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.
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.
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