Again, Abatha outdid herself with finding the best accommodations for us in Belize. We flew into Belize City and then took a little prop plane to San Pedro, an the island of Ambergris Caye.
I was terrified at the thought of the small plane, considering we were inches away from the pilot and the exit door.
But it turned out to be very peaceful. The views were absolutely breath taking.
Our trip to San Pedro in the prop plane made one stop on Caye Calker - another small island in Belize. This is the airport in Caye Calker. Quite a different lifestyle than the American airports we are used too!!
While we were in Belize, we took a couple of adventures. The first adventure involved Scott and Ryan. They took the kayaks from our house into the sea to an area where snorkeling was abundant.
You can see them as two small dots in the picture - leaving on their adventure...
And here they are returning...
Notice that they are now in one kayak, instead of two!! Turns out Ryan lost this paddle sometime while they were snorkeling. When he went to get back in his kayak and discovered it missing, it left them only one option. They tied the kayaks together, hopped together in one of them and headed for home. Always an adventure and a story to tell when those two are together!
On another day, we went on the most amazing tour. We took a boat from San Pedro up the river. From there we docked at a very small village called Bambo. As it turns out, Bambo is so small and so remote that they just got electricity for the first time EVER one week before we were there. 2016 and just getting electricity.
It was truly humbling to be there, meet some locals, and see their way of life.
From Bambo, we loaded a school bus and headed up the Pan American Highway (except that there was nothing highway-ish about it). It was a battered up back road that took you through several villages like Bambo. Another humbling experience.
Once off the Pan American Highway, we took another boat up the New River to a Mayan Ruin site called Lamanai.
Lamanai was an amazing site to visit. Almost unfathomable to think that anyone could build such marvelous building, let alone marvelous building without modern tools and technology.
The history was amazing. The buildings equally amazing.
After a long day traveling the rivers and highways, we were happy to be back at our house and relax. Although relaxation wasn't for long, as we endured an amazing snorkeling adventure the following day!!
We loaded up on this wonderful boat, sailed out to the barrier reef and began our snorkeling trip. A great assortment of sea life was seen - lobsters, octopus, Angel fish, and much more.
From there, we loaded back on the boat and headed to an area dubbed 'Shark Ray Alley.' I'm sure you can guess why!
We plopped in the water, and shortly after doing so, the sharks and rays came swimming up. These were nurse sharks and apparently want nothing to do with humans. So while the Sharks focused on the fish they were being fed, we got to swim next to them. I even got to touch them - two of them!!! Yes, I touched a shark in the ocean - a real live shark. Cross that off an invisible bucket list. Check.
After snorkeling, the boat docked at Caye Calker, another very small island nearby. It has only dirt roads and not many of them. It is an island that is home to many backpackers making their way through the country. A neat area to visit.
Aside from those adventures, we made our own fun too.
We ate at many fabulous local restaurants...
Traveled around in our golf cart....
Tried to find lobster at the local fishing docks...
Cooked some amazing meals at our house..
And just enjoyed the scenery right outside our front porch...
We couldn't have enjoyed our trip to Belize any more than we did - we are so thankful for amazing friends who are willing to travel the globe with us and make memories together.
Thanks Scott and Abatha for the most amazing week!!!
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