And, finally -- 10/25 - 10/30

 

Our little group of 11 intrepid Road Scholars were fortunate with the weather for our Belize trip.  Rain never impeded our activities.  But on our last night, the rain pummeled Belize with a vengeance, at least where we were staying.  The word "drought" had been used during our visit, but that all-night downpour might have taken care of it.  Sleeping (or trying to sleep) under a tin roof during a pounding rain is kinda iffy (even Jimmy heard it, wow!).  No matter, I figured I'd sleep soundly the next night.

We were at the dinky Placencia Airport by 9:30am and ready to board a teeny-tiny plane that looked like it wouldn't even hold all of us!  Rain was still falling, dark clouds covered the sky, but we said our prayers and climbed aboard for a short hop to Belize City.  A few other people were booked to fly, too, so we split into two groups to board two tiny airplanes.

And this is one of them!

Our favorite leader:  Israel, at left, and our favorite bus driver:  Damion, right.

Ah, yes, we can always be silly, and why not?

Damion took a selfie with the group.

The proverbial Sardines in a Can.

Nickie and Jimmy take a selfie in the plane.

Okay, good, the pilot's ready to fly and his copilot is ... whaaaat?  Is that Florence in the copilot seat?  Yes, lucky lady, she's strapped in and ready to ... assist or sit quietly?  Very cool picture, Florence!

This is the first time I've ever been so close to the pilot and his front window that I could actually see the runway as he was about to land.  For inclement weather, this was one very smooth flight, and we all sighed with relief when it was done.

In the main terminal in Belize City, we said our goodbyes, gave hugs, and everyone split to their specific terminal.  What a great group of people to travel with!  Per usual, United's incoming flight was delayed, so we'd be late getting in to Houston.  As it was, we pretty much ran to catch our last flight to Baton Rouge, making it with only minutes to spare ... but we made it.  Jimmy and I were very happy to see my sister, Nannie, and bro-in-law waiting for us.  And, yes, indeedy, I slept soundly that night!  

* * * * *

Until our last full day with them, I didn't even think to get the camera out.  But on Sunday, my sister invited friends of hers (and mine) to a simple afternoon get-together.  Before they arrived, Jimmy suggested Nannie and I get a picture together.  Well, that's saying a mouthful.  We get to laughing, Nannie and me, and soon we're falling over with laughter.  So, this is the best I can do, above:  a picture of us together, with me already laughing my head off.  

Company's here!  The ladies parked at the dining room table, and the men gathered in front of the TV in comfy seats.  Isn't that often the way?  L-R:  Linda, Shirley, Nannie, me, Judy, and Cheryl.  We had fun, reminiscing, with hoots of laughter, happy to see each other. 

Nannie, Cheryl, me, and Shirley.  Good friends.

So that's it, then.  Our laundry was done (!!) and we'd gathered the stuff we'd strewn around Nannie and Bubba's home and put it all back in our motor home, Tergel.  We were ready to pull out Monday morning, the day before Halloween.  It was grand spending these past few days with Nannie and Bubba, and not-so-easy to leave.  But it was time for us to start heading for home.  Thanks for everything!  Much love, you two!

We filled Tergel with $2.83/gallon gas (hooray!!) and aimed Tergel west, across the old Mississippi River Bridge to I-10.  A cold front was approaching with vicious north winds that buffeted poor Tergel about.  A light rain made the on/off wipers necessary, just enough to be annoying.  Off we went, ready for the next chapter of our adventures.

A gem! Tues, 10/24/23

 

We followed the same morning drill as yesterday, but today the boat headed off on a more southerly course, aiming for Laughing Bird Caye National Park, only 11 miles off the Belize coast.  This is a narrow isle, not too long, and about as picturesque as anything I've ever seen.   As you see below:

The entire island:  A paradise!

I was the first to jump in the water, even before the anchors had been set.  The others followed me in, one after another.  The water is warm, but not too warm.  A person can stay in for a long time without getting chilled.  Look at the color!

The group trooped to the island to meet with a very young ranger, who repeated the rules and regulations to be followed while we were on land or in the associated water.  We were right back in the water, although I would've loved to spend a few more minutes on this tiny slice of heaven.  Laughing Bird Caye derives its name from the Laughing Gull who used to nest here and can still be seen here, but their breeding grounds have moved to a less "popular" caye.  Pelicans abound here, too, photo above.

"What is that little round ball down there," I asked.  The guide brought it up for me to see.  It's a one-celled organism called a Sea Pearl.  Looks like a marble!  He returned it to the sea floor.

I'd never seen a Barracuda before.  This guy was about a foot-and-a-half long and didn't like having its picture taken, so it hightailed out of range.  The colors of the sea flora and fauna are so spellbinding -- it's easy to spend hours in the water. 

Lots of brightly colored fish, blues and yellows especially.

I believe this is a Yellowtail Snapper.  Kinda pretty, too.

This one!  Hahaha -- the name -- Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber.  The thing was heavy.  It didn't move, even when it went from hand to hand.  The guide gently put it back where it was found.

I liked this fish, 'cause it appeared to have wings, tho I have no idea what it is.  The coral is cool, also.

I followed a school of Striped Parrotfish, above and below, as they attacked coral formations.  Or whatever might have been on the coral.  Lots and lots of parrotfish.  Those purple sea fans were my favorite.

Belize's coral reefs were in real trouble, especially damaged by coastal erosion of the country's mangrove forests, and depleted by Hurricane Iris in 2001. Lisa Carne, a marine biologist, saw firsthand the damage to Laughing Bird Caye after Hurricane Iris.  “It was a wasteland. The caye was split in half, the trees were destroyed, and it was washed over with dead marine life. Most local guides gave it up for dead.”

She wondered if reseeding and replanting coral beds could help the reef recover. The first of their kind in Belize, coral nurseries brought the reefs at Laughing Bird Caye back from the brink of extinction with over 49,000 nursery-grown coral fragments replenished.  I gleaned this info from One Earth.  Thank goodness for people who care enough to take action!  

Massive "boulders" of coral -- perhaps Starlet Coral?

A different Starlet Coral?

Giant Staghorn Coral.  Not sure if it's alive or partially dead or what.  About the size of a kitchen table.  Amazing to see in person.

After an hour or so, we were called back to the boat ... time to go.  First in, last out.  Snorkeling in this beautiful water was such a treat.  I could've easily spent the whole day in these crystal-clear waters being entertained by everything in the sea.

As we made our way back to Placencia, we saw rain showers on our left and right.  Towering clouds like you see above dot the sky all over the tropics, and some drip!  Even as we approached Laughing Bird Caye, we were caught in a brief shower ourselves.  

Back at the pier!  After depositing our snorkeling gear, we headed for the bus.  This big guy has a home on a mangrove limb and seems content.

The bus driver stopped the bus so we could get out and take a photo of the sign.

We felt like a million bucks after we showered and put on dry clothes.  We set our bathing suits out on balcony chairs to dry so we could pack them away.  Yes, the suitcases have to be packed and ready to go on the bus by tomorrow morning:  our Belize journey is soon over.  Tonight is our farewell dinner, where we'll exchange email addresses and photos, and share our favorite Belize experiences.  Man, what a wonderful adventure this tour has been!

O goodie: Snorkeling! 10/23/23

 

From the Placencia pier, our group boarded a boat named "Deep Blue" for a half hour ride to a protected caye on Belize's Barrier Reef.  Being on the water makes me happy; I stood on the top deck with the wind in my face, enjoying the beautiful morning.  We'd already picked up our snorkeling gear at Seahorse Dive Shop and were eager to hit the water, so to speak.  As I mentioned in my previous post, this barrier reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of an impressive coral system.  Today we'd spend time in the water both before and after lunch.  I was excited!

Land ho!  We'd passed many tiny cayes on the way to our stop.

And, here we are!

Herding cats 😀

We waded into the water and never did get too deep, although most of the time the depth was over my head, which is what you want, so you don't bump the coral.  The water wasn't stellar-clear, but it was clear.  Lots of little fishes!

We floated over many different coral formations, and I don't know their names.  Some of them were exquisite.  But bunches of the reef's corals were dead, with more bleaching going on.  As is happening most everywhere, sadly.  I tried to focus on the beauty.

Saw a number of these large and pretty fish.

The fish weren't too numerous, but they were colorful!

Sorry, I don't know their names.

Lunch was provided, which was good.  Ya get hungry toodlin' around out there!  We had rice and beans and chicken again.  It was quite the joke by this time that lunch would be just that:  rice and beans and chicken.  Well, it does take the mystery out of "what's for lunch?"  Ah, Jill found a hammock for a bit of rest between swims.  The island was as lovely as you imagine a Caribbean Sea island to be.

Jimmy and I walked to one end of the island, and came back to sit for a minute.  I watched this li'l Hooded Warbler scooting along the sand and it got closer and closer to me, went under my chair, and out the other side.  I got up and it followed me!  Almost fearless, like Galapagos birds.  We also spied a Black-headed blue warbler moseying from the base of one tree to another.  Cool beans!

After waiting the requisite one hour to digest our lunch like our mothers always said, we were back in the water, and to a different area.  A manta ray silently glided past me.  Kidding about waiting an hour!

I'm sure if you looked closely you'd see a fish or two.  But the composition of the coral and the sun and the colors is what hooked Jimmy and me.

One of the guides found a conch on the sea floor.  He dove down and brought it up for show 'n tell.  Though it was heavy, Jimmy carried it around for a while, then returned it to the guide who gently placed it back on the sea floor.  Fine-looking, isn't it?

We kept losing each other in the water as we each chased something that caught our eye, but Jimmy found me and popped over to say hi!

I took a couple of short videos, but they were so bumpy with movement, I deleted them after watching once.  Darn it.  Yeah, you have to remember we're out in the sea with lots of wave action.

I thought these guys were fun -- feather worms.  The guide demonstrated by dropping down to touch one of the feathery plumes, and it instantly went "floop" and disappeared into its hole.  Actually it didn't make any noise, just disappeared.  They catch prey with the feathery stems.

Another pleasurable hour passed while we splashed, and then it was all aboard.  I could've stayed in longer, but it was time to go.  As you see, another boat had anchored.

Lots of Brown Pelicans were about, diving headfirst into the shallow water repeatedly for a fishie or two, and one Osprey, as you see above.  It's huge nest appears to be in the next tree.

Uh-huh, saw this sign on our way to the bus.

No one went in to check ... as far as I know!

A short half hour run to the pier and we were on land again and on our way to the hotel.  A shower, dry clothes, and dinner awaited, and all were most welcome.  But, lucky us, tomorrow we get to go out again, to a new caye, for lots more underwater exploring.  Oh joy!  See you mañana!

Belize is where it's at, 2023

 

Belize is unlike any place we've been before.  You betcha, it's hot and humid, and, yup, this small country is primarily a tropical rainforest.  Much of the elevation is near sea level.  When we booked our trip (not long ago), we knew we'd be taking a chance on whether we'd even be coming here, October being prime hurricane season.  But, we really lucked out on that one.  

This is the restaurant where we ate our meals while at Jaguar Creek Eco-lodge.  Look at that wonderful roof thatching!  It's a foot thick.  (guessing)

I realize the pic is a bit fuzzy, but I wanted to show you the amazing Cahune palm tree, indigenous to Belize.  At its base is Damion, just to show you the size of the tree's massive fronds.  These are what's used to thatch roofs like the restaurant's.  Damion told me that the best time to gather the palm fronds is on the sliver moon -- the roof will last much longer.  Also, the thick thatch has the added bonus of insulation, keeping the blazing sun at bay and quieting the pounding rain.  Eco-friendly, too.

Notice the big brown blob to the right of Damion in the fuzzy foto?  It's palm nuts, each one about the size of a walnut, tightly packed in a cluster, above.  Every mature palm produces roughly 600-1000 nuts. Their outer shells are hard as bricks, but once opened, the nuts can be used in a variety of ways:  a source of food for critters like Pacas, oil similar to coconut, and so on.

Ours for two nights -- this cute Cabana #9.  Except for the bathroom shower wall, at right, screens with gauzy curtains made up the "walls."  We did have electricity and fans kept us cool/ish.  Hi Jimmy!

At one point in our daily travels, Damion stopped the bus, jumped out and picked something from an orchard, which he brought back to the bus for show 'n tell.

Here 'tis:  A Soursop fruit.  At Benny's Kitchen (close to Xunantunich) many of us ordered a soursop fruit drink, kinda citrus-y and especially delicious after a hot and sweaty hike. 

And finally, our fourth and final hotel for this trip:  Umaya Resort, near the town of Placencia on the Belize peninsula.  One morning I watched a worker throwing something into the pond, above, so I walked that way to see what he was doing -- pitching fish food to a throng of Tilapia.  With every handful, a feeding frenzy took place! 

Gazing out to the Caribbean Sea from the resort.

Our group faced the lagoon side of the peninsula.  Jimmy and I were on the second (top) floor of one building, and from there we watched iguanas grazing on the grass, birds flitting from tree to tree, and great, huge clouds forming over the distant Maya mountains, complete with rainbows! (below)

And some fantastically colorful sunsets.

Tomorrow (Monday, the 23rd) we have our first snorkeling adventure.  Did you know that the Mesoamerican Reef is second in size only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef?  It extends nearly 620 miles from the northern tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula toward the Bay Islands in northern Honduras.  And that includes the Belize Barrier Reef, which runs parallel to the country's coastline for about 190 miles, and was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996.  Oh boy!  That's where we're going!