Belize Trip

Vacation at a glance

• Snorkel trips - 4
• Time spent snorkeling ~ 7 hours
• Time out on the water in a boat ~ 21 hours
• Number of drinks - 2
• Books read - 1.6
• Spiny lobster eaten - 2
• Offered "seaweed" - 1
• Asked to buy trinkets from children - 7
• Bruises from boating -- 10
• Mosquito bites - 29!!!
• Sunburn - 2 (backs of legs)
• Number of people marveling at solo travel - 5
• Time spent traveling--including waiting in airports -- 25
• Marine life viewed:
• Turtles--Green, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead
• Rays--Spotted Eagle, Yellow, Horseshoe, Manta and Southern
• Green moray eels
• Nurse sharks
• Fish -- Lots! including Lionfish -- ID card: http://ambergriscaye.com/fieldguide/franko-Belize_Fish_ID_Cards.html
• Sea cucumber
• Basket starfish
• Coral - Lots

Day 1

Arrived in Belize City about 4pm, and took a puddle jumper to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. I arrived at my hotel a little after 5 pm. I stayed at the Ocean Tides Beach Resort, which is about a 5 minute walk from the heart of town. There are 9 rooms, and it has a pool and a bar. The bartender, Raymond, was so friendly and helpful. Every recommendation he made was spot on. After I got settled in my room, I enjoyed a complimentary rum punch, and Raymond pointed out a little convenience store a block away and that there were two restaurant/bars serving local food about a block away.
I had dinner (fish burger and fries) at a one of the bars that night and enjoyed a walk along the beach around the hotel.

Day 2

I booked an all day trip with Island Dream Tours that included snorkeling at Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley, and a stop at Caye Caulker. This was on a catamaran and there were 9 of us so it was really comfortable.
While this was a pleasant trip, I wasn't impressed with the snorkeling. Hol Chan was extremely crowded with probably 15 or more boats moored there. I didn't realize that because it's a marine reserve you have to snorkel there with a group. I felt like our guide was fairly aggressive luring out fish, and at one point he used some chum to lure a moray eel out of its hole, and then there was a bit of a scuffle with a nurse shark over the chum. It was really hard not bumping into people as well. I honestly didn't see the attraction of the place. The second stop Shark Ray Alley was short. They threw chum in the water and probably over a dozen nurse sharks and a lot of rays came out to enjoy. It's sort of a frenzy of activity for 15 minutes and then they all go away. The spot is where fisherman would clean their fish and so it's a spot the sharks know to come for food. It was still cool to see the sharks.
Next we headed out to Caye Caulker and spent about 90 minutes on our own at the island. It's smaller than Ambergris Caye, and also a lot quieter. I hung out at the Lazy Lizard bar which sits at the split where the island is divided in two. They have a dock/area for swimming and hanging out, and also some tables in the water. There was about a 5 minute downpour of rain right before we headed back to San Pedro. It really poured, and then was done.
That evening I went to the Reef restaurant for dinner and had a mixed seafood platter with grilled spiny lobster, fish, shrimp and octopus with a salad and rice and beans. The fish and lobster were amazing. I got caught in the rain coming back to the hotel that night, and it rained for a while that night.

Day 3

In the morning I walked around San Pedro. I enjoyed seeing the murals painted everywhere, and got a bit acclimated to the 2 streets. The streets are narrow and crowded with golf carts and cars, so I found it more pleasant to walk along the beach instead. I made my way just past town center and had breakfast at Estel's by the Sea. I had a great breakfast and got to try fry jack, which is fry bread...like a savory donut. It was delicious. I sat at the bar and eavesdropped on some locals chatting while they ate.
I hung out and relaxed for a bit before heading to my afternoon snorkel trip to Mexico Rocks with Ecologic Divers. Pablo and his two sons took 8 of us out in a motorboat. He was an excellent guide, and explained more about the whole guided snorkel trip than the Island Dreams guys did. The site was less crowded and it didn't feel like we were swimming on top of each other. Pablo didn't rush us, and pointed out the marine life. We stopped at two different places in Mexico Rocks, and I really enjoyed it. They served us fresh fruit in between the stops, and made sure we had plenty of water. Pablo's sons even took your fins off for you before you got back in the boat.
After getting back, I rushed back to my room to have a quick snack and then meet a boat at the dock by my hotel for a night snorkel trip. This trip was with Ambergris Divers for night snorkeling at Hol Chan. I was a little nervous since I didn't really enjoy Hol Chan the day before, but was curious about night snorkeling. There were 5 snorkelers and they must have had about 15 divers. Again, the guide was great about explaining how it all worked with the guided snorkel, and explained how to use your lights and what to expect to see. It was such a surreal experience. It really is dark except for where your light is so you have limited visibility, and the second you shine your light on fish they scatter. It's this weird alien world. At times you could see the lights in the distance from the divers, but not see them. The coral and sponges open up and feed at night so it was interesting to see them compared to the daytime. The more colorful fish are hiding and you see the bigger predators out like grouper and barracuda. I got to see a basket starfish with was cool looking. I also got to see a lion fish, as well as other fish I had seen during the day. It was a great experience, and I highly recommend trying it. On the way back it was amazing watching the captain dock the boat in almost near darkness. The docks aren't really lit up at night but I suspect he knows the coastline so well he could get where he's going blindfolded!
I was starving when we got back so I quickly changed and walked down the beach to a Sandy Toes bar for food. I had wonderful grilled fish with rice and salad.

Day 4

I was up early the next day for another all day trip. I had hesitated booking this trip because I really didn't want to go back to Hol Chan, but this turned out to be the best day. I booked this through Caribbean Adventures, and it's a local boat, La Graviota, that uses a couple of companies to sell for them. The crew were very friendly and also very respectful of the marine life, and were great guides for the snorkeling.
Our first stop was north Caye Caulker for possible manatee sightings. This was the reason I booked the tour. Sadly no manatees made an appearance. It was a nice snorkel spot though. We then went to the conch graveyard where fishermen discard the conch shells. It was cool to see, and we swam from there to shark ray alley where the crew chummed the water to attract the nurse sharks.
The captain prepared lunch, which was absolutely amazing. We had both a fish stew and chicken stew that were curries, rice and beans, plantains, tortillas and a cucumber salad.
We finished the day at Hol Chan. It was less crowded, and so much more enjoyable. Again the guide did a great job of pointing out marine life. I saw three species of turtles -- green, loggerhead and hawksbill. We saw a lot of rays -- manta, southern, horseshoe, spotted eagle and yellow. After Hol Chan, we made our way back to San Pedro.
After cleaning up, I headed out to Lily's Treasure Chest for more spiny lobster. It was served with rice and bean and some steamed vegetables. It was very tasty. I enjoyed the walk along the beach at night. It was a pleasant night, and so I stopped at the hotel bar. A couple locals were there, and then a couple who had been on the sailing trip stopped for a drink as well. I enjoyed chatting with everyone for a bit.

Day 5

I lounged most of the morning. I went to sit outside for a bit but a quick thunderstorm made an appearance, and we lost power a couple times that morning. At 11, I checked out, and walked to town to get some lunch before leaving. I went to Elvi's Kitchen, and had some grilled fish with rice and beans (are you noticing a theme in my eating habits? :-)) It was a good lunch, and then it was time to start my journey home.
I was pleasantly surprised by San Pedro. I felt safe by myself, and while there were children and adults selling things along the beach they weren't as pushy as other places in the Caribbean I've been. I found it to be laid back and had a nice, friendly vibe. I think the only cons were there wasn't a lot of shade at my hotel to hang out and just relax by the pool. While I did a lot, it was a relaxing trip.