The Desmond’s Belize Vacation  (June 17th –June30th, 2000)
Author: Kathy Desmond

Steven, Kathy, Pam (21) Paul (17) and Paul's friend, Daniel Sefick (15) Cost per person $1178, used Capricorn Leisure to make arrangements

Price included: Roundtrip airfare on Taca Airlines from San Francisco via El Salvador then to Belize City. 3 days car rental on the mainland and roundtrip flight on Maya Air to Ambergris Caye from Belize City. 3 nights/2 rooms at Jaguar Paw Resort then10 nights Playador Exotic Caye Resort/ 2-bedroom condo with loft on Ambergris Caye.

Day 1

Our flight was at 1 am! They fed us dinner at 3 am! It was good. We landed in El Salvador around 7:30 am. It was very warm and everything was very green. We shortly boarded the plane again and our hour-long flight to Belize was very scenic, green with lots of rivers lakes & mountains. As we flew over Belize we could see the highways and swampland. The Belize airport is very small. The customs guy asked if we had any food items with us, in a way that we knew to say, "only some crackers," because he didn't want to look. We had a suitcase full of food but no salami & cheese because I forgot to pack it! We picked up our Mitsubishi Montereo. After driving behind the world's smokiest truck through swampland we stopped for lunch at JB's watering hole because that is where Harrison Ford hung out during the filming of the Mosquito Coast. Big Mistake-Service was very slow and we were basically the only ones there. We had to change our orders because they didn't have what we ordered. Daniel found out that Belize does not have Root Beer.

The road to Jaguar Paw is very rough. Yes, we were on the right road but Steven didn't think so. Finally, we made it. Very humid and tropical. We take a look around, swim in the river & have dinner. Pam, Paul & Daniel shared a room. The Jaguar Paw has 16 air-conditioned rooms each one decorated in a different motif. We had the granny rooms. Daniel counted 14 throw pillows! At night the walkways on the grounds are lit up with tiki torches and we felt like we were going to a tribal council meeting! We were in bed by 7 p.m.

Day 2

We had breakfast in the Jaguar lodge then hiked for 1-½ hours through the jungle with inner tubes. Harrison, our guide, pointed out all the plants and offered us a snack of termites. They taste minty. It was very hot. Tubing was fun, the caves huge and pitch black! We wore lamps on our heads. After tubing we were starving and went back to the Jaguar lodge for lunch. It took 1 hour to get our food! We decided to go to the Zoo. The Zoo was really cool! Very hot, and we got rained on. We only had an hour before it closed but we were the only ones there and ran around looking at everything. This was a good time because the animals were getting fed and they were active. The Toucan was beautiful. All the animals were awesome. Paul got a little to close to the Tapir (Belize Mountain Cow, a sort of a cross between a cow and an anteater) and got sprayed from the waste down. He was grossed out! On the way back to Jaguar Paw we stopped at Cheers Bar for a cold drink. Thank God it didn't take long to get our order.

Back in the car we listened to the radio and found out that the police were looking for a guy who had stuck a machete in someone's head in Belize City. Belize police drive little trucks.

Steven knocked over a lamp table in our room and broke a mirror! The new camcorder battery recharger unit broke apart. Luckily, the new underwater camera was not broken and the battery charger went back together and the lamp didn't break because it landed on some luggage!

Day 3 Sunny no wind

I went out early with the camcorder and filmed 2 Quashes (they sort of look like anteater squirrels) then went down to the river. The camcorder said, "Condensation". It would not work. Steven put it in a bag with those white pellets that dry things out. After breakfast it worked! We drove to Xunantunich Ruins near San Ignacio. We took the car across the river on a hand cranked ferry (Paul & Daniel tried it out) and hired a guide, Rosario, for $15.U.S. She told us everything! Even that she cannot be a tour guide if she has Aids! She told us some very interesting stuff! From the top of the ruins we had a great view of Belize and Guatemala. After the ruins we stopped in the Belize capital of Belmopan for a late lunch. We couldn't get waited on so we left. We saw women doing wash in the river and some Mennonite's with a horse and buggy dressed like it was 20 degrees out! Everyone was hanging out wash that day. People live in shacks in a state of disrepair. There are lots of little kids and lots of schools. We also saw the Running W Meat Ranch. They have a very annoying ad on the radio. In Belize, there is apparently no limit on the length of a commercial.

We stopped at Cheers for dinner on the way home. A big wind and rain came up for a few minutes then went away. The camcorder said, "Condensation" again! On the way back to the lodge Steven ran over a chicken!

Day 4 Very cloudy, no wind/Very windy on Ambergris Caye

Got up early to see the Quashes. One of the workers puts food out for this big family of Quashes. Steve and I went down to the river. The camcorder said "Condensation" again! We had one umbrella but not good enough. It started pouring! We had to go back and change our clothes. We ordered breakfast then went to wake up the kids. We had to have the car back by 10:20 a.m. or pay extra. We got the car back just in time and got on an earlier flight to Ambergris Caye. We were in one of those little 10 seaters. We had to stop for refueling in a pit of a place then took off again. We had a great view of the ocean and all the little islands.

Our Condo was just down the road from the airport. The staff at Exotic Caye is very friendly and nice. The condo is nice with a great view. There was satellite TV and one lounge chair. No sofa! Sara from the front desk brought us some towels. She told us all about the big snake that kept eating her pets and how the shark bit her brother. Joe from the dock below us came up and offered his services for snorkeling tours. We later went down and made a deal on prices, since there is 5 of us! We got one person free. Jaguar Paw also did that for us on the cave tubing.

We went to Celi's Restaurant for dinner. The sign said open at 5:30 but they forgot to unlock the door. The waitress was super nice, not fake nice, and the service was great. The Key Lime Pie was excellent!

Day 5 Sunny, not as windy

Tried snorkeling off Ramon's dock. Saw a big school of fish and a giant hermit crab in Conch shell. Went to Hol-Chan Marine Preserve & Shark Ray Alley in the afternoon. We saw huge groupers, lots of Jacks, Tarpon, fan coral, brain coral, Barracuda, eel. Swam on the deep side of the reef. We had to stay with the guide. We swam with 14 nurse sharks, some really big, and stingrays. The sharks are scary looking but harmless. The crew on the boat calls me and Steven, "Mom & Dad". When we got back this guy came up to our condo selling wooden manatees dolphins, jewelry, and marijuana! He also told us his life story. He has 3 kids all 21 because he had 3 women pregnant at the same time. We later found out from Carl, on the boat, that he spends half his money on crack and half on his 3 kids. Went to Holiday's Beach Barbecue for dinner. Was very good and a great deal. $31 for the 5 of us!

Day 6 Sunny, small breeze

Steve and I went to the post office and to the bank. It was so HOT! It's almost unbearable to walk to town during the day. I snorkeled under Woody's Warf and saw a big pufferfish, sea anemone, and a big green moray eel that lives in a pipe, barracuda and various other fish. Fun! Went snorkeling with Tuff E Nuff again in the afternoon. Had a good time and saw lots of fish including some squid. Went to dinner at La Margarita. Dinner was good but the wind sometimes smelled like sewer. Mosquitoes were also biting.

Day 7 Sunny, Breezy

Got up at 8:30 to go snorkeling at Mexico Rocks and to a beach barbecue. Five others were on the boat with us. Mindy was pork queen of Iowa. It was a nice group of people and we had a great time. Oliver showed us a rare Golden Spotted Eel at Mexico Rocks. Paul said he also saw a big fish, a platypus, and a dinosaur! We snorkeled around a sunken barge then waited on the boat while Arden and Joe went diving for lunch. They took us to a deserted resort on the North side of the island called La Caribe. We were the only ones there to enjoy the beautiful beachside pool and view! We had lobster and fish fajitas for lunch with pineapple for dessert. It was great. Daniel was hogging all the lobster. Steven said he saw the crew and this one man smoking pot on the boat while we were snorkeling. The pot smoker tourist was video taping us as we got back on board and wanted to know if we would come back to Belize. I said, "No I wouldn't". He was shocked! (But really, I probably wouldn't because I don't like having to follow a guide) Paul tried to distract him by saying, "Look a Whale!"

We went to Ambergris Delight for pizza dinner. It was good. Pam, Paul & Daniel went with Junior, our housekeeper, for an ice cream later. Junior had never heard of San Francisco. He wants to go to the U.S. but wants to get a visa because he is afraid of being shot if he tries to sneak over.

Day 8 Cloudy

Went shopping this morning. Paul and Daniel went fishing off the docks. I spoke to Mindy (Pork Queen of Iowa) and found out that Arden & Joe (from the boat) got in a fight last night! She saw the whole thing! Arden pushed Joe in the water and Joe hit his head on the boat then Joe pushed Arden in the water then Arden broke a beer bottle and stabbed Joe in the side with it! They had been drinking since the beach barbecue! Arden got fired from Tuff E Nuff and we didn't see Joe at work until our last day. Mindy said it took 30 minutes for the police to come and haul them both off. We had dinner at El Patio. Very good food & prices. The waitress was very nice and even offered to spray us with OFF. The bean dip and chips were REALLY GOOD!

Day 9 Cloudy & Windy

Suppose to go on Manatee Tour today. I told Oliver I thought we should wait for another day but he said it would blow over so we went. We made a stop at Caye Caulker since we could see that it was raining hard in the direction we were going. Caye Caulker is even funkier than San Pedro is. Not much to it. We almost got run over by a golf cart. It started raining so we decided to have lunch at the Rainbow Restaurant. I had conch fritters. Pretty Good. We saw Mr. Chocolate a famous local guide. Oliver found out the weather wasn't going to get any better so we headed back for another snorkel at Shark Ray Alley and Hol-Chan. Saw lots of stuff: Big Angel Fish, Tarpon, and shark rubbing himself on ocean floor. Snorkeling in Belize is the first time I've seen Remora's stuck on fish. I saw one fish open his mouth really wide! It looked like he was yawning. It was shocking to see how big it opened up! On way back it started raining hard and wind was strong. We had real fun trying to cover ourselves with the tarp! Went for Pizza again at Ambergris Delight. Even though we didn't see the Manatees we had a fun day with Oliver.

Day 10 Partly cloudy & breezy

Decided to try manatee trip tomorrow because the weather looked iffy. On the way to the store a cook ran out of the Coconuts Hotel and gave me some flowers. Steve and I took a walk into town for some postcard stamps. It's really hot as soon as you walk away from the beach. Junior, the housekeeper, did a load of wash for us for free. We tried snorkeling under Woody's Warf but it's murky. Paul and Daniel did some fishing; someone gave them some real bait so they had fun catching fish. Pam went swimming at Ramon's wharf and got into big trouble from the security guard for jumping off the wharf. She said, "there are no signs" and he got madder. He was really ragging on her! One lady told Pam, "I thought he was going to hit you with his stick!"

Went to El Patio for dinner because we didn't feel like walking into town-Plus, the food there is good. We applied 100% Deet before we went and were able to sit out in the pretty patio. Like last time, we were the only ones there. The bean dip and dinner was again REALLY GOOD! YUM YUM

Paul & Daniel did more night fishing. Lots of lightening late tonight.

Day 11 Very Cloudy & Breezy

Went to grocery then shopping in town. Not too bad walking today-not so hot! Paul & Daniel went fishing. The kids and I rented bikes in the afternoon to see if we could find the notorious dog eating crocodile. We found the lagoon but no crocodile. We forgot to put the Deet on and the mosquitoes were swarming us. We had to get the heck out of there. Paul's bike got a flat tire on the way back. I found out when he tried to trade bikes with me! Daniel sped away to get Wally (the bike guy) Later in the afternoon Steven and I took a bike ride over to see the crock. ( The Kids were too lazy to go) One local family (with 10 kids) was also checking to see if the crock was there. They feed him chicken. Since there was no sign of the crock I said let's take a ride down this road and see what's there. We saw lots of Fiddler Crabs and some Iguanas. The mosquitoes were trying to bite through our t-shirts. Steven didn't want to go very far on the bikes. We didn't bring any water! We rode for about 5 minutes then turned around to go back to the lagoon. A small crowd was gathering to see the crock. We waited around but it looked like he wasn't going to show. Everyone left but us. We were about to leave when a local family pulled up pointing to the crock! We watched this big crocodile come across the lagoon. No one had any chicken so he didn't come up on land. He is probably 14-15 ft. long. One local called to him like he was a dog! All of a sudden the locals jumped in their vehicles and took off. We took off also and made it back just in time before the squall hit. Steven and I ended up eating in the hotel restaurant by ourselves. Wally told us the kids took off with the boat crew. We were the only ones eating there and everything was blowing all over the place. The kids went someplace for dinner and Pam had to borrow money from Daniel because she didn't ask the price of her food!!! (She should know better!) Later, Paul & Daniel went fishing.

Day 12 Raining, Stormy, Windy

The rain stopped around 11 a.m. We walked through puddles and mushy sand to Taco Take-Out for lunch. They didn't have any corn tortillas. We enjoyed our afternoon on the beach talking to neighbor, Patty, and drinking tropical drinks. Went to Fido's (pronounced Fee-Dohs) for dinner. My fish, rice and beans were really good!

Day 13 Clear, Hot and Breezy

For a while this morning we had no water in the condo. Since no one else wanted to see the manatees anymore except me, we decided to go snorkeling instead. Steven, Paul and Daniel and myself went shopping in the morning for Cuban cigars for Daniel's Dad. Hot! Hot! Hot! Steven was heat stroked from shopping and didn't want to go snorkeling. The kids and I went snorkeling again at Hol-Chan and Shark Ray Alley. Fun! We picked up a couple from another resort. Pam held a shark bigger than her. Paul and Daniel were pulling the sharks tails! We also stopped at another place and Joe let us loose to snorkel. (I guess at this point he realized we knew how to swim and not ruin the coral) and Carl took the couple on a guided tour. Pam and I found a huge pufferfish! Its head looked about 16 inches deep. It must have been puffed up! We had a really fun time.

We got back and decided to do a night snorkel. We wore wet suits and had flashlights. We saw lobster, shrimp, glowing worms, sleeping fish and the THING! I don't know what it is but I have a picture of it. On the way back the stars were out and so was the lightening. We had a really fun time. Jumping off the boat into darkness is a little different. Pam wanted to go to dinner with the crew so the rest of us went to Elvie's. It was about 9:30 p.m. and we were starving. It was hot in there. My food was just ok.

Last day Sunny, Breezy

We packed up for the trip home. Our Maya Air Flight was at 2 p.m. Junior waited with us for the taxi. At Maya Air we found out that we were booked on a flight that didn't exist! They were very nice at Maya and called to make sure our 4 p.m. flight from Belize City to El Salvador was still the same. They couldn't fit us all on the same plane so Paul, Daniel and I went first. At the airport in Belize City we waited. Pam came next with the rest of the luggage. I got in line to check us in. Unfortunately I didn't have Steven's passport. I must have been at the counter for an hour! It was hot in there! The counter man worked very hard to get Steven's passport # from the computer. He finally did. I'm surprised he didn't tell me to get out of line! He was sweating. The kids went to see if they could find Steven. We only had about 45 minutes before our flight. I sat down and filled out everyone's paperwork. I was getting really thirsty, hot and nervous. Just as I finished the paperwork here they came. Steven had to take a flight to Caye Caulker then to Belize City.

We walked to our gate and spent the rest of our Belize money on cokes and candy. While we were waiting, this midget man, that owns the Jet Bar, came over to visit. He did some kind of disgusting thing with Pam's thumb. Paul videotaped the whole thing! We were cracking up. He gave Pam an autograph on the back of a Belikin beer coaster and drew a picture of a bird. The man that took our boarding pass was the same counter man that worked to get Steven's passport number. When he saw me he shook his head and moaned!

We flew to San Salvador in cloudy weather. In San Salvador we were starving but nothing much to eat at that airport. We found a place that sold chicken sandwiches. I didn't eat one but the kids and Steven did. Steven didn't eat the whole thing. He said the chicken feet were in it. I was starting to feel pretty tired and when the Taca Airline guy offered to put us up in a hotel with free meals and first class seats if we could fly the next day I wanted to go for it. Steven wouldn't do it!

We had bulkhead seating on the way home but no movie. I started feeling really achy. We few over Mexico City. Awesome! It was huge. Lightning was flashing all around the city. Dinner was ok. The goodie was really good. I was thirsty and felt feverish.

Finally we arrived in San Francisco. We got home about 2:30 a.m. I started having diarrhea that afternoon. I was sick with a fever of 102 and diarrhea for 4 days then went to the doctor. I think I must have gotten some bad water. Steven, Pam & Paul had a little diarrhea but not the fever. Daniel faired even better. Oh yeah, on one of the flight's back Daniel sat next to me. He asked me, "Where are you going next year?"

A week or so later Junior called from Belize wanting Pam to write him a letter to get a visa to the U.S.! .... I don't think he should come here. We were all in culture shock coming home from Belize! It's so different!

Kathy's thoughts on Belize The people are incredibly friendly and we felt more like guests than tourists. We've never been on a vacation before where we've interacted with the locals so much and felt like we were leaving friends behind.

I really liked the animals! The Belize Zoo is the best Zoo I've ever been to.

The Snorkeling was very good and exciting but I like to go at my own pace and poke around a little more. (Too bad it was so windy, which caused the water to be murky under the wharfs!)

The Food was good and reasonably priced. The Sun is super intense!

We had a great time in a really different funky country. Belize is worth visiting, at least once!

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