August 2003 Trip Report
8/18/03 – 8/25/03

Our first trip to SP was in March of 2003. We loved it so much we had to come back as soon as we could. We were a little apprehensive wondering if the island would hold up to our high expectations the second time around. We were not disappointed. We had a fabulous time and are even planning a third longer visit for next August. If you want to skip this long winded report jump right to our pics. http://www.unm.edu/~irmin/

Accommodations: Ramon’s Village. Ramon’s is a wonderful place to stay. I won’t go on too much about the reasons why I feel this way because I have done so in other posts on this board. Instead let me share with you the welcome the staff from Ramon’s leave in all the guests’ rooms. “To Our Guest…In ancient times there was a prayer for “The stranger within our gates”. Because this hotel is a human institution to serve people, and not solely a money making organization, we hope that God will grant you peace and rest while you are under our roof. May this room and hotel be your “second home.” May those you love be near you in thoughts and dreams. Even though we may not know you, we hope that you will be comfortable and happy as if you were in your own house. May the reason that brought you our way be pleasant. May every thing you do and every one you meet add to your joy. When you leave, may your journey be safe. We are all travelers. From “birth to death” we travel between the eternities. May these days be pleasant for you, profitable for society, helpful for those you meet and a joy to those who know and love you best.”

Meals/Drinks:
Ramon’s – our room package came with breakfast at Ramon’s this time. The waffles and french toast are fabulous and you can’t beat the view and friendly service.

Rubie’s – can’t go wrong here. Best fruit jelly tarts, sugared doughnuts and banana bread in town. Very inexpensive.

Cannibal’s – I think we must have gone there at least 4-5 times to get the veggie potato boat for lunch. Delicious food, good service and a nice cool place with a good beach view. Great for people watching. Also, they make a killer MaiTai.

Taste of Thailand – I can’t say enough good things about this place. We went on a Wednesday by taxi. We had to tell the taxi driver where it was located (which I thought was a little strange.) This made sense after the owner came out and introduced himself. He asked how we had heard about the place. They are off the beaten path and hadn’t really advertised. I let him know that someone from the message board had recommended it. The restaurant had only been open 8 weeks and usually they weren’t open on Wednesdays. However, one of the staff had made a mistake in reservations for the manager from Belizean Reef so they opened up. Unfortunately, the restaurant owner’s name escapes me. He was a really friendly nice guy. The food is fabulous. We had the vegetarian curry and appetizers, everything was wonderful. It’s decorated nicely, clean and has great air conditioning. There are even little colorful origami napkins for the place settings. We ate there two nights. I wish them the best of luck.

Casa Picasso – great place, great atmosphere, great food, great martini’s. We were exhausted and sunburned the night we went there, so we didn’t hang out too long. Next time I wouldn’t mind going down there and just hanging out for a few cocktails. Very friendly owner and staff.

Rico’s Restaurant – stopped there for brunch and a Belikin during our Sunday golf cart tour of resorts and hotels. Delicious rice and beans and a spectacular view of the beach and water.

Blue Water Grill – wonderful pizza, tempura veggies, veggie sushi, salads. Chris the bartender makes everyone feel so welcome and I love that the restaurant and bar is open air. Wonderful views. Highly recommend it. Oh yeah, Chris makes a killer Kamikaze!

Capricorn’s – went there for my 45th birthday dinner. Annabelle was there introducing the new owners. We sat on the veranda facing the ocean and had a wonderful dinner. Vegetarian crepes and pasta, wonderful bread. Chocolate rum cake for dessert and the staff came and sang happy birthday. It was a perfect way to end my birthday.

Fido’s – Because we had met Shaggy at Bluewater Grill bar the night before we stopped by Fido’s one afternoon while exploring the north end of the beach. He bought us drinks right away and we wound up drinking and staying longer then we had intended. (What else is new?) Any ways we got to chat with Shaggy, the dive master from Ramon’s and a few other locals and tourist. It was a great way to pass a few hot afternoon hours. Had the “Freedom Fries” (I think that’s what they call them) which were delicious.

Palapa Bar – went there twice. Unique beautiful setting, great bar and music. It is a must do for anyone visiting AC.

Beach vendor by Ramon’s – Homemade cinnamon rolls and custard tarts…YUM.

Hobie cat rental – rented a small hobie cat twice from SailSports Belize. It is located by Cannibal’s at the Holiday Hotel pier - Chris Beaumont and Jo Sayer, owners. The first day we sailed south past Victoria House and then north up to the Palapa Bar where we docked for a couple of rum punch drinks and chips and salsa. Then on to Captain Morgan’s were we beached in search of some sunscreen and Belikins. (No luck with the sunscreen because the gift shop was closed) There was a nice breeze that day and the sailing was great. The second day we went out there wasn’t much wind. We started off south again and then sailed north as far as Belizean Shores. We stopped there and were welcomed on the pier by the owner who assured us the hobie cat would be fine tied to their dock. She pointed us in the direction of the pool bar and restaurant and told us to enjoy our visit. Much to my delight the pool bar was actually a bar in the pool! Ahhhhhhhh! What a beautiful oasis. We swam, talked with the bartender and hotel guests and had a couple of rum punch drinks. Then we were on our way. If you have never been to the bar at Belizean Shores you should go check it out. It is a beautiful resort and pool. It took what seemed like forever to sail back to town because of the lack of wind. This is a really beautiful way to see the island and manta rays.

Golf cart rental – Our last Sunday we rented a golf cart. First we drove around town buying gifts and as much Marie Sharp’s as we could fit in our luggage. I think we came home with 15 bottles of the hot and exotic sauce. We dumped this stuff at the room. Had Tony at Ramon’s make us a couple of Bloody Marys then we ventured south. We explored all afternoon(i.e. drank, ate, swam, and took pics):

Caribe Island Resort – seems like a nice resort – nice bar and beach
Victoria House – Wow, beautifully manicured property with lawns, great swimming off the pier, gorgeous pool
Banyan Bay – clean well appointed property, great restaurant – had rice, beans and a Belikin for brunch
Xanadu – unexpected beautiful property, great pool
Belizean Shores - stopped there again just to be able to swim in the pool and take some pics. Got a warm welcome from the bartender who remembered us from the day we came by hobie cat. Love that pool bar!
The Palapa Bar - made it in time to hear Dennis Wolfe play a few songs – played “Third World Paradise” for me. Heavy sigh.

At every resort we went to that long Sunday afternoon we were made to feel welcome. No one minded us swimming or hanging out for a while. Also, got to see several lizards/iguanas, blue crabs and one croc. It was a great last day.

Day charters/snorkel stops:
Captain Bicho and his son Junior – this was the best thing we did all week. Capt Jeff hooked us up with Bicho Rivera for a day charter for my 45th birthday. He took us up to Rocky Point/Bacalar Chico area for three amazing snorkel stops. Irm even saw a sea turtle. At one place there were giant barracuda’s every where. We then went south to the deserted Basil Jones resort for a delicious beach picnic lunch. I have never been anywhere so beautiful. The view of the ocean was amazing with so many different colors – turquoise, emerald and sapphire blue. We were waiting out a squall so I walked along the beach and collected seashells. We did one more snorkel stop and then back to AC. Bicho and Junior were wonderful guides and we enjoyed a special day with them. My 45th is one birthday I will always remember.

Givanno (sp?) We had Givanno (I think that was his name – he works with Rocky and Jerry) take us for a chartered ½ day of snorkeling. We first went out to Caye Caulker Channel – this was my favorite snorkel spot. There were huge brain coral formations and a massive amount of all different kinds of colorful fish. Irm wasn’t feeling too well so we decided to go to Caye Caulker for a while. I am glad we did because we got to visit the Seaside Cabana’s and Buddy one last time before the devastating fire. We snorkeled with some Manta Rays off of Caye Caulker before we headed back to SP. Our guide took us by the boat hung up on the reef for a photo op before dropping us of at Ramon’s. Givanno was great. I am grateful that he took us to the incredible Caye Caulker snorkel stop.

SEArious – Hol Chan/ Shark Ray alley – we did the Hol Chan shark Ray Alley snorkel again this time with Jeffrey just because last March we didn’t see many nurse sharks. Well the nurse sharks were out in abundance and it was the rays that were lacking this time.

Possible Boarder sightings: You have to understand this is the first message board I have ever visited let alone participated in. Maybe next visit I will be brave enough to cross the electronic divide:

“Jen loves to dive” - 8/18 at Bluewater Grill – two blondes laughing their heads off sat across from us at the bar.

Pedro – 1) Back entrance path at Ramon’s around 9:30 p.m. Possibly slightly intoxicated guy (we were too so it’s hard to tell) yelling at his white dog in British accent – “Charlie, get out of there! Charlie!” 2) Taste of Thailand. Guy with British accent dancing with waitress and then (to same waitress) dissin’ my vegetarian tofu curry as it was being delivered to my table. “Vegetarian curry? How can you make curry without any meat???” Repeat two more times. It was pretty funny. I wish now we had said hello.

Furry and non-furry friends: I was happy to see that there were some dogs and cats on AC that are taken care of. Mutley, Honey and Powder hung around Ramon’s beach a lot. Powder liked to catch the small coconuts mid air, swim and jump off the dock. Mutley entertained himself by chasing and barking at bicyclists. There were two good looking cats hanging around Ramon’s also. Very sweet and obviously care for. The dogs up North at the deserted Basil Jones Resort didn’t share that same good fortune. It really broke my heart to see them undernourished and sad eyed.

Weather: The weather could not have been more perfect. It was a bit cloudy our first afternoon. It was hot, clear blue skies, with a breeze the rest of the week. The morning we left it was calm and then it rained for ½ an hour. And man it was humid after that.

Things I liked the best about this trip (not necessarily in this order):
The dogs and cats hanging around Ramon’s
Sailing the hobie cat to Palapa Bar and Belizean Shores for drinks
Day trip with Capt Bicho and his son Junior
Snorkeling Caye Caulker Channel
Dinner at Capricorn’s and Taste of Thailand
Sleeping under the palms on the Ramon’s beach the afternoon Irm didn’t feel well
Having the locals we met waving to us on the street like we were old friends

Thanks for letting me yammer on. Hope you enjoy the pics. Our second visit was wonderful. I can’t wait to visit again. I love Belize and San Pedro. mobunny

Great trip! What a wonderful blessing from Ramon's.

I was at Fidos one afternoon, and there was a lady at the bar that told the bartender that she went by the name Mo. There was a young local guy there at the time, and he was very drunk and belligerent. Could that lady have been you?

you get my vote for first place in the trip reporting department. Fantastic array of photos. We stayed at Aqua Marina Suites, and in suite (201) directly above Irm's head in the first shot.

The Suites are great , Suite 201 has great views.
Pool real clean, staff friendly, bought fish right off pier, the fishernman at new dock out at 515 am in by 10 and filets by 11. Owner seem real nice. Stayed week of March 24 /29.

kwibmf - yup. That was us. Were you one of the two guys sitting across from us talking about diving etc...? mobunny

Mo, It didn't occur to me to just look at your pic's,duh. I was sitting almost directly across from you, at the end of the U shaped part of the bar. When I get a chance,I'll post some pics of our happy little group, maybe you'll recognize us. I was going to say something, but with my luck, I just knew the response would be a very puzzled look.

Wow! Awesome photos. I know from experience the time and effort required to put all of those on a web page with nice little captions and everything. Thanks for the effort! Why not head back for New Years and let me buy you guys a drink (or 9)?

KWIBMF - I remember you guys very well. That one local dude would not shut up would he? Would love to see your pics. Take care, mo.

MN Jeff - You are welcome. It is really fun to share them with everyone. Would love to come back for New Year's Eve and have you buy us some drinks! However, our vacation fund is tapped out for now. Later, mobunny

GREAT pictures and what a GREAT idea visiting all of the other resorts. I am heading down this Friday (can't wait!!!) and I think I will also do a "resort tour". Thanks for the idea and sharing all of the pics.

His name is John and his wife is called Thipaya

Mobunny thanks again for a great report and SUPER great pics. Making me homesick. Looks like you and Irm had a wonderful time enjoying the water and the island.

Great pics! They look like mine - all hotels & hardly any people! I need to post mine someday....

truly enjoyed looking at your great photos...so many beautiful scenes...makes me more anxious than ever to visit for the first time...

ramon's looks very nice...i can't find any rate info on their site...what kind of accomodations did you have there? any idea about a beachfront cabana...how much? are they private?

we're looking at banana beach...ocean front suite...how would you compare that to ramon's? i hear both good and bad about ramon's...would value your impressions...

thanks for taking the time to post so much info and all those gorgeous shots!

Wow - great pics Mobunny,

Your pics just goes to show others that you can't go wrong no matter where you stay. The poem left at Ramons is just beautiful and Irm is just too damn sexy for his shirt (remember the song). I think you're going to give Lan a run for his money. So, where are you thinking of staying next year. Great Report

MO....Great trip report and pictures.
You snapped many of my favorite stops, especially the beach at Basil Jones.

Thanks for sharing.

mikell - I think Banana Beach and Ramon's are very different but both great places. What I like about Ramon's beach front rooms is that you are immersed in the beach scene - sand, water, palms trees are right there. The rooms are nice but very basic - no kitchen, no frig, etc. Just a room and separate bath and small porch. I think the beach front are about $165.00 a night. Which might seem pricey but compared to St. John where prices for a beach front are $450 and up it's a bargain. The pool,beach area and pier is fabulous and the staff friendly and very accomodating. Banana Beach looked like a really really nice resort. I haven't seen the rooms so I can't speak to that. However, I understand they are great and come with a kitchenette. Ramon's is close to town and Banana Beach is south of town. Have fun no matter where you chose to stay! mobunny

SanHam, we are actually thinking about staying at either the Palms, Belizean Reef or maybe even AquaMarina suites. I do remember the song and Irm wants you to know he does own more than that one white t-shirt! And you are right I don't think you could really go wrong staying at any of the places we visited. mobunny

Chloe, the beach at Basil Jones was probably my favorite place we went. It was incredibly beautiful there. Thanks for taking the time to look at our pics. mobunny

fantastic report, MO!!! did you guys have a great time or what? thanks much for those wonderful pix - you got to alot of the places that I didn't get to check out. Sometimes it is hard to tell much from the pix posted on resort sites. The scenes from all your outings were terrific. I cannot wait to go to Basil Jones.

I was wondering to myself "gee, doesn't that guy EVER change his shirt" hahahaha - NOT!!!
IRM was lucky to spend some time in paradise with you - you are a cutie!

Thanks again

Mobunny, GREAT JOB

Thanks for sharing. Your photos tell a wonderful story too.

thanks for the memories mobunny.
so glad you had a good time.

GREAT report and PICS!!!!
mind if i put the report and some pics in our articles section?

Thanks so much, Marty. That means a lot to me coming from you. It would be great if you would put our trip report and some of our pics in your articles section. Use any of our pics you want.

It is so crazy. We just got back from our second trip to AC in six months and all I can think about is going back. Best wishes, mobunny

great pics!!!!!

thanks mobunny, much appreciated.

Mobunny,

I have been to Belize many times and your photos are fantastic. It was like a trip down memory lane. You probably were not aware that we actually had a photo contest running for our Magnum Report that will be out in a couple of weeks. Many of your pictures are winners!(Sorry, past deadline)

Anyway, I enjoyed them immensely!

Magnum Belize, Rats! What was the prize??? And very glad you enjoyed the pics! mobunny

Wow! Great photos!!!

mobunny great report ,glad you had a great time ,you truly love life ..you can read between the lines in your story how you embrace the world .. spoke to my capt bicho ,he said you had a ball he and his son loved you and irmm , he said good thing you did not see the 14 foot shark behind you ??? only kidding no shark ..just got back will post my report soon .and yes that thai resturant ,wow ,wow .wow ..went with pedro and chris and grant ,we had fabulous food we ate like it was the last supper ??? had to much food but loved every second ,keep in touch love ya

Capt Jeff - thanks so much! Your post brightened an otherwise stress filled morning at work. (Go to you island place, go to your island place) You had me going with the shark thing for a moment!! Can't wait to read your trip report. Also, thanks for the phone call after our trip. That you took the time to follow up with us meant a lot to both Irm and I. Seems like we made a new friend. Give our best to Bicho and Junior next time you speak to them. Take care. mobunny

hi mobunny, got your story with pics at:
http://AmbergrisCaye.com/pages/town/article63.html

and here:
http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/article66.html

for your first trip!
thanks a bunch!

Wow! Very cool. Thanks, Marty! mobunny

Dear Mo

We are very gald you had a great time at Tastes of Thailand and hope to see you soon.

Tippy

Thanks Tippy!! Best of luck to you guys! mobunny

Hi Mobunny!!! I was on AC the first week of June this year. I wanted to rent a Hobie cat but changed my mind when they told me that not only would I have to pay for the rental but also $75 for instruction. Did you have to take instruction or did you already have experience? Is experience really necessary for such a small boat? I am planning on going back next June and will probably rent one regardless. However, it would be nice to know if instruction is necessary. Thanks, Kathy

We left on the 8/17. Looking at your pics makes me want to return very soon.

the spot where you took a pic of the xanadu pool was right in front of our room.

thanks for sharing.

KathyA

I didn't really have any experience when Mobunny and I rented a Hobie Cat the first time we went in March '03. I told Chris that I sailed along time ago and knew the basics of sailing but had never sailed a Hobie Cat. He took me out to show how the boat worked and charged (at $75 per hour)me for the time it took to teach me the basics, which came to around $20. This took about ten to fifteen minutes. If you just want to piddle up and down the shore that's all it takes. You should familiarize yourself with basic sailing concepts (i.e. tacking wind direction etc...). Sailing in AC is pretty easy because the wind direction is always towards the shore which means you don't have to sail into the wind to get back to where you started (i.e. zig-zaging-tacking back and forth). It's pretty easy if you're a quick learner but you do have to know how the boat works in case it flips over (which is hard to do), how to turn around etc... Take lots of sunscreen and have fun it is well worth it, especially if you figure out how to dock at various watering holes. Good luck.

fast4d - I am glad you enjoyed the pics. I was totally surprized by how nice Xanadu was. What a really beautiful property. Are the rooms nice?? I think it would be a great place to stay if you rented a golfcart for getting around. mobunny

it's really nice inside. we had an upstairs unit w/ a loft next to the beach front (still had an ocean view).

check out the pics

www.akkm.com/b-above/

www.akkm.com/b-below/

I rode the provided bicycle into town during the day. I need to slim down anyway. we took taxis or walked in the evenings.

fast4d, great pics! The rooms at Xanadu look very nice. The pool area is really pretty. Seems like you did a variety of things and really enjoyed yourselves. Thank you for sharing. mobunny

Thanks for the article. Have been looking @ Belize for sometime as a vacation destination. How about taking kids? good/bad idea? Went to Cozumel last winter loved it would like to try some diving in Belize. Ramons looks like a good place to stay. Can a person dive from the beach? Any places there where u can?

We don't have kids, but San Pedro seems like a kid friendly place with lots for them to do. With regards to diving right off the beach I don't believe there are any places you can do that. Since I don't dive, I am guessing but, I believe Hol Chan is the closest place with a drop off?? One of you divers out there correct me if I am wrong. Ramon's is a lovely place to stay. We really enjoyed our last two vacations there. However, since we are going for two weeks next trip we opted for a condo with kitchen right next door at the Palms. mobunny

No shore diving.