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Joined: Oct 2000
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Amen Pirate! Especially on AC!
I eek can feel the sand between my toes now...Richard

Joined: Apr 2003
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booboo Offline OP
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Hey out there to you all! Thanks for all your responses. I did'nt mean to indicate that we had a bad vacation on AC at all. Some of it was pretty great! however, due to whatever factors were at play, the fishing was a big disappointment, and since fishing was the main focus of this particular vacation, the overall enthusiasm for AC was tainted by our lack of successful fishing. I would take AC anyday over many of the islands we've been to, but in many ways it does not rate as highly as other places we've experienced. To answer the question what kinds of foods are we used to eating, we are very adventurous when it comes to dining. The food in most of the places we ate was not bad, just very mediocre in our opinion. Of course food can only be as good as the ingredients that are available and the skill with which it is prepared. BooBoo

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,273
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Originally posted by booboo:
Hi out there, just got home on Tuesday night, really Wednesday morning due to a major glitch in a connection in Miami, but, whatever. I'm posting this report for whoever cares to read it. For the most part we had a nice relaxing time in San Pedro. We stayed at Sunbreeze. A great location central to everything. The hotel itself is clean, comfortable, friendly staff, but nothing fancy here. It provides basic rooms, really no attention is paid to decor, but the rooms are clean, the beds are comfy, the airco is cold, the TV works. All and all a good place to stay. On our first day we had a mediocre breakfast at Estels, and then decided to rent a golf cart and cruise the island. The hand ferry was a trip! really neat. The northern part of the island has a stretch of really nice homes with pretty gardens the southern part was not as appealing. We rode into some of the areas around the lagoon side of the island, and were sorry to see how poor and run down some areas are. Rundown, and just plain dirty. We had dinner at Fido's that night, good fish and chips.
When we booked this trip 3 half day fishing trips were included in the price. Our first trip was with an older man named Manuel Acosta. He picked us up at the Sunbreeze dock in his little boat which is about 18 feet, no shade at all, and two Adirondack chairs with cushions to sit on. We took off and headed to Caye Caulker to catch bait. That took about an hour and a half. Then we trolled the land side of the reef. We caught about half a dozen yellow tail snapper and a couple of other small fish. Not a great fishing trip in our opinion, or maybe our expectations were just to high, or maybe we're just jaded from having some spectacular fishing in other islands. We got back to Sunbreeze totally fried despite having put on tons of sunblock. Manuel needs to get some shade on that boat! The next day we were so fried that we had to get out of the sun, so we took the water taxi over to Belize City to check out the casino at the princess hotel. Being unaware that on weekdays the casino does'nt open till noon we got there way too early, so to kill some time we talk a short walk. Did'nt see a window that was'nt barred to the max and encountered a couple a soldiers carrying automatic weapons strolling down the street. Kind of scary. Finally the casino opened and as we were entering we were asked for ID. We had none, did'nt think we needed it. They decided that we probably were'nt dangerous and let us in. You have to go through a metal dectector to get in there! Anyway, we killed a few hours there, and then headed back to AC. Naturally, we did'nt win, but then we did'nt expect to. The next day we were scheduled for another fishing trip with Manuel, it was more of the same as the first. A bummer. On Thursday, we hooked up with a guy named Hillyboo. We went reef fishing with him, his mate Luis, and his little boy Byron. A real cute 6 year old. The fishing again in our experience was poor. Hillyboo redeemed the day when he spotted a 150 lb. loggerhead turtle and repeatedly dived off the boat until he caught it and brought it to the surface. It was huge! it's head was at least as big as a human head. Then Hillyboo dove for some lobster, he got about a half dozen and then brought us to a beach and cooked us a delicious BBQ of fish, lobster, baked beans and tortillas. It was one of the two really good meals we had in AC. Then we went snorkeling at Hol Chan. Very pretty. The next day we were scheduled for another fishing trip with Manuel Acosta. We decided to cancel it. At that point we were very disheartened with the fishing, so we just spent the day relaxing around the pool and hanging out. On Saturday, we decided to go fishing with Hillyboo again. Since reef fishing had been so unproductive we decided to go deep sea. We caught (4) 10 - 15 pound barracuda which pretty much sucked. On our last day we did another snorkeling trip through Searious Adventures. Did Mexico rocks. Very pretty. Tres Cocos, so,so. As for the restaurants. On a scale of 1-10
BC's BBQ - 5
Estels breakfast - 4
Fidos - 7
Miss Elvis - 4
Bluewater Grill - 7
Caliente - 6
Mambo's - 4
Cannabals - 4
Ambergris Delight - 7
Cocina Carrumba - 8 (We had terrific Conch Fingers, (not fritters) here. We ate here a couple of times.
Pepperonis - 7 pretty good pizza and nice people.
Mannelys Ice Cream - 8 good icecream

Charlie Worthington of Estel's is a trip! Very knowlegable guy when it comes to music, but if you do get involved talking to him, you may spend hours and hours listening to him if your not careful! It's hard to get away once he gets going!

The Chicken Drop is a must!

Anyway that's about it, in our opinion AC is a been there, done that destination, I guess if the fishing had been good I would be far more enthusiastic in my opinion of the place but the fishing was not good at all, the snorkeling was o.k., the food for the most part was not good. I do have to say that almost all the people we ran into were very nice. And now our search for the ideal island destination continues. Have Fun all! Booboo

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,273
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booboo:

You sound so boo-boo...Belize is amazing, snorkling is ok just because Belize is a place to dive. It is one of the top 10 in the world as far as marine life and visability. You can not beat it so if you weren't impressed, it's probably not something you apprecaite. You mentioned the people were nice...if you travel much that is an understatement. The people are truely wonderful, unlike the people in our country. If only we could be more appreciate, helpful, kind, loving, and relaxed with our lives.

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,273
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I love Belize

It's nearly impossible to explain why I love Ambergris Caye and the country of Belize so much. The experience feels like a dream to me and it is unimaginable unless you go there, so I won't even try to go into much detail on each topic. The island feels like a big home, I feel like I belong there and I am sure most people feel the same.

I love the streets of San Pedro. I am entertained for hours just walking up and down the streets and beach, or sittting in the sand and watching what surrounds me. The place has definite character. I love the smell on the streets, the sounds, the voices. I love hearing all the different voices and languages mingling together. I love to walk everywhere, and see the bikes and golf carts, their main transportation.

I love the nightlife in San Pedro. Its perfect for me-not too wild, but definately not mild either. I love chilling with my new Belizean and Amercian friends at Cannibel's, Big Daddy's, Shark's Bar, Wet Willies, and Jaguars(what a night Sat night!), other bars, and the sand. Lady's night was fun at Willies, thank you to the 6 conneticut men. I wish I had your info to contact you. I appreciated my 2 night stay at Ramon's Resort! Thank you for the wine you left me to take home. I loved hanging out with Chuckie at night in the park. I loved the one 1.5 hr warm tropical rain I felt. I love the early morning time on the island. I'm an early riser when I'm in Belize, regardless of the fact that most nights I don't make it to bed until 3 or 4 or one night 6:30am. I love getting up around 7 and sitting on the beach watching everything and everybody. I love my jonny cakes from Ruby's, or fresh sqeezed watermellon juice, papaya juice, lime juice or fruit smoothies. The mornings are very special on Ambergris.

I love the restaurants, how personable the waiters are and how friendly they are. Thank you to Luis, for my free breakfast and company at Lily's my first morning. And to Louis at Cocina Corumba's for my 2 Fruit Rum drinks(that I probably didn't need!) and Elvi's...what a wonderful restaurant, I love how so many restaurants, even the fancy ones, have sand floors! And Ambergris delight...the seafood pizza(conch, shrimp, red snapper!) terrific! And how most of the appetizers come with a conch salsa or conch veggie something... conch, conch, conch!!! I loved the conch at all of the restaurants and will miss it back home! And yum...the fresh kiwi, banana, mango, soursop icecreams. Thank you to Coconets for letting me taste so many of them, something I never get back home!

I love the kids there. They seem so happy and content. I remember one day watching these kids play in the dirt and they were still there 3 hrs later having fun.

I love how casual everything is. I love not wearing shoes or just wearing flip flops. I love that if i feel like wearing the oldest, scrungiest pair of shorts I own, I can and not feel weird about it. I love that things are never in a hurry and I never feel rushed.

I love my friends on the island. The first night it was a little awkward chilling with everyone because they seeemed so friendly and kind...I really kept my guard up as it seemed too good to be true. I loved hearing them speak creole to each other and i couldn't understand it. I know sometimes they would say things to each other about me and it was funny trying to figure it out. Some of the guys on the beach would comment to me in creole and it's probably best I couldn't understand! I love how I laughed more than usual when I was with them. I love that everyone accepts me and people for who I am and who they are and sees the good things in people.

I love the mainland for its beauty. The mountains, rivers, caves, ruins, and jungle are breathtaking. Enough said there.

I love the people of Belize. Everyone I met down there has such a big heart. I love how happy they are and how thankful they are for what they have. I love the attitude people have there, their priorities and ways their live their lives. I love how friendly and accomodating they are, and how little or nothing is expected in return. The waiters, the tour guides, the locals, everyone is wonderful! Even the American's who move down there... everyone there knows how to relax, live on day at a time. You get there when you get there. Everyone is much less rushed.

I love swimming in the ocean in Belize. I love how clear and warm the water is. Scuba diving is amazing, undescribable. The marine life is outstanding.

I miss everyone...Thank you to Ricky and Andre, what a wonderful cave tubbing experience. I can honestly say I have never been drunk at 3pm and off of Cherry Bombs! You took such good care of me and made my day unforgetable. Thank you Annie, how incredible you are to have moved from MN to Belize! I think that is awesome. It was fun riding in the plane from the city to the island with you and getting the plane 'tour.' I appreciate the invite at Caye Caulker and will definately stay my next visit! Thank you to Bonner, my forever Cave tubbing partner... what a blast you were, thanks for freaking me out when the caves were completely dark! Wilbert, thank you for teaching more about your culture and island. I appreciate how quick you emailed me my drunk pics! Thank you to Aaron, for hurrying to pick me up, race me to the boat I missed 30 minutes out and getting me on the cave tubbing trip! andthank you for teaching me so much about the Mayan Ruins at Altun Ha and for my first experience with Belezean G. And for the tamales... for being the only one on the tour that you shared your lunch with. Shalo, you were awesome at Kareoke... don't understand Creole but it sounded really cool! Thanks for the talk at the beach that night. To Gladys and my housekeeper at Spindrift. What wonderful people! Thanks for letting me keep my belongings at your place until you opened. And Amigo Del Mar's, for letting me store my things for the half day I went scuba diving. You are all such kind people! Thank you to Rene, great man, for setting up my snorkal trip. You were such a huge help with all of the pics on your computer and your guides were so much fun. It was sad to say goodbye to you my last day. Thank you to Eddie and Alberto. How patient you were teaching me to Scuba. I can't wait to get certified and do my next dives with you! You both are a blast, how lucky I was to have private dive lessons with you both. I still laugh when I look at my pics in my wetsuit! I am sure you guys did too! Thank you to Tony, Troy and my parasail partner. Thank you for making me feel so comfortable the first time I parasailed. It was a blast, it made me see how gorgous this island truely is! You made my first day at AC phanominal and set the rest of my trip up for excitement... THANK YOU Tony, for you and Chuckie being 2 of the most respectful men I have probably ever met. 100 appologizes for missing our jet skiing 'day date'. I hope you believe the guys took me parasailing my last day again and we did not make it back in time. I was 30 minutes late. I am so glad I found you before I left. Pedro (Chuckie) THANK YOU, THANK YOU, you are such a wonderful and sweet person. My last night was amazing and it ment so much to me that you were able to take the boat out. Teaching me to drive the boat with you at 1 am, seeing the rest of the north end of the island, the stars, the air, the breeze... unforgettable. Tom, I can not thank you enough... you did more for me than you can realize. I appreciated chatting on the docks Sat night, appreciated you trying to communicate with the security man that kicked us off twice, for hanging at Spindrifts and talking about life... I was nice to finally let my guard down and be myself(this was the nicest part of the whole trip with everyone in Belize). But you made me feel like I could say anything and I wouldn't matter, which I can never do back home with the men I go out with. I can't remember the last time I was this relazed, this content. I didn't want this trip to end. To 20 other Belezeans, who I did not mention above- you and the above made this trip a memory I will never forget. It was a vacation and learning experience. You have no idea how much it and everyone who did what they did for me means to me. My Belize trip is special.

Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 6,251
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This sounds like a thank you note, in re-run. smile

Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,062
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yup - look out !


_ _ _ _ _ _ _________________ _ _ _ _ _ _
But then what do I know, I am but a mere caveman
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,035
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In my opinion,it is not always the place but the fisherman who has to improve for example my namesake gave up fishing to be the first pope-I went out today for a couple of hours caught loads of snapper and a 15lb wahoo-ps when we ran out of beer we came back and we are not very good at this sport.

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 21
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Been there done that. That's what I said when We got back from an all inclusive south of Cuba vacation/anniversary.Sorry board,Marty & MOST of
all Tim from BB. The whole time We kept saying we rather be in A.C. If you fish you know. A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work. Third World Yes, but reading this board nothing but praise & envy I have for the Love of the town & the people! Where do find people actually spend
time after vacation not wanting to leave or trying
to find out the latest & greatest trip reports. There is something special about A.C. & if They
didn't find it. All the more for the ones that do.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 280
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Ok, enough already, you guys. leave the poor man alone, he didn't catch any fish, he is a gourmant, he has already apologized and whomever wrote the stuff about "don't mess with San Pedro" is right, there is people that will defend San Pedro standing on their head, asleep, me being one of them. eek The guy just made the mistake of being honest, this forum being the wrong place for that, unless you love San Pedro of course and RAVE about the place. The place is not heaven on earth, it is a small town in Belize, being slowly destroyed by too many cars, gasoline powered golf carts, fancy air-conditioned buildings and way to many condos and up-scale resorts, bringing people expecting too much from others and are not used to the laidback approach to life that those of us that rave and rant, rant and rave about. And as far as catching bait goes, is there a more beuatiful sight than watching "noshirt" throw his net? Ya, sometimes it takes time to catch those stupid little sardines, but catching them are part of the FISHING thing! At least in San Pedro wink

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