The end of any trip is always somewhat of a let down. The relaxing is about to end. The adventure is about to end. The break from the everyday grind is about to end. And the travel FROM is not nearly as well tolerated as the travel TO.
Hey, at least it wasn't raining when we LEFT Belize!!!
I digress...on Friday (last day at sea) there were two morning dives and then after lunch the boat headed in for the final drive towards land. We arrived early afternoon back at the dock and pretty much had the rest of the day to ourselves. Several of us (about 8 or 10 total) decided to venture into town for a look-see. And by "venturing" I mean walking. We had already heard about Belize City . Belize is not a "tourist town" it is not that clean and supposedly not that safe at night (and the day was a little suspect too, if I might say). With no cruise ships in port our group of few were like fresh meat everywhere we walked.
We had the typical horror movie cast of characters in our group...the old woman and her daughter-in-law, the young bucks just out of the military, the hot babes attracting leers from locals, the goofball to whom nothing bad ever happens even though he should die in the first scene of every movie, and the wise watchman of the group (me). As factions get culled off here and there as we walk into town the scene is set for bad things to happen and some of the group never reappearing, rather ending up in white slavery...hey, this could be a good story!
After a short while in a steamy not so nice town such as Belize City, we are all ready to head back to the boat...but the goofball and the old lady's D-I-L head off on their own deeper into town...no sure if we shall see them again, the group heads the other way.
Here are a few shots of the city (there would have been more but my memory card somehow was full):
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| Apparently we did not arrive on Craft Market day...deserted |
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| Goofball...army guy...hot babe...old lady...daughter-in-law |
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| Two of our group are laggin behind already!! Army guys... |
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| Quite the succinct menu offering... |
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| Yes the birds were out to welcome us. I thought maybe this was a cockfighting arena |
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| This could be several parts of south Dallas...notice gang tags...comforting |
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| Housing on top.....business below |
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| Lobster boats waiting to head out |
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| Can never get enough Irie Goat...ya mon! |
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| Is that an extra dose of LOVE??? |
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Not even Jesus could save this mess
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Once we return to the boat and get cleaned up we have a lite snack and viewing of the video put together by our hostess that documented the week-long trip. Here is the link if you are so inclined to view it:
Belize Live Aboard
It's a nice touch and it is how they make some of their money so for $65 a pop we bought one...but we did get a CD of a lot of the groups pictures they made at no charge. So in all they were nice reminders of a great week.
We had a late dinner at the Radisson since the chef was home for the night and not cooking on the boat. The service was lousy, the wait was forever and the food was terrible. My wife and several of the others were ready to openly revolt. Only bad two hours of the trip.
After dinner we packed and spent the last night aboard the Sun Dancer. Great group camaraderie and a few drinks and everyone was off to their cabin. We had to be off the boat shortly after 8 the next morning.
Our flight wasn't until 3PM or so, so we spent 3 hours at the Radisson before the shuttle came to take us to the airport. Another vacation in the books.
Parting underwater sights...
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| A gaggle of sponges |
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| The beautiful and deadly lionfish...scourge of the Caribbean |
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| I'm watching you watching me...everybody loves ray(mond) |
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| Fascinating undersea formations |
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| Hermit crab just hanging out |
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| Very tiny shrimp |
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A remora fish...these are the ones you see attached to sharks symbiotically
They look like they are upside down |
If you are interested, there are more dive pictures on the Belize Dive page at the top of this site.
Well, that ends the reporting of the Belize trip I took this past June. It was a really great and different kind of vacation and I loved it for that reason and I got to see my wife really enjoy herself doing what she loves. It was win-win for both of us (except for the part where she got sick).
Until next trip...adios
5 comments:
Hi Chuck .. good story line of life in a group .. I presume the two of them got back safely. Sounds like a good meal should have the end of the story .. still delighted you were able to appreciate your wife having a fantastic time and she does take great photos .. love seeing them ..
Cheers Hilary
Such awesome photos, Chuck. So, goofball lived?
thanks for the tour Chuck! (both under and over the water). Nice photos on both levels also.
If you enter the following into google "Patrick Tillett" "Belize", you'll find that I am apparently a big shot on Belize. Truthfully, the guy is probably a relative of mine from back in the day. There just aren't very many Tillett's in the world.
Chuck, I so enjoy being able to see the world by the "Blogger Travel Service." You franchise is especially enjoyable. Great tour guide, with entertaining narrative and supper photo's. What more could a traveler want besides the sun on their back, sand between their toes and lots of margarita's.
Hilary: Glad you enjoyed my story. Yes, all returned safely.
Alex: Credit my wife with the photos. Yes, as in most movies, the goofball lived to dive another day.
Pat: Thanks! Hey the first site that came up was titled...Shame on you Patrick! Something about the financial controller on the Belize City Council. Gosh, ya think you know someone...
Rita: I am glad you enjoyed the journey!
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