Belize, part 2

On Thursday, we had booked an all day Chill Cruise with Island Dream Tours. It was a fabulous way to spend Thanksgiving!

We checked in at a dock at the north-ish end of town and boarded the YOLO catamaran for the day, along with about 17 other people and the crew. It took about 30 minutes to make our way to the Hol Chan Reserve (with breakfast french toast sandwiches provided along the way), where we all set out snorkeling for about 45 minutes...seeing sea turtles and sting rays and LOTS of fish and coral. (We got an underwater camera for this purpose along with waterproof cases for our phones but decided at the last minute not to use any of that and to just enjoy the experience. So I have no pictures. :( But. The crew took videos and photos all day (I didn't realize that would be part of the deal) and says they'll be sending those along later this week, so hopefully I'll have some pictures to share after that.)

I'm pretty proud of myself for not throwing up or getting seasick, btw. My only other experience with snorkeling was in Hawaii back in 2015 and I got pretty sick pretty fast then. I didn't think I'd be able to handle it, lol. But. I think knowing what to expect and being determined to make it work helped. (We went out in small groups with our guides and if I'd needed to go back to the boat, my whole group would have had to go back.) Also, the crew recommended that everyone wear a life vest (tied around our waists, not around our necks in "Titanic mode," lol) and that made it easier to take breaks and rest, too. I think Nathan was the only person besides the guides from our whole group that didn't use a life vest, as he wanted to be able to dive deeper. 

We then got back on the boat and had fresh fruit (and the drinks were endless all day...a bartender was always ready to fill drink requests, be they alcoholic or not) as we journeyed a bit further to Shark Ray Alley to get in the water with nurse sharks and rays (and more sea turtles!). Back in the boat again after that, we headed to some mangroves for calmer water when lunch was served...a buffet of jerk chicken, sweet corn rice, BBQ pork ribs and coleslaw. Honestly, it was one of the best meals I had during our time in Belize! (And, they prepared a special meal for Micah to accommodate his gluten and sugar free diet! He says his was delicious, and I actually liked his coleslaw better, lol.) I'm sad I forgot to take any pictures but was too busy enjoying the food. :) 

After lunch, we ventured to what appeared to be the middle of nowhere to anchor in for a couple hours of just chillin' in waist/shoulder deep water. It was gorgeous! The boys played some football and volleyball and I enjoyed some rum drinks and laying in the sun. :) We headed leisurely back to the dock after that, with shrimp ceviche along the way and more music and some dancing and just general happiness.

Top: The YOLO (we picked the YOLO because it was one of the larger boats and actually had shade available...which helped both my seasickness and Nathan's whiteness, lol)...enjoying pineapple and watermelon juices

Middle: at the chill spot (we all had rash/sun guards on while snorkeling but Micah and I took ours off at the chill spot)...Micah crashed on the way to lunch...football at the chill spot

Bottom: beautiful waters and a volleyball net...again with the juices and relaxing

Once back at the dock, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the resort for some time again in the pool and hot tub then showers and downtime. We ventured across the street for dinner and cornhole before playing cards in the room before bed.

Clockwise from top left: Noah and Micah waiting for our food (actually taken not on Thursday), a shot of the food shacks from the resort side of the road, Thanksgiving dinner for Nathan, Micah and me (pork tacos, salbutes, panades and patties...um, yum!), Thanksgiving dinner for Asher and Noah (chicken burgers and fries that apparently were great), very difficult to see Asher and Nathan playing cornhole with the Tipsy Lobster shack in the background, and the whole fish that Noah had for dinner on Friday night (also delicious!).

Friday we had a leisurely morning (it was vacation, after all, lol) then ventured to town for brunch at Estel's by the Sea to try fry jacks (awesome!!). While we were enjoying our beach view, there was a celebration going on in the neighboring Central Park to celebrate the 35th anniversary of township...and all the elementary school kids were being ushered back and forth from their school (just south of there) to the gathering. One of the soccer boys from Wednesday recognized Micah and they waved. (We're guessing he got a thrill out of telling his friends all about playing with the tourists earlier in the week, lol.) 

After lunch, we did a final bit of souvenir shopping (and the boys all got to pick their Christmas shirts for this year) before heading back for some pool and down time. (Asher did his backflip for Belize on the beach, too...though we'd hoped to do it on the water trampoline that had been at the resort's beach area just days before. They had just moved it to repair a leak, though.) Snacks in the room, naps, and then across the road for dinner...then back to the room for board games and packing.

Clockwise from top left: our table at Estel's while school kids walked by...stopped for a quick picture in front of this mural at The Truck Stop...from the dock at our resort (looking south)...the view from the passenger seat of our golf cart going down Middle Street...playing with a photo toy (that's me and Asher)...the sign at Estel's.

Saturday, then, was another travel day. Up and checked out with plenty of time and took the resort shuttle to the airport...a bit delayed but got on our 12 passenger plane back to Belize City... 

Top: aerial view of the lagoon side of the island and Secret Beach...aerial view of the coast where our resort was

Bottom: strangely fancy terminal in San Pedro for Maya Air (crystal chandeliers and marble floors)...runway in San Pedro...undeveloped forest/jungle just before landing in Belize City

Once in Belize City and through customs and such, we grabbed some lunch then caught our Southwest flight (just barely) to Denver. (It was really hard to hear the PA system and we'd had to sit a bit away from our gate...ended up being the last ones on board.) We landed in a very snowy Denver just after dark and were greeted by temperatures about 70 degrees cooler than we'd just left. Half of us had dressed for Belize weather and half for Denver. The half that had dressed for Belize added layers once we landed, lol. We ate dinner at the terminal before catching a shuttle to our van in the economy lot. Fortunately, the whiteout conditions and high winds had died down after dark and we were able to drive home uneventfully. (Earlier in the day, roads were being closed due to low visibility.)

So. Yes, we timed our vacation pretty well...leaving just before the big snow storm and arriving back just after the secondary snow and high winds. Got ourselves all unpacked and situated yesterday (did all the laundry, restocked groceries and boys finished what homework they needed to...Micah even went and climbed a bit and I made it to the gym in the morning...and we finished out the evening with a movie). Boys were all back to school today...

And that was our vacation. :) Probably one more post coming with some thoughts and tips...