Belize

When I woke up this morning at 6:30, the boat was rolling from side to side. Not super aggressively but strong enough I could feel the room tilting. We had an excursion this morning and had to tender off the boat so they warned us to be up early in order to get off on time. I put in an order for breakfast the night before (as simple as filling out a leave on your door form) to be delivered in between 7 and 7:30 and it arrived exactly at 7:20. Brad and I got ready and headed down to the Follies Lounge to get a number that would tell us what tender boat we would be allowed on. Our number was 17 but we only ended up waiting about 15-20 minutes. The tender in took about 15 minutes.





I am super disappointed to say that we did not even get out of the port area in Belize. Here is a photo of the gates that kept us in and a little bit of what was beyond. We met another couple on our snorkel tour that were on the Carnival Valor and when we got back they were thinking about taking a quick island tour with a cabbie and invited us along, but we were worried about the tender situation so we chickened out which I totally regret. I would have loved to see the true Belize :( not just the port area.



We met with Hammerhead's (Coral Breeze's local tour operator) and only had about 45 minutes before our boat was to leave for the snorkel trip, so we decided to check out the shops and grab a quick Bloody Mary. The shops in Belize really aren't very good, although they do sell tons of fake bags and luggage. If you are going there and you like a good deal on a knock off, bring your money...and don't be afraid to haggle a little bit! I bought this one.



Belize and Honduras are also known for their wood crafting, especially with Mahogany wood. We bought a cute carved wooden ornament for our "travel tree" that we put up at Christmas. The other thing they sell in Belize is drugs. Want some Retin-A for those wrinkles or your kid's acne? 12 dollars a tube! Need some painkillers? Percocet 25 for 50 dollars! How about Viagra? Or strange diet pills that are not available in the states? All here and all available without a prescription for a mere few US dollars per pill. Least to say, it looked pretty busy in there. We ended up making a stop in there as well, as an emergency. Brad started wearing contacts for this trip so he could go snorkeling. He has worn them on and off for years but because he has dry eyes he has always felt more comfortable with his glasses. In Cayman, he had stopped into a drugstore to get the motion sickness patches and also grabbed a bottle of (what he thought) were eye drops. So here we are in Belize, when he decides to use said eye drops. I was watching him and noticed when he squirted the bottle into his eye, the solution was white-not clear! It was not re-wetting drops but concentrated cleaner! I ran into the store and threw him a bottle of saline which he used as I went up to the register with the empty box to pay. After several minutes of flushing his eye out and swearing he was somewhat on the mend, other than a very red eye and his worry that he had done some long term damage. So just a note, always read your labels!! Especially when you buy something in another country that can be called something other than what you call it.





It was time to meet up with the tour! After not snorkeling in Cayman or Cozumel we were ready to get in the water. The boat we were on was called "Great White".





On our way out to the reef we passed a lot of strange sticks randomly sticking out of the water. Our guides explained to us that those were lobster trap markers. There were a lot of mangroves, like in the Keys. We passed a few private islands with houses on them and a golf course called Caye Chapel (pronounced "Key Chapel"), which we were told Tiger Woods plays at often, and that it is 500 dollars greens fees per person to play 18 and has it's own landing strip and hotel/casino.



Here is a video taken on the boat ride.



The skies were darkening and the ocean was getting a little rough, it looked like a storm might be coming in. Once at the reef (Hol Chan Marine Reserve), our boat was tethered to a buoy and another boat near by kept drifting closer and hitting our boat. The snorkelers that were already in the water had to not only concentrate on looking down to avoid hitting coral but also had to look around to avoid getting side swiped by a boat.

Once in the water, we saw a lot of coral and a lot of plant life, but not a whole ton of fish, which was disappointing. Our guide pointed out a few eels and dove deep to get them to come out of the rocks. We also got to hold and pass around a live Conch.



There were places were the water was so shallow you couldn't even move your fins and just had to wait for the current to drift you across so you would not bump into coral and ruin the reef. There were also a lot of people out in this area so our guides asked us to follow the person in front of you and stick together, so it wasn't a fee snorkel but more of a tour of the reef.





After about 45 minutes we headed back to the boat and headed to the second stop, shark and ray alley. They handed out water "pouches", which was fresh water in a packaged bag instead of a bottle to make sure everyone stayed hydrated. One of the guides chummed the water with some fish and we all hopped in. Some of the rays were huge and we got to touch a few as they swarmed around trying to get the fish. I went to Sting Ray City (Grand Cayman) in 2000 and while there were more rays there, these were much bigger and this was in a more secluded area, just our boat. I was bummed there were no nurse sharks...I saw one on our last trip to Key West and was looking forward to being a little braver this time. What I wasn't brave about was Barracuda. As soon as I heard that word I headed back to the boat. Brad of course followed it and took some pictures with the underwater camera.









BARRACUDA! Looks harmless, right?



When everyone was done with the Rays, we headed over to Caye Caulker for lunch and a little exploring. The excursion guide had told us 90 minutes but once we got there they gave us 45. We had declined the lunch so while everyone went off to eat, we headed off to check out the island and try to find some drinks or local food. The saying on this island is "If you move too fast, you'll get a ticket, Mon!" We soon found out how true that was!





We went into a few bars looking for beers. The first two, there was no one in them, the 3rd one was a beach side bar with swings that you sat in instead of bar stools but they didn't have any cold beer. No problem! We ordered drinks (how about something with rum?) and they didn't have any ice or mixers! We finally ended up at a little tortilla lunch hut where we waited around 20 minutes for the food. I was nervous about missing the boat so Brad sent me back while he continued to wait for the food. The sky got dark and the wind picked up. A few drops fell from the sky. One by one I saw everyone else come back and get on the boat. Where was my husband?



Finally in the distance I spotted him! 1 minute after the boat was supposed to leave he came sprinting up the beach (could have got a ticket-haha) with the bag of food and we enjoyed our lobster burrito and empanadas on the boat on our way back to Belize. We finally got our beer back at the port waiting for the tender. Belikin is made in Belize and tastes somewhat "micro-brew-ish" like a Great Lakes Dortmuder or possibly somewhat similar to a Bass Ale.



It was just what the doctor ordered and we headed back for naps and then onto dinner at the Legend steak house, the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece is like a Morton's or Ruth's Chris on crack. It is located in the top of the boat inside the whale tail. There are two floors for dining and a crystal staircase leads up to the restaurant. When you look down you can see all the way down to the bottom of the lobby, 9 floors down. Pretty cool, but even Brad walked down them pretty quickly to get off two levels down.





Here they are from below in the lobby.



The food was great, and we got to meet the head chef. We took our own wine and they did charge us the 14 dollar corking fee. Brad had tuna tartar, baked onion soup, a tableside made cesar salad, and a rib eye chop. I had beef carpaccio, lobster bisque, a tomato salad with gorgonzola, and surf and turf (4 oz lobster tail and 4 oz filet mignon). We ended the meal with a chocolate taster with 3 different chocolate mini dishes. We were more than stuffed and after a short walk out on the deck to enjoy the breeze and salt air, we basically headed to bed after that. The only thing I would have done differently regarding the steak house is eating a little earlier to enjoy the views and the sunset. We had a table facing the water both here and in the main dining room but every time we ate it was dark out, because it was always after 7:30. Brad and I both agreed if we wanted to splurge we would have ate in the steakhouse a couple of times this trip and if we cruised again I'm sure we will do that!



The tuna tartar was delicious and there was more than enough to share.



My beef carpaccio was good, but what really made the flavor was the shaved parmesan cheese on the top. They offered to add a little olive oil to the top which would have made it amazing, but it didn't need it so I declined.



The tomato salad with gorgonzola was good but way too much. I only ate two of the tomatoes but this would be something good to share! All of the tomatoes on the boat were nice and red and had good flavor, none of that hard waxy winter tomato we have in ohio right now.



Table side made ceasar salad. Brad had a couple ceasar salads this week and said they were all really good. This one was whole pieces of romaine whereas the ones in the dining room were more shredded. He said it was very fresh and crunchy. Everything we had this week was very fresh, especially the fruit and vegetables.



The french onion soup came in a crock and was piping hot! In fact, all of the food that was supposed to be hot was straight off the grill or out of the oven hot, just like you would expect from any 4-5 star restaurant.



The lobster bisque was poured into my bowl around a cold cream topped toasted bread round. The combination of the cold and the hot mixed together with the toasted bread croutons floating on the top was very good. I also didn't finish this! Saving room for my main dish!



The surf and turf was great! The filet was perfectly cooked (I asked for rare) and had amazing flavor and the lobster tail was grilled and was very firm, especially compared to the lobster tails in the main dining room, which I was glad we had before we had this masterpiece!



Brad had a huge ribeye chop (bone in). He said it was flavorful and perfect, one of the best he ever had.



The baked potato was a little dry but I liked the choice of toppings. It was a good split for us as Brad does not like sour cream so it was nice that all the toppings came on the side.



It was no melting cake, but the chocolate sampler was good. There was a peanut brittle sugar wafer thing on the top of one of the tasters that was delicious.



I finished the evening with a great cup of cappucino and a sidecar of frangelico. Perfection!