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.
Television
TV here is awesome. Because they have cable here at the hotel, it is very similar to TV back home, except that they have this amazing channel from India. I'll call it the India channel. The India channel is amazing because it is almost as surreal and psychedellic as if you'd taken a hit of acid and decided to watch regular TV. Except all of the people on it are Indian. Even the commercials on the India channel are crazy town. One minute someone is sitting at a kitchen table, and the next minute he or she is riding a magic carpet into the kitchen. Or maybe I just imagined that because I was drinking a Pina Colada while watching it? I don't know. All I know is that I can't wait to watch the India channel again tonight.
The Food
Ok! So my word for the day is BEEF. Seriously. I have never had beef anywhere like this except in Belize. Never before has a beef possessed all of the following qualities at the same time.
- Incredible and extreme tenderness
- Almost melts in your mouth
- No fat
- Incredible flavor
Unbelieveable!
Another one of my favorites here is the cooked plantain. I love the plantain. Can't say enough good things about the plantain. It is usually served with a traditional dish of rice and beans. I usually get mine with chicken.
Here is a list of my favorite foods here in Belize, and the order is interchangeable, depending on the day.
- Plantain
- Beef
- Watermelon juice
- Tropical fruits
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The People
I'm still getting caught up here.
One thing I forgot to mention is how nice people are here. Very open and friendly. My flight from Miami to Belize City put me next to an older, black Londoner who grew up in Belize, and who's father was friends with the prime minister of Belize. So all the old people in his neighborhood know him whenever he comes to visit. So now I have a new friend in London.
Today, while walking downtown, I ended up talking to an old Belizean shopkeeper for about half an hour. Ricardo. Ricardo was hilarious because he kept on asking me questions like "if you dig down into the earth will you actually make it to the other side? Is that true?" and "hey, I heard that it gets hotter as you go down into the earth, is that true?" I reply that "yes, there is a hot, moulton core in the center of the earth, so yeah, that's true." He seemed to be shocked by that. Then he says "don't you think about how weird it is that the world is full of dead people?" I tell him that I don't follow. Then he explains that he means all of the buried dead people in the world take up a lot of space. Ricardo was not kidding with any of this.
One thing I forgot to mention is how nice people are here. Very open and friendly. My flight from Miami to Belize City put me next to an older, black Londoner who grew up in Belize, and who's father was friends with the prime minister of Belize. So all the old people in his neighborhood know him whenever he comes to visit. So now I have a new friend in London.
Today, while walking downtown, I ended up talking to an old Belizean shopkeeper for about half an hour. Ricardo. Ricardo was hilarious because he kept on asking me questions like "if you dig down into the earth will you actually make it to the other side? Is that true?" and "hey, I heard that it gets hotter as you go down into the earth, is that true?" I reply that "yes, there is a hot, moulton core in the center of the earth, so yeah, that's true." He seemed to be shocked by that. Then he says "don't you think about how weird it is that the world is full of dead people?" I tell him that I don't follow. Then he explains that he means all of the buried dead people in the world take up a lot of space. Ricardo was not kidding with any of this.
The Trip to Ambergris Caye
Well, it seems my "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" days are over.
When I was dropped off at the airstrip 15 minutes from Chan Chich Lodge, my jaw dropped. The 10-seater plane I was expecting to see, was, in fact, a two-seater plane. That's right, just me and the captain. I have a serious fear of heights, but I'll do almost anything once, especially if I don't really have any other options. After takeoff, all went pretty well, and I think I got some decent photos, but after a while, I realized that there was a huge knot in my stomach and tightness in my chest. I don't think I was consciously thinking about how high we were, but the background visual was too much to ignore.
Flying into Ambergris Caye was amazing. So, so, so beautiful from the air. I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, and slowly realized that my "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" moment was over once I was reminded that this is a third-world country. Beaten up shacks and trash-lined streets show the poverty that exists, but the water is still beautiful.
And my new digs south of San Pedro are more what I am accustomed to. It's a cheap hotel (without actually being that cheap), with cheezed-out decor. It makes me miss Chan Chich though. I've had a taste of the good life. I get suddenly depressed and realize that the depression is a physical reaction to the stress of the plane ride. Then I pass out for almost 4 hours.
When I was dropped off at the airstrip 15 minutes from Chan Chich Lodge, my jaw dropped. The 10-seater plane I was expecting to see, was, in fact, a two-seater plane. That's right, just me and the captain. I have a serious fear of heights, but I'll do almost anything once, especially if I don't really have any other options. After takeoff, all went pretty well, and I think I got some decent photos, but after a while, I realized that there was a huge knot in my stomach and tightness in my chest. I don't think I was consciously thinking about how high we were, but the background visual was too much to ignore.
Flying into Ambergris Caye was amazing. So, so, so beautiful from the air. I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, and slowly realized that my "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" moment was over once I was reminded that this is a third-world country. Beaten up shacks and trash-lined streets show the poverty that exists, but the water is still beautiful.
And my new digs south of San Pedro are more what I am accustomed to. It's a cheap hotel (without actually being that cheap), with cheezed-out decor. It makes me miss Chan Chich though. I've had a taste of the good life. I get suddenly depressed and realize that the depression is a physical reaction to the stress of the plane ride. Then I pass out for almost 4 hours.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Chan Chich
I normally travel "dirt cheap." That is not the case this time around. This is because:
It was not hot like one would imagine. It was warm in the daytime, and almost cool in the evening. But always a little humid.
Part II
Walking around in the jungle, I was able to see a few peccaries, tarantulas, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, and lots of birds. Other people also saw jaguars, ocelots, and margays. Very cool.
On my last night there, I went on a night walk with a guide into the jungle. It was almost as creepy as it sounds, mostly out of fear of stepping on the very venemous fer-de-lance. Luckily none was spotted. We did see a kinkajou though!
- I have been so desperate for a vacation that I would do almost anything for it.
- I have been so "f-ed" up (burned out) this year that finding/taking the time to actually plan said vacation ahead of time so that it would be priced in a "reasonable" way was near impossible.
- I am just a procrastinator.
- Belize is not really as cheap as other Central American countries.
It was not hot like one would imagine. It was warm in the daytime, and almost cool in the evening. But always a little humid.
Part II
Walking around in the jungle, I was able to see a few peccaries, tarantulas, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, and lots of birds. Other people also saw jaguars, ocelots, and margays. Very cool.
On my last night there, I went on a night walk with a guide into the jungle. It was almost as creepy as it sounds, mostly out of fear of stepping on the very venemous fer-de-lance. Luckily none was spotted. We did see a kinkajou though!
Take Off
Found out at the airport that despite what my itinerary online said, my flight to Belize included 4 (yes 4!) legs. SFO to Orange County to Dallas to Miami to Belize City. Besides saying that I was sick as a dog, and had lost my voice (which I still don't have back yet), that is all I have to say on that subject.
Catch Up
Whew.
I'm starting this not because I think anyone will be interested in reading it but because it may be necessary to my well being. A process of getting things out so to speak. Even though I am used to spending the majority of my time alone at home in Oakland, CA, traveling alone is another story. And after day 5 of traveling alone, I think it may have caught up to me. And I don't even have a language barrier to deal with.
I've done this once before, somewhere between 1998 and 2000. I had always wanted to go to Tahiti/French Polynesia, and somehow I managed to find a really cheap deal for Moorea, Tahiti. It ended up being the best thing I've ever done for myself. And the language barrier was kind of nice.
But i digress.... Now it's 2008, I'm 40 years old, and getting ready to file for divorce, hopefully as soon as possible when I get back, though it may take some time to figure out all the paperwork. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. And we both agree on it. The hard part was being married to the wrong person for 4 years. Someone who, once we were married, I could not even get to go on a vacation with me. Let alone much else.
The decision to go during Christmas was a little tricky, because of the obvious, well, LONER Christmas. But ultimately, I've been so burned out from the last 4 years, my workplace closes down between Christmas and New Year's, and honestly, my family is so low-key about Christmas it practically doesn't exist. Presents and hoopla disappeared my sophomore year in high school when my mother sat me down and said "we're not doing presents any more." And though it was a little weird at the time, I agree that the commercialism is not necessary, and that what is important is spending time with your loved ones. My family has not given presents since then, and we usually get together for a huge meal and end up playing Yahtzee, Trivial Pursuit, or some other game. Last year I went to Mendocino with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and 2 friends of my sister, and it was a game of Pictionary that turned oddly dirty. Hilarious, but so wrong.
Anyway, welcome to Belize. Here is my attempt at something coherent.
I'm starting this not because I think anyone will be interested in reading it but because it may be necessary to my well being. A process of getting things out so to speak. Even though I am used to spending the majority of my time alone at home in Oakland, CA, traveling alone is another story. And after day 5 of traveling alone, I think it may have caught up to me. And I don't even have a language barrier to deal with.
I've done this once before, somewhere between 1998 and 2000. I had always wanted to go to Tahiti/French Polynesia, and somehow I managed to find a really cheap deal for Moorea, Tahiti. It ended up being the best thing I've ever done for myself. And the language barrier was kind of nice.
But i digress.... Now it's 2008, I'm 40 years old, and getting ready to file for divorce, hopefully as soon as possible when I get back, though it may take some time to figure out all the paperwork. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. And we both agree on it. The hard part was being married to the wrong person for 4 years. Someone who, once we were married, I could not even get to go on a vacation with me. Let alone much else.
The decision to go during Christmas was a little tricky, because of the obvious, well, LONER Christmas. But ultimately, I've been so burned out from the last 4 years, my workplace closes down between Christmas and New Year's, and honestly, my family is so low-key about Christmas it practically doesn't exist. Presents and hoopla disappeared my sophomore year in high school when my mother sat me down and said "we're not doing presents any more." And though it was a little weird at the time, I agree that the commercialism is not necessary, and that what is important is spending time with your loved ones. My family has not given presents since then, and we usually get together for a huge meal and end up playing Yahtzee, Trivial Pursuit, or some other game. Last year I went to Mendocino with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and 2 friends of my sister, and it was a game of Pictionary that turned oddly dirty. Hilarious, but so wrong.
Anyway, welcome to Belize. Here is my attempt at something coherent.
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