Another Successful Day in Belize

Welcome guest bloggers, J. Clair and J. Justine from Simply Wanderlust.

J. Claire and J. Justine are twentysomething best friends who met in Philadelphia, became friends in Puerto Rico and have been traveling ever since. Simply Wanderlust is a collection of their stories of and thoughts on travel. You can follow them on Twitter @simplywndrlust

While tanning on a dock we were sharing with pelicans, who came to devour the innards of fish being gutting, a fisherman invited us to his fish fry. We couldn’t help but wonder how this became our reality…

Oh yes, one of us (J. Claire) had decided after four cans of Mountain Dew that it was time to book a trip. So, in true extremist fashion, we booked two – Tokyo and Belize. The flight left approximately two weeks from that moment, but we knew nothing about Belize. An island off the coast, Ambergris Caye, seemed pretty, albeit unpronounceable. We booked a hotel that we found from the most basic of google searches: “Belize, Ambergris, beach, hotel.” It looked decent. It was on the beach. That was all we needed. Barely (read: not) planning a trip in advance can lead to a number of things – good, bad and ugly, but it definitely opens the flood gates to surprises. We have (meaning, J. Justine has) since renewed the commitment to researching and planning.

Surprise #1: The flight is long, but not long enough to get a full night’s rest.

This place is not easy to get to…at least not on our then student budget. We were in Philadelphia. Our flight was in New York. At 6:30a. Around 10p, we decided it would be a good idea to stay up all night before the flight. Six hours later, it started to become a not-so-good idea as we sat in LaGuardia trying to get comfortable enough on an Au Bon Pain table to doze off for a few moments. Seven hours afterwards, it became a horrible idea, as we rode in a unmarked cab through dusty Belize City, only to hop on a water taxi and bounce (read: slam) uncomfortably along on top of the Caribbean Sea. What the ride lacked in comfort, it made up in beauty – the water was a beautiful crystal clear blue.

Our hotel, Aqua Marina Suites, was simple, clean, but nothing too luxurious. For the price, it would do just fine. What would not do was the approximate 8 feet deep plot of beach (hotel steps to water break) covered by palm trees, making it almost impossible to tan effectively. J. Claire thus introduced the island to the idea of “dock tanning” on a chair she dragged from the poolside to the only place with unobstructed sunlight. We made ourselves right at home. This brings us to about where we started: Our invitation to the fish fry by the men on the beach attracting the pelicans, who were harmless. As were the stingrays that swam below the dock, in the same area we jumped into at times to cool off. We declined the fishermen’s invitation, explaining that we were going to bike ride to the lagoon to see the crocodile being fed. It was apparently THE thing to do on the island.

Surprise #2: Everyone is a small business owner – from the man renting bicycles out of his garage to the crocodile feeders.

On the way to the lagoon, we realized that while you may never forget how to ride a bike, you should perhaps practice before riding on a busy, unpaved road. Luckily, the busy road was only filled with golf carts, which take the place of cars on the island. We just knew this excursion would be an experience. But what else would you expect of an island where almost no one wore shoes and everyone drove golf carts?

What we definitely were not expecting was a boy about our age dangling a raw, whole chicken in front of the crocodile, who would rise up out of the lagoon, arch his back, and open his mouth wide to receive the chicken, as though he had been trained to do so. There were no safety precautions. At first, we were a little taken aback, but we soon joined in the crowd’s delight whenever the crocodile pulled himself almost completely out of the water, emphatic applause when the boy kissed the crocodile, and heavy tipping, as it was his only method of compensation.

Surprise #3: There’s always a party.

We made our way back for dinner. The day had been lazy and it was almost time to begin the evening, which were often busier than the days. For an island that took so much so lightly, they were very serious about their social schedule. Every night there was a specific place to which literally everyone on the island flocked. But first, dinner. Ambergris has a few great restaurants serving typical, inexpensive local fare of rice and beans and fish along with freebies – rum punch and ceviche. The food stalls serving burritos and rice for $1 were a tempting option. We knew a few who weren’t strong enough to resist the temptation.

Their stomachs also weren’t strong enough to digest the food. Thus, we stuck to the restaurants – this time we tried out Jambel Jerk, the Jamaican restaurant. After eating, we danced to live music at Fido’s, talking to (three day) old friends and meeting new ones, including the snorkel shop owner and a private tour guide offering all day sailing/fishing trips for $100.

Afterwards, we kicked off our shoes and walked home barefoot along the dirt road, singing Ambergris Caye’s theme song: Madonna’s La Isla Bonita.

Another successful day in Belize.