
Joan cooked us
a good veggie lunch. We both really like the local dish Rice & Beans, and
also the bean soup with rice, and green salads.
Day 8
Monday
Today
we had
to walk next-door
for a snorkeling trip
with the stingrays and sharks. Departure on
the boat was at 10:30am and in spite of the choppy seas and wind, Felix,
our guide took us
out to three reefs
just off shore. The water was not
completely clear but good enough to see plenty of sea
life, beautiful coral of all types, and colorful fish.
We saw one barracuda about 4 feet long. Our
guide was really helpful as he had Joan
hang on to a life preserver so that she
could keep up with the stronger swimmers. He
led us and pointed out the special sights, like a huge Queen Conch. There was
only one other young man
with us, John, from England.
All aboard were friendly and full of life
stories. The trip lasted about 3 hours and we
went to three different spots. The first spot was about 20 to 30 feet
deep with lots of fish and coral.
The second place was shallow with stingrays
and nurse sharks that gathered by our boat as Felix tossed them food.
The third place was really shallow about
3 to 5 feet with lots of coral
plenty of fish and
colorful plant life.
After the last dive we headed back to the condo for a nice cold beer and
shower. At dinner time Joan and I started our search for the elusive
vegan meal. We looked up the middle-eastern place close by. Joan had her
favorite, a fallafel plate. We talked to the owner for the longest time. He was
an ex-pat, originally from the Canadian border near the great lakes. His wife
was Honduran. It was an informative conversation about his struggles here in
this country for the past 8 years to recover financially from a bad investment
and to complete the construction of a condo complex.
Day 9 Tuesday
Today we decided to take the boat over to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. We took the early boat at 8:45am and it was completely full with passengers from Belize City going to San Pedro. We were the last two to squeeze in. Upon arriving in San Pedro we checked into renting a golf cart but decided we didn’t want to spend the entire day. We walked around town for a while trying to find a bakery the Fodor’s Guide recommended. It was gone as we only found two Mexican Pan Dulce bakeries. We got some tasty treats. We also found a tortilla factory and bought some freshly made corn tortillas which were good. We were getting hungry and found a little cubbyhole of a place. We talked to the woman and she had what we needed, rice and beans with cold slaw - yummy. Don still hoped to drive a golf cart but the streets were so busy that Joan was dubious. It was a good thing because there were only two boats leaving to take us back to Caye Calker, at 1:00pm and 4:00 pm. We decided to take the 1:00 pm boat to avoid the commuters. It was a nice rice back with only about 15 people, not `the hordes of people crowded in on the boat-ride over. San Pedro was OK if we had not been to Caye Calker, but the slow pace and smaller area of Caye Calker is just what Joan and I like.
We have an early inter-island flight that leaves here at 7 am tomorrow morning to take us to the International Airport near Belize City for our 11:10 am United flight home. It’s been fun and relaxing and we are ready to return home.
Don & Joan