This is my last night here. I am both sad and happy about this. I feel rested and refreshed, and hope I can make this feeling last at home. I leave the hotel at 9:15 am to catch a 10 am flight to Belize City, where I'll switch to a large plane and head off to Miami (the only stop this time).
It is too freezing in this room, so I'll have to fill in the gaps when I get home. And now, swim, eat, drink, sleep.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Drinking
For some reason, maybe just in this tourist spot, Belizeans treat drinking like a huge novelty. I mean, I love drinking, but sometimes it feels like I'm in Daytona Beach when they talk about it. The guides on the tours mix up a concoction of rum, plus 3 kinds of fruit juices, and call it "rum punch." They try to pawn it off on you like you're a kid on spring break. The hotel has and even more sickningly sweet version of rum punch that is actually pink.
The hotel also has a drink on the menu called the "panty ripper." I don't know about you, but the only time I'd actually want to have a "panty ripper" is when I'm actually with someone pretty special. I don't exactly want to be drinking a "panty ripper" when I'm out on vacation alone with a bunch of strangers. I may as well be drinking something called "the date-rape drink." Scary, I tell you. Fucking scary.
Aside from that, the usual drinks are all here, and the main beer here is Belikin.
The hotel also has a drink on the menu called the "panty ripper." I don't know about you, but the only time I'd actually want to have a "panty ripper" is when I'm actually with someone pretty special. I don't exactly want to be drinking a "panty ripper" when I'm out on vacation alone with a bunch of strangers. I may as well be drinking something called "the date-rape drink." Scary, I tell you. Fucking scary.
Aside from that, the usual drinks are all here, and the main beer here is Belikin.
The Manatee OR the Sea Cow
Lovely, lovely creatures, the manatees are. I got to see about 5 of them today, about an hour boat ride away from Ambergris Caye. They have to come up for air at some point or another, so they poke their little noses up for air, and you get to see their whiskers, and sometimes their tails. The guides were calling them "smiling potatoes." Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera today because I thought we'd be in the water the whole time.
We also got to have a picnic on a tiny island (about 80-90 yards across?) with about 4 palm trees on it. It was UN-believeable! It was the most perfect island with the most perfect white-sand beach(es). The kind you see in a slick travel ad. With aqua-blue, 85 degree water. Nice. Pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty nice.
Our last snorkeling stop was at a place called shark-ray alley. And yes, we got to swim with many, many stingrays, and pet them. I didn't spot a shark, which is ok at this point. I got to swim with sharks in Tahiti 10 years ago, and I think that was enough of sharks for me.
(To be continued, as it is FREEZING in here!)
We also got to have a picnic on a tiny island (about 80-90 yards across?) with about 4 palm trees on it. It was UN-believeable! It was the most perfect island with the most perfect white-sand beach(es). The kind you see in a slick travel ad. With aqua-blue, 85 degree water. Nice. Pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty nice.
Our last snorkeling stop was at a place called shark-ray alley. And yes, we got to swim with many, many stingrays, and pet them. I didn't spot a shark, which is ok at this point. I got to swim with sharks in Tahiti 10 years ago, and I think that was enough of sharks for me.
(To be continued, as it is FREEZING in here!)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
Today was amazing. It went like this:
Lou Jones will understand this because she's witnessed it at least once. I set my alarm for 6am to make a 7 am boat pick up at the pier. I wake up with the alarm blaring, and it's been going for an hour. It's 7am. Shit. So I roll out of bed, throw on clothes, grab my bag and shoes and run out the door. When I get to the pier, a sunrise watcher tells me that no boat has been there yet so I relax. The boat gets there at 7:30, and the driver apologizes for being late. Everyone else has been late too due to a collective night of drinking.
We take a speed boat ride from Ambergris Caye to the mouth of a river (don't know which one) and start heading up. It's all mangrove, basically. We see a small crocodile and many beautiful birds. Our guide has a sense of humor and gold teeth. Good time Charlie.
It's a full day, as we take a speed boat ride through mangroves, get drenched with rain, stop at a cool village with no electricity and small, skinny dogs. At the village, we switch to an old, old schoolbus and speed as fast as is possible on a pothole-filled road for an hour. We then switch back to another speedboat, with a new guide who is a little bit more of a nazi. Ok, not a nazi, just more...serious and specific about what he needs us to do. He's also a wealth of information.
(to be continued)
Lou Jones will understand this because she's witnessed it at least once. I set my alarm for 6am to make a 7 am boat pick up at the pier. I wake up with the alarm blaring, and it's been going for an hour. It's 7am. Shit. So I roll out of bed, throw on clothes, grab my bag and shoes and run out the door. When I get to the pier, a sunrise watcher tells me that no boat has been there yet so I relax. The boat gets there at 7:30, and the driver apologizes for being late. Everyone else has been late too due to a collective night of drinking.
We take a speed boat ride from Ambergris Caye to the mouth of a river (don't know which one) and start heading up. It's all mangrove, basically. We see a small crocodile and many beautiful birds. Our guide has a sense of humor and gold teeth. Good time Charlie.
It's a full day, as we take a speed boat ride through mangroves, get drenched with rain, stop at a cool village with no electricity and small, skinny dogs. At the village, we switch to an old, old schoolbus and speed as fast as is possible on a pothole-filled road for an hour. We then switch back to another speedboat, with a new guide who is a little bit more of a nazi. Ok, not a nazi, just more...serious and specific about what he needs us to do. He's also a wealth of information.
(to be continued)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Food List Addition
Hey! So I just discovered one more item for the favorite food list.
5. Frozen custard
This stuff rocks. I guess it is more of an east coast thing than a California thing, so why, why hasn't someone brought it to California? I would like to know this now.
5. Frozen custard
This stuff rocks. I guess it is more of an east coast thing than a California thing, so why, why hasn't someone brought it to California? I would like to know this now.
Christmas Eve
I've realized that I'm not very good at just chilling and doing nothing. Over the past few days I've tried to convince myself that I don't need to be doing something all the time, that vacation is a time for doing NOTHING. Well doing nothing is not working. I am supposed to be reading some books but I can't even sit and do that.
So instead of tripling my crazy meds (I've already doubled one of them), I decided to book a trip for Xmas Day. I am taking a river trip up to Lamanai, one of the largest Mayan sites in Northern Belize. I am very excited about this, because:
So instead of tripling my crazy meds (I've already doubled one of them), I decided to book a trip for Xmas Day. I am taking a river trip up to Lamanai, one of the largest Mayan sites in Northern Belize. I am very excited about this, because:
- I've been wanting to go there, but was holding off because of the money
- Saying "fuck it" about the money feels pretty damn good
- I will have a PLAN for Christmas, and it won't feel like such a loner Christmas
- It will be cool to see it
As well, the day after, I have a trip planned to go snorkeling with manatees. I love manatees. Slow, benevolent, peaceful creatures. I hope I get to see one.
And now, off to find cigarettes!
Smoking
Basically, I have not smoked now for weeks. I purposely did not bring a backup of cigarettes like I normally do when I go on vacation. When I was in Chan Chich, it was pretty easy to go without, because I always had something to do. Not so here. I think about it every 15 minutes or less here. In fact, I am planning on going to the store to get some any minute now. Ahhh... smoking.
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