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Posted By: DrewLori August Trip Journal - 08/28/04 07:12 PM
A/C, Belize Trip Journal

Saturday 8/14/04: Our day of travel was smooth with no glitches except for a broken pen that bled ink all over my hand. Just the way you want it, especially when traveling with kids. Landed in San Pedro and was greeted by Blanca from Captain Morgan's who knew all of our names. We didn't remember her from last year. She said she was new and she was in charge of activities for the kids staying at CM. When we got to the dock, we realized they had changed docks from last year and we were pleasantly surprised that it was in front of BC's. We had a margarita or two and met "Kat" who was nice enough to give me a few towlettes to remove some of the ink off my hand. She shared some pictures of her in her bird costume that she wears when handing out candy to the kids at the Costa Maya Festival. Nice woman! Met another couple Wayne & Nancy also from CA (San Francisco specifically) and we were on our way to CM. Checked into our timeshare. A beautiful two bedroom (sanity kept with room to occasionally get away from the kids) and ordered pizza from Pauly's Pizza.
Sunday 8/15/04: We rented a golf cart so we could head south to town and hit Super Buys for groceries. The ride was, as always, bumpy and filled with cheers and laughter from our kids when we hit a bump. We hit Caliente for lunch. I had to get the soup de lima of course & watermelon water. Yummy. We then headed to the store & loaded up the golf cart with groceries and headed back to the resort. The weather so far was uncommonly cool for August, not to much humidity with a great breeze.
Monday 8/16/04: Today was going to be what we called another "down day". Just relaxing by the pool, facilitating the new swim up bar and drinking Belikins and Margaritas. We went kayaking with the kids (before we started drinking of course) and went as far as Journey End then turned back. An occasional light rain but generally a gorgeous day. The stress of the South OC life was starting to slip away.
Tuesday 8/17/04: Today was our first "adventure day". We had decided to head to Caye Caulker with no real plans there with the exception that we knew we wanted to snorkel the split as a warm up for the kids before we went to Hol Chan and Mexico Rocks later in the week. We were worried in the morning when we got on the water taxi for CC because it started to pour but by the time we were half way there, the sun came out & it was beautiful all day. It seemed hotter and more humid on CC. We rented bikes and toured the island. Our daughter cried when she saw some of the living conditions on the south end of the island. She is sensitive like that even though she has traveled to Guatemala and parts of Mexico with similar living conditions. I reminded her that she should appreciate her life and that most of the locals were quite content with their life and that she should not feel bad. Ok enough with the warm fuzzys. We had lunch at "The Sandbox" The food was really good but the coleslaw was the best I had ever had. We then headed for the split and spent the day there by "The Lazy Lizard". We snorkeled, had drinks and our son rented a pole and attempted to fish. We were having so much fun that we missed the 4:00pm taxi back to A/C. The locals on the pier were teasing us and having fun at our expense. I thought it was funny. My hubby wasn't pleased. I suggested we go to "Rasta Pasta" for drinks and appetizers. Finally made it back on the last boat to A/C. Whew!
Wednesday 8/18/04: Rained again this morning. It rained so hard and the wind blew so much we didn't know if our trip to Shark Ray Alley/Hol Chan would be cancelled. By mid day the weather turned great and we were back on a boat. We didn't see as many sharks this time but there were many Sting Rays. My daughter & I saw a Green Moray Eel. We also saw parts of Hol Chan we didn't see last year. Our guide had us swimming over parts that were a little to close for my comfort but what a sight.
Thursday 8/19/04: We hadn't seen Mexico Rocks yet so booked a trip. We were delighted with location. We also enjoyed our guide Dilson, whom we used last year for Hol Chan. We were able to stand in parts. The water was a little rough that day but the water was still clear. Later that day my husband & I decided to take a trip by bike from CM to town. We made some homemade margaritas to go. We put the mix in water bottles and off we went. It only took us about 30 minutes on bike. We picked up some items and headed back. It was a blast. The only bummer part was the bike seat broke on one of the bikes (Ha!) and I had to ride the remainder of the trip standing up. What a work out!!!
Friday 8/20/04: We hadn't been to Sweet Basil yet so after swimming in the pool for the better part of the day, the kids, Drew & I rode bikes to Sweet Basil. Carla the owner was very gracious. Spent quite a bit of time talking with us. We love their wine selection and found out they were originally from Northern CA. Now we know why we like their wines. The food was fantastic. We were in the upper lever and there was a nice breeze blowing through the windows. Picture perfect view of the aqua waters & reef! That night my husband & I took a walk on the beach south of CM. We ended up talking to the new owners of White Sands Cove Michelle & Marjorie? They were nice enough to show us around. Very nice people from the East Coast who had fallen in love with the country as we have and decided to but this resort/condo property. www.whitesandscove.com . They have some neat ideas on improving the resort. We wish them well! I was sad by now knowing we would have to leave the next morning for the airport and also knowing we not make it back for two years as the kids want to see new travel spots next year.
Saturday 8/21/04: Checked out. Thank you to all the staff at Captain Morgans. You were great! We will see you again. Bye A/C!

As our trip report may not be as exciting as some because we have kids and cant party and bar hop the way we might if were traveling without them, we love the country & people of Belize and enjoyed every last minute of our trip. The only thing missed� where were all the butterflies this year?
Posted By: fuzzy_navel Re: August Trip Journal - 08/28/04 07:24 PM
Hi DrewLori! Glad you had a great time. As I haven't made it to AC quite yet, I think all trip reports are exciting especially because everyone has different experiences and perspectives on things and yours was no exception. And I commend you for making it into town on a bike with margaritas. I wouldn't have made it halfway before the weaving started. laugh ~Jenn
Posted By: DrewLori Re: August Trip Journal - 08/28/04 08:27 PM
Thanks for the kind feedback fuzzy_navel aka Jenn. It was pretty warm that night so I think we were sweating it out faster than we were drinking it. Ha! Ha! Did I mention that we decided to take the beach trail back as opposed to the road because it was dark & we didnt want to hit the bumps in the road. It was quite comical with flashlight in hand and losing the trail ever now & then. All considered it was quite romantic with the moonlight casting sparkling light over the water. It was our little adult time adventure! ~Lori
Posted By: MARG Re: August Trip Journal - 08/29/04 07:57 AM
Hi,DrewLori.

Really enjoyed journal. Gave me ideas for March trip w/15yo nephew & pal. Also makes me want to spend more time on A Caye; we're doing 3 nites jungle, 4 AC. I'm an avid reader of this board, but not sure where and how is "the split" at Caye Caulker for beginner snorkelers (like my boys)? We're also planning to go to Mexico Rocks from what I've read. They can't wait (neither can I)!!

Thanks for sharing,
Margaret
Posted By: Coco Loco Lady Re: August Trip Journal - 08/29/04 12:41 PM
DrewLori~
Sounds like you had a wonderfully relaxed vacation, which is what it's all about. Looking fwd to pics!
Coco
Posted By: DrewLori Re: August Trip Journal - 08/29/04 08:05 PM
maggiemex- "The Split" on CC was a good place for the kids to check their masks and skorkels, fins etc... to make sure everything still fit and felt good before we went on excursions we had to pay for. Nothing is worse than having to listen to your kid complain about equipment while your trying to enjoy an excursion. Mexico rocks is fairly easy to snorkel with kids. Some parts are very deep but as long as the kids are not afraid of the depth, it shouldnt be a problem.

CoCo- Whats the best way to post pics? :rolleyes:
Posted By: Coco Loco Lady Re: August Trip Journal - 08/30/04 01:30 AM
DrewLori~
If you do a search, someone explained how to do it a while back. We never figured it out after our last trip. Sorry!
Posted By: DrewLori Re: August Trip Journal - 08/30/04 01:43 AM
Coco- I did it. It took forever, but I was able to research some old messages and found a link to a sight that was fairly easy to use. It takes a while but try the link below and you should be able to view our trip pics!


http://DrewLori.smugmug.com/gallery/205947/1/7888440
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