Well..first I must thank All of you who held my hand prior to my trip to AC...
Rick & Cheri'...We bonded right off the Bat..as the saying goes..water seeks it's own level
You all made my decompression from being stateside MUCH easier..I was a mess when I got there, took me about 48 hours to adjust to the fact that in AC ya gotta sssllllooooowwwww down and just BE...if ya try to do otherwise your missing the point.
Ok..now to my trip....
Belize City Airport: 2pm...Tropic Air Counter Mobbed!!!went over to Maya, waited about 10 min and was on my WAY!!!! Older planes but absolutly a blast!
Arrived San Pedro 3pm to the smells of food cooking over coconut shells...sea air and the tropics..an interesting mix I remember from 20 years ago in a place called Olongapo
City, Phillipines..I knew I had come home...
Being the Consumate American..I hopped into the nearest cab for the 3/4 mile ride to Coconuts.
Karina, the sweetheart who runs the front desk, was All smiles, and got me settled in fast...threw the bags down, stripped out the the travel clothes and into shorts and a Tee..no shoes.
First stop was the outside bar to have one of the BEST Margarita's I've ever had..made with fresh lime! YUMMY!!!!!!!!! Margie makes them like a PRO!
That task completed, I was off in search of Holiday Hotel and the long awaited BBQ at Celi's next door. As I walked in the door...center stage was this rough looking Pirate dude, blown by the tropical trade winds, parrot on his shoulder looking guy with a patch over one eye, fine looking babe at his side...Fireball Cheri' and Coolhand Rick! Damn near hugged him, in fact I think I bruised his hand shaking it!
We all proceded to comsume quantities of the local magic potion called BELIKIN...ahhh..elixuir of the GODS it is...
With our thirst satisfied briefly we headed out the door 15 paces to the best BBQ I've had in years...God only knows what the use but I was in heaven.
We partied till I was exhausted, as my adventure was only begining...I had my first dive to look forward to...
Awoke at 4am AC time to Towering Thunder Clouds and a most breathtaking view...I was in awe of the pure beauty of this protected piece of the world. Only rained for about 5 min...very lightly...put an almost surreal glow to the scene. The Sun shown through like Gods fingers..will post pics...
Rode one of the provided bikes south to the lagoon, past the water plant, then into Town..Picked up an escort..one of the local dogs, who fended off anyone who came near me...almost as if he was saying " This is MY meal ticket..NOW BACK OFF!" We stopped at Rubies for coffee and a deserved treat of sweet bread and a dognut..hehe..very good.
After eating and resting my honor guard found a new host, a rather pretty blond runner..leaveing me to ponder the day to come..
I chatted with Vic, the fishing expert about how things were for him, learned alot and began to realize how truely kind and open the people are...I was instantly at ease.
1st of 13 dives
Cypress Tunnels: 110' 47min total time
Sea choppy, wind 20mph. Water Vis 40-60'
This was supposed to be a check out dive for my new equipment..but George from Coral Reef made me feel confident enough to at least try with the understanding that if problems arose I could surface...Glad I did'nt! Many snapper,parrot, and squirrelfish, The tunnel itself was about 40' long with no visable opening from mouth...tight fit in center but passable. Entrance was dark, but no light was needed. Many well recovered corals here, some slight damage due to Keith. Blew thru my tank VERY fast...was breathing like a rookie...
2nd Dive Esperanza Canyons 72' 48 min Total
Seas choppy, Reef cut 6-7'..but passable...
Sighted many snapper, 1 Black 1 Nassau Grouper,2 small lobster and 2 VERY curious 5-6' Barracuda. 2 uk divers with us got alittle distressed but George From Coral Reef Divers assured them it was ok...He is a real pro!
Ate lunch at Cannibals...Jan the owner posts here and is a real SWEETY!!!Had a blast with her on many visits..Garlic Shrimp is to die for!!!
Dinner at Elvi's..Crab Claws were wonderful and the service fast and attentive! With 2 Belikin 56BZ..Well worth it!
Day 3
Left dock 9am for LOS COCOS..Clear Skys still, Cut still 6-7' rollers...kinda fun tho..80' max 42 min 40-60' vis.
Wonderful coral, spotted a juve Spotted Drum..about 2 inches...very first time I've seen one...Many parrot,snapper,and other common reef species.
Back in for surface interval then out to DOS COCOS
60' 40min...Full tilt canyon run...Played with 2 frisky Loggerhead turtles...felt like a cowboy!!!
Surfaced with 600psi...getting calmer...giddy too as I knew Blue Hole Dive Series was comeing the next day.
Ate meat pies from a local kid...Very TASTY...
Went into town in search of Rick and Cheri' found them once again at Holidays..at the bar...we we're READY TO ROCK!!!!
Hit Fido's to see Barefoot..All I can say is if ya Don't See Him at Fido's ya missed the Boat..he had the place rocking and fired us up!!!Now hat in itself would have been enough for most but NOOOOO...we continued our reveling to the Famous Thursday Night Jaguar Club Dance ...folks..if ya wanna PUNTA..this is one place to learn..We ran into a local Girl named Ruby...a strong island woman..of substantial size and kind nature...she and I had so much fun danceing!!! During the process a well known local, very respected I might add, and quite attractive, decided that just Ruby was not enough for me and proceded to samwich me between her hips and ruby's rear end...Well...let me put it this way...there was almost a fire from all that Friction...only thing that saved me was the 3 gallons of sweat pouring off of me!!!! I blushed like a school boy...and never stoped laughing!!!...
Not real sure what happened after that..I do know we went to Hideaway after Jaguar closed..ahhh thats right the Nipple Auction..I was in the bidding..but let another more deserveing guy win..after pushing to price up...all for a good cause too...btw..it was a cake shaped like a womans breast...and he got it STUFFED in his face...we all almost fell on the floor!!!!
Trevor..our good friend and one to party with (ladies..look out..he's a lady killer..in a good way)shared our great time as did Mona...who looked like she had a great time!
I called it a night and got ready for the Blue Hole!!!!
[This message has been edited by Axeman (edited 04-28-2001).]