Belize trip recap, part two of two.
Sorry for the delay. Part Two.
Day 4.5: Placencia
After skydiving in the early afternoon in San Pedro, we hoofed it quick over to the airport, conveniently located across the street from the skydivers hotel. We just barely caught the 1pm Maya Island Air flight to Placencia, and caught a taxi at the Placencia airport at about 5pm. The flight was only about an hour of actual flying time but we had to stop twice in Belize City, once in Dangriga, and the Placencia airport was closed for a fresh layer of blacktop. So we had to land in Savannah, take a bus to another small town, and then a water taxi to the Placencia airport where we caught our taxi. We checked into the Westwinds, our spiffy little hotel and home for the next 4 days. After checking in, we headed straight for The Barefoot Beach Bar to meet back up with Cari and Chung, our most excellent travel companions. We timed it perfectly and arrived just in time for happy hour. After a few drinks, we walked to The Pickled Parrot for more drinks and apps (awesome lobster fritters!). After the apps, we walked to the Cozy Corner for dinner and more drinks. The rest of that evening was a bit of a blur. Probably because of the drinks.
Day 5: The next morning, Chung and I got up early to go fishing off the beach on the south end of the peninsula. After wandering around the south end of town for about an hour looking for a place to buy live bait, we finally found a guy named Fred who sold us a nice bag of frozen sardines and dispensed a lot of good advice on how to catch the local fare. Not that it helped much... Chung caught a couple of small fish, I caught nothing but a small crab. After fishing, we met back up with Melba and Cari in time for lunch at The Purple Space Monkey. The afternoon was spent relaxing on the beach in front of the Westwinds. The hotel had a palapo with four nice big hammocks set up on the beach, along with the usual beach chairs. Chung and I did a little snorkeling in the sandy-bottomed water, where we managed to photograph a few decent sized fish and a small stingray. Relaxing left us hungry and thirsty, so we headed back to the Barefoot Beach Bar again for happy hour apps and beverages. After happy hour, we headed back to the hotel for Chung's Valentines day gift to Cari, a cool handmade necklace he bought for her on the sly in San Pedro. Of course we had to follow this activity up with more apps and beverages, so we went back to the Pickled Parrot. For dinner, we made our way to Wendy's restaurant, which features "creole & spanish cuisine". Good grub, reasonably priced.
Day 6: I woke up early to see the sunrise, and was not disappointed - it was beautiful. We then headed off for a day of fishing guided by Tuca, our expert fishing guide from Joy Tours. I made the mistake of waiting until we were out at our first fishing destination before applying sunscreen, and by then I was pretty burnt. But the trolling fishing was awesome - Melba caught a large grouper, Cari caught a nice sized barracuda, I caught a good sized barracuda, and Chung caught a whole pile of various fish before we stopped for a home cooked chicken lunch on a small island out by the reef. Tuca's wife whipped up a great little meal, and we rested on the island for a little while before heading back out for some bottom fishing. The bottom fishing was great - we were pulling in fish almost constantly, but the fish were smaller than the ones we were getting by trolling. After fishing, I crashed out in the hotel and napped for a few hours, worn out by the fishing and sunburn. The rest of the crew went out for the evning, but I don't remember what they did.
Day 7: Breakfast at Omar's. Or if you listen to Melba, "Oscar's". After breakfast, we visited a nearby market to load up on Marie Sharp's hot sauce and souvenirs. Chung bought about 38 bottles of hot sauce for himself, and 2 or 3 to give out to others. But he may keep those as well. After shopping, more relaxing on the palapo hammocks, then back to the Purple Space Monkey for lunch, drinks, and some badass shrimp nachos that weren't even on the menu. In the afternoon, the clouds rolled in - until then, the weather since we arrived had been severely clear and sunny. We then relaxed a bit more back at the hotel in preparation for our stellar dinner. George and Lisa are the owners of the Westwinds Hotel, and George graciously offered to prep and cook our previous day's catch. We bribed him with the barracuda that Cari caught, and he cooked up the grouper that Melissa snagged. Dinner was spectacular. I singlehandedly finished a third of a bottle of Gray Goose vodka, which soon led to me and my sunburn staggering upstairs to pass out.
Day 8: The weather was again cloudy and windy for our day of departure, and we headed to De' Tatch for breakfast (stuffed fryjacks!). We loaded up our gear and bid Placencia a fond adieu. Back on the Maya Island puddlejumpers, and many bottles of 1 Barrel purchased at the Duty Free in Belize City before our flight back home. We arrived in Minneapolis about 11 hours later to 20 degree weather.
Day 4.5: Placencia
After skydiving in the early afternoon in San Pedro, we hoofed it quick over to the airport, conveniently located across the street from the skydivers hotel. We just barely caught the 1pm Maya Island Air flight to Placencia, and caught a taxi at the Placencia airport at about 5pm. The flight was only about an hour of actual flying time but we had to stop twice in Belize City, once in Dangriga, and the Placencia airport was closed for a fresh layer of blacktop. So we had to land in Savannah, take a bus to another small town, and then a water taxi to the Placencia airport where we caught our taxi. We checked into the Westwinds, our spiffy little hotel and home for the next 4 days. After checking in, we headed straight for The Barefoot Beach Bar to meet back up with Cari and Chung, our most excellent travel companions. We timed it perfectly and arrived just in time for happy hour. After a few drinks, we walked to The Pickled Parrot for more drinks and apps (awesome lobster fritters!). After the apps, we walked to the Cozy Corner for dinner and more drinks. The rest of that evening was a bit of a blur. Probably because of the drinks.
Day 5: The next morning, Chung and I got up early to go fishing off the beach on the south end of the peninsula. After wandering around the south end of town for about an hour looking for a place to buy live bait, we finally found a guy named Fred who sold us a nice bag of frozen sardines and dispensed a lot of good advice on how to catch the local fare. Not that it helped much... Chung caught a couple of small fish, I caught nothing but a small crab. After fishing, we met back up with Melba and Cari in time for lunch at The Purple Space Monkey. The afternoon was spent relaxing on the beach in front of the Westwinds. The hotel had a palapo with four nice big hammocks set up on the beach, along with the usual beach chairs. Chung and I did a little snorkeling in the sandy-bottomed water, where we managed to photograph a few decent sized fish and a small stingray. Relaxing left us hungry and thirsty, so we headed back to the Barefoot Beach Bar again for happy hour apps and beverages. After happy hour, we headed back to the hotel for Chung's Valentines day gift to Cari, a cool handmade necklace he bought for her on the sly in San Pedro. Of course we had to follow this activity up with more apps and beverages, so we went back to the Pickled Parrot. For dinner, we made our way to Wendy's restaurant, which features "creole & spanish cuisine". Good grub, reasonably priced.
Day 6: I woke up early to see the sunrise, and was not disappointed - it was beautiful. We then headed off for a day of fishing guided by Tuca, our expert fishing guide from Joy Tours. I made the mistake of waiting until we were out at our first fishing destination before applying sunscreen, and by then I was pretty burnt. But the trolling fishing was awesome - Melba caught a large grouper, Cari caught a nice sized barracuda, I caught a good sized barracuda, and Chung caught a whole pile of various fish before we stopped for a home cooked chicken lunch on a small island out by the reef. Tuca's wife whipped up a great little meal, and we rested on the island for a little while before heading back out for some bottom fishing. The bottom fishing was great - we were pulling in fish almost constantly, but the fish were smaller than the ones we were getting by trolling. After fishing, I crashed out in the hotel and napped for a few hours, worn out by the fishing and sunburn. The rest of the crew went out for the evning, but I don't remember what they did.
Day 7: Breakfast at Omar's. Or if you listen to Melba, "Oscar's". After breakfast, we visited a nearby market to load up on Marie Sharp's hot sauce and souvenirs. Chung bought about 38 bottles of hot sauce for himself, and 2 or 3 to give out to others. But he may keep those as well. After shopping, more relaxing on the palapo hammocks, then back to the Purple Space Monkey for lunch, drinks, and some badass shrimp nachos that weren't even on the menu. In the afternoon, the clouds rolled in - until then, the weather since we arrived had been severely clear and sunny. We then relaxed a bit more back at the hotel in preparation for our stellar dinner. George and Lisa are the owners of the Westwinds Hotel, and George graciously offered to prep and cook our previous day's catch. We bribed him with the barracuda that Cari caught, and he cooked up the grouper that Melissa snagged. Dinner was spectacular. I singlehandedly finished a third of a bottle of Gray Goose vodka, which soon led to me and my sunburn staggering upstairs to pass out.
Day 8: The weather was again cloudy and windy for our day of departure, and we headed to De' Tatch for breakfast (stuffed fryjacks!). We loaded up our gear and bid Placencia a fond adieu. Back on the Maya Island puddlejumpers, and many bottles of 1 Barrel purchased at the Duty Free in Belize City before our flight back home. We arrived in Minneapolis about 11 hours later to 20 degree weather.
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