an adventure of a lifetime...: Belize trip!!

Finally!! I know, I know!! It has taken some time, but finally have the pictures and time to post about Belize. Currently my mom and dad (plus Carmen and Roger Beggs) are visiting, so things have been a bit more wild than normal!! Here goes the trip!! It was a 7 day and 6 night cruise on a catamaran that left from Rio Dulce, Guatemala and sailed along the lower Caye's of Belize. We stayed on the inside of the Barrier Reef and spent our days snorkeling and eating and our nights laughing and eating!! We did plenty of eating because our food was incredible. What ever we caught during the day, was dinner that night or lunch the next day!!

Above is Las Sirenas (The Mermaids) our catamaran! It was an older boat that was sailed down from the US and bought by John Clark (the original captain). I held 10 people in rooms and a max of 15 if people slept outside. We were 14 total with one girl sleeping on a trampoline and 3 crew members.

My friend Audrey and I were bunk mates!! The rooms are tiny. What you see in this picture is about all the space we have. Fortunately both of us are very still sleepers and we didn't bother each other. She said I didn't even hum!!

Captain Ron r should I say Captain Raul!! Raul was the captain on our voyage. He was very often found sitting in this exact position when his foot guiding the way. He was an expert fisherman and extremely knowledgeable of our route. He leads at least 3 week long trips a month to the same tiny islands!

Speaking of tiny islands... here is one!! They really were extremely small, but for what we needed and wanted, they were perfect. They contained beaches, shade, and the perfect clear water surrounding it!

Need I say more.... the sand, the water, the sun! I was in heaven!

The sunsets (and sunrises, yes we were often up) were spectacular!! The sun would set perfectly on the water almost every night! The sunset was then followed by a sky full of bright stars (something I don't see much of living in Guatemala City).

By day... we were all found lying out in whatever location had sun... or did not have sun, depending on what you wanted!

By night... on St. Patrick's Day (I believe this was the night), we talked the crew into a bit of a dance party. Thankfully, Sarah and Manisha love to dance too!! Carlos, was the first mate and is the left corner. Zacheo was the incredible chef and he is at the top right!

Speaking of Zacheo... here is lunch one day! Fresh fish, cabbage and tomato salad, and potatoes! It was just delicious and it was every meal! He even made us an apple pie from scratch in our kitchen that was about 10 feet by 3 feet! It was TINY!

Even when we were on the islands, our captain would still bring us food! Each day at 10:30 and 3:30 we had fresh watermelon or fresh pineapple! It really was quite a treat!