Our time in the jungle was over, we were headed to Ambergris Caye. A key north of Belize City. On the way to drop off the rental car, we made a stop at the Belize Zoo. Really a fascinating zoo, all of the animals are either injured, orphaned, born in the zoo, or transferred from other wildlife facilities. You are in a rainforest as you meander through the pathways viewing the animals. The zoo also made a good stop for us to eat lunch. The food is nothing to write home about, but it hit the spot.
Dropped off our cars and Car One was happy to shuttle us over to the water taxi. It’s a 90 minute water taxi ride to San Pedro the second largest city in Belize and the only town on Ambergris Caye.
The house we were renting had arranged for us to be met and taken by taxi to the house. At the house we were greeted by Myriam and Manuel, the caretakers of Still Waters. The golf carts we had rented for the week were ready and waiting for us at the house. Part of the services offered by Still Waters is housekeeping and for an extra fee, cooking done by Myriam. We were so thankful to have them both making the week easy and stress-free for our group.
The next morning, we were picked up at the dock by Leslie’s Catamaran tours for our snorkel trip. They offer a day snorkel trip to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Shark/Sting Ray Alley, and a stop on Caye Cauker. The first two stops were are snorkeling stops and then a stop on Caye Cauker for lunch and shopping. The catamaran was perfect for our group of 8 and the weather was beautiful. Luckily for us, we were the only ones that had reserved the Lady Leslie for the day.
We spent an hour snorkeling the marine reserve guided by the First Mate, Ricki. You must go on a guided tour to this reserve to help ensure there is no damage to the coral reef. Belize is home to the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world. We all snorkeled with the exception of Will’s mom, but she enjoyed going along and just kicking back on the boat. Then it was on to shark ray alley. The sharks started coming around the boat the minute we pulled in. They know they are going to get fed, with chum of course. There were only 3 of us brave enough to swim with the sharks. When I went in, Will was concerned that I may have let the life insurance policy lapse. And Anita wanted Rob to get in the middle of the sharks. What great spouses we have.
After that the rum punch was served, we sailed on to Caye Cauker. Captain Martin told us where to stop for great lobster and gave us 2 hours to explore the island. We stopped at Chef Kareem’s food stand and were not disappointed. Cost $90 USD for 8 of us for lunch with 5 of us having the lobster. What a deal!
Back on the Lady Leslie to head back to the house. Much to our surprise not only was the rum punch brought out again, but snacks as well. We feasted on sushi rolls, coconut shrimp, and delicious coconut bars. Such a great and relaxing trip.
Got back to the house just in time as the rest of the family was arriving. Chaos soon ensued as the 3 nephews didn’t waste any time getting in the pool.
The next day we got off to a late start, but went out to explore the town a little and drove out to Secret Beach. Not a very well kept secret, with signs pointing the way. The water there is very calm and the restaurants with table service in the water made it quite fun. Did I mention it was Lobster Fest on Ambergris Caye? Yes, we got that timing right. When our waiter came out we asked what food they had, he started by saying they had Lobster Nachos. I didn’t hear anything else after that. I was sold. Jeffrey and Jojo had a good time snorkeling around the area in the calm water. There isn’t much to see when snorkeling, but it gave the boys a chance to really get used to using snorkel gear.
Went back to Secret Beach the next day. This time we rented a couple of paddle boats. One of the boats had a slide on it that was really a lot of fun. That night Myriam cooked us up lobster for dinner. She’d gone to her fish monger that morning. Super fresh. Mmmm
The following day Rob had taken the lead on tour planning and had gotten us another catamaran snorkel trip aboard the El Gato. Smaller boat and more bare bones than our previous tour, but the snorkeling and the staff were great. Jeffrey and Jojo really enjoyed snorkeling around and swimming with the sharks. This time on Caye Cauker we stopped at the Rainbow Grill and Bar for lunch. I had the seafood combo ceviche and it was good. Jojo couldn’t seem to get his hamburger down fast enough. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kid eat so much. I guess snorkeling makes you hungry.
For dinner that night, we took a break from Myriam’s excellent cooking to try out the Truck Stop. The Truck Stop is a shipping container food park. They have Asian, Latin American, Pizza, and Ice Cream as well as a full bar. Everyone was able to pick and choose what they wanted for dinner. It was also Trivia night at the Truck Stop. We got a team together and geography turned out to be our category, but unfortunately our team did not even win the half-smart award. But hey, we didn’t come in last either.
Our last full day in Belize and it seemed that everyone wanted to do their own thing. We went to check out the south end of the island and then came back to just spend the rest of the day lounging by the pool.
Sadly, Saturday came and we had to leave Belize. We arrived at the dock for the Water Taxi and found a great food tent. The guy was grilling some chicken, ribs and sausage. With the combo plate only being $10USD and big enough to share it was a steal and delicious to boot.
We almost made it to Belize City when the water taxi blew an engine. They quickly called for another boat and all of us transferred to the new boat in the middle of the ocean. We then had to wait until our original boat limped into the dock to retrieve our luggage. Ah well, keeps things interesting and what an ending to a great trip.
