Archive for the ‘Vacation Time’ Category

During a recent trip to Ambergris Caye, Belize, an island off of mainland Belize, we went on a snorkeling/ fishing trip for a day with our guide Oliver, his assistant Alex and two other couples from Texas. As I shared in “A Day on the Sea. Part I: The Food,” the food was fresh and unforgettable. The rest of that day was just as memorable.

Packed with sun tan lotion and snorkel gear, we started early morning and headed to one of Oliver’s special places on the reef. By the way, the reef off shore in Ambergris Caye is part of a barrier reef that runs from the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, through Belizean waters, ending in Honduras. This 560 mile long reef, called the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, is the second largest barrier reef in the world, behind The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Cool huh?

Anyway, Oliver grew up in Belize and knows the Belizean section of the reef like the back of his hand. Many guides don’t even know of his special places or may not be willing to take you there. Soon after heading out is when we ran into the men spear fishing for lobster that I wrote about in “A Day on the Sea. Part I: The Food.”

After purchasing the lobster, we quickly headed for an area that Oliver knows manatee to frequent. Right after anchoring, he spotted a manatee. We quickly grabbed our snorkel gear and hopped in, but the manatee was already gone. The manatee soon came back, and we had the chance to swim alongside him for a few minutes.

Sorry for the lack of underwater pictures. Wish I had an underwater camera to capture what we saw. In addition to the manatee, there were many tropical fish, including a nurse shark or two. The coral formations were amazing as well. This reef is definitely one of the places to go if you’re into diving or snorkeling.

After snorkeling and fishing at a few different spots, we headed to a small, almost deserted island for lunch. It’s called Shallow Island, or something like that and is close to Caye Caulker, another small Caye off the coast of Belize. I don’t think any of us were expecting what came next. We all thought we’d go to a part of Caye Caulker and picnic on a beach some where but instead we were surprised with a Gilligan’s Island sort of place.

We were greeted by Kilo (hmmm…wonder where he got his name?) one of the resident dogs that lives part time of the island.

Isn’t he a cutie?

We unpacked and got to work making ourselves at home.

Here’s a view of one end of the island. The owner of the island has it set up for fly fisherman. That’s the hut/cabin for the fishermen.

And here’s the view looking toward the other end of the island.

A humble kitchen area…

Some hammocks. Shhh…it’s sleeping beauty.

Playing opossum. Sneaky sneak.

A potty…

A potty in paradise.

What a view for a potty, huh?

Our son, Hank (short for Henry) tried to fish, but thanks to Kilo he didn’t have much luck. Every time a big fish came around, Kilo would jump in after it.

Hank got on to Kilo and gave him a talkin’ to.

I know Hank. You just wanted to fish. But Kilo can’t help it.

He’s a fisherdog baby. That’s what he does. It’s instinctual.

As frustrated as Hank was, Kilo was one cool dog.

You’re one cool dog Kilo.

But wait! Look!

A shark!

And there goes Kilo!

Don’t worry, it’s only a nurse shark – think large catfish kinda mouth. They’re pretty harmless, although you wouldn’t want to get your hand stuck in one of their mouths.

But still, that’s one huge fish dawg.

Crazy dog.

We certainly enjoyed relaxing and exploring the island.

The sun was beginning to drop, so we packed up, made a quick stop by Caye Caulker for some ice cream, then back out on the water for one more quick dip to snorkel before heading back to our resort, Pelican Reef Villas. What a day!

On our return flight a few days later, we just happened to fly right over the teeny island.

I can’t believe I actually was able to capture it from the sky.

And I know Kilo is down there somewhere, probably jumping a barracuda.

Greg, from Pelican Reef Villas, where we stayed, recommended the day trip with Oliver. I’m so glad he did. It was well worth every penny.

Do you have any fun summer outings to share? Do tell.

We’re on vacation this week in Ambergris Caye, Belize. It’s such a beautiful place, with friendly people everywhere. Yesterday we took a snorkeling/fishing trip with our new friend Oliver (in red).

Or is it Denzel?

No, Oliver.

Denzel is that you?

Oliver? Or Doliver?

Anyway, he was quite charming, along with Alex. And don’t let Alex fool you with that Mickey Mouse hat on. He’s got skilz. Mad skilz. There were also two super nice couples from Texas ready for the day full of adventure. With hundreds of pictures documenting the day, this post will focus mainly on the food, which is always a good thing.

Our group left out early in the morning and soon ran into these guys spear fishing for spiny lobster.

Lobster season just opened a few days ago, so the waters are covered with small groups hunting for the lobster down below.

They paddled from a larger boat that we could hardly see in the distance, and, beginning at day break, began diving for the lobster. Unbelievably hard work. When we met up with them they had already been going at it for about 4 hours. Oliver called them over so we could take a peek at their catch.

Look at those beauties.

Whoa. What a boat load.

Oliver bought some for later.

Talk about fresh! That was so cool. We continued on to snorkel for a bit and fish.

The water was crystal blue.

The guys caught a few on board.

While they were fishing, Alex spear fished and brought in a hog fish (I think that’s what it’s called)…

More lobster…

And a few other fish.

It was getting close to lunch time, so we headed to a teeny tiny island, much like Gilligan’s Island, (which I can’t wait to tell you all about in another post) to break for lunch.

Alex prepared the lobster and fish.

He added seasonings. Oh, yeah, there was some chicken too. (I’ve got a picky eater.)

He was the man to have on hand.

The filleted fish were placed on the bottom, followed by the lobster, then all was topped with onions, peppers and more seasonings.

All the while, Oliver was getting the fire ready. He used coconut shells to start the flame.

And here’s the kitchen where it all came together.

The food was covered and steamed over the fire.

We all hung around waiting and watching these guys do their thing. Here are our fellow adventurers for the day, Mike, Jarod, Sheree (she’s Jarod’s wife) and Mandy (Mike’s spouse).

Nicer folks you won’t find. It was great fun.

In no time, lunch was ready. We feasted on coconut rice…

Lobster…yum!

And fish stew.

Fresh and tasty doesn’t even begin to describe it.

My hat’s off to Alex.

A mighty fine meal indeed. And a big thanks to Denzel, uh, Oliver for a great day on the water.

I can’t wait to share the rest of the outing with you.

Wish you were here!

Yesterday we arrived in Belize. It’s a beautiful country from the air and the ground. We landed at the international airport, and took a quick transfer to the municipal airport to catch a flight over to Ambergris Caye, our final destination.

When we arrived at the municipal airport it was lunch time. With a few minutes to spare we dropped in here, The Hangar Cafe, for a quick lunch.

It’s two doors down from the terminal building, a small bar, with a few tables, overlooking the water. Not sure what we expected. Hungry and pooped, we were ready to get to our final destination, so quality of food was not high on the list. But boy were we surprised. There was no menu to order from. The kind waitress just kept saying “Beans and rice, chicken or pork or beef.”

Beans and rice. You know I like beans, but I could live off of rice and beans. I ordered the pork, while the rest of my family ordered the chicken. I could smell it wafting through the little space. It was coming from behind this curtained screen door.

I caught glimpses of aproned women shuffling back and forth whenever the door opened. The waitress soon brought our drinks and that was the first indication that this may be more than just an average lunch.

Extra tall, cold Coke bottles, the last of their stock. And I had ordered a water.

Dang.

The food soon followed and oh, my, it didn’t last long, but was able to snap a few photos before it disappeared. Here’s the pork.

Tender, juicy, in a savory red sauce, served with a plaintain, potato salad and rice and beans.

Rice. Beans. Yum.

The chicken was cooked in a similar sauce and falling off the bone.

I wish I had the nerve to have asked the ladies in the kitchen if I could watch and learn for a while. Not that I had a while, our plane was departing shortly. We finished our meal and headed to the last leg of our trip. But boy, was that a tasty welcome to a country that I can’t wait to learn more about.

So have you had any tasty travels lately? Where to? I’d love to hear about em.