Sunday, August 21, 2011

Long, overdue update!

So much to update, as it has been far too long since I even visited. I encouraged a friend to blog, and thought it best for me to do the same.

So this will be one of a few updates....

Summer 2009 travels -
J and I packed our backpacks and hopped on a plane to Cancun. This part of the journey is becoming quite familiar. Land in Cancun, bus to Playa del Carmen, ferry to Cozumel and walk to Eliane's. A couple of days in Coz, enjoying our favorite places and then ferry back to Playa del Carmen to board a bus that will take us to Belize. 4.5 hour bus ride, interesting border crossing and we arrive in Corozal! This begins our Belizean adventure!


This is in Corozal, one of our first sights in Belize. Beautiful calm water. Men fishing on the docks, with nets and poles, very early in the morning. From here, we caught a water taxi to Ambergris Caye.





















Ambergris Caye is so beautiful and relaxing!

Now, we get to Caye Caulker and it stole my heart! The island has a motto, Go Slow, and people do! This is the life! So friendly and just amazing views. We did a sail trip and swam with rays and nurse sharks...saw a sea turtle diving for sea grass, a giant grouper, ate ceviche that was freshly made for us, and enjoyed a day of snorkeling and swimming. We found a great sports pub on the island, owned by a Canadian expat, and ended up there most evenings, playing trivia and drinking tropical drinks with funny names - Panty Removers! We also donated some money ("Buy a Piece of the Pub") to the local school, to provide sports equipment to the kids. In turn, the pub paints your name on whatever item you "purchased" and you get a certificate of ownership...stating you own property in Belize! Haha..... J and I have our names painted on the table we sat at each time. We spent 8 days here, eventually sailing a 3 day sail trip south, to Placencia.


Our hotel - Rainbow Hotel


Great lobster - this meal cost about $6!

Typical view as we walked along the street - no cars on island, just golf carts and bikes.
















Snorkeling!

One of the many rays we swam with!


Beautiful and gentle sea turtle!

I caught dinner for the travelers that night - barracuda! Took about 15 minutes to reel the guy in! The crew of the Ragga Queen were quite impressed!

The island where we camped the first night. Yes, that is the entire island!


We flew from Placencia back to Cancun, as there were reports of trouble crossing the border due to H1N1 flu.


One of the best experiences I have ever had - swimming with Whale Sharks! There were reportedly about 200 in the area, and they are huge! That mouth is about a metre across and they can be 35 ft. long!


The prettiest beaches I have ever been to. Isla Mujeres - sand soft like flour and white as snow. Water as warm as a tub and you can walk out waist deep forever.


More to be updated!