Our first month in Belize has now come and gone. We have spent a lot of our time hiding from fronts that seem to come through every
three or four days. (But, at least we are not shoveling snow, like much of the USA.) We have found some good anchorages in mangrove creeks, where you are well protected from the high winds and waves in the fronts. When we were not hiding from the fronts, we managed to enjoy San Pedro, Caye Caulker, The Bluefield Range, The Colson Cays, English Cay, Goff Cay and even made a stop at Cucumber Beach Marina with a trip into Belize City for groceries. Belize City, which is no longer the capital, is a crowded, dirty and seemingly poor place for the most part, though there is a section with nicer hotels, and of course the cruise line area. We have seen as many as six cruise ships anchored off the city at one time, from where they ferry everyone into the secured area for the cruise lines. No one is allowed out of this area unless they are on a bus to some of the inland sites.
Pat's college roommate, Nancy, along with her husband, Steve, came down for a week. We think they really enjoyed their trip, since they were able to visit Belize City, anchor at several of the cays, get in some snorkeling, make a couple of happy hours at the Lazy Lizard Bar in Caye Caulker and enjoy several meals in Belize restaurants. Steve also caught a Barracuda, which we immediately grilled for lunch! (Nothing better than really fresh saltwater fish!) Nancy and Steve left us at Caye Caulker, where they caught the water taxi back to Belize City. There is an old joke about how many people you can get on a chicken bus in Guatemala ... The answer is: " One More!" Apparently, the same is true for water taxies in Belize., since they packed everyone in like sardines.
Since our first month has come and gone, we are now in San Pedro to renew our 30 day visa. From here we plan to go out to Turneffe and Lighthouse reefs. These are two of the four atolls in the Caribbean. All the others are in the south Pacific. From there, we will go south to some of the southern cays and the Belize town of Placencia, where we will, once again, renew visas or check out before heading to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala.
