BEACHES AND BIRTHDAYS

Aloha!  Andrew and I just got back from a (much needed) two-week vacation in Hawaii.  While Andrew has traveled back to the states for work occasionally, I’ve been in Belize since May and was eager for a change of scenery, a break from the grind of dealing with unruly Americans, and some down time to relax and unwind.  Mission accomplished!  Now, I know what you’re thinking.  “You went from one tropical location to another tropical location for your vacation?”  It may seem that way.  But I assure you that Belmopan (where we live and spend the majority of our time) is the steamy, jungly innards of Belize.  It is decidedly NOT a tropical paradise.  And even though Belize’s beaches have sand and palm trees, they do not have the breezy trade winds to cut through the oppressive humidity, the clean, safe and well-maintained open spaces, and the variety of places to go and things to do.  I mean, besides just hanging out on the beach, we went to TARGET!  We saw a movie in a MOVIE THEATER!  We had GOOD WINE (and mai tais)!  We GOLFED!  These are true luxuries coming from Belize, and it was a lovely and relaxing vacation.

Our first stop when we landed in Oahu - a tiki bar called La Mariana Sailing Club.  We love the kitschy vibe of this place.  It's a regular stop when we're on Oahu.

Our dining companion for lunch at La Mariana.

...and our second stop after we landed.  [Insert sound of angels singing here.]

We stayed at the same place (Ko Olina on Oahu) and retraced our footsteps to the spot where we got married.  We even celebrated my birthday with dinner at the same restaurant.  (Hard to believe that was almost four years ago!)  Thanks to all of you for the birthday messages and well wishes!

The view from our room by day...

...and at sunset.  Ahhhhh.  You can see the relaxation.

Birthday dinner overlooking Diamond Head and Waikiki.

But before I cast too dark of a shadow on Belize, we have had some truly memorable moments here.  Before we left for Hawaii, we headed west to the little town of Bullet Tree to the studio of artist Walter Castillo to pick up a painting that we had commissioned.  We met Walter awhile back and had been to his studio a few times previously.  Last time we were there, we talked with him about creating a painting for us that would remind us of the Belize that we want to remember – the colors of the water and forests, the fun-loving and easy-going people, the overall joy of the place.  THAT is how I want to think back on our time here.  He showed us the painting and talked about how he had interpreted our vision and the creative process that went into it.  He pointed out lots of little nuances to it.  And we love it!  I think he completely captured the way we’ll remember this place. 

That's Walter Castillo, showing us the beautiful painting he created for us.

Et voila!  If you look closely, you can spot me and Andrew dancing on the beach.  :)

And we will certainly remember the day we picked it up.  We visited his studio with several friends from work and then had a long lunch afterwards at an off-the-radar, no-name spot that one of our party had visited previously.  It was up in the hills with awesome views of the valley below, and since it was BYOB and everything was made to order, we lingered over lunch for several hours while we talked with each other and the husband and wife proprietors (and drank some wine).  Days like that are what have made our time here truly special.

The view from our lunch spot.

Of course, I shouldn’t make it sound like our time here is finished.  My last day will be February 8, so we still have a bit of a haul to go.  And we will have more beaches and birthdays to come – including Andrew’s birthday next month.

BACK IN ACTION

Andrew and I overcame the inertia reported in my last blog post with a full slate of activities this month.  It helped that September in Belize is chock-full of public holidays.  Belize’s St. George’s Caye Day and Independence Day combined with our Labor Day provided us with three 3-day weekends to get back out there and explore uncharted territory.

We started with a long weekend in Mountain Pine Ridge, which is only about 30 miles southwest of Belmopan as the crow flies, but because of the terrible roads to get there, took us about two hours to get to.  It’s a “forest reserve” that has a few resorts and tons of trails and waterfalls.  It’s at a higher elevation, so even though it was still blazing hot during the day - especially when we were out hiking around trying to see everything there was to see - it was noticeably cooler in the evenings.  Our little cabana even had a FIREPLACE with kindling and wood should we have wanted to build a fire.  (Um… no.  It wasn’t that cool in the evening.)  The setting was glorious – scraggly closed-cone pines scattered around an understory of ferns, canyons, waterfalls and natural pools, and birds (of course).  The scenery seemed completely out of place from the palm trees and jungle that we’re used to seeing.  The resort where we stayed was lovely too.  Were it not for the 20 miles of rutted dirt track to get there, we’d likely try for a return visit.  But seeing as we’d like to keep the ol’ Pathfinder running for a few more months, it’s not likely we’ll brave it again.

A lovely vista from the higher elevation in Mountain Pine Ridge

One of the many waterfalls throughout the reserve

Good advice

Obligatory bird photo - a squirrel cuckoo

We thought about getting in, but that water was COLD

So pretty!

The sunsets in Mountain Pine Ridge were in full splendor

On our next 3-day weekend, we ventured north of the border to a little town called Bacalar, Mexico.  The town is set on the bank of a huge lake with absolutely crystal clear, warm water.  For most of this year, the beaches in Belize have been plagued by sargassum, a kind of seaweed that floats in huge rafts and has been washing up on the beaches all along the Caribbean coast.  It has been wreaking all kinds of havoc with sea life… and has been reeking, full stop.  (More on this below.)  So our trip to Bacalar was everything a visit to a tropical beach on the Caribbean sea should be… it just wasn’t technically on the sea.  We spent one morning at Cenote Azul – think Crater Lake, but with way warmer water.  After paying a small entrance fee, we set up shop at the restaurant there, went for a couple dips in the water, and enjoyed some libations.  

Cenote Azul (Blue Hole) with the lake in the background.  I pilfered this photo from the internet.  We enjoyed the hospitality at the restaurant on the left.

Andrew enjoying a swim

Post-swim cheladas - beer with lemon juice on ice with a salted rim.  Our refreshment of choice while we were in Bacalar.

In the afternoon, we went out on a catamaran to check out the lake.  Our skipper made a few stops for us to get into the water, and we were treated to a lovely sunset on the way back.  It was a fantastic getaway, and the cheap accommodations, delicious food, and gorgeous water means we likely will try to get back up there.

I don't have any photos from our afternoon sail... but I do have this one of me working hard in the hammock on the patio at our hotel in Bacalar.

We spent the last long September weekend in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye.  The local airline, Tropic Air, was offering cheap tickets all over Belize in honor of Independence Day, so we took advantage of the deals to fly from Belmopan to San Pedro – cutting what would be a half-day affair by car and water taxi into a quick 45-minute jaunt.  

Our 12-seater plane was filled to capacity, and Andrew got to ride in the co-pilot seat.

This is definitely the way to travel to San Pedro!

Having stayed right in town the last time we visited, we opted to stay at a quieter location north of town… and it was definitely quiet.  This is the off-season for the beach resorts, and a lot of the tourist businesses shut down for the month, so lots of places were closed.  And then, there was the aforementioned sargassum.  The smell – compost meets rotting fish – almost knocked the wind out of us.  For 100 feet or so out from the shore, the water was just brown and gunky, and huge piles of sargassum (and trash) were piled up in various collection points along the shore.  NOT the scenic beach experience that tourists are probably expecting when they come here.  

Gross.

We had a couple nice meals and spent an afternoon at a beach bar on the backside of the caye that was protected from the seaweed… but even so, I don’t think either of us are in a hurry to get back to a beach here anytime soon.

The sunsets in San Pedro definitely don't stink 

Another guest at the hotel

Maybe the last time we'll see downtown San Pedro?

In order to not end this post on that sour (smelling) note, even despite the assault on our noses, all of our excursions offered a welcome change of scenery.  And Mountain Pine Ridge – and especially Bacalar – were fantastic discoveries.  Oh, and we hosted a new furry houseguest in the midst of all of it too.  

Meet Princess!

So, all told, September was a great adventure, and it was good to be back in action. 

REALITY CHECK

I looked back at my blog the other day and realized it’s been almost two months since I posted an update.  When I looked back through my photos to see what new pictures I had, I realized I had a total of only five new shots on my camera roll.  One of them was a photo I had taken of our “hurricane preparedness kit.”

We're ready.

One was a picture of some mangos I had cut up to bring to a group brunch.

They were delicious.

And three were various dogs we have dog-sat over the last two months that I sent to their owners to show their contented dog enjoying our awesome dog hospitality.

Malty...

Gerti...

...and Leif.  All perfect house guests.

I know what you’re thinking.  You’ve been in Belize for the last two months, and all you have to show for it are whisky, fruit, and dogs???  Where are the beaches and palm trees?  Where are the spelunking adventures in the jungle?  Alas, while most of my blog posts have been about our fun explorations, the majority of our actual time here has been spent doing decidedly less adventurous things.  Our weekdays are spent at the office (either in the embassy or, in Andrew’s case, at our house).  Weekends are often spent at friends’ houses having a potluck or game night.  Or in our own house watching movies and enjoying the air conditioning.  Especially now that we’ve been here a year and a half and have covered a large portion of this country, our weekends are pretty low key and spent close to home.

Now, lest you think that my weekdays at the office are dull, let me assure you that dealing with Americans in a foreign country is anything but.  Americans have ways of getting themselves into all sorts of predicaments that (they think) require the assistance of the federal government.  Aside from the daily, run-of-the-mill problems (arrests and subsequent incarcerations, medical emergencies, and passports that have been lost or stolen the day before their flight home), there are the Americans who have more, shall we say, interesting issues.  Like the couple that locked themselves out of their hotel room and were stuck on their balcony.  Did they call the front desk?  Did they yell down to other people on the property?  No.  These enterprising Americans called the U.S. embassy for assistance.  Send in the choppers!  We must go rescue them!  Or like the gentleman who needed a new passport, but when informed that he had an active arrest warrant back in the U.S. and the only passport he would be able to get was a one-way trip back to the States, stated he could not go back because the police in his home state were crooks who had “killed his pet raccoon.”  Let me also give you a bit of advice based on numerous observations:  If or when you are over 85 years of age, please reconsider your decision to go scuba diving or hiking through the jungle in 100 degree heat.  Maybe reconsider your decision to go to Belize… period.  The “hospitals” here are BYOB – bring your own blood.  Not kidding.  Need a transfusion?  Call your friends to come on down.

All that is to say that, as with anything shiny and new, the shininess and newness wear off after a while.  Now Belize seems a little less exotic and more like a well-worn t-shirt.  But there are still some corners of this country that we have yet to investigate, and there are a few spots we want to make sure to visit again.  So our adventures are not yet over, and there will be future blog posts to document our discoveries.  In the meantime, this post is just a reality check for you to know that it’s not all rum drinks and sand in our toes.  At least not all the time.

MEET THE PARENTS

My parents came to Belize for a two-week visit at the end of May.  As always, it’s great fun when we have visitors because we get to be tourists too.  We hit some old favorites – like the Belize zoo, the Saturday market in San Ignacio, and the ruins at Xunantunich.  We also got to explore some new territory.  I took a few days off and took them on a road trip to southern Belize to see the jungle and Mayan villages around Punta Gorda, and then to see the beaches around Placencia.  They were able to attend one of the Embassy’s monthly “hail and farewell” gatherings to welcome newcomers and say goodbye to those heading to their next assignments.  They also got to meet some friends at one of our Friday happy hours in the driveway of one of the houses on the main housing compound.  And, of course, there were lots of card and domino games, lots of wine (and rum drinks), and lots of memories.  We covered a lot of territory and I think they enjoyed seeing where and how we’ve been living for the past year and meeting some of the folks who are also calling Belize their temporary home.  On this Father’s Day, I thought it would be fitting to share a few photos of what we got up to while they were here.   Happy Father’s Day, DD!

A stop in Hopkins for lunch

Xunantunich

The butterfly farm at Chaa Creek Resort

My parents... the spelunkers

Looking out over the jungle in Punta Gorda

Howler monkeys were nature's alarm clock in Punta Gorda

Dad demonstrating proper Belikin form

At the Barefoot Beach Bar in Placencia

FUN TIMES IN FLORIDA

One of the handy things about being posted in Belize is its proximity to the States and some cheap airfares that Southwest offers between Belize City and Fort Lauderdale.  Even so, I haven’t been back in the U.S. since our Panama Canal cruise 6 months ago, so I was getting antsy for some good food, a city with more than 1 stoplight, and a visit to Trader Joes.  I checked all those boxes when Andrew and I went to Florida a couple weeks ago.  And, bonus!  Our friends Meg and Chris from Portland met us there for a few days.  So in addition to all the to-dos on my list, we also got to fit in some classic tourist activities.  Segway tour?  Yep.  Escape room?  Check.  Goofing around on Fort Lauderdale beach?  Of course.  All that plus a suitcase full of Trader Joes goodies to take back to Belize!  Our little jaunt to Florida had it all.

View of Fort Lauderdale beach from our hotel room.

Yes, please.

With Meg and Chris, our partners in tourism!  First, a boat tour of the intracoastal waterway.

On to the segways!

And then to the escape room!  (Yes, we escaped.)

Upon our return to Belize, we were greeted by all sorts of trees in bloom.  ‘Tis the season for bright orange flamboyant trees, hibiscus, plumeria, and all sorts of other tropical flowers.  Mango season should also be in full swing in a couple more weeks.  We did have fun in Florida, but jungle life ain’t so bad.

Some of the trees in bloom on the embassy compound.

The jungle sunsets are pretty spectacular.

COVERING LOTS OF GROUND

Two years ago today was my first day of orientation for my “new” job with the State Department.  In the two years since then, I’ve lived in DC, spent time in Quito as part of my efforts to “learn Spanish”, and moved to Belize for my first assignment.  Andrew and I have covered a lot of ground in the last two years!  And we’re covering new ground here in Belize every month.

This past month, I traveled to Punta Gorda in the southern part of the country for work.  I spent a night down there at a fantastic lodge that afforded some fabulous views, and I was able to take in a spectacular sunrise and sunset.  A troop of howler monkeys announced themselves that evening, which was a reminder of how much jungle surrounds us here in Belize!

 

The view from the Copal Tree Lodge in Punta Gorda is incredible.

Speaking of howler monkeys, Andrew and I also visited a sanctuary for “baboons” (as they are called locally) and had an up-close-and personal interaction with a couple of them. 

Andrew making a new friend.

That's not a smile - that's a silent scream of terror.

After visiting the baboon sanctuary, we spent the night in a little town called Crooked Tree that is on a big wetland complex.  (Blog readers may recall that we also attended a Cashew Festival in Crooked Tree last May.)  While I don’t know that it’s necessary to visit the Cashew Festival, the wetland area is home to all sorts of birds, so Andrew indulged me in re-visiting the area so I could geek out on birds.

Looking out at the lake in Crooked Tree.

The weekend we visited was during a canoe race called the Ruta Maya from San Ignacio (in western Belize) to Belize City.  For those familiar with Hood to Coast, it’s just like that, except with boats.  For three days, teams of 3-person canoes would start each morning and race down the river to a designated finish line for that day’s segment, camp overnight, and then start again the next morning to get to the next checkpoint.  On the last day of our weekend, the finish line was near Crooked Tree, so we went to watch the boats coming across the finish line.  Both sides of the river had been set up with tents, food vendors, and PA systems with blaring music (no festival in Belize is complete without DJs and airhorns).  We set up our chairs on the river bank and hung out for an hour or so until the first few boats came across.  By then, it was HOT, and we could see that the rest of the 50+ boat field could take a while to finish, so we packed up and headed back to Belmopan.  But the Ruta Maya is a big deal here, so I’m glad we got to see it in person while we were here.

"You're almost there!"

We also got to welcome more visitors.  My friend Teri (from my ol’ EMC Planning days) and her family came for their spring break and spent a few days with us amid their travels around Belize.  I took a couple days off and played tour guide showing them some of the sights.  I also got to tag along with them for a tour of the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave, which is one of the main tourist destinations here in Belize and which I had not yet visited.  The cave has all sorts of Mayan artifacts on display including pottery and even skeletons, and it’s an adventure getting through the cave to see them since you have to climb, squeeze, get wet, and swim.  It’s hard to describe but so worth it, and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and insightful.  A highly recommended stop of the itinerary for the more adventurous set of visitors.

Teri, Andre, and Jean Luc wearing some green iguanas.

No cameras are allowed in the ATM cave, so this one is courtesy of google.

And finally, the Easter holiday is a big deal here with the country observing both Good Friday and Easter Monday.  We couldn’t let a 4-day weekend be spent in sleepy little Belmopan, so we headed to the beach in Placencia for an extra long weekend.  Placencia is one of our favorite beach spots because it’s fairly easy to get to (about an hour and a half drive), has several really nice hotels and good restaurants… and has a delicious gelato shop.  These are our priorities.  We read, we kayaked, we napped… and it was everything I thought it could be.  Even though I like covering a lot of ground and seeing as much as we can while we’re here, sometimes the only ground I want to cover is the patch of sand outside my cabana.

The beach in Placencia is beautiful by day and by night.