We got back recently from an awesome 3 days at Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Jungle Lodge (I'll do a separate rpt. for that in "other parts"...)and a week on A.C.
Had a wonderful vacation, and will list some highlights. (I'll try not to make it too long)
Coconuts was a great choice, we stayed at Banana Beach the year before, but I wanted to try something else and be a little closer to town. (we walked and rode bikes everywhere) Was not disappointed at all, rooms were large and clean, bed comfy, water hot, AC cool, TV a plus. Beach bar was fun and convenient (I told Margie that she was a "star" on this little board),having breakfast included was nice and tasty, and free bike rental was added value too. Hammocks, lounge chairs and big thick towels for beach also!

We dove with Tony and Rene from Amigos del Mar every day, all week long, doing a Turneffe trip and many local dives. They were great and I highly recommend diving with them. Saw lots of friendly big grouper, snapper, nurse sharks, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles, parrotfish, anglefish, triggerfish, morays, lobster, crabs, shrimp,and graceful spotted eagle rays and some more elusive/seldom seen creatures like spotted drums, trunkfish,scorpionfish and porcupine fish. One of our highlights was seeing a hammerhead(!) on a saftey stop at Turneffe. Local Reef is a bit damaged, but every dive we found some fun stuff.

We ate at The Reef twice(excellent grilled fish & great value), Caliente(yummy), Mango's twice (big menu,good food, fun drinks),Food Vendors in town (oh so good),Jambel Jerk Pit(spicy/tasty)and Shark's bar(stuffed jalepenos w/chicken and cheese to die for...).

Bars we visited were Fido's, Shark's and Palapa. Fun places, make sure to check 'em all out while you are there. Not too much partying on our parts due to early dive trips...but everyone else was having a blast!Saw Barefoot Skinny( nice guy, met him a few days before at Caves Branch!)by himself and later with the band, heard Pineapple Willie by himself; danced a bit, was talked into buying a dreadlock, and met Gay and David and Eric-a few differnt times! Nice talking with you all. Hope to see you again!
Saw Rick and Cheri at Fido's, but it was the evening when thier friend jumped off the table and they left before I could introduce myself -hope he's OK. Hooked up with our divmaster from our last trip, Alex, and had some Belikins (and danced a bit)at Palapa while listening to another really good band--who were those guys anyway?

And just when we felt really comfortable with the island, the local spots, and our island-style routine, it was time to head home, back to the real world. We'll be back, and do it all again.
All that is, except for the botfly I carried home(from the jungle I suppose). Yes, I can't believe it either; my hubby didn't believe me all week long--I was complaining about the pain to deaf ears. But this morning, he finally saw the little bugger (with a magnifying glass) pop out of it's breathing hole to get a little air!
It's so tiny, I am afraid to grab with tweezers--I don't want parts left in me. This week I'll get to a doctor with print outs from this website on info about botflys--thanks for putting that page together Marty.
Like I said, great trip, happy w/our hotel choice, and all restaurants (and bars!) I'd visit again.
Chanin

Great post. Thanks. Botfly's! Is that like a Chigger we have in the south?

SB

OMGosh. I was going to try and pass up this bot fly infestation... But... do a search on this board for "bot fly" and sit back and do some reading. You will be amazed.

Well, after a few attempts, my botfly is out. Sorry to have grossed anyone out.
The really odd thing is that I had less then five bites total on me after 3 days in the jungle, and one of them turned out to be the botfly! Looked just like the pictures I found on the net.
Lesson to be learned: use your bug spray even in dry season, and if you have a bite that isn't healing, and you start feeling more and more pain(like needles pricking you) do a search and figure out if that's what you've got.