I Love You Sweet Baby, But You Always Take the Long Way Home 06-28-07

The most amazing storm either of us had ever witness happened during the night. It was as loud as a train at a point which had Mike thinking it might be a possible tornado. The sound of thunder was spectacular and a bit frightening. While the power went off, the resort’s emergency generator had it back on within minutes but we later learned that the town of Hopkins lost all power, not that many of the homes there have it anyway, but the businesses do.

We woke up at 7:00, finished packing and had a quick breakfast before saying goodbye to the Hamanasi staff and hopping in the van that would take us to the airport. We chuckled to ourselves as we watched it rain, happy that we weren’t subject to any unwanted rain during our stay. Peggy was the only other guest checking out with us today so we were treated to her passionate talk about birding (was it still considered a treat or was it annoying now?) all the way to Dangriga. The three of us waited in the tiny airport for about an hour before we boarded our small, 6 seater plane. The plane flew between 900 and 1100 feet the entire way to Belize City, just under the clouds that were still threatening rain. The low altitude offered some great aerial views.

We arrived in Belize City and by the time we got our flights all worked out (there was some confusion with our connection flight), we had only a few minutes to board the plane that would take us to Houston, Texas.

The flight with Continental Airlines was nice as far as flights go. We were served a sandwich, chips and chocolate bar which, after eating so well for the past 11 days felt so terribly wrong to consume. We sat next to a chatty old lady that just couldn’t comprehend the whole “I have headphones on and would like to tune you out” thing. Every time I would press play on my ipod to listen to my audio book, she would start talking to me and I would have to press stop again. This happened the entire way to Houston with the counter on my book reaching an astounding 3 minutes! Oh well, she was nice enough.

As we got off the plane we knew we’d have to haul ass to catch our connection flight to Detroit. We ran to the US immigration gate and breezed through without hassle. We had to wait to retrieve our baggage, then had to go to the ticket agent of North West Airlines who jus happened to be at the terminal that was furthest from the one we were currently in. We ran to the airport train, waited and waited and waited for it to get to Terminal A and then ran again, all our bags in tow, to the ticket agent who informed us that we had just missed the flight.

Not to worry though! She transferred our flight to Air Canada so we scurried across to their short line and got our boarding passes from their ticket agent. Instead of flying through Detroit to Ottawa, we were destined to Toronto. We had enough time to scarf down some food and make a quick call home before boarding the plane to Toronto.

Unfortunately we didn’t get seats together for this 3.5 hour flight, but it really didn’t matter, the plane was stacked with entertainment. The seats each had their own individual screens and earphones and with touch-screen controls each passenger picked their own entertainment. Games, TV, Movies, News….. I was actually hoping to catch some Zzzzz’s so I put on what I though was the dumbest of movie offerings. I am almost too embarrassed to share this with people, but I selected “Wild Hogs”. Several of the passengers surrounding me did as well. For the duration of the movie, I could hear laughter throughout the plane at close, but not the same, intervals. We were all laughing out loud at the same parts, but moments apart. Good movie actually, well good parts and the beer at altitude probably helped it out a tad.

We arrived in Toronto, grateful to be on the last leg of our journey. It was now 9:00pm local time. We cleared Canadian customs, retrieved our bags again and had to go through our fourth and final security check of the day. We had about a 5 minute wait until boarding the final flight to Ottawa.

Once again, we were seated next to a very nice, chatty lady from Windsor who shared the stories of all her children’s weddings and even supported it with some video! The flight was short and as I got closer and closer to home, my heart started getting more and more excited to see our dog Abbey, to see our kitchen, our hot tub, our own bed, my garden and just sit on my sofa in front of the TV.

Our longest wait of the day was about to happen. The Ottawa airport was as packed as I’ve ever seen it. Four flights worth of people were all waiting for their bags around the still conveyor belts. We waited and waited and waited for baggage to start pooping out of the chute. We were so close to home and this felt like torture! It was 25 minutes before the belts started moving and another 10 before our bags actually surfaced. It felt like winning the lottery when we saw them. After waiting for the bags we had to wait for a cab, but once we had one it was a quick and exciting drive home.

We turned the key to our door around 1:00 in the morning, and Abbey lazily got out of her bed to see who it was (nice guard dog). When she saw it was us she licked our face for about 5 minutes and even as I type this out 18 hours later, she has yet to leave my side. I know she was well taken care of, but it’s nice to know I was missed!

It’s been a great trip. As I look around my house at all the tropical plants I have, I will always recall how the things I know as plants here can actually be trees in Belize, hundreds of times bigger than I can grow in a pot in our environment. I already miss the foliage, the flowers, the fruit, the sound of people conversing in creole, and of the ocean waves. I miss prancing around in a swimsuit 80% of the time, I miss lounging lazily by the pool. I miss the sight and sounds of the geckos and the fresh, jungle air.

I do not miss the mosquitos.

Entering Tortilla Territory 06-27-07

A loud crash of thunder followed by the blue illumination of lightning woke me from my sleep at 2:30am. The heavy rain and wind shook the tree house and I woke Mike so he could enjoy the tropical storm with me. We fell back to sleep and by morning the storm was over, the sun was shining and we enjoyed another fruity breakfast.

As you’re probably sick of hearing, the food here is unbelievable. Because of this, several days ago we asked if we could please go into the kitchen and learn the art of flour and corn tortilla making. The staff here says no to nothing and Jessica kindly obliged our request and set it up for this morning. We joined Sharaden at 9:00am in her hot and tiny kitchen where we made the different doughs, pressed the flour tortillas out with our hands and used a tortilla press for the corn ones. Mike applied so much pressure to the tortilla press that it snapped and pieces went flying. We asked if we could replace it and they said that they would have to go to the other side of the country for a new one and that they would just try to fix this one. They didn’t make a deal over it and said it was okay, but I still felt terrible about it. The one and only time they have let people into their kitchen and we break their valued tools!

We cooked our tortillas on a well seasoned, worn and warped Kamal, a cast iron plate, until they were toasted and smelled good. Shariaden was so kind and gave us a ton of pointers that we are grateful to have learned and will apply in our own kitchen when we get home. We laughed and tried to offer her money which she refused. The fact that she came in to work an hour earlier than she normally would have to just to accommodate our strange request, took the time to print out her recipes and methods for us and stayed to clean up our mess was exceptional service and I felt bad that she would not accept a tip for it. But this resort, while it allows tipping, has tips built into the price and trains their staff on a very high level of service delivery. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with every single person.

After our lesson, Mike and I had huge smiles on our faces. We just love being in the kitchen! We grabbed a couple bikes and set off once again to Hopkins Village where we purchased our limit of One Barrel rum, Coconut Rum and hot sauces. We bought gifts for a few people and ourselves and leisurely peddled back to Hamanasi for a couple of Belikin beers and to begin packing our bags before lunch for our departure tomorrow.

For lunch I decided to cave in and have the burger and fries. The burger was really spiced up with flavor, it was so good and the fries were fries, but being dipped in Marie Sharps made them special. Mike had the chicken taco salad served in a tortilla bowl in honour of our lesson this morning. We chatted with Peggy about her birding experiences thus far and a conversation about herbal medicines and then we took the sea kayaks out for a tour of the coast line.

We set an ambitious goal, to see Hopkins village from the shore instead of the road, but biking it is far easier than paddling against the wind and waves. Even though the sea was relatively calm compared to most other days we’ve seen, it was still tiring and we gave up about half way and turned around. Sitting around doing nothing seemed much more appealing.

So that’s what we did until dinner time. We looked out at the water and watched the palms wave in the wind, feeling sentimental that we might never have this view again. We’ve been here longer than most people stay. The average stay is a week, so we have seen many people come and go and aside from Peggy and the staff we are the loners that we arrived as. We have enjoyed our stay here so much but feel as though we’ve done everything that we needed to do and experience and now we’re ready to go home to our dog, our own bed, our kitchen, our friends, family and our regular habits. Besides I am craving a caesar!

Dinner was our first repeat. We sat at the table we sat at on our first night, looking over the glow of the pool and the illuminated pier. We both ordered the broccoli soup and shrimp kabobs. Mike had the key lime pie for dessert and I had a sweet potato pudding with vanilla ice cream that was unique in flavor and to die for! If only we could have learned this recipe in the kitchen as well. MMmmmm. We posed for a few sad-faced photos, reflecting our mood about having to leave.

After dinner we took the remainder of our bottle of wine to the end of the pier. While it was beautiful and calm where we were, we watched several storms off in the distance over the sea. There was impressive lighting that reminded us we’ll be headed home to Canada Day shortly and get to watch the fireworks with our dog Abbey again. Maybe she won’t be as scared this year.

After some romantic moments at the end of the pier, we proceeded to the bar where we chatted with King, passed him a hefty tip for taking such good care of us during our stay and we played a competitive game of Uno with a newly arrived teenager named Graham, who just couldn’t catch a break in the game and after getting pummeled by both Mike and I (you can’t help it, you have to play what’s dealt man!) retreated to his room.

We finished the night off with a couple more drinks, a few more mosquito bites (did I mention we went through 2.5 cans of bug spray here?) and more reggae tunes. Leon, the front desk guy that we have come to really like since he’s into mixing music, did several magic tricks for me that blew my mind and semi-impressed Mike who used to do some magic himself. Then after hugs, handshakes and sincere salutations to King and Leon we retreated to bed for our final sleep in the jungle.

To the Bat Cave! 06-26-07

We awoke to another beautiful Belize day. The sun was shining and the breeze from the sea was beautiful. We showered and went down for some breakfast with Brian and Jennifer. We were fueling up for another adventure day while they were fueling up for their flight home. We exchanged contact information and wished them well before piling into the van toward St. Herman’s cave.

After about an hour drive, we arrived, loaded up with bug spray and headed on a short jungle hike. As we approached the magnificent opening, cave swallows flew around us and we secured our headlamps. St. Herman’s cave is a mile long cave loaded with stalagmites and stalactites and pottery shards from use by the Mayans. Mike and I have visited caves before and were impressed that this one has not been excavated the way the ones in Canada have. It is in its natural form and therefore there was no real comfortable path for humans to take. It was a rigorous journey up, down, over and through rock formations, some wide spaces and some tight spaces, some steady foot holds, some slippery. It wasn’t easy by any means, but we enjoyed the effort and were glad we were with people that didn’t slow us down.

As we exited the cave, we saw little black bats perched on the cave ceiling. That completed the experience! Looking around at our group we all laughed at one another, covered in dirt and sweat, we were a mess! Mike and I had gone through 7 bottles of water on this trek, afraid of becoming dehydrated again.

After the caves, we drove a short distance to Blue Hole National Park where we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch of chicken sandwiches, pasta salad, chocolate chip cookies and orange juice. I just love the juice here. It is so fresh and sweet. As we ate we watched hummingbirds feed from the bright red hibiscus flowers and leaf cutter ants carry leaves 10 times their size across the jungle floor. We even spotted a tarantula spider. Okay it was dead, but it was still a tarantula!

After lunch we hiked down a short path to the Blue Hole, a large, sapphire blue, 30 foot wide sinkhole fed by crystal clear underground streams. The sinkhole goes about 25 feet deep and surrounded by incredible rock formations and lush jungle. We wished we had brought goggles with us so we could have had a better under-water view of its severe drop off, but instead we simply enjoyed the fresh, cold water after a strenuous morning and it felt good to drive back to Hamanasi nice and clean.

When we arrived back we had a couple King Kong drinks from the bar (coconut rum, fresh banana and other stuff) and just chilled by the pool. We took another walk with Sasha along the beach, enjoying the breeze and watching the waves turn up the bottom and wash in sea grass, it was too rough for boats to go out and too yucky to swim in, but nice to walk along.

We got ready for dinner and wasted time on the porch of our tree-house sitting in jungle silence which is not silence at all, but rather is filled with the calls of birds, the rush of the ocean waves and the squawks of geckos. I thought to myself that there is no more peaceful place that I have been to and I hoped that I would be able to recall this moment, these sounds, this breeze, this feeling of peace and love, whenever my real life warranted an escape.

Dinner was the best one yet, if you can imagine. We were seated at the most romantic table, away from the dining room, secluded under a tree and a string of white lights, the breeze blowing our white table cloth over our place settings.

We started with a Jungle Salad with Conga dressing. Because we were only eating by candle light we had limited visual connection to our food and had to rely on taste and visceral senses. It was sweet and refreshing, a nice portion served in a half coconut shell. Avocado, tomato, pepper, celery, carrot, cilantro… ??? It was yummy and a nice start to the meal.

The breeze was incredible, the moonlight and candlelight was so romantic and the bottle of wine went down so easy, that Mike and I stared deep into each others eyes and had probably the best conversation of our stay. It was an incredibly romantic setting, meal and company and I could have stayed, talked, drank and ate all night, not wanting it to end.

Our main was lobster. Mine broiled, Mike’s grilled and it was served over rice with a side of carrot medallions. The lobster tail was enormous, twice the size as we have had in our experience, but it’s juicy texture and amazing taste allowed us to devour the entire portion.

For dessert we both chose the berry crumble cheese cake. This was he first meal that I completed in it’s entirety without waste. I was satisfied and drunk and after a few sentimental words and laughs with bartender King, we headed off to our tree house for our second to last night in paradise.

Don't Worry Mom, This Ends Well 06-25-07

By 1:00am I would have loved to be feeling the way I felt when I went to bed. It would have been 100 times better than I felt. I awoke to a wave of nausea, dizziness and a head so heavy I could barely move it or speak.

Freaked out by my condition, Mike went to find the Guest Services Manager, Jan. Jan inspected me for the signs of diver-related illness and malaria and ruling them out, she asked if I would be okay until morning when we could have a doctor from Dangrigia come out to assist me.

After Jan left, I proceeded to vomit for the next 4-5 hours, my empty stomach heaving, and my wonderful husband holding back my hair and wiping my face with a damp cloth. I had hoped “For better and worse” and “In sickness and in health” wouldn’t be challenged so soon, but I have picked the right man for the job. I feel as though I would have died last night without him around.

Once the nausea ceased, I stayed in bed, sipping water and trying to hydrate myself, dosing in and out of sleep. We had planned on doing an intense hike through the Mayflower Rainforest today including a rigorous climb to the top of a waterfall, but unfortunately I was in no shape to attend. Instead the staff sent me up a cup of tea and some fruit and I spent the entire morning in bed.

Feeling a bit better, Mike took me down for some lunch at around 2:00pm. The staff came to see how I was doing and offered their help to me in any way. They are all so sweet here that I will miss them when we go home. I ate a bowl of white rice to get my stomach going and shared a slice of pizza with Mike. After lunch I headed straight back to bed where I remained for the rest of the day, weak and tired, but relived not to be nauseous.

We never did ask the doctor to come out so I’m not exactly sure of the cause of my illness. The thing that makes the most sense to me is sunstroke and dehydration due to my 6+ hours directly in the Belizean sun yesterday. I sweat more than I drank I guess. A rookie traveler’s error and a lesson I will not soon forget.

My wonderful husband, who was up with me all night, spent the day in as tired a state as I did, he lazed around, napping a lot, listening to his ipod and just relaxing. I felt as though I had taken a day of vacation away from him, but he insists he didn’t mind.

Around 5:00pm I knew I was feeling better because I started singing. That was a really good sign! By 6:00 I was well enough to go for a dip in the pool and by 7:30 I was ravenous for dinner.

The starter was another incredible soup. It was a light broth of coconut, not the cream, but the milk. It contained pieces of snapper, a fish I am a huge fan of now, and two balls that looked like matzo balls but were actually made of plantain. They were sweet and delicious but I couldn’t eat it all, I was saving room for the main, which was lamb chops, cooked perfectly rare ad topped with what I think was a carrot confite. My first bite of lamb made me say “Oh shit, that’s good” out loud and melted in my mouth. Served with the lamb were two potato balls. They used mashed potatoes, rolled them and then dipped them into what most resembles the batter for Chinese chicken balls or a corn dog and fried them up. Mmmm. A yummy, sweet cob of corn, some cauliflower and carrots and I felt completely nourished and well on the road to recovery.

Mike had a banana cream pie slice and I had a key lime pie slice and then we returned to our tree-house with a bottle of wine, full and feeling great.

Too Much of a Good Thing 06-24-07

We rolled out of bed around 10:00am, too late for the breakfast buffet. I have come quite accustomed to having freshly squeezed orange juice, locally grown fruit (pineapple, papaya, kiwi, bananas, avocado, oranges and grapefruit) and the scrumptious, dense bread for breakfast and I missed it this morning.

Today, we did faaaaaaaaack all. We sat pool side, drinking drinks and flipping over occasionally. I don’t really know what else to say, it was hours of laziness. The weather her has been exactly as we have needed it to be. Cool when we are being active, hot and breezy when we’re being lazy, raining only when we’re asleep on under cover, in need of the cooling effect. We feel so blessed by the weather gods.

For lunch, which was actually our breakfast and made all the staff giggle and wonder what we got up to last night, Mike had the snapper sandwich. He enjoyed it as thoroughly as I had. I ordered the Belizean special again, convinced that I can not go wrong ordering the local fare. It was barbequed chicken, with rice and beans and it did my stomach well.

After lunch, we did more of the same (man this is going to be a boring blog – but man was it ever needed). We soaked up the sun, now looking pretty brown. I listened to an audio book by Jaques Pipin entitled “The Apprentice – My life in the Kitchen” and drooled over the French cuisine he described. As much as I am enjoying my stay, I do want to get home and read through his and Jullia Childs, “The Art of French Cooking”, both of which we are the proud owners.

Happy hour began with a bang, we ordered a “Blue Hole” and went for a walk along the beach. Sasha, the resort Golden Lab, joined us. She seemed to be cleaning up the beach when she picked up a discarded plastic cup and carried it during our walk. We passed by locals on their piers, baiting fishing nets with chicken skin in the hopes of catching blue crabs. One family had an impressive bucket of them and posed for some pictures for us.

Upon our return to the resort, we hopped into the pool for a refreshing swim.

When we got out of the pool and headed back to the tree-house to change for dinner, I began to feel strange. I felt instantly drunk, wobbly, and giggly. I counted the number of drinks I had consumed and since it had only been three, I tried to talk myself out of this silliness so I could be presentable at dinner. It didn’t work, I was still stumbling and not speaking properly and proceeded to become more and more hysterical and delusional. Since there was no way I was going to be able to go to dinner in this shape, Mike had a black bean soup brought up for me, but I could eat only one bite.

So there was no breakfast and no dinner for us today. I was in bed by 7:00pm feeling like shit.

Climbing a Mayan Temple

We climed El Castillo at the Mayan ruin site of Xunantunich in Belize. Here are some clips from the climb and the fantastic view.

We were lucky to get there before all of the other groups would ruin the scape.

Path to the Treehouse

Here's a tour of the path that we take to our Treehouse at the Hamanasi resort in Belize.

Swimming With the Fishes / The Big Send Off 6-23-07

Despite going to bed early, it was still hard for me to wake up this morning. If we hadn’t something so wonderful to look forward to today, I could have stayed in bed all day long, but no, we had to rush to get some breakfast into us and head to the dock to board the boat that would take us on our very first scuba dive!

The sky was over cast, the temperature was nice and mild and the water was choppy. As the boat sped across the waves we were lifted off our seats and landed with spine crushing force. I held on for dear life and prayed that I didn’t succumb to sea sickness like so many others do. The ride lasted 45 minutes. When the boat stopped our instructor informed us that we would be diving at reef called “Abyss”. The more experienced divers all got into deeper water first and took off. Mike and I suited up, opting out of wetsuits since the water was so warm we didn’t need them, strapping our weight belts, defogging our masks and slipping into our BCDs (Buoyancy Control Devices) and fins. We prepared to exit the boat, feeling clumsy and heavy with all that gear on. We stood on the side of the boat, held onto our mask and regulator and did a simple scissor step into the water. We floated for a bit getting familiar with the equipment above water before Kammali adjusted our BCD so we could start sinking. Luckily I took to it right away, I had been a bit nervous about what I would experience, but all went flawlessly for me. Mike had a bit of trouble equalizing at first, his ears hurt. But after taking it slowly and finding his groove, he was swimming with the fishes and I in no time.

It was like being in a giant aquarium, coral and fish were everywhere. It was really incredible. Our instructor Kamalee tapped me on the shoulder, pointed at his eyes and then pointed out into the distance where an enormous, and I mean it when I say it, ENORMOUS spotted eagle ray swam past, waving its fins as though it were a bird flapping its wings in flight. The beautiful creature was perhaps 8 feet in diameter, much larger than I expected to see and once again I was humbled by my Belizean experience.

As we approached about 35 minutes under water, we began to surface. We got back into the boat with huge smiles on our faces and headed for a nearby island to have a break, some juice and cookies.

Dive #2 was at the long ridge reef and felt even better than the first. We were more comfortable exiting the boat, were allowed to control our own BCDs and didn’t have to stay too close to Kamalee, though I wanted to since his eyes are more in tune with spotting neat things!

The first thing we saw was a turtle, no sooner had I taken a picture of it than Kamalee pointed out a sting ray gliding across a crisp white backdrop of sand, perfect for photography. No sooner had I taken a picture of that than Kamalee pointed out a large nurse shark resting on the bottom in some coral. The nurse shark was about 6 feet long and I just couldn’t get enough of him.

I chased big schools of fish and took pictures of everything I could and before I knew it, our 35 minutes was up again.

With a huge grin on my face I got back on the boat and we headed back to Hamanasi, each of the divers telling a different story about what they saw. Some saw giant lobsters, some saw three turtles, some had difficulty with gear, everyone had fun.

We worked up a pretty good appetite diving so we came back, had a cocktail and sat down to lunch. Mike had a club sandwich and fries. The bacon was really great and the bread was the same, dense bread that we’ve been having at breakfast. I had a traditional Belizean chicken stew made with coconut milk and a curry-like blend of spices. It was served with what looked like plain white rice, but when I had a bite I was treated to the flavor of coconut. It was the best lunch yet which is really saying something.

After lunch we napped. The bed seemed to rock back and forth like the choppy boat ride.

Boy did we nap! For about 2 hours actually. Who knew that vacationing took so much out of you. We awoke, freshened up and went down for happy hour. When we booked this secluded honeymoon destination I was really looking forward to being anti-social for a couple of weeks and just enjoying my new marriage, but the people that come to Hamanasi are so varied and interesting that it’s been an absolute pleasure to be around them.

Tonight, as Mike sat next to Chris and Paula, I sat with a lovely woman in her mid-50’s named Peggy. Peggy, an avid birder, was traveling by herself. Born to a Chinese father and a southern bell mother, Peggy and her brother grew up in Arizona. Her father died when she was so young that she has no recollection of him. Peggy was educated in geology and had a successful career in that field until her mother became ill with pancreatic cancer several years ago. As she watched the care that her mother received until she died, Peggy decided that she needed to be in the medical field as well and help families the way that the doctors had help her and her mother. So with her inheritance, she went back to school to become a doctor. She’s in her 3rd year right now and seems to be enjoying it immensely though it’s grueling and her younger piers are physically more up for the challenge.

We talked for two hours straight with no lull in the conversation. We talked about birding, the Canadian vs American health system, the war, the next American president, food, travel….. so much. I instantly liked her and felt a strong connection.

Mike and I invited Peggy to join us at our table for dinner and the conversation and wine continued flowing. We all started with a tomato soup. It was rich and complex, made with both fresh and sun-dried tomatoes and a dollop of crème fresh. I enjoyed a jerk chicken dish with a potato gratin side dish. It was lovely. Mike had a bowl of Belizean chili which was seasoned differently than we would have expected but it was perfection served with fresh corn tortillas. Peggy had a vegetarian ratatouille that made her go “Mmmm” after every bite. We finished off the meal by sharing a slice of banana cream pie that was the freshest, most delicious banana cream pie I have ever tasted.

Peggy went off to bed after dinner since she had to be up at 5:00am to go birding. We met up with Chris and Paula whom we promised to whoop it up with because it was their final night at Hamanasi before heading home in the morning.

Whoop it up we did. We sat at the bar singing songs and laughing for hours. Finally when we realized that King (our bartender) likely had enough and wanted to go home, we ordered two more buckets of Belikan beer and headed back to our tree house where we listened to music, drank and laughed for a couple more hours. When I could no longer stand, I sat, and when I could no longer sit, I hugged them goodbye, wished them safe travels and passed out in beautiful oblivion.

The Magical Mayan Mystery Tour 6-22-07

We once again awoke to the sound of rain, but by the time we showered and were ready for breakfast, the rain had stopped and we dined on the patio before meeting up with our driver Golden, and heading out for a 2.5 hour drive to visit the Mayan Ruins.

The drive was simply amazing. We passed village after village of run down shacks beside colourful and spacious homes and inns. Children were on their way to school, older brothers giving their younger siblings a ride on the handle bars of their bikes. The road was dotted with fresh fruit stands, dogs, horses and cattle. The Maya Mountains were lush and green and as we drove higher and higher into them, the clouds were at eye level. It was hands down the most beautiful natural environment I’ve ever been in.

We passed through a town that I wish I could recall the name of. It looked like such a bustling place. Mike and I secretly wished for the van to break down so we could spend a few hours exploring this river-side community, but we just continued on driving by. We’ll have to look into renting a vehicle and getting back there!

Although we were driving on Belize’s main highway, it was still a narrow paved road. Vehicles passing in the opposite direction looked as though they were close enough to scrape us and I found myself clutching the seats more than a few times. The road was bumpy and sitting in the back of the van watching everything pass gave me a touch of motion sickness so I was happy when the ride came to an end.

We arrived at Xunantunich (pronounced Shu-nan-tu-nich) park entrance and met our guide, Junior. As we waited for the water taxi that would take us across the river to the grounds, an enormous iguana posed for pictures. He was so big I couldn’t believe it! We were all too scared to get close to him but would have loved to get a picture with him so people could see the scale of him. He was likely 5 feet long!

The hand-operated water taxi took us and the van across the river and as we got back in the van we had to take it really slow so that we wouldn’t run over the 5 or 6 iguanas that were leisurely crossing the road.

It turned out to be a beautiful day. We applied sunscreen and bug spray and started our walk to the ruins. Coming around the corner, the initial viewing of the site took my breath away. It was colossal. These buildings were created about 1000 BC and abandoned around 800 AD. The entire site includes 7 plazas, 2 ball courts, 6 plain Stella and 1 alter as well as temple pyramids. Luckily, we were the first group to arrive and we had it all to ourselves without our pictures needing to be marred with other tourists.

We climbed to the top of the main pyramid, El Castillo. We oooed and ahhhed over the arches and frieze carvings. Each stage of the climb offered outstanding views but as we reached the top and stared out over Guatemala and Belize, able to see for miles upon miles, it was a humbling experience and I could have stayed all day.

We toured the remaining grounds and structures as Junior pointed out vegetation and stated interesting facts. Mike and I were both captivated by a barkless tree with another plant growing off it. Junior pulled a leaf off the tree, bruised it and held it to our noses. The tree was allspice and though the berries are not in season, the leaves smelled amazing and made Mike and I hungry! The plant growing off the tree was a species of agave. Every plant seems to have a symbiotic relationship with another here, it’s really interesting to see.

We sat at a picnic area for some lunch. Belizean chicken with rice and beans and a potato salad and lots of hot sauce! I love this country! Then it was back in the van for a short drive to the next site.

The next site Cahal Pech (Land of Ticks) was smaller than the first site. There was actually some excavation going on which was cool to see. This site didn’t have the magnificent views of El Castillo, but it covered a large area and was made up of many different paths, mazes and buildings that we explored at will.

We learned that the national bird of Belize is the toucan, though we haven’t seen on yet. The national flower is the black orchid and the national tree is the Mahogany tree.

Exhausted and over-heated we piled back into the van for the 3 hour drive back to the resort. As we passed the countryside for the second time I kept imagining what it would be like to live here. How different it is from our lives in Canada. I pictured going out onto my land and picking avocados and figs for dinner. Drinking from a fresh coconut as I ride my horse to town. The day dream turned into a sleeping dream as I nodded off. Before we knew it we were back at the resort sipping the happy hour drink. A slushy coconut, pineapple and rum drink called “Pain Killer” that went down like water.

Have I mentioned how fabulous this place is for food? It is a foodie’s paradise. Every night the bread they serve is different. We’ve had cheese and bacon bread (called the manitee bread), spinach bread and tomato bread. Tonight’s bread was garlic bread and it was warm and delicious.

Mike started off with a Caesar salad with pita croutons. The dressing was honestly the best cesar dressing I have ever had, heavy on the salty sardines and rich in flavour. My appetizer was a carrot, ginger and coconut soup. I’ve done carrot ginger soups myself, but the addition of coconut put this version over the top! They make incredible soups here, you never have to flavor the food, it’s just right.

Mike’s main was a creole shrimp, a tomato, onion and pepper blend served with rice and cauliflower. My main was a basil, parmesan fettuccini with shrimp and it was unbelievable. I was served so many shrimp that I couldn’t finish them all. It is so hard to put them to waste for me. The shrimp here is so fresh that it posseses a layer of flavor that I am not used to, elevated shrimpy goodness.

There was drumming tonight at Hamanasi. There were some local kids playing several kinds of drums and shakers. One guy even played a set of three turtle shells. With a couple young dancers in front it was a nice little act. I was in bed pretty early, feeling not quite right. Dehydration? Heat stroke? Just plain old fatigue? I dunno but I enjoyed my 10 hours of sleep that’s for sure.

A River Ran Through It - 06-21-2007

Okay so that last tequila was likely not such a good idea. Waking up was difficult today and we were glad that we hadn’t planned any excursions for the morning. I awoke around 7:30 and listened to the wind and heavy rainfall outside. The rain was so heavy that I feared it would ruin our day, but almost as quickly as I thought it, the rain was gone. Once the rain stopped the birds came back out, the sun shone its way back through the jungle cover and we headed to breakfast.

After breakfast we lounged by the pool enjoying the sun and our audio books. Real life never affords us the opportunity to just sit around like this, but we did it all the way to lunch time.

For lunch I had a steak pita with rosemary mayonnaise and fires with spicy ketchup. Mike had Belizian Shrimp Garnaches and I stole a bunch of yummy, grilled shrimp from his plate as he stole my fries.

We strolled down to the beach where a woman and two small children had spread out some wares for the tourists. We talked with the kids who just smiled back at us, and looked over masks, bags, jewelry and the like. Mike bought a bracelet and we went back to our tree house to prepare our bag for kayaking.

Mike and I paddled down the Sittee River in a two-seater kayak with a guide named Pedro and a small group of other Hamanasi guests. Kayakers often see pelicans, boa constrictors, alligators, iguanas and parrots on this trip, but we did not. We saw a great deal of vegetation, which Mike and I are enthralled by. The pink Mayflower blossoms floated down the river, it was so beautiful. The river was lined with hundreds of wild mango trees. We spotted tiny crabs along the banks and bats clinging to a tree stump protruding from the river. A young tiger heron squawked and fluttered around before flying away and we saw two yellow, down-covered chicks of a species of bird we did not know. We touched the rubbery vines which jutted out of the water and Pedro took a leaf off a tree and stuck it to my shirt. It stayed on as though it were attached with Velcro and could be removed and attached repeatedly with the same effect. It seems like such a simple thing to be fascinated by, but it was cool.

After the 2 hour kayak trip we snacked on some cookies while waiting for the van to come and get us. We arrived back to Hamanasi just in time for happy hour. We got to name the drink tonight. We called the slushy rum drink “Smooth Sailing” and it really caught on! In no time we were snaking on freshly made nachos and salsa and chatting it up with the other newlywed couple from the States, Paula and Chris. Chris is ex-military and is now contracted by the military on a military pension for a double-dipping salary. Paula is studying to be a massage therapist and Paula is a woman! She drinks bourbon and smokes cigars and they were great company over a few drinks. After tying one on with them we headed to the water for a nice and refreshing swim in the sea.

We finally had a need to apply bug spray. I got about 10 bites in a matter of minutes.

At dinner we sat at a table beside Paula and Chris. Mike had a roasted garlic soup started and I had a roasted eggplant salad. We both decided to have the snapper fritters which were alot like crab cakes with an incredible tartar sauce, black bean salad and white rice. We finished the meal, sharing a crème brulee like Belizean custard, warm and light and delicious.

In a resort full of divers who have to take it easy on the booze, we seem like the house drunks and I’m really okay with that. Fack it, I’m on vacation!

Happy Trails - 06-20-2007

It gets dark pretty early here in Belize, about 5:30pm so we find ourselves going to sleep a lot earlier than normal. Because of that, and the birds, I awoke around 6:15, had a shower, went to the main lodge for a coffee and waited for my husband to arrive for breakfast. After a quick bite from the buffet, we met up with our driver Richard to go horseback riding!

The ride into Sittee River Village was a quick one, only about 15 minutes, again on a bumpy gravel road that shook the van so much we had to shout to communicate. We arrived at the ranch and were greeted by the owner, Sonia, a lovely woman who showed us her orchids and greeted us so warmly. We were introduced to our guide and our horses. I rode a beautiful chestnut mare named Rum, and Mike rode a spotted white gelding named Chocolate Chip. I have a lot of experience riding horses since I used to work at a riding stable for about 3 years, so our guide let me lead the way and trot and gallop as I wished. Mike did a great job of keeping up and controlling Chocolate Chip. I was so impressed with his adventuresome spirit. Most people are intimidated by the 1000 lb animal underneath them the first time they experience it. He did great and looked like a natural. We meandered through the jungle. The foliage was amazing. Trees that were hundreds of years old towered over us and provided shade from the hot sun. We even got a quick sun shower which lasted less than 5 minutes. The trees protected us from most of it and the rain sounded so beautiful against the leaves. I’m sure the horses appreciated the cooling rain as well, though it made some parts of the trail rather slippery.

Our guide pointed out paths made by leaf cutter ants as they walk back and forth and back and forth cutting leaves and bringing them back to their colony. He pointed out the kahuna tree, whose nuts grow in big bundles and are like little coconuts. We also saw a tree called “The Tourist Tree”, It’s called this because it has red, peeling bark. I pray that Mike is able to get a good picture of it. I couldn’t believe it. We saw an enormous bamboo tree as well. I never would have thought it grew that way, it was stunning.

About half way through our ride we stopped at a part of the Sittee River. We tied up our horses, changed into our swim suits and hopped into the small rapids, riding the current and enjoying the fresh, clean water. We must have sat in it for half an hour talking to our guide about so many things, from dating to horse racing to family to consumerism. I was so happy that we had him all to ourselves and weren’t on a big tour group. It was very special to be able to do things at our pace.

We had a quick snack of cookies and juice and got back on the horses. The ride back was super duper fun. We raced back, galloping at full speed. At one point my hat flew off my head and Mike’s camera bag flew open, dropping his camera and three lenses to the ground. Luckily our guide found all the pieces and we were back to galloping in no time. The wind in our faces and an audible giggle coming from me. I love riding so much! I have to remember how happy it makes me when I get back home and try to fit it back into my life again. It’s not like we don’t have horses at home. The jungle and Mayan mountain backdrop does make it extra special though.

Once back at the resort we washed the smell of ranch off us and headed down to lunch. I enjoyed a very tasty grilled snapper sandwich, nice and light with a cucumber relish. Mike had a quesadilla with enough hot sauce on it to require multiple nose blows. One of the reasons we picked this particular resort is because of its reputation for terrific food. It has not let us down at all.

After lunch Mike wanted to see if he sustained any lasting damage to his camera during the horseback ride. Fortunately it looks like none of his lenses were damaged but unfortunately, the fall may have broke his actual camera. He can’t turn it on right now which is heart-breaking to him. I know how much he wanted to document this trip in photographs and to have the camera damaged so early on in our trip will be a big disappointment to him. Hopefully it can be remedied, but at this point it’s not looking good.

While Mike dealt with all of that mess, I had an hour nap in a hammock at the end of the pier, it was in the shade and windy and felt absolutely perfect.

Before dinner we swam in the sea and enjoyed a few drinks over happy hour – oh and I had a conch civeche! Yum.

Dinner was the best one yet. The table was really pretty with napkins shaped like little t-shirts! I had a choco soup which tasted a lot like potato soup and was delish, followed by a blackened snapper with a lime, cilantro aioli. Mike had a spinach-watermelon salad and a lobster/shrimp penne. Holy fack was that delicious. We could only finish half of each of our dishes. As Canadians it’s really hard to throw out shrimp, snapper and lobster but we had to, there was simply too much.

After dinner was a blast! We sat at the bar and played scrabble. The drunken Bouchards couldn’t form a word over four letters, even with the help of an 18 year old from Maine, so we packed it up and had a game of Uno over tequilas and Belikins.

After I kicked everyone’s ass in Uno (thank you!) Mike grabbed his ukulele and I grabbed the house drum, and we busted out a couple tunes for everyone. The locals chimed in and directed us whiteys in reggae tunes, likely frustrated by our country and rock influence, but after Mike busted out the 2-5-1 chord progression (Dm7 G7 CMaj7) the rap flowed easily. The locals sounded great and we closed the bar with a big glass of tequila and the hiccups. What a fantastic night. I bet that’s going to hurt in the morning, but fuck it. We’re on vacation!

We went back and finished our drinks on the balcony, watching the lizards on our veranda and then passed out. Married life is good.

Breathing Underwater - 06-19-2007

We awoke to the sound of a hundred birds as our alarm clock. Sounds and calls that we heard for the first time in our lives. We sat again on the balcony of our tree-house sipping coffee, listening to music and trying to find birds with our binoculars. The trees providing shade and making the temperature so lovely to just sit and enjoy. We hadn’t planned anything for our first day, just wanting to catch up on rest and enjoy whatever presented itself.

We meandered down for a healthy and satisfying breakfast buffet and afterward, I spent time in a hammock in the shade by the beach, listening to the waves and the birds and watching Hamanasi staff rake the sand, clean the pool and harvest coconuts. It was so relaxing. We spent a couple hours doing absolutely nothing but it didn’t feel like doing nothing. We noted the way the leaves were blowing, the waves, the ripples in the pool water, the flowers, the birds. There were so many simple pleasures to observe and so few other people to distract us from them. It looks like we picked a great time to come for privacy and seclusion. Plus we’ve been here for less than 2 days and every staff member is already calling us by name and knows our preference for rum drinks and hot sauce.

Mike and I decided that today we would take the time to do an introduction to Scuba Diving session. We were fitted for equipment, signed some waivers and watched a video before heading to lunch.

Mmmmm I had no idea that I loved cucumber soup! If my taste buds dissected it correctly it was cucumber, yogurt, garlic, salt and pepper blended to a silky smooth consistency and served chilled. I’ll definitely be making that when I get home. We had pita pizzas and some yummy shrimp tostadas and relaxed a bit more before meeting our instructor for a diving lesson in the pool.

The lesson went well, we both enjoyed being able to breath under water. It’s weird how a pool can take on such a different feeling when you don’t have to surface. So we’re ready for our first scuba dive, which will be later this week when the wind calms down and the waves aren’t roaring as they are now. The weather is not that great by Belizian standards. It’s very windy, especially in the evenings, but it is a welcome relief for Mike and I. The breeze is constant and a perfect temperature.

After our lesson we took off on some bicycles on the bumpy dirt road to Hopkins Village. It only took about 10 minutes to get there but it was a completely different world from our posh resort. Hopkins Village is a simple town. Not much going on, not many stores. It seemed to me like a make-shift sort of town. All houses and stores are as simple as can be with absolutely no luxuries. The people of the village all smiled at us as we peddled by. The speed bumps were simply large ropes preventing vehicles from driving too fast in the streets filled with children.

The streets were filled with dogs and chickens, neither seeming to belong to anyone, nothing fenced in. We avoided fallen mangos and coconuts in the roads, things we pay so much for at home are in such abundance here that the chickens were eating them.

There wasn’t really anything to spend money on there. We bought a beer each and a couple hot sauces from a convenience store. I felt the need to contribute my tourism dollars to this village but didn’t know how. The resort allows us to make donations to the local schools and after our visit into town I think I will have to do that.

Dinner was amazing yet again. I started with a broccoli soup that was seasoned just right and Mike had a bean salad with a balsamic glaze that covered the plate and was presented as though we were in a fancy Las Vegas restaurant. I then had shrimp kabobs and rice with more grilled shrimp than I could finish. Mike had a pork chop with a sticky mango habanero glaze. Mmmm. We finished with homemade ice cream. Each individual crystal melting in our mouths.

After dinner we took our drinks to the end of the pier and let the wind whip against our skin then took a quick and refreshing dip in the pool, floating and looking up at the stars.

Back in our tree house we sang ukulele songs and sipped wine. That’s all any of you need to know about.

Getting to Belize - 06-18-2007

Life has been a whirlwind lately. The anticipation of our wedding kept us from sleeping for weeks before the actual event. When the day finally arrived it went off even better than we had planned and we experienced a day that felt completely magical from start to finish. I went to bed feeling like the luckiest woman alive.

We awoke on Monday morning at 5:00am and headed to the Ottawa airport. Passed easily through US border services and had a short wait before boarding. Our itinerary said we would be on the plane for 3 hours, but the flight to Atlanta was took only two hours. So far we’re feeling pretty lucky! Once in Atlanta, we were anticipating a 3 hour stop-over (well 4 now that we arrived early), but the horseshoe up our asses guided us directly to the gate and we boarded the plane to Belize within half an hour of getting off the first plane! Still, feeling pretty darn lucky!

Once on the plane to Belize there was a bit of trouble with the weight and we were unable to take off until people dumped their luggage or the last family to get on, volunteered to get on a different flight. They were not happy about that and the loud-mouth father made sure everyone on the plane felt his discomfort. Security came and escorted the family of four off the plane. It was a relief to have peace and quiet on the plane and I laid back and tried to catch up on sleep. A few minutes later the pilot had announced that he dumped some fuel and the family got back on the plane and we were off!

I hated that flight. 3 hours of listening to that guy run his mouth in a southern accent while someone else banged on my seat. I likely wouldn’t have found it so annoying had I not been sleep deprived but it was a happy moment for me when we landed in Belize.

The Belize airport is as tiny as I expected it to be, and as hot. We picked up our luggage, grateful that it had all arrived and headed to our last connection plane. We had about a half hour wait at the airport so Mike bought a rum punch and we both had hotdogs with hot sauce on them. Our first food of the day and it was about 3:00 our time at this point. 1:00pm in Belize.

We boarded a 12-seater Cessna airplane and had a beautiful 18 minute flight to Dangriga, looking down on the citrus farms and the winding Belize River.

Once in Dangriga, our driver, “Boots”, (a nickname he got while in the military because of the meticulous way he shined his boots) picked us up in a nice air conditioned van. He said ”You’re early. You mind if I run a few errands before we head to Hamanasi?” We obliged and were glad we did. Boots took us on a drive through the town of Dangriga. We observed the homes of the residents that looked like our tool shed in the backyard. Travel teaches you how lucky you are and how much we have. Some of the tiny houses were elevated, we thought it was because of the water storm surge, but Boots told us that it allows the breeze to flow and helps keep the home cool. He also told us that the town must evacuate in the event of a hurricane since it’s right on the sea. He drove us by the local school where we saw hundreds of children in school uniforms sitting in open-aired classrooms on the sea.

To thank us for allowing him to run his errands, Boots stopped at a store and let us drink a beer in his van “Don’t tell anyone I did this, or I’ll get in trouble.” He said while we clicked a cheers to the refreshing Beliken beer. The first of many over the next two weeks to be sure.

The 35 minute drive to Hopkins Village was beautiful. The vegetation was so varied. Citrus trees and coconut trees grew beside evergreens and palms. Birds of paradise grew in abundance just on the side of the road. We passed many cyclists and wondered what they were doing with their day, it seemed like they were in the middle of nowhere. We passed a guy that could very well have been dead or in need of medical attention, lying on the side of the road with his bike. Instead of stopping, Boots just said “drunk on a Monday!” and kept driving.

After what was the bumpiest ride of my life, we pulled into Hamanasi. This place is absolutely stunning. We were greeted by Stephanie and a welcome drink made from fresh papaya and mango. Stephanie explained all the excursions and dining times to us and escorted us to our tree-house. MY GOD! I knew it was going to be something very special, but it exceeded my expectations. It’s huge, with gorgeous ipe hardwood floors, beautiful furnishings, a king size bed with hand woven bed linens, Mexican tile bathroom with double sinks and a shower made for two and fresh flowers everywhere!

After unpacking, having a shower and settling in for a bit, we headed to the bar to pick up a Belizian Breeze (dark rum, coconut rum, triple sec and tropical blend juice). We took a quick dip in the pool and sat in the comfy Muskoka chairs down on the beach. Sasha, the resort golden lab came to sit with us for a while under the coconut tree. We had a few more drinks just sitting there and then dressed for dinner.

Dinner was delicious. I had a gazpacho soup and a chicken linguine. Mike had a salad and beef burrito. The meals were presented beautifully as we sat at a white clothed table under the sky and twinkle lights.

Declining dessert, we headed to the beach. The breeze was so strong and delightful. It was like being in a wind tunnel, or we also likened it to our hot tub, where we were surrounded by warm, massaging air instead of water. Neither of us had experienced a feeling quite like that so we sat out there for a long, long time just enjoying it and each other.

Mike grabbed a bottle of wine and a key lime pie slice and we went back to our tree-house to enjoy them. As we sat on the balcony, me swinging in the hammock and Mike on the comfy wooden chair, we listened to the roar of the sea and watched 4 little lizards play on the balcony ceiling before I headed to bed.