A Week of Tranquility by Bob and Brenda Boyett
From sunrise
To mid day
To sunset
What more can you say
Well maybe this
What an absolutely wonderful week! Everything you heard about Tranquility Bay was wrong. It was better, far better, than all the
reviews we had read. It is a place to be experienced and is perfectly
named.
Brenda and I arrived on Friday 9/17/2010 on Tropic, which
provided a nice unscheduled tour from International to Municipal to Caye
Caulker to San Pedro. A taxi,
arranged by TB, picked us up at the airport and took us on the "long ride" (J)
to the pier by Ruby's where the TB boat was waiting. No time for Belikin's with the Lime and Airport bars
closed. After a very nice 30
minute boat ride, Belikin's and rum were waiting. Brenda didn't even mind the bow spray and was smiling all
the way.
Carlos, Dianie (everything coordinator) and Hill the
bartender (my soon to be new best friend) were waiting to greet us. We had been up since 3:30 a.m. and it
was now 5:30 p.m. but sleep could wait.
A few welcome drinks and Tranquility intro and Dianie took us to our room to show us how the safe worked. Note: No bag drag coming or
going! Our bags were waiting in
the room by the time we were escorted there and in the boat by the time we were
ready to leave. Five-star service!
Our one concern about coming to TB was limited choices on
food, but that was blown away with the first meal. Excellent! And it continued to be great all week with a lots
of menu choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sonja is an amazing cook. She goes from "short order" cook at breakfast to "Chef" at
night with dishes that rival the best restaurants in San Pedro. Brenda and I had always been a little
disappointed with the quality of salads on our previous trips, but not at TB. Excellent salads were available at
lunch and dinner. Sonja also fixes
the best Belizean stewed chicken with rice and beans I've had on the island
(Brenda wanted her to come home with us).
This trip was a special occasion for us and the staff made
it extra special one night, for our 23rd anniversary, with lobster
and shrimp in a garlic cream sauce in a "more than romantic" atmosphere.
How perfect is that?
The first 4 days we had perfect weather and were up at
sunrise every morning to walk the beach South and North. To the South it is an easy walk past
Sueno Del Mar about ½ mile.
North you can walk the beach for about 2-3 miles to the last residence
before hitting the rocky beach to Rocky Point without seeing hardly anyone.
One day we had to try and reach Rocky Point where the reef
touches the island. Hill (bartender, waiter, friend) over heard us talking
about it and arranged a ride for us to the last residence. From that point on it is a rough walk
but well worth it. The sad thing
is all the plastic garbage thrown overboard from ships and drifting in from
other countries cluttered the otherwise gorgeous seashore (awesome shells and
coral all over).
After walking for miles, I thought, we got there:
But after looking at Google Earth when we got home we didn't
quiet make it to the official point.
Along the way, we were fortunate to meet 2 Park Rangers and a Biologist
for Bacalar Chico National Marine Park.
They were searching for sea turtle nests and invited us to go with them,
but this old man was whooped and was facing a long walk back. Thanks to Hill and Marlin (caretaker)
for the ride because I would have never had this experience.
Our man Hill is the waiter, bartender and all around nice
guy. He makes you feel at home and
there is never a "problem" with him around. He is the person you see the most
(if you eat and drink that is) and he was a pleasure.
Ah, snorkeling!
It's one of the reasons we chose TB and we did it at least once a day
and most days twice. Snorkeling
from the beach was easy and fun.
There are a number of small coral heads between the beach and the reef
with a variety of fish in all sizes. Of course there are hundreds of fish under
the pier including "Junior" the resident 4'- 5' barracuda and small Lion fish. The Lion fish are being caught! One day
we had the opportunity to snorkel one side of the Basil Jones Cut. The Cut is 50' deep and the wall is
covered with plants and coral. Put
that on your "must do list". We
haven't developed the underwater photos yet, but the camera was a "one use"
cheap one. We're crossing our
fingers. A good one is going on my
Christmas list!!
The only problem I had was a land crab decided he wanted my
Crock sandal as his new home:
After a 5 minutes battle, I WON!
We made some new friends:
And Lady
Peter Jones was up a few days working with Carlos and bought
his pup Lady. Peter had rescued
her from near death a few months ago from a gutter in San Pedro and she
"licked" her way into his heart. What a loving, playful, friendly girl. Peter thanks for saving and adopting
such a special girl. That makes
you an extra special person too.
It was great meeting you and sharing a few meals. Brenda fell in love with her on the boat
ride in and would have taken her home with us in a heartbeat.
On days 5, 6 and 7 we had occasional squalls but it cleared
up in between so we could snorkel and relax under the palm trees. The rain was actually nice.
It was a romantic getaway just for us. Relaxation and no hassles is what we
came for and is what we found. We
just can't say enough about the beauty of this area. It really must be experienced. Thanks to Carlos & Isabelle, Hill,
Sonya, Dianie, Rambo, Captains Winfield and Harrison, and the entire staff at
Tranquility Bay for making our time so special.
Bob and Brenda Boyett
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