A little late doing this but better late than never. We are still enjoying the relaxed feeling we found on A.C. and have a much greater appreciation for our home and loved ones. Not sure what the magic was, not your typical tropical vacation, but we left the island with a deeper love for each other and life in general. Came home with a renewed realization that life is just too damned short to keep pushing as hard as we had before the trip.
We stayed at The Palms-----verrrry nice. Only minor distraction was the noise from the back street at night, woke us up a few times at 2, 3 and 4:00 A.M. but, hey, we had the option to party with the crowd if we had wanted. Husband and son did the dive master class with Elbert Greer thru Ramons and have nothing but good things to say about both the diving and Mr. Greer. Shark Ray Alley was an all time favorite and will be the subject of tall tales for a very long time. All the dive instructors and boat captains were fantastic. The guys would do it again in a heart beat. They still chatter about the reef and sea life. This will be a hard act to follow.
We did find the food prices a bit out of our range but maybe we looked at the wrong places. We loved Rock's Grocery, La Popular Bakery, Celi's Deli, El Patio Resturant and thank God for Ramon's french toast. We also discovered Pauley's Pizza and a little out of the way place - forgot the name - that sold buritos and such. Oh yes, Mangos was my personal favorite. The only place we didn't really care for was Bluewater Grill. Enough said about that.
The bugs were a delight-----NOT! I had to get shots to clear the 40+ bites on my legs after we got home. Guess I'm just sweet. TAKE THE BUG SPRAY!!!!! We found the local folk to be friendly and fell in love with the kids. We were never offered drugs or bothered in any way. We were very interested in the schools and the library and hope that maybe someday we can offer a little help. We take so much for granted here at home and give way too little. The dogs roaming around didn't bother us--- we sleep with a 50 pound beagle- actually they kept us entertained.
Didn't get to do all that we would have liked because the dive classes were pretty time comsuming and intense- so can't say much about the tours. We love the shops in San Pedro and did some Christmas Shopping... our daughter loved the rare black coral necklace we gave her.
I was terrified of the puddle jumper flight from Belize City to A.C. but it turned out fine. We actually flew in probably the worst rain storm I have ever seen and it was over before I had time to be scared. Tropic Air got us there and back without a hitch. Wouldn't want to take the boat.
Anyway, we are glad we went and will probably go back. I have two new dive masters in the family and lots of pictures and stories to tell.
Would like to thank everyone on the island ......
God sure did his best work when he did your part of the world. Thanks for letting us share a part of your life and while doing so learn how to live ours better. Happy New Year everyone....Mrs. Divedoc