Thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you some of
the fun that Andrew and I have been having in the great outdoors this last
month. First of all, there’s golf. The one and only golf course in Belize - Roaring River Golf Course - is
about 15 minutes from our house, so we get out for a round of “jungle golf”
every now and then. It’s a 9-hole
course, which is just right – especially in this heat. By the end of the round, I’ve drunk about a
liter of water… and sweat out every drop.
Paul, the owner, always has ice-cold washcloths – and Belikins –
available in the 19th hole, so that’s a refreshing stop after our
game. There are a couple of water holes,
and we’ve been told to keep an eye out for alligators, but so far, the coast
has been clear.
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| Andrew teeing off on the first hole |
While we haven’t spotted any critters at the golf course,
we certainly have our share here at the house.
Andrew was visited by an enormous moth during a late-night work session
one evening, and we were greeted by a snake shimmying across our front porch
one morning. Lizards and geckos are
common visitors outside – and inside – the house. We also have a resident iguana and cane toad
in our yard. No shortage of wildlife
sightings in view from our front door.
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| Andrew's late night visitor |
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| A no-legged non-friend on our front porch |
We got in a quick getaway to Florida a couple weeks ago for
some more outdoor fun. The scenery – and
humidity – wasn’t all that different from here in Belize. But I’ve been in Belize for 6 months now
(!!!) and I haven’t had more than a day off since starting this job in March
last year, so I was due for a little R&R, like going to Trader Joes! And eating sushi and salad! And going to the dentist! And getting a hair cut! It is these sorts of things you get really
excited about after being out of the states for awhile. We went to a wildlife sanctuary and took a
little boat ride around the intercoastal waterway, but otherwise, I was quite
content to hang out at the pool and just relax.
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| We had to go to Florida to finally see a little alligator (at McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary) |
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| The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse |
And finally, last weekend, Andrew and I and a small
group of folks from the Embassy went cave tubing and ziplining just outside of Belmopan. It was a fantastic day! This was the second time I’ve ziplined
(the first was in Costa Rica during my “Latitude Adjustment” in 2014) and
Andrew’s first time. For someone who is not a
fan of heights, let me just say, this was pretty cool! Sailing through the tree canopy and over the
river… it’s a whole different perspective on the jungle.
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| The intrepid zip-liners before heading off on our adventure |
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| "I'm going to do WHAT???" |
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| Andrew coming in for a landing |
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| Can't deny how pretty it is up here |
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| We lived to tell! |
After ziplining (and working up a bit of a sweat, of
course), we grabbed some inner tubes and hiked to a put-in spot on the Caves Branch River for an hour-long
float. We floated through a huge cave for a good long portion of the float. For someone who is also not a fan of enclosed spaces, let me just say, this was also pretty cool! The river is wide and the cave has lots of
room, and we all wore headlamps, so even though it’s dark, it’s not scary in
the slightest. It’s one of my favorite
things we’ve done in Belize so far.
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| Hiking with our tubes to the put-in spot |
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| Getting ready to get our float on |
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| The intrepid cave-tubers heading down the river |
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| Floating through the cave |
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| And floating out of the cave |
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| So pretty and relaxing! |
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| The end of the line |
The great outdoors (and, in the case of the lizards and geckos,
the great indoors) have provided lots of fun and activities for us so far. Looking forward to getting out there for some
more adventures soon!
