We physically got to Belize by plane, but I thought I’d share how we ended up selecting Belize for our anniversary vacation. We wanted to do another long weekend & dive refresher before our big trip this year. We considered going back to Cozumel since we enjoyed it so much, but wanted to try something new. There aren’t many direct flights from Houston to diving places in the eastern Caribbean (only Jamaica, Puerto Rico & the Bahamas). Since it was winter, we wanted to go as far south as possible to get warmer weather & Belize is a diving mecca. Airfare is generally very expensive ($600+ from Houston), but I had 2 free tickets from work, so it seemed like the perfect place for our little get away. Our first Central American country, Belize is slightly south of Mexico near the Yucatan & enjoys the same long barrier that runs up by Cancun & Cozumel. It’s just over 2 hours until you start seeing the rain forests & meandering rivers that run through the countryside.
The Belize City airport is small, but functional. A few US airlines fly here & they roll out the stairways to unload the passengers. My only complaint is that, unlike most other airports, they aren’t proudly flying their flag. It’s our goal on trips to snag a good photo of each country’s flag & the airport is usually our first opportunity.
Withing 20 minutes of getting through customs, we hopped on an even smaller plane that seated about 15 passengers for the 20 minute flight over to Ambergris Caye. I’ll confess I totally thought it was pronounced Kay (like the lady), but English is the official language of Belize & it’s pronounced Key (like the Florida Keys).
Although a slower (cheaper) ferry is an option to get there, I’m too excited & impatient to get to our destination & (obviously) love taking photos of the earth below from airplane windows- especially when it’s something this amazing & beautiful!
All these uninhabited, micro-islands dotted the waters & just seeing them started putting me in a vacation state of mind.
I was blown away by the clear waters where you could see all the way to the bottom across the whole bay, including these fascinating patterns that the currents created.
The occasional house made me a tinge jealous that somebody had found a beautiful & isolated slice of paradise.
Coming into the very southern tip of Amgergris Caye, I was ecstatic to see the gorgeous waters, beautiful beaches & lots of greenery.
Not sure why Google Earth doesn’t love the Caye as much, but I thought I’d share this cool graphic to give a better feel for the island. The rumor we were told is that the Caye was once a part of the mainland & the Mayans actually dug that trench for protection & security that now separates this former part of the peninsula from Mexico. Our guide was telling us it’s about an hour boat ride up to the tip of Mexico there. The incredible barrier reef is the 2nd largest in the world behind the Great Barrier reef & runs along the length of the island and provides some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world. I had no idea that Belize became independent only in 1981 & the bridge that connect San Pedro to the north part of the town was only built since 2007. We wanted to rent a golf cart on a rainy Saturday & drive to the northern tip, but we were told the road ends about 4 miles north of town & the next 20-odd miles are only accessible by boat!
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Life is good & calm right now- getting back on track with photos, reading, running & gym time.
