TRIP REPORT - 07/06/01 01:15 AM
Returned Saturday from a week in Paradise! My boss had a banner across my office door saying "Reality Sucks". Boy, is she right! Anyway, here's a brief summary of our week in San Pedro....
There were 4 couples in our group and we stayed at Casa Tortuga. It was a beautiful villa with exquisite furnishings. There was no air conditioning, but we really didn't miss it with a breeze from the ocean and ceiling fans in every room. The main selling point of the villa is the wonderful cook Maria. Fabulous dishes, beautiful table settings, pina coladas and rum punches - we couldn't have asked for more. We also saved alot of money by eating in, but we had no reason to - her cooking was better than any restaurant. We did a few lunches at Celi's and Elvi's - good food, good prices. The beach at the villa was very nice, but we really couldn't walk out into the water. We swam and snorkeled off the pier, it was just fine.
We rented two golf carts and explored the island - this is the only way to do it. Took the ferry across the cut to Palapas for a drink. Explored north and south of town and got acquained with San Pedro. The next day,we went snorkeling to Hol Chan and Shark Ray alley - went with Alfonso and swam with the sharks. He also got us some fresh lobster from a fisherman and delivered it to the villa - only in AC! The following day we went on the Altun Ha tour with Carlos - he was a super guide with lots of interesting information. The trip was very special for our group because one of the guys proposed at the top of the ruins. We got it all in videotape! We spend the next couple days relaxing - some bicycling, swimming, etc. Some very nice American staying at Casa Caribe volunteered to take us out to the reef and we did some more snoreling. Everyone was so nice in San Pedro - local and visitors alike. Spent some time learning the punta from Rosie at Fido's and of course did the chicken drop. THe highlight of our trip was cave tubing on the mainland. Went with Carlos again (#1 guide in my book) - took 1 hour by boat to Belize City then about a 1 hour van ride to the rain forest. We got our tubes and hiked through the rain forest for about a hour to the caves. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was! Well worth the time and money. We went from total darkness in the caves to light streaming through the trees. Spectacular! We loved Belize - every part of it. I read ealier on the board where a guy said he enjoyed it but wouldn't go there if it were his only vacation for the year and he had saved for it. Well, it was our only vacation and we scrimped and saved. We read and knew what to expect (we knew there wouldn't be pristine beaches and little commercialism). AC exceeded all our expectations and our trips to the mainland were a pleasant surprise. Next time, we'll take two weeks and do the mainland one week and AC the second. We fell in love with Belize and the people - we're already trying to figure out how soon we can afford to return!
There were 4 couples in our group and we stayed at Casa Tortuga. It was a beautiful villa with exquisite furnishings. There was no air conditioning, but we really didn't miss it with a breeze from the ocean and ceiling fans in every room. The main selling point of the villa is the wonderful cook Maria. Fabulous dishes, beautiful table settings, pina coladas and rum punches - we couldn't have asked for more. We also saved alot of money by eating in, but we had no reason to - her cooking was better than any restaurant. We did a few lunches at Celi's and Elvi's - good food, good prices. The beach at the villa was very nice, but we really couldn't walk out into the water. We swam and snorkeled off the pier, it was just fine.
We rented two golf carts and explored the island - this is the only way to do it. Took the ferry across the cut to Palapas for a drink. Explored north and south of town and got acquained with San Pedro. The next day,we went snorkeling to Hol Chan and Shark Ray alley - went with Alfonso and swam with the sharks. He also got us some fresh lobster from a fisherman and delivered it to the villa - only in AC! The following day we went on the Altun Ha tour with Carlos - he was a super guide with lots of interesting information. The trip was very special for our group because one of the guys proposed at the top of the ruins. We got it all in videotape! We spend the next couple days relaxing - some bicycling, swimming, etc. Some very nice American staying at Casa Caribe volunteered to take us out to the reef and we did some more snoreling. Everyone was so nice in San Pedro - local and visitors alike. Spent some time learning the punta from Rosie at Fido's and of course did the chicken drop. THe highlight of our trip was cave tubing on the mainland. Went with Carlos again (#1 guide in my book) - took 1 hour by boat to Belize City then about a 1 hour van ride to the rain forest. We got our tubes and hiked through the rain forest for about a hour to the caves. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was! Well worth the time and money. We went from total darkness in the caves to light streaming through the trees. Spectacular! We loved Belize - every part of it. I read ealier on the board where a guy said he enjoyed it but wouldn't go there if it were his only vacation for the year and he had saved for it. Well, it was our only vacation and we scrimped and saved. We read and knew what to expect (we knew there wouldn't be pristine beaches and little commercialism). AC exceeded all our expectations and our trips to the mainland were a pleasant surprise. Next time, we'll take two weeks and do the mainland one week and AC the second. We fell in love with Belize and the people - we're already trying to figure out how soon we can afford to return!