Belize Vacation - Day 7 Fishing Trip

Friday, June 13th 

We have not been on a fishing boat since our 2016 summer vacation in Cozumel. The guys were looking forward to fishing. I am not a fan of fishing but thought being on a boat would be a great way to spend the day. Oscar, Eddie, and Gene picked us up at our dock at 9 am.

The weather was gorgeous, not too windy or hot. It was a great day to be on a boat.

Boogs and J2 managed to catch barracudas almost at the same time.

Good thing they were catching fish. Whatever they caught was what we were going to have for lunch.

When my husband was a kid, his family would camp every summer. He would spend hours at the dock fishing.

He was having a great time catching fish.

I gave it a try for a little while. Gene baited the fish for me many times. I hooked a few but lost them before I was able to pull them in. Everyone else caught several fish. Good thing I did not have to catch any for us to eat.

We were very grateful to have Eddie on the boat. Oscar, the tour owner, was a mess. We quickly realized he had been drinking before he picked us up and kept drinking throughout the day. We were looking forward to a calm day. He was loud and kept trying to hype up a party atmosphere and offering drinks even after we said we did not want any. While we were fishing, Oscar was not paying attention to how he was driving the boat and caused the fishing line to get wrapped around the motor. We had learned earlier in the week that islanders speak to each other in Creole and it was considered disrespectful to speak to each other in proper English, that was for tourists and work. Eddie yelled at Oscar in Creole and then switched over to yelling at him in English. 

Eddie was able to cut off all of the line and then he took over driving the boat and running the entire tour. We had to go back in towards the shore to catch more bait fish. It was neat to see Eddie skillfully throw the net. I imagine if I tried to throw that net, I would have fallen in. We went back out after Eddie caught more bait fish.

Eddie took the time to give Boogs detailed instructions on how to handle reeling in the fish and giving it the right amount of line. Boogs was interested in learning about it and was able to catch the most fish.

J2 was not as interested as Boogs but he said he was having a good time.

My husband caught several fish during our three hours of fishing. 

I love this picture of my husband and Boogs. They both look so relaxed and were really enjoying the day.

It was a successful fishing trip. The guys caught barracuda and red snapper. We posed with these four fish, I didn't want to touch it. There were a lot more fish in the cooler box.

Eddie got every thing ready to prepared the fish for lunch while we explored Caye Caulker. Look how beautiful the water is around the island.

The island is known for its laid back atmosphere. It is much quieter and less developed than Ambergris Caye.

We wandered around for about an hour. Then sat at the Lazy Lizard and people watched for a bit.

When we returned to the boat, Eddie had red snapper ceviche and tortilla chips for us to snack on. It was delicious.

We took the boat over to the other side of The Split. In 1961, Hurricane Hattie split Caye Caulker into two pieces. The south side of the split is more developed. The north side is less developed. Oscar has a friend who owns the resort on the north side, Koko King. They told us the resort has been in decline since covid shut it down for over two years and the owner is trying to sell it. Oscar has an arrangement to bring tours over. The beach area is beautiful. 

We were the only ones on the resort. The swings over the water were a perfect place to relax while we waited for Eddie to fix lunch. 

The swings were facing two gorgeous views. 

We also swam for a bit before lunch was ready.

Wow! This was the best meal we ate during our vacation. The barracuda was cooked with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Eddie told us he used "secret spices", mayo and barbecue sauce on the fish. There was also seasoned rice, pasta salad, and the rest of the red snapper ceviche. We ate until we were stuffed. It was delicious!!!

Eddie told us to enjoy our meal and walked away. Oscar decided it would be a great time to be loud and talk and talk and talk. He finally walked away and we enjoyed the rest of our meal in peace.

We wandered the beach for awhile after lunch before we headed to our next stop. 

We left Koko King and headed back over to the south side of the split to a cove to feed tarpons.

It was really cool and a bit unnerving. The tarpons have such large mouths. It was hard not to flinch away from them. You have to hold the fish in between your pointer and middle finger and hover your hand over the water. You never know which fish is going to jump up and grab your fish. Here are the videos of each of us feeding them.

Boogs went first.

Then J2 took a turn.

My husband went next.

I don't know if the fish were not as hungry because it took a while for one to get my fish. I was nervous about flinching away so I held my right arm steady with my left had to keep from jerking back.

Our last stop, before heading back to our rental house, was at Sting Ray Beach. The Iguana Reef Inn feeds a group of rays every afternoon. The rays hang around waiting to be fed. They will come right up to you and skim across your feet and brush up against your legs. They feel so soft.

It was a little funny that Boogs was getting annoyed. The rays swam right up to me, my husband, and J2. They kept avoiding Boogs. 

They repeatedly swam right around him and went to whoever was next to him. Finally, right before we left, they swept across his feet. I did not get a picture of that moment.

This one brushed against my feet five times. It kept circling back. Maybe I had a fishy smell on my feet?

We truly enjoyed our fishing day. It was a great adventure to have on our last full day in Belize.

I did not feel like cooking, so we took the golf cart into town for dinner.

We ate at The Blue Water Grille. It was right on the beach with a beautiful view.

There were lights on several trees right outside the restaurant. I had to take this picture to send to my mom. Whenever I travel, I send her pictures of trees with the caption - "Look Mom, a tree. Isn't that... interesting?"

The moon did not disappoint on our last night in Belize. It looked very yellow in person. The lines of light in the sand were from the balcony railing. 

What a great day of adventure, relaxation, learning, and making memories!

Belize Vacation - Day 6 No Dive Day

Thursday, June 12th
We had a slow relaxing day. We were supposed to go on two dives but the wind made the waves too rough to boat out to the dive sites. At least there was a nice breeze and a great view from our rental house's balcony. Boogs and his friend sat inside playing video games for a good portion of the day. My husband took the time to get in some extra sleep. 

I read a book on the balcony and watched a dock being built two houses over. It was really neat to see the posts being set and the water pumped out of the posts.

They made a lot of progress on the deck throughout the day.

Since we were leaving on Saturday, we would not be able to dive again during this trip. Johnny, who we did dives with earlier in the week, came by our rental to sign our dive books and settle our account. We met him at the dock and then a squall came in and we all ran for the house. We chatted for almost an hour while we waited for the weather to clear. He told us there is no public high school on Ambergris Caye. Parents have the choice of paying for private high school, having their child ride the 1.5 hour ferry (each way) to Belize City every school day, or having their child board in Belize City for the school week and come home to the island on weekends. Johnny told us he pays $460 a month tuition for private school on the island for each child. He said it was best for his family. I'm with him, I could not imagine having to be on a boat three hours a day just to go to school or having my child live off island for most of the time.

It rained off and on throughout the day. 

The weather calmed down later in the day and the beautiful blue skies reappeared. Unfortunately, we were not able to do any afternoon diving.

After the rain stopped, we took the golf cart into town for a late lunch. We stopped at La SanPedrana Bar & Grill. When we walked in, I stopped to wash my hands while everyone else sat down. My husband and the boys picked a table with a great view but only three chairs. They thought they were very funny. I had them move to a bigger table. Lunch was really good.

I love this picture of Boogs. He was looking out at the view while we waited for our food. His hair always get more blond during our vacations.

Of course we had to stop at the Belize Chocolate Company. Last year, we toured a cacao farm in Fiji and learned all about the process of making chocolate. 

The chocolates were delicious! We each had two pieces. I had a strawberry milk chocolate piece and a caramelized coconut dark chocolate piece.  

On the way back out to our rental, we stopped at a resort and wandered through the shops for awhile before driving out the the house. We passed by Rose Spa and the massage therapists were outside and asked if we wanted to get one of their massages. We dropped the boys off at the rental and then my husband and I went back for one hour massages. It was a lovely treat.

There was another beautiful sunset.

We enjoyed our unscheduled day but were still a bit disappointed not to be able to scuba dive. We want to try to get in as many dives as possible on our trips because we only get to go diving once a year.

Belize Vacation - Day 5 Altun Ha, Ziplining, Cave Tubing

We always take at least one day on our dive trips for a "land exploration" day. Our day started very early. We had to get to the ferry dock in town by 5:45 am. So, we left our rental house at 5:15 for the golf cart ride to the ferry. Oscar, owner of Celebrity Diving & Customized Tours, met us at the ferry dock with breakfast tacos. He had arranged for a tour guide, Jorge, to meet us in Belize City after the 1.5 hour ferry ride.

Jorge was a wonderful guide. He told us he considered himself to be an ambassador for the beauty of Belize. As he drove through Belize City, he gave us facts about the different neighborhoods, churches, schools, government, landmarks, and culture. Jorge took us to the first site of the tour, Altun Ha. On the way, he stopped at a roadside stand to purchase a local drink, seaweed milk, for us to try. I found it to be an acquired taste.

Travel Belize states, "Altun Ha, an archaeological site 31 miles from Belize City, was a significant ceremonial center in the Maya Culture. Known to archaeologists in 1963, Altun Ha functioned as a central trading link between the Caribbean Coast and Maya Centers in the interior during the Maya Classic Period. The Maya occupied this ancient city from 250 BC to AD 1000 and reached its peak from AD 400 to AD 900, with a population of 8,000 to 10,000 people. Altun Ha is the Yucatec translation for “Rockstone water,” situated near Rockstone Pond along the Old Northern Highway." 

This poster shows an aerial view of the site.

There was a display of the national symbols of Belize near the welcome center - Mahogany tree, Keel-billed Toucan, Black Orchid, Tapir, and the national flag.

Altun Ha contains over 500 identified mounds containing two main complexes with smaller, mostly residential groups located within the site.

Jorge told us that these large structures and other smaller sites are waiting for government funding for excavation and restoration.

Jorge had a great depth of knowledge about the site and the medicinal purposes of all the trees and plants in the area. He picked leaves off of an allspice tree and had us chew on them. Wow, I never realized allspice came from a tree. I thought it was a mixture of different spices/herbs. The leaf tasted just like the allspice powder I have in my home kitchen. 

Jorge told us many stories about the culture and practices of the Mayans of Altun Ha. I wish I could remember all that he told us.

There were a lot of stairs to climb to get to the top of the structures. A royal tomb was discovered under this temple floor. It contained over 300 items made of jade.

This is part of Group A. It is believed to be the early civic and ceremonial core of the site. The structures here are arranged around a large plaza.

We were very lucky with the timing of our visit. There were less than 10 other people at the ruins. When we were driving back out to the main road after our visit, we passed five buses from cruise ship excursions heading towards the entrance to Altun Ha.

The face on this side of the ruin is mostly intact. It's counterpart on the other side of the tomb has weathered away.

This is the most important structure at the site, building B4. The sign at its base says it is called the Temple of Sun God. The largest jade object from the Mayan world was found in this temple. It was a carved jade head of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau. The carving weighed about 11 pounds and it is kept under lock and key in the Belize Central Bank. There is a replica of the mask in the visitor's center.

There was a path of stairs at the back for visitors to use to climb to the top. It is 55 feet tall. We climbed to the top and it had a spectacular view.

This is the view looking down over the edge from the top of the Temple of Sun God. It made me nervous to get close to the edge. It was a scary drop. See how tiny those people on the ground look?

The stairs on the way down were not quite as steep as the set of stairs we used on the way up.

I am so glad we visited Altun Ha. We toured Chichen Itza several years ago and I really wished to be able to climb to the top of the structues. It was really neat to get to the top of several structures in Altun Ha.

We left Altun Ha to drive to our next destination - Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve for ziplining and cave tubing. My husband and I went on a similar tour when we came to Belize in 2017. They have really changed the zipline route. Back then, there was a steep hike between each zipline platform. Now, there is a shorter (but still steep) hike to the first platform and then you travel from platform to platform for each ziplines. There were four zipline on this visit and six ziplines on our last visit. Hand break ziplines always make me a bit nervous about running into a tree at the end. I did not run into a tree but I did bang into the zipline guide at the end of the zipline across the river.

Ready to go at the first platform, but not ready to smile.

It was a great area. I enjoyed ziplining through the jungle trees and crossing above the river.

We all had a good time and made it to the end with no incidents.

We had a traditional Belizean lunch in between ziplining and cave tubing. We were served barbecue chicken, rice mixed with beans, coleslaw, and a spicy sauce.

The last part of our adventure was the jungle walk and cave tubing tour.

We spent about 40 minutes on the trail to the cave opening. Jorge shared information about the majority of the trees and plants we passed. He told which plants heal, harm, and poison you. It was a peaceful walk listening to the sounds of nature. There were howler monkeys in the trees near the start of our walk. Wow, are they loud!

We were excited to finally get to the cave. 

There were lots of stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and bats throughout the cave. Some areas were lit by various openings and some areas were pitch black without the little headlamps on our helmets. The ceiling of the cave is quite high so you never really felt closed in while tubing through it.

When we got to the little waterfall area, Jorge pushed each of us under the waterfall. That water was COLD.

The last time I went on this cave tour, we stayed in our tubes the entire time. This time, we spent time walking around and exploring different areas of the cave. Man, was that tough on my knees. The footing was very uneven and it was really dark in places. I was so thankful for my little head lamp. 

Jorge told us about the formations of the cave, different rock formations, the history of events that have occurred in the area, and the Maya pottery and archeological finds in the cave. 

Boogs took several video during our cave tour. Jorge brought us to this ledge and asked if we wanted to jump in and then swim through a few narrrow tunnels. We trusted our guide and of course we said YES.

We swam in the cave for about 10 to 15 minutes. The water was cold and refreshing.

Boogs took this video of swimming through the cave tunnels. There were several off chutes from where we were following our guide. It was pitch black without our lights. I made sure to keep up and not get lost in the tunnels. 

It was an amazing adventure. I am so glad we were able to wander through the cave like that. I as very thankful that Jorge had a really bright light to follow.

We continued walking through the cave and went up SO many steps.

Lots and lots of staircases.

We walked out into the sunlight for a bit then back into the darkness of the cave. There was one more jumping in spot and a short swim back to our tubes before we continued floating toward the end of the cave.

The last part of the tubing adventure was a slow, lazy ride down the river. The boys were out in front.

My husband enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight.

I have to occasionally have a picture taken of myself as proof that I was there, too.

We experienced various levels of adventure and peacefulness throughout the day. The boys said this day just about tied with their experience of scuba diving 135 feet deep into the Great Blue Hole.

Jorge drove like a maniac to get us back to the ferry dock in time for the last ferry. I was genuinely afraid on our 1.5 hour car ride back to Belize City. We made it to the ferry with 15 minutes to spare. We were lucky. It was crowded, some people waiting were unable to make the last ferry. 

What a great day! Belize has so much to offer a visitor - underwater adventures, cultural explorations, natural and manmade wonders, great food, friendly people, relaxation, and adventure.