Belize Part I - Ambergris Caye

As I had been looking forward to the holiday trip to Belize for about six months, I was less than thrilled when we arrived at the Continental Airlines counter at the San Francisco Airport at 4:30 am only to discover to lines out the door. I knew we were in trouble.

While Continental was providing no information to those standing in line (I will say it now and many more times before I am through -- I will NEVER fly Continental again), we quickly learned that our 6:00 am flight was delayed for at least 6 hours. Our connection through Houston! Panic. I was on the phone. Chris was on the phone. We searched for alternative flights to Houston on different airlines. Alas, nothing.

Our wait in line proved to be very entertaining. You can only imagine the conversations that took place with those standing around us. Fury.

After two and a half hours, we finally got through our 10 person line (we had inadvertently joined the first class line) only to be told that we were not going to make our connection (like I had not realized this?) and that we could travel from Houston to Belize two days later. We inquired about other options. We were told we could fly to Cancun from Houston and then drive to Belize, as it was a mere 500 miles from Cancun to Belize. We briefly contemplated what surely would have been an adventure (how would we navigate the Mexico/Belize border?), only to receive a call from Chris' parents who too had the same issue coming out of Los Angeles (mandatory flight rests - could they not have brought in a different crew?). We all decided to fly to Houston and see what we could do from there.

While waiting for our San Francisco to Houston flight we discovered the poor individuals who had been standing behind us in line were told they could not get from Houston to Cleveland, there final destination, for FIVE days. Lovely. I thought we had issues.

After waiting approximately 7 hours, we boarded our flight for Houston. Upon arrival in Houston, we met up with Chris' parents, who had been able to arrange confirmed flights the following day on the second and final flight from Houston to Belize City. We were placed on the standby list.

Hopeful that we could all make our way onto the earlier flight the following day from Houston to Belize City, we made our way to an airport hotel to try to get some rest and recover from a truly awful travel day. (I will never fly Continental again. Continental staff, with one exception, had been extremely rude and unhelpful.)

Early the following morning we headed to the airport to try to get on the earlier flight. We were fortunate and all four of us made it on the early flight. (Thank goodness, as the rest of our party was already enjoying the lovely vacation while we were stranded in Houston!)

Upon arrival into Belize City, we jumped into a little puddle jumper plane to make our way from Belize City to Ambergris Caye. Chris had the good fortune of serving as co-pilot, as he was instructed to ride up in the cockpit. (Actually, me or his mother were directed to ride up with the pilot, but Chris jumped right in.)

After the quick flight in the teeny tiny plane, we landed on Ambergris Caye, where we were met by a representative of our hotel with an awaiting golf cart.

Ambergris Caye is the largest of the 200 islands along Belize's coast - at about 25 miles long and about a mile wide in some spots. Our hotel was just outside the only town on Ambergris Caye, San Pedro. There is one main road that makes its way through town, which was busy with bicycles, golf carts and mini vans. Most in Belize appear to make their way around the Caye on either a bicycle or a golf cart.

We made our way to join our awaiting guests (Chris' brother, Drew, and his fiance, Kim, as well as Kim's family) at our hotel, the Victoria House. The Victoria House is situated south of San Pedro and is a gorgeous oasis. The moment we arrived we threw down our bags, put on our swim suits and hit the beach. Chris and I jumped into the ocean and the vacation began.

Our time on Ambergris Caye was action packed. It began with a group outing to town for lunch which consisted of way too many margaritas and realizing I was beyond tipsy way before the 5 o'clock hour. I was not alone.

Bone fishing is a popular activity in Belize. We went bone fishing on the second day of our trip. Chris and I are very competitive. We issue little challenges here and there - who can chop mushrooms faster, pit olives the fastest, etc., so it went without saying that a competition was on for who would catch the most fish. I lost, by a lot. I caught two, Chris ten. Lovely. Regardless, it was a very fun experience and resulted in some very funny sunburns, as we did not apply sunscreen evenly.

As a group activity one afternoon, we all set out on a snorkeling adventure to Shark-Ray Alley and Hol Chan Marine Reserve, not too far off of Ambergris Caye. Our first stop was at Shark-Ray Alley, and as the name promised, there were sharks and rays. Big sharks! About a minute into my snorkeling adventure I looked down and realized there was an 8 foot nurse shark swimming underneath me. I literally screamed. The snorkeling was amazing -- the best I have seen to date. Chris documented our snorkeling adventures, as he had invested in an underwater housing for his digital camera. He has quite an eye for photography and took many amazing photographs on the trip, both underwater and on land.

After spending some time at Shark-Ray Alley watching the sharks, rays, and tons and tons of fish, we headed to the Marine Reserve, where I was very disappointed to learn I missed spotting a turtle. I have never seen at turtle snorkeling or diving, and everyone saw it but me!

Snorkeling led to diving, and Chris, Drew and I decided a trip out to the legendary Blue Hole was in order. We booked an all day trip that included a three dives, including the Blue Hole and two other dives off the Lighthouse Reef.

Now, as a child, I loved boating. It was one of my favorite activities with both my father and my grandfather. But, as I learned on a fishing trip about 7 years ago with my parents, I do not enjoy boating in the ocean, as I have become susceptible to sea sickness in my adult years. I had no idea that this diving adventure would entail charting across the high seas.

We departed at 5:30 in the morning for our diving adventures. Our first scheduled dive of the day was the Blue Hole, where we were planning to dive down 130 feet to view the enormous stalactites that were rumored to be the size of trees. The Blue Hole is a circular cave system which formed before the last ice age and collapsed when sea levels rose approximately 300-400 feet, forming a hole more than 400 feet deep and nearly 1,000 feet in diameter. As we took off for the destination, one of the dive masters mentioned that the boat ride to the Blue Hole was approximately 3 hours and that portions of the ride would be rough. Oh no. I was fine on the way out, but not so lucky on the way back.

We arrived at the Blue Hole and I was very excited to start the dive. I hadn't been diving in quite some time -- at least 8 years -- and this was to be the deepest dive I had ever accomplished. Our target depth was 130 feet, however Chris and ended up going down 155 feet! At that depth, you cannot stay down long, so it was a pretty quick dive. There wasn't much to see beyond the stalactites, but it was fun nonetheless.

After surfacing from the Blue Hole dive, we headed for our second dive destination off of one of the many islands surrounding the Lighthouse Reef for a shallower dive to explore the reef. I believe we were at the Half Moon Caye Wall, but I am not positive. This dive was more entertaining, as we viewed eels, barracudas, coral and all sorts of other interesting critters. After spending about 55 minutes underwater, we surfaced for a lunch break.

Lunch was spent on Half Moon Caye, located at the lower southeast corner of the Lighthouse Reef. This small, tropical island and the immediate surrounding waters are a National Park and home to a protected bird sanctuary. After lunch, we headed to a viewing platform nestled among the trees to watch the Red footed Boobies engaged in their mating rituals. It was truly fascinating to watch.

Thereafter, we headed out for our third and final dive of the day, the favorite of both Chris and I. Chris spend the entire duration of the dive photographing the underwater coral and creatures, while Drew and I checked out the underwater sites.

The trip home was an adventure, as the moment we were outside the protection of the reef, the swells were HUGE. While I didn't feel great, I was fine until the moment Drew and Chris started talking about people getting sick, when I too became sick. Lovely. Regardless, it was a wonderful day.

The rest of our time on Ambergris Caye was spent lounging about, reading, playing games and cards or taking photos with the new camera. I particularly enjoyed talking with Kim's sister, as she works for the Food Network, one of my favorite channels to watch. Fun was had by all, including Kim's mother and sister who ventured over to the mainland for cave tubing and zip lining.


Chris and I took over a thousand photos on the trip. (Actually, Chris took over a thousand photos - I maybe took 100.) Most of the photos shared here were taken by Chris.

We were sad when our time on Ambergris Caye came to an end, as it marked the departure of Drew's fiance's family. However, the rest of us were excited to be embarking on the second portion of our trip, into the jungle.