The dreaded last day of vacation

Saturday finally came, marking the end of our week in Belize. We were leaving Sunday morning, and Valerie and I were both a little mournful on Saturday, wanting to cherish our last swims, fruity drinks, bike rides, and conversations with new friends. That morning was the most gorgeous sunrise yet.

Midmorning, we cycled into town, in desperate search of some sort of anti-itch remedy for the sandfly bites that were driving me insane. The cream we found was moderately successful, but the smoothies and coffee we enjoyed while out was a delight. 

Our last dinner at the hotel restaurant was delightfully windy. We allowed ourselves to be a little bit selfish and take the best table in the house, a table for two that allowed both to face the sea with an uninterrupted view. A trifle romantic than we needed, but a welcome boon on our last evening in Belize! 

The next morning, we savored the sunrise, the last breakfast before we returned to a world of eating peanut butter toast and coffee while putting on makeup before work, and some short but sweet farewells with new friends. 

All too soon, we were back on our international flights. But we can't complain (too much!)! It was a delightful trip. Valerie is a wonderful traveling companion. We have the same travel ethos and the same sense of humor. Belize, like France, Switzerland, and Spain, might never be the same! 

Jungle Ride

Our last planned adventure in Belize was a jungle horseback ride. Valerie had never ridden a horse before but she was willing to humor my burning desire to be horseback once again! After another gorgeous morning, with coffee and sunrise swim, we headed to a nearby stable.

This will remain one of my favorite places to drink a morning cuppa!

Val enjoying her first coffee of the day

We were each assigned a horse and then in the company of three guides, off we went. We rode through several orange groves and then into the jungle. Several of the guides have seen jaguars, but we were not so lucky (although perhaps we were lucky not to see them!) Partway through the ride, we dismounted and had the option of a cooling dip in the Sittee River. I was the only one crazy enough to go in the river completely, and it was worth the slightly damp clothes on the return ride. 

Sittee River

Silver and I

Upon our return, Michelle, the owner of the stable, gave Valerie and I some fresh starfruit! I have never seen this fruit on the tree before.

Following Michelle's advice, we decided the best way to combat saddlesore-ness was to spend the remainder of our day in the water :) 

The only challenge was deciding on which way we wanted to enjoy the water. The day, as you can see, was gorgeous.

Zip Line

On Thursday, the sunrise was gorgeous and the water stilled, giving us a break from the windy days we had been having.

We celebrated with a morning swim off the dock, partly to avoid a really thick black muck that had unfortunately washed up on the beach. The rain the night before had apparently washed it into the sea from the river system. Still, swimming off the dock allowed us to avoid it. And what a way to wake up! After breakfast, we hopped into the truck and drove to Bocawina National Park.

Here we had our long awaited zip line adventure! We had nine separate zip lines that traversed the jungle. It was a delightful experience!

Our guide, Victor

Step off the platform! 

I loved this adventure. There is something amazing about flying through the air. Each zip line ended too quickly for my tastes, and I would have gladly done it a second time!

Belize is taking care to try to promote tourism but simultaneously preserving the environment. Each excursion we took had an element of education, thanks to our knowledgable guides. We learned that almost half of Belize is national park land, and every organization we encountered is taking care to preserve the natural beauty of their land. It is wonderful!

Life on Vacation

Life caught up to me on vacation, and either because of the stress, insufficient water, or just my body's quirks, I started to get a migraine the day after cave tubing. We woke up as usual before the sunrise and then had a delightful subdued breakfast. Val and I quickly earned a reputation as "The Girls Who Laugh" but we did have our moments of quiet. 

Even though I wasn't feeling great, I appreciated the great care I received. Valerie went to the manager to ask about rehydration salts of some kind, and instead, the groundsman Omar brought me a fresh coconut with a straw. I spent most of the day in the shade, but by afternoon, I felt I could venture out to join Valerie on the dock with some fresh pineapple juice. She was a gem and was very gracious about rearranging our planned activities for the day and taking good care of me!

Maya Ruins and Cave tubing!

Our first day of adventures began with a gorgeous sunrise.

After an early breakfast and two cups of coffee, we (and several other guests) piled into a van and drove two hours to Xunantunich, a Mayan archeological site with stunning views of Belize and Guatemala.

We also got our exercise! Howler monkeys called in the jungle, but unfortunately, they wanted to be heard and not seen. Valerie and I had been exercising each day, including a fitness challenge to build up to doing 100 squats in a day. After all of these steps, we decided that we had earned a day without squats!

After a delightful lunch at a local cafe, we began the second part of our day. We arrived at St. Herman's and suited up for a short jungle walk, and then descended into a cave system for some river tubing. Although we had headlamps, we all turned them off and tubed in the dark for a little while! 

It was an amazing experience. The water was cold and in some places, very deep. The pitch black can be a little scary, but we survived :)

Beaches and Dreams

Our first few days in Belize were nice and slow. We settled into a lazy routine of waking up for sunrise over the sea, eating breakfast, and then deciding where to spend the first part of our day...rooftop, on the beach, in the hammocks, or in the pool. Both Val and I took a lot of naps, enjoyed playing fetch with Ruger, the manager's dog, and overall, unwinding and losing complete track of time.