Thursday, November 26, 2009

UnBELIZEable !!!

For those of you familiar with the Caribbean you know that it's hard to find picturesque scenes like that anywhere else. Clear azure water in shades of sapphire and turquoise laden with a kaleidoscope of colorful fish make this tropical vacation paradise. Twelve hours riding in autos, planes, trains and vessels lands you in San Pedro, Ambergris (Am-BER- griss) Caye, the largest of 200ish islands off the coast of Belize. You have to fly - at least from LA - to Belize City and then take a little prop plane over to the island. Its only about 15 minutes but all the while you can see fish popping out of the water and the 2nd largest reef in the world. The air is warm and breezy and the skies are clear.

I met family at the small air strip where we waited quite a while at the taxi stand. The roads in San Pedro aren't paved and most people travel by bicycle, motor bike (mopeds), golf cart or on foot. There are very few cars, in fact only the taxis. It is busy and chaotic downtown and since the roads are dirt and the rain is abundant you can image the potholes! It wasn't too far to the dock where the ferry awaits but they close the roads to cars on the weekends to make it safe for pedestrians and we had to take the back streets. This alone was an adventure dodging people, bikes, and dogs.

The ferry ride to Captain Morgan's resort is about 15 minutes from town. By now it was pitch black making each of the billions of stars visible to the naked eye and other boats nearly impossible. In fact, there was a fatal water taxi accident the same night I arrived probably minutes after we passed by. C.M. is the location of one of those lame, debaucherous reality shows. It is also rumored that Tiger Woods has his own golf course on the island. Stepping off the boat onto the dock you just immediately relax as you meander through the sparingly cleared coconut palm groves over sandy, moonlit paths. The accommodations are well-appointed (flat screen and wi-fi) yet beachy with tile floors, thatched roofs and a colorful mix of Mexican influence. The kitchen serves up mostly local seafood like conch but some local flavors are featured too like jerk chicken. The local beer is a delicious and light refreshing lager called Belikin. There is a nightlife on A.C. if you desire it but we were more interested in watching the sun rise over the eastern horizon which happens right around 5am. It's blazing hot by 7 am so the cool air of the early morning is welcome.

I can only describe this place as seeming like it's the end of the world. The expanse of blue skies and inviting blue sea calls to you from the lanai overlooking the swim-up bar. This morning we set out to collect sea shells. The best part is you actually can allowing me to reminisce of Southern California in the 70's. We found lots of unique shells and coral in the bath-like water at the shoreline before setting off with a guide for the afternoon to snorkel and catch dinner. He picked us up on the dock and we went miles out just shy of the reef and dropped anchor. Jumping into the water was like falling through a rabbit hole into another world. I've been snorkeling before but this was an extraordinary experience. Stingrays and nurse sharks are abundant as are psychedelic fish of every size, shape, color, stripe, polka dot, stripes with polka dots - you get the drift. We saw the deadliest fish in Belize and even a sea cucumber (I've never even heard of that). Other interesting sightings include the spotted lobster (prolific, and popular fishing) and lion fish. It was so beautiful and peaceful and since I have an underwater camera I videoed a few minutes of the experience. It was on this trip that I wish I could dive and fully intend to learn some day. Diving in Belize is supposed to be some of the best viewing in the world. Swimming with these gracious animals and just gazing upon the brilliant coral reef was really incredible but we had to catch dinner so we replaced our masks for poles and sped off to a spot where we could hunt snapper and yellow fin.

Fishing is a mainstay in Belize and a big draw for tourists (particularly lobster fishing) but we didn't have the greatest luck this day. It was late in the afternoon and they just weren't biting. Kylie was the big winner of the day catching 3 edible fish and I caught the largest of the day but only one. Our dinner was much more sparse than we had counted on but it was a lot of fun trying. John filleted the fish on board for us while the sea birds stalked overhead. Physical activity, sun and endless days take a lot out of you by sundown so collapsing is almost a rule.

The next morning we took the resort's bicycles into town for some homemade coconut ice cream at Manelli's. The 4 mile one way trip is is made - ideally before it gets blazing hot - on the hard pack sand "highway" running adjacent the beach. This is the road the locals use to go back and forth to work on the resorts from San Pedro. There was a slight breeze at our backs pushing us through the powder white sand under the low hanging palms at water's edge as other resorts and private residences recede in our wake. At the edge of town the sandy road ends so we cross into the back roads and bump and warble over the pot holes along the lagoon surrounded by brightly colored condos before crossing over a toll bridge. The recently constructed bridge hovers over a recent hurricane created river and promises a bustling center town. Since tourism is a primary industry artisans line up there goods in the town square. Jewelry and wood carvings are among the most popular items. I purchased a zericote wood carving that was lovingly honed and sanded many times over before applying a protective coat of beeswax for sheen. It was here that I met Capine. I first noticed him riding a bike while I was chatting with some young school children. Capine is a very special and talented cyclist riding the handlebars with confidence and ease. What's so interesting about Capine is that he is a RACOON! I have never seen such a thing. He is a gentle and friendly beast who let me pet him and even took the money out of my hand. We made a couple detours to the market for some fresh and relatively inexpensive food before grabbing a Mojito for the ride back. A refreshing dive in the pool upon return was critical to beat the afternoon humidity.

Relaxing this afternoon poolside with pantie rippers (rum and pineapple juice) was the perfect prelude to an intoxicating conversation with Joe. I met Joe when I wandered down to the beach to have a few minutes away from the chatter of New Yorkers. Local Joe was propped up by a tree with a backpack full of hand carved goodies. He hobbled over to my chaise and collapsed on the one next to me winded from the 10 foot walk dragging his leg behind him. Joe walked with a severe limp and pronounced himself a craftsman and herbal healer. He pridefully extracted each of his art pieces from the bag one by one and shared the story behind each one telling me of how he went deep into the rainforest to find the perfect logs, some weighing 200 pounds, and his painstaking effort to get them home. He described the labor-intensive process of of chiseling and carving and sanding over and over to achieve the perfect piece. He also told me of the moon's role and how important it is to cut the wood between 3 days before and after a full moon and the wood will last over 70 years. He said it was the same for the thatched roof construction; if cut in keeping with the moon's cycle it will withstand hurricanes. I learned that the national flower is the black orchid; the bird is the toucan; tree is mahogany; and the fish is the angel fish. He was a wealth of information and fascinating to talk to. After a while I felt comfortable enough to ask what happened to his leg. He said he had been the first child on the island to have contracted polio. Later we learned that he told someone else a tree fell on his leg in the forest. So now I feel as though any unverifiable thing we discussed is b.s. The world is full of characters.

The evening ushered in a beautiful breeze so we took to the beach volleyball court with some of the local kids. The kids live in the neighborhood behind the resort and they are very sweet and respectful so the resort staff allow them to hang around and fraternize with the guests. My niece and nephew have basically grown up with them over the last 5 years and look forward to playing with them each year. Two of the kids were sent home from school early today - one of them blew out his shoes and the other his pants. It is a strictly enforced policy that children have shoes and proper attire in school. The mosquitoes made us forfeit the volleyball game at sundown. It was Belizean Culture night at Captain's. We decided to forgo the festivities which were rather lame and walked the shoreline instead. The sky was especially clear and the stars were innumerable and gazing on them is magic. Sadly in order to enjoy the beautiful balmy nights around here you'd better balm up on the bug repellent.

I awoke to see the sun rise up over the horizon but found the blood letting from the bugs at that hour just not worth siting outside so I moved indoors and watched from the bed with my steaming cup of delicious Belizean coffee and homemade fig and coconut muffins. Not quite the same but gorgeous anyhow to watch the sun's rapid ascent over the Northern Hemisphere. Today we're adventuring to Caye Caulker, another nearby island. It's a very Jamaican inspired, relaxed, bohemian, artsy vibe on Caye Caulker and I absolutely loved it. The island is walkable from end to end. We meandered around the center of town for a bit seeing the health office/post office/library building across from the grocery/hardware/sell everything department store. A golf cart taxi driver offered us a cheap ride to "the split" so we took it. The split is a cut in the island made by a wicked hurricane in the 60's. There is a cabana style bar there - and not much else - surrounded by a decimated cement wall, great for diving into the crystal clear water and coupling as a protective environment for oodles of fish. A weathered old captain had docked his large sailboat next to the bar and I forget the woman's name the vessel was named after, Lucille or something, but it had Seattle, WA painted on it. So I climbed aboard to discover what the trip was like from Washington State on the Pacific coast and how he got to the Caribbean. I was expecting an Ernest Hemingway tale but the guy was a honest to goodness dud saying he had purchased the boat from Florida and sailed from there. We rented snorkels from him and spent the day snorkeling, swimming, sunning and indulging the bartenders creative whims. An Oregon ex-pat was walking around selling homemade pizza which was literally one of the best I've ever had. Since food is so expensive and fresh food not readily available you have to get quite creative and she did. Yum! A French man traveling through Mexico and Central & South America, Jean Luc, was pleasant company at the bar and listening to him recount his adventures was fun. He was perturbed at the fact that the bartender wasn't serving coffee. Later, we sauntered back into town to catch the ferry back to San Pedro stopping to chat with many friendly and beautiful families. Time ain't nothing but a thang on the islands and our ferry arrived well past it's schedule. The resort has their own shuttle service to and from town but again it's spotty and not terribly reliable so when we finally made it to San Pedro we had to wait over 2 hours for the water taxi back to the resort. A storm was blowing in and it was getting rather cool on our sunburned bodies. It was a wonderfully relaxing day and should I return to Belize I will definitely spend some lazy days on Caye Caulker eating conch ceviche and jammin' to reggae beats at the split.

One of the things I was looking forward to doing was zip-lining in the rainforest. This excursion is rather expensive though and my family had already done it so I'll need to make sure to do that next time before leaving Belize City. I also learned about cave tubing for which apparently you strap on a miner's light and cruise down the river into pitch dark caves. Thrilling! I didn't know until the day I left (Friday) that they have tours leaving from the resort on Thursdays to do these activities. I wish I had because we just hung around C.M. on Thursday anyway. It's nice to offset fun-filled days with relaxing ones especially since the sun and heat can zap your energy.The weather was slightly inclement on Thursday and we decided to just mellow out on the beach and explore some of the surrounding area and local creatures. Lizards are the size of dogs around here and they hang out everywhere. All day is happy hour so sea breeze in hand I listened to the birds squawk overhead and the palm fronds rustle with the wind as schools of fish dart around our toes in the gentle surf. This was the type of holiday where it seems to go on and on. I was in Belize for 4 full days and it felt like 3 weeks! Bliss. Later we decided to venture down the beach for a nice meal. We ended up at a beautiful spot and dined under the blanket of stars having the island version of paella and a yummy glass of wine. It was a gorgeous night although rather windy and a lovely stroll down the beach worked off our meal. A night cap at the resort as the live entertainment was winding down was a good ending.

Well it's my last day but I didn't have to book until 2pm to take the ferry to meet the cab for the airport. We'd been waiting for the opportune time to take the catamaran out but the wind just wasn't cooperating. This morning our luck changed... sort of. So the Griswalds all take our positions on the rig docked at the shore and Dave pushes while running through the slimy reeds operating the sails and trying to get behind the wind. The wind pushed us right into the dock. We all got off, drug the cat through the slime, found the wind and crashed into the dock. And repeat. By the 3rd time the staff came charging over to save their expensive catamaran and told us that the expert would be right over. You could feel the pity coming at us as he agreed to commandier the thing and take us for a ride - although we lost 2 of our passengers to disgust. Wow! It was so fun. He took us out by the reef where the water was a little bit rough and wavy for over an hour. He told us all kinds of stories about hurricanes, the moon and the island in general. By the time we returned I had to rush. You never know what customs and immigration will be like in 3rd world places so I had to hang around the airport for hours but this is where I discovered plantain chips. OMG they're delish rounding out the many wonderful memories I have about Belize. I hope I will return someday to explore the mainland and delve into the history of an incredibly beautiful place.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Did I mention I like to travel?

In fact, I LIVE to travel.
I leave Sunday for Ambergris Caye, Belize.
Just bought a waterproof camera...
I'll keep you posted.