Two Breakfast Burritos Por Favor!

I woke up hungry at 7:30 a.m. this morning disoriented wondering where the hell I was!

My first thought?  Let's throw on some clothes and pedal down the bike path for breakfast.  Two breakfast burritos and a side of fruit!

That was our early morning routine for the past week.  So simple!  Just slip on some shorts and a tank, hop on the bike,  and ride down the beach to AkBol.

Then I realized I was home.  My stomach's still growling!  Where's my breakfast burrito?

Here's the view from the breakfast bar yesterday morning.

Packing!  We leave this afternoon on a puddle jumper flight to Belize City, then fly home to Phoenix.  Hopefully, we'll be in our own beds by early Wednesday morning! It's been a wonderful trip, but as always, we're ready for a Saby reunion.

Yesterday afternoon, we boarded the Coastal Express water taxi into San Pedro and met a friend from Isla Mujeres message boards for dinner.  I guess you'd call it a Vine meeting on the wrong island!  But what a wonderful coincidence finally putting a face to someone I've talked to for years online!  Great meeting you Mark!

Posting is more difficult from here since I don't have WiFi in the room, so I'll leave you with a few sunrise photos from yesterday morning and start filling you in on trip details when we're back in Phoenix.

Lamanai Daytrip

First of all, just let me say that being sick on vacation sucks!   We've had very few well days when one of us wasn't ailing, and it seems to be the same sinus infection we're passing back and forth. Craig's headed into town this morning for two rounds of Z-packs.  One for me, one for him.  And maybe he'll even score an inhaler for me.

Despite it all, we knew that yesterday, if we wanted to leave the island to see more of Belize, we needed to bite the bullet and just go for it.   So off we went on a jungle river trip to see the Lamanai ruins.  Long day!  Emphasis on LONG!  We boarded the boat at 6:45 a.m. from the dock out front.  After about an hour and a half on the water, we entered mainland Belize up a river to a dock where we boarded vans for an hour to another boat, where we headed 25 miles upstream to Lamanai ruins.  Then after touring the ruins, we were back on the boat down the river to the vans, and back to a different boat heading back to Ambergris Caye.

I'll admit to absolutely dragging my rear most of the way, so I'll have to provide the details of the trip in another post.  Craig had more energy than me, so he climbed the big one and conquered while I sat in the shade at the bottom overheated taking photos.

After a cold shower last night, I collapsed in bed while Craig foraged for food.  (He walked down the beach path for takeout.)

Here are a few postcards from the trip!

Crossing to Belize City.

Our crew loading the boat for the river trip.

So glad this boat wasn't our Destiny!

Water lilies on the river.

Oh yes she did!  This spider monkey hopped from the trees onto the boat!

Been there.  Done that.  Got the picture!

That's Craig up there -- the man in the yellow shirt.

Posing with his friend. 

 Too big of a climb for me on a hot humid afternoon in the jungle, but Craig conquered!

 Cruising past the docks in San Pedro on our way home.

I'm now on my second round of antibiotics, so hopefully, this one will do the trick!  Sad to say, we've spent more on antibiotics than we have on drinks this trip!  Some of my friends now think I'm allergic to the tropics!  Hope not!

Postcards from North Ambergris Caye

Relaxing in the hammock.

Hibiscus at the neighborhood grocery store.

Yoga on the dock.

The Rum Punch II tied up at the Palapa Bar.

Snorkeling off the dock.

 Egret wading at sunset.

Sunset over the lagoon.

Life in the Slow Lane

 We've moved north of the bridge this week to a location that is definitely more chill!  We're using bikes as transportation and enjoying the solitude.  Life in the hammock!  My internet connection unfortunately is very weak, so I'm braving the wicked mosquitoes to be online. 

This morning, we got on the bikes and headed south of the bridge to stock up on some groceries.  This guy was pulling this heavily loaded wagon up over the bridge that divides North Ambergris from the rest of the island.

I spotted this sign on the bumpy sand road back to our little cabana.  I think it epitomizes life in the slow lane!

We're about 2 1/2 miles north of the bridge.  We usually ride back on the beach path, but wanted to check out the road this morning!

View from the dinner table last night.

The morning view from the neighborhood smoothie bar! Life is good!

Some Monday Scenes

We took the water taxi to Caye Caulker today for lunch and some sightseeing.   We dined at a yellow picnic table by the water and walked up and down the sandy streets.  The place has a young laid back vibe and I loved taking photos, but I'm not sure we'd want to stay there.  My original plan was to spend a week on Caye Caulker and just visit Ambergris, but Craig and I both agreed Caulker's a little too slow for us.  The trip is only 30 minutes by water taxi and we really enjoyed taking a look!

We'll be moving to a new location farther away from town tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll have consistent WiFi.  So if I'm not posting, you'll know why!

Here are some scenes from our Monday! 

Approaching Ambergris Caye on our return trip.

 

The boats are enclosed with some windows that open, so I stuck my camera out a window to get this photo of the crystal blue Caribbean water.

The lunch table on Caye Caulker.

 

Chicken tostados and fish kabobs.

People mostly use their feet or bikes to get around the island on sand streets.

Lots of No Loitering signs on shops and fruit stands. 

 

 Interesting boat!

 Lots of Rastas!

 This little piggy became meat.  A young guy was sitting behind the pit turning the spit by hand.

 

 Conchs and cocos!

 Caulker bulletin board.

Tranquil spot.  I didn't hang long because the skeeters were biting.

 More bikes and restaurants!

Carnaval!

Carnaval's evidently in full swing!  This guy was prostrate in the town park this morning.

 

Dancers are blocking traffic.

Kids are painting with wild abandon.

  

 

 

And even the local iguanas are scavenging for costumes!

 

Belizean Boot Camp

Just for the record, we didn't take the water taxi to Caye Caulker yesterday like we'd planned.  We seem to be in an insane routine that mimics one of those boot camp classes.  Our days have consisted of long morning walks and bike rides, then walks in and out of town for lunch and dinner. 

Once again yesterday, we walked into town (a little over a mile) for breakfast.  After splitting fruit and a breakfast burrito, we decided bikes would be the best way to explore since my feet were absolutely barking from the 8 miles or more of walking the day before.

We decided to head north again on the beach path because it's like nothing I've seen on any other island.  It winds its way north right at water's edge in between the sea and all the high end homes and condo developments.

After picking up bikes at Joe's, we pedaled over the bridge and headed down an access path to the beach.

These signs dot the beaches all over the island.  Ambergris Caye appears to be succeeding with preservation!

These chairs belong to one of the gorgeous homes at water's edge.

A little bit of yard/beach art!

A pink beach cottage.

Fishing cabin out over the water.

Caution!  Duck for low hanging palms!

A boat with a Rasta paint job!

After riding up past Captain Morgan's Casino Resort, we doubled back to the Palapa Bar for lunch.  I'll do a separate post later, but for readers who frequent Isla Mujeres, the bar might seem a tad familiar.  I seem to remember a certain conversation with a bar owner on Isla about a funky Key West style palapa bar on Ambergris Caye being the inspiration for their business on Isla Mujeres? (Or maybe I dreamed that conversation because I've been known to do that.)

Does it look familiar at all?

One difference would be that the Palapa Bar sits on a dock out over the water, so the drinking and dining views are spectacular!

 While we were waiting on our blue cheese burger and fries, a manta cruised by the bar.

And if you'd rather float while you drink, that option is available!

We'll be staying a short distance north next week, so we'll work our way through the menu and report back! After our burger and fries, we pedaled back south on the path, over the bridge, and back into San Pedro to return the bikes.  

Now that's my kind of morning  boot camp!  : )