Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Belize It





Nate and I, along with 7 others, took a quick trip to San Pedro, Belize at the end of January. After a ride on the worlds teeniest airplane (only about 12 seats), we arrived to the island of Ambergris Caye. I’m told (by non-Belize expert, Nathan Jones) that this is defined as whale vomit, although the place resembles what I imagine heaven to look like. I made sure to soak it in because I’m pretty sure that I’ve punch my ticket to the other side.

The house that our friends found was palatial and had a hot tub on the deck, as well as an infinity pool that overlooked the ocean. The best part was that it was on the outskirts of town so our golf carts came in handy for getting to and fro. It didn’t take us long to realize that the girls did not appreciate riding with NASCAR wannabe’s, Nate and Eoin.

San Pedro is a lovely little town and highly recommended, but the best times were spent during the day on the water. We hired some locals to take us out snorkeling (Belize has the 2nd largest Barrier Reef in the world) and while our teams speared a few fish, dove for conch shells (I brought up some lousy empties), the crew made up for the rest by expertly grabbing lobster and some massive underwater creatures for our lunch. We found a beach and while our clan climbed trees for coconut milk I quickly realized that we were not actually deserted on an island and decided that I would rather drink the provided beer instead. All said, it was a rather great day and absolutely fantastic trip.
During the last part, Nate and I stayed at Tranquility Bay (I came here for an article that I was writing), a secluded place with only 11 cottages on the beach. Not a television, radio or nary a person in sight. This would have been completely romantic if it were not for the Middleton’s-a charming couple in their mid-70’s from the Carolinas that we made fast friends with upon arrival. From sun up to sun down, the Middleton’s managed to find us on the secluded property within minutes of stepping out of our private patio. Dinner at 7, Jones’? Sure Bill. Headed to breakfast? Of course, Ruby. We parted with a goodbye and promised to keep in touch. When I returned I found an invite to their place this summer. I'm sure it will be a rager.

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